After another dominating season for the boys golf team, Coach Ie-Chen Cheng was named the NorCal Boys Golf Coach of the Year by the California Coaches Association. “This award is truly a reflection of the entire team, from the JV players to varsity to the amazing coaches we have on staff with Tom, Tyler and Don, and not to mention the entire support squad from transportation to administrative support and of course our athletic director, Dan Molin,” said Cheng. “It really does take an entire ‘village’ to allow the boys to do what they do.”
This year, the boys team was the WBAL league champs, the WBAL tournament champs, the CCS regional champs, the CIF NorCal champs and finished fifth at the state finals. It was quite an amazing year for the program that Coach Cheng took over in 2011. “I am super fortunate to have such incredible, dedicated and selfless golfers come through the program,” continued Cheng. “It really is all about the student athletes buying into the team concept, and believing in achieving something bigger than oneself.”
The Harker boys golf team took the Northern California Championship yesterday, driving its way into the Harker record books as the first boys varsity team to win a championship since Harker opened its high school in 1998. Congrats to Daulet Tuleubayev, grade 11; Ryan Vaughan, grade 12; Sandip Nirmel, grade 12; Victor Shin, grade 11; Jin Kim, grade 11; Avi Khemani, grade 12; and coaches Ie-Chen Cheng and Tom Vaughan!
“This has been an outstanding year athletically,” said Dan Molin, upper school athletic director, “capped off by our boys golf team earning the school’s first boys Northern California Championship. The boys have worked extremely hard and are all about team and supporting each other. Coach Ie-Chen has had a plan and philosophy, which has been paying dividends as shown by four straight league championships, two CCS second place finishes and now a NorCal title. From the golfers to coaches, they’ve earned every bit of their success.”
Cheng was thrilled by the boys’ performance but saw the team’s potential early on. “To be honest, I felt very confident entering this postseason,” Cheng said. “In the beginning of the season, I challenged the team to shoot even par as a team for every one of our matches and tournaments. I told them if we can do this, we can win NorCals. That was our goal – win the NorCal Championship – and that is exactly what happened. We struggled throughout the season to put together a round where each shot their best.
“The team started the season well, winning their first tournament at Lone Tree” and followed with some decent scores, Cheng continued, “but we certainly weren’t playing our collective best. Our first sign of impending success was against Menlo at their home course. They played their best, and we went 2-under as a team; that put a lot of life back into the team,” she said.
Cheng went on to put together a very strategic schedule that tested the boys in many different environments. They played as many tournaments as possible, going to Las Vegas, Palm Springs, the East Bay and Marin, playing against the best possible competition she could find. “I knew this would help us in the long run, especially during the postseason,” Cheng added. “We talked consistently about getting each other’s backs and playing for each other.”
Cheng looked at the postseason as five stages. “We won the first stage by winning our league tournament,” she said. “Then, we went on to win the CCS Regionals, a first for us. Then we came in second for the second straight year at the CCS Championships. The fourth phase was winning NorCals.
“We were 2-over as a team at the turn. We had a long wait to start the back nine, and I was concerned it would ruin our rhythm,” she continued. “But we made sure the boys stayed loose, refueled to prepare for a very hot afternoon and back nine. They responded. I know we were the most prepared team. So yes, I had a quiet confidence we could pull this out. However, I think most teams there were surprised we played this well. The boys were absolutely phenomenal yesterday on the biggest stage.
“And now this is the final step for us, State Championships. Historically, Southern California has dominated the golf championships, but we’re going to give it our best shot,” Cheng stated.
Naturally, the boys were excited. “I realized we had a good chance to win when I came in with a good score and heard from the coaches that my teammates were playing well,” said Nirmel. “I have a ton of confidence in my teammates, because they always play hard and are strong competitors. However, in golf, you never really know who will be the winner until all the players have completed their rounds, and so we all cheered on our teammates as they came in on the final hole; after all, every shot counts!
“When I saw that we had won the tournament, I felt proud of all the work we had put in this year,” he continued. “Winning NorCals is no easy feat. We celebrated the occasion by high-fiving each other and taking a few pictures by the 18th green.”
As a graduate, Nirmel is going out on a high note. “It sure feels satisfying to clinch the NorCal Championship. This is what we’ve