Harker’s boys water polo team has earned the Central Coast Section Interscholastic Federation 2009-10 fall season scholastic championship. The team won with an average GPA of 3.548 and was honored Nov. 21. Initiated in 1985, the program recognizes the varsity team for each sport with the highest GPA that year.
Tags: Sports, topathleticsRead about the preceeding match, Tuesday, against Carmel – The Carmel coach said some very kind things about our team!
Nov. 6, 2009:
Harker’s girls tennis doubles teams faced off for first and second at the WBAL tournament at Menlo School. In the championship match Jenny Chen, Gr. 9 and Arthi Padmanabhan, Gr. 12, teamed up to defeat seniors Kelly Chen and Brittany Chu 6-4, 6-4. Kelly Chen and Chu were seeded second and they defeated Sacred Heart Prep to get into the championship match. Jenny Chen and Padmanabhan were unseeded and defeated first-seeded Menlo 6-3, 6-0 in the other semifinal. Jenny Chen and Padmanabhan are automatics for the CCS Individual Tournament, Nov. 23-24, and Kelly Chen and Chu will be nominated for an at-large spot and will likely get one, said Dan Molin, athletic director.
Harker’s first Homecoming at Davis Field on Nov. 13 was a fitting spectacle for all in attendance. The event got started at 4 p.m., with the junior varsity football team facing off against Berean Christian High School. Harker came up short in the hard-fought contest, losing 18-9.
Tailgate activities were in full swing by the time the varsity football teams began preparations for the big game. Students, parents, faculty and staff from all campuses enjoyed pizza, sandwiches, homemade snacks and cold drinks before and during the contest. Harker alumni were also in attendance, and could be seen socializing and catching up with friends and teachers at the alumni booth. A large bounce house and an inflatable slide were also set up to provide the younger students with some age-appropriate fun. Music was provided throughout the evening courtesy of the Harker Jazz Band, with Chris Florio directing. Transportation to and from the game went smoothly, due to the convenient and orderly shuttling service between the Saratoga and Blackford campuses.
Fans filled the stands to watch the varsity game between Harker and Berean Christian. Before the game, attendees were treated to an energetic routine by the varsity Dance Troupe, directed by Laura Rae, an enthusiastic performance by the lower school’s junior cheerleaders. The “Eaglets” also performed their traditional “fly by” through the stands. Prior to kick-off, a spectacular rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner”was sung by vocal groups from all three campuses and directed by upper school music teacher Catherine Snider.
During halftime, the finals of the upper school tug-of-war contest took place, with the seniors taking first and the juniors coming in second. More halftime entertainment was provided by the varsity cheerleaders, who put on an entertaining and acrobatic display of school spirit. Shortly afterward, the students of the 2009 homecoming court were escorted onto the field, where seniors Kevin Fu (who, as a player, was suited up for the game) and Mahum Jamal were crowned Homecoming King and Queen.
The crowd was thoroughly fired up for the second half, which saw great competitive spirit from both teams. Harker eventually lost the grueling contest 25-13.
Slideshow of Homecoming spirit rally in the afternoon:
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Harker paid homage to its fall senior athletes in late October and early November as seasons wound down. In October, water polo said goodbye to Michael Clifford and Stefan Schwartz from the boys’ team; and Kelsey Chung, Monisha Dilip, Sarah Jane Estrada, Melanie Herscher, Andrea Lincoln, Christina Ma and Shanthi Rajagopalan from the girls’ team. Girls’ tennis bid farewell to Kelly Chen, Brittany Chu, Vivian Huang, Jyoti Narayanswami and Arthi Padmanabhan.
In early November the volleyball team saluted Danielle Buis, Tiffany Kyi and Amy Rorabaugh, and the football squad honored Bogdan Botcharov, Patrick Campbell, Jose Costa, Cole Davis, Kyle Drummer, Kevin Fu, Won Hee Lee, Sean Morgan, Rohan Prakash, Mark Roh, Jacob Schwartz, Rohan Shah, Patrick Smith and Stephen Wang.
Cross country said adieu to Stefan Eckhardt, Vishesh Jain, Arjun Mody, Adam Perelman, Aadithya Prakash, Tara Hansen, Kelsey Hilbrich and Sarah Teplitsky, and the girls’ golf team celebrated Priya Banerjee, Sonya Huang and Jacqueline Son.
Tags: SportsGridiron great Jeff Garcia, former San Francisco 49er quarterback, came to Harker in late October, fulfilling a 2009 fashion show package purchased by Sean and Leslie Doherty (John, Gr. 9). The visit just happened to occur on John Doherty’s birthday. Garcia gave a pep talk to both J.V. and varsity football teams, then threw passes to J.V. team members. The gathering wrapped up with a barbeque and each member of the J.V. squad got an autographed football. “It was really fun for students and adults,” said Danielle Wood-Hammond of Harker’s advancement office, who joined the group to help cut cake for the crowd.
Tags: SportsSenior volleyball player Tanya Schmidt made Harker history in November as the first Harker student ever to sign a national letter of intent. Schmidt will attend Santa Clara University. We are fortunate to be able to continue to watch the outstanding middle blocker over the next four years as she plays for the Division 1 Broncos on a full athletic scholarship. Schmidt plans to enter the College of Arts and Sciences. Long-time Harker student Schmidt commented, “It’s a bonus that I will be close to home, so I will still be able to support Harker’s athletics and keep in touch with the community.”
Tags: SportsHarker sports fans can now grab a meal while attending their favorite sporting event. The Carley Café, a food trailer donated anonymously, will be on site for designated home games and events. Phyllis Carley was long known as Harker’s biggest sports fan, so when she passed away this year after 50 years working and volunteering for Harker, naming the trailer after her was an easy decision.
Tags: SportsHalfway through their seasons, all US sports teams are working hard, with some teams earning unprecedented success.
Boys Water Polo
Boys varsity water polo won in dramatic fashion on Oct. 1 at the Singh Aquatic Center by defeating Saratoga High School 9-8. Stefan Schwartz, Gr. 12, scored the go-ahead goal with five seconds remaining in the game! Although the team is 2-1 in tournament play, the league record is currently 1-3, with the Oct. 6 game results not available at press time.
Girls Water Polo
Thirty girls are playing water polo this year, necessitating the addition of a J.V. team. J.V. is 1-2 in league play. Cynthia Shwe, Gr.11, leads the J.V. team with 10 goals, all scored with her left hand. She is right-handed but is recovering from a wrist injury, so watch out when she is fully healed! Other leading scorers are freshmen Sonia Sidhu with five, Joy Li with four, and Rachel Yanovsky and Catherine Manea each with 1. Goalies Sierra Lincoln, Gr. 9 and Daniela Lapidous, Gr. 10, are working hard in the cage and have made many saves. Varsity coach Kandace Lopez reports, “These two are fierce!” She added, “Good things are sure to come from this group of girls as they show much improvement after each game they play.”
The varsity team is 2-2 in league play with the two losses being hard-fought and very close. Leading scorers are seniors Tina Ma and Sarah Jane Estrada with 31 and 10, respectively; Keri Clifford, Gr. 9, with seven; Kelsey Chung, Gr. 12 and Miranda Gorman, Gr. 11, with four each; Andrea Lincoln, Gr. 12, with two, and Amy Johnson, Gr. 9, Niva Bigler, Gr. 11 and Simy Bhagat, Gr. 10 with one apiece. Ma received recognition in the Mercury News for her high score total. Melanie Herscher, Gr. 12, the starting goalie, has also scored on the other team’s goal in the last seconds of the quarter. The competition is intense and the girls are relentless, so come on down to the home games and cheer on these girls.
Tennis
The girls varsity tennis team is working hard toward their goal of winning the league championship. Currently, they have a 7-0 overall record and are 2-0 in WBAL play. The team is lead by captain Arthi Padmanabhan, co-captains Kelly Chen and Brittany Chu, all Gr. 12. Vivian Huang, Gr. 12, also provides excellent leadership for the young team. Sophomores Jaya Chandra, Aranshi Kumar and Tanya Piskun join freshmen Jenny Chen, Daria Karakoulka and Chau Nguyen to provide a solid lineup. Coach Craig Pasqua expects the girls to be tested in October with matches against last year’s NorCal champion, Mitty, as well as against CCS powerhouses Sacred Heart, Menlo and Homestead. Pasqua comments, “The team works very hard together and is working to improve their competitive spirit.”
Rachel Gast, the J.V. girls tennis coach, reports that the team has a league record of 3-0-1, putting the team second in league behind Sacred Heart Prep. Gast states that captains Kaavya Cherukuri, Gr. 11, Supraja Swamy, Gr. 11 and Priyanka Sharma, Gr. 10, are very talented and that the team is enjoying the winning season as they become great tennis players and competitors. Gast praised juniors Lydia Demissachew, Swetha Repakula, Frankie Nagle, Swamy and Cherukuri. Both our number one singles player, Ishika Peravali, Gr. 10, and number two singles player, Nagle, are undefeated in league. Some freshmen to watch for this year are Emily Wang, Maya Sathaye, Anika Radiya-Dixit, Akarsha Gulukota, Marissa Moser and Isha Patnaik.
Cheer
This year’s varsity cheer squad has had a great season so far. Through summer and early fall practices, the team has added impressive tumbling moves and tosses to their routines. Coach Chris King credits the team’s dedication and the new folding cheer flooring with allowing these athletes to safely practice and learn the new skills that have already wowed audiences at football games.
The squad is made up of captains Amanda King, Gr. 11 and Saira Ahuja, Gr. 10; choreographer John Ammatuna, Gr. 11, and cheerleaders Sammi Werthen, Gr. 12, Alice Loofbourrow, Gr.11, Jessica Lin, Gr. 10 and Amy Wardenburg,Gr. 9.
Cross Country
Although illness gave the cross country team a rough start this season, the varsity girls finished fifth at the first meet, with Kelsey Hilbrich, Gr. 12, placing fifth overall with a time of 20:15. J.V. boys finished ninth and varsity boys finished tenth at that meet. At the Saratoga Invitational on Sept. 22, the girls were only able to field four runners due to illness, but they all had outstanding runs. The boys, while still facing sicknesses and recovering, were able to pull eighth place.
On Sept. 26 the varsity teams competed at the Stanford Invitational, where the girls took 14th out of 27 teams and the boys pulled off a 24th place out of 32. Both the lead girl and boy had incredible times on this course; Hilbrich ran a 19:49 placing 14th and Aadithya Prakash, Gr. 12, pushed out a 17:02.
The team performed extremely well at their first league meet. Hilbrich dominated the girls race as she crossed the finish line first, completing the 2.8 mile course with a time of 18:16. She was followed closely by three up-and-coming freshmen runners, Ragini Bhattacharya, Isabelle Connell and Adrienne Mendel, with April Luo and Anne West, both Gr. 11, followed in by Sara Teplitsky, Gr. 12. The girls team placed third overall. The boys varsity placed second as a team with Prakash leading the race until the end, when he placed third, and Stefan Eckhardt, Gr. 12, taking fourth, followed by Adam Perelman, Gr. 12, Proteek Biswas, Gr. 10, Charles Levine, Gr. 10, Tyler (Robert) Yeats, Gr. 9 and Arjun Mody, Gr. 12. The J.V. girls placed second and J.V. boys fourth.
The team is looking strong and is proving to show much talent and potential. While it is the middle of the season, this is just the beginning of the league meets, and Harker is proving to be a force within the league. October will provide the team an opportunity to display their talents, with much potential for a strong finish at the end of the season. The next two league meets are at Shoreline, on Thurs., Oct. 15 and Fri., Nov. 6. Come out and support our cross country Eagles!
Football
The Harker Eagles football program has made history already this season with a 4-0 record with wins against San Jose High (21-7), Yerba Buena (17-0), James Lick (14-7) and California School for the Deaf (19-6). Their 3-0 start was even mentioned in the Mercury News!
The boys faced their toughest competition so far when the J.V. and varsity squads traveled to James Lick HS on Sept. 25. The J.V. team lost a hard-fought contest 20-6, and things didn’t go well early in the game for the varsity team. The Comets drove the ball deep into Harker territory in the first quarter, then scored to take a 7-0 lead. This was the first time the Eagles had trailed another team this season.
The momentum shifted to Harker when defensive back Gautam Krishnamurthi, Gr. 11, stripped the ball from a James Lick receiver and sprinted 30 yards to the end zone. The kick by Jose Costa, Gr. 12, was then blocked by the Comets, and the quarter ended with Harker trailing James Lick 7-6. In the second quarter, Harker took control on offense and capped a scoring drive with a 21-yard pass from Rishi Bhatia,Gr. 11, to Kevin Fu, Gr. 12, for a touchdown. Bhatia passed to Fu again to make the score Harker 14, James Lick 7.
Lick threatened late in the fourth quarter, downing two successive punts on the Eagles’ one-yard line. The Eagles offensive line, seniors Mark Roh, Stephen Wang, Patrick Campbell, and juniors Justin Shamlou and Jerry Shteynberg successfully blocked the Comets’ attempts to push Harker into its own end zone. In the closing minutes, the offensive line took control by opening holes for quarterback Cole Davis, Gr. 12, who rushed for two key first downs to preserve the 14-7 win. This is the first time in school history that the Harker varsity football team has started a season with four consecutive wins. Head coach Karriem Stinson dedicated the game to Harker history teacher John Near, who recently passed away after a battle with cancer.
The remainder of the Eagles’ league schedule is loaded with very tough competition. Fortunately, many of those games will be at home on Davis Field, so come on out and join us!
Golf
Girls golf shot their best scores of the season against Sacred Heart Prep on Sept. 30, but couldn’t overcome a very talented Prep squad as they lost 185-159. They are now 2-2 overall, 2-2 WBAL.
Earlier victories include a 201-220 victory over Notre Dame San Jose where Sonya Huang, Gr. 12, picked up her first medal of the season with a 46. In that match-up, scores between each seeded player were closely contested, until Patricia Huang, Gr. 9, defeated her opponent by 15 strokes with a career best 47. Rounding out the team scores were Karen Wang, Gr. 10, with 49, Katie Marcus Reker, Gr. 10, scoring 59, Katie Liang, Gr. 11, with 60 and Jessica Son, Gr, 9, with 61. Coach Ie-Chen Cheng is stressing the importance of putting to the girls, and the efforts are helping, as the girls are showing steady improvement.
In an earlier loss against Menlo 169-200, Sonya Huang paced the Eagles with a 41. Coach Cheng was proud of the girls’ efforts, stating that the Menlo score was “probably one of their best scores in history.” She added, “Menlo’s 169 would be hard to beat for any top high school teams. With that said, I am very proud of the way all the girls fought. We were off today, but we didn’t give up, and that’s what’s important. Even when Menlo were bombing their drives, the girls did not let that intimidate us.”
The team opened the season with a 210-240 victory over Mercy Burlingame. Despite the high heat, narrow fairways and playing short-handed, the win called for a complete team effort. Sonya Huang paced the Eagles with a 47, followed by Wang with 51, Marcus Reker with 55 and Patricia Huang with 57.
Volleyball
The varsity team is off to a 5-6 start heading into league play. After graduating five seniors last year, the team is very young and eager to get back to CCS. This year there are just two seniors, Danielle Buis and Tiffany Kyi. According to assistant coach Michael Leonard, the girls continue to improve and create team chemistry each day. They look to build on their current success so far as they enter WBAL league play.
The J.V. girls volleyball players have improved tremendously so far this season, returning four sophomores while adding seven freshmen. Four girls are playing positions they’ve never played before and the team continues to build chemistry. According to coach Pete Yee, the team has a solid sideout game, plays defense well and serves tough. The team was 2-4 in preseason play, and finished 17th out of 31 teams at the Milpitas/Independence J.V. tournament, taking the red championship. The girls took 10th out of 16 teams at the Los Gatos J.V. tournament, placing second in the silver bracket.
Tags: In the News, SportsAlumnus Taylor Martin ’09 spent part of his summer in Italy as a member of a team of baseball players assembled from around the country to compete against other teams from around the world. Martin, whose brother Jason ’07 plays baseball for San Jose State University, was praised by his coach, Matt Vince, for his performance on the international stage. “I have been to Italy three times, and this year’s group was the best I have had the pleasure to work with and you were a big reason our trip was such a success,” Vince said in an e-mail, adding that Martin led in offense along with another teammate, “and when combined with your base-running and defensive play, it would be very hard not to name you the Most Valuable Player for this year’s tour.” The Martin boys are the sons of Harker’s executive chef, Steve Martin.
Tags: SportsLower and middle school sports teams were busy in September; football, cross country, softball and swimming have kept our after-school athletes literally on the run! Take a look at the slide show at the bottom of this post to see for yourself.
Football
The Gr. 8 varsity A flag football team completed a very successful month by placing third in the annual eight-team Harker Flag Football tournament. Quarterback Brian Bither and running back Kevin Moss provided many of the offensive fireworks as the Eagles swept three games in pool play to earn a spot in the semifinals. The duo combined for four of the team’s six touchdowns in those three games, while touchdowns by wide receiver John Hughes and running back Arjun Goyal completed the scoring. The wins earned the Eagles a semifinal showdown with St. Joseph’s. Ian Richardson and Adarsh Battu led a strong defensive effort as the two teams battled to a 6-6 tie before St. Joe’s advanced to the finals after winning the California tiebreaker. Harker then earned third place with a 14-0 win over Menlo’s varsity B team. The 4-0-1 tournament record left the Eagles at 8-1-1 overall for the year, 3-1 and in second place in West Bay Athletic League play.
Harker opened the season and league play with wins over Pinewood and Crystal Springs Upland before dropping a tough 28-19 decision to Menlo. The Eagles rebounded from that loss to defeat King’s Academy 15-13, rallying from a 13-6 halftime deficit on a touchdown by Battu and a late safety by Richardson. The following day Harker rolled over Valley Christian 25-7. In addition to those mentioned above, coach Mike Delfino commends the strong play of Sean Youn, Sean Knudsen, and Andrew Zhu. The team has two remaining home games, Oct. 6 and Oct. 13.
The Gr. 7 varsity B football team has a record of 5-1 in season play, along with a tie for fifth place at the Harker tournament. The record does not reveal that the team had given up only four touchdowns and one extra point in the first few games. Coach Justin Sullivan credits the entire team with tenacious defense, and reports that the offense is starting to move the ball more each game as the season progresses. The team beat Valley Christian 19-0 on Sept. 24, and hopes to beat them again on Wed., Oct. 7 at Valley. Come out and cheer on the boys!
The Gr. 6 J.V. A football team has a 4-2 record, with impressive wins against Crystal Springs Uplands (41-0) and Priory (20-13). The team has two home games left on Oct. 6 and 14.
Fifth graders on the J.V. B team have played their way to a 2-1 record, with wins against Woodland (39–19) and St. Matthews (15-13). Remaining home games will be against St. Joseph’s on Oct. 6, and Keys on both Oct. 13 and 15.
Coaches Jim McGovern and Tomas Thompson report that the Gr. 4 boys are off to a solid start with flag football. The players are learning positions, pass patterns, the intricacies of hand-offs, listening for the snap count and pulling flags. Teamwork and fair play have been emphasized for the beginning of the season and the boys are extremely enthusiastic out on the field each day. Standout performances so far have included Michael Kwan and Brando Pakel both showing exemplary leadership early on in the season. Positive attitude and overall great effort have been shown by Albert Drewke, Rohit Shah and Maxwell Woerhrmann.
Cross Country
At the Sept. 24 meet at JD Morgan Park, the MS cross country runners continued to perform well. Calvin Kocienda, Gr. 6, took ninth for the boys and Alexandra Dellar, Gr. 6, placed third. Alyssa Amick came in third for the Gr. 7 girls, and Claudia Tischler and Nicholas Navarro, both Gr. 8, took fourth and sixth, respectively. At the meet against C.T. English on Sept. 30, Dellar and Kocienda earned fourth and tenth; Amick again came in third, with Corey Gonzales, Gr. 7, taking sixth. Tischler and Navarro both took fourth.
Softball
The MS varsity A softball team started off strong with a 13-4 victory over Priory. According to coach Raul Rios, “We had strong pitching from Regan Heslop, Gr. 6, who had eight strike outs and was relieved by Marita Del Alto, Gr. 6, who shut down the Priory offense.” The team played great defense, allowing only four hits. Laura Thacker, Gr. 8, “was like a wall behind the plate for us this game.” Hits from Safia Khouja, Gr. 7, Sarah Bean, Gr. 7, Heslop, Thacker and a long ball smash double by Nithya Vemireddy, Gr. 8, contributed to the high score of this win. They are now 2-2, with losses to King’s Academy and Valley Christian and an additional win against Castilleja 7-6.
The LS J.V. B softball team, coached by Casey Henderson and Michelle Hopkins, is undefeated with three wins, beating Woodland 17-3, St. Josephs 10-9, and Pinewood 9-8. Henderson reports, “The girls are still learning but we are hoping to continue the advancement of their technique and enthusiasm. Special thanks to all of the wonderful and supportive parents!”
Swimming
The LS and MS swim teams have had another great turn out this year with over 60 MS swimmers and 65 LS swimmers participating. The Gr. 6-8 girls had their first meet on Sept. 25 at Castilleja, and all the swimmers are gearing up for their meet Oct. 7 at the Bucknall campus. Come out and cheer on the team at the only home meet of the season!
Watch for more sports as the reports come in!
Tags: Sports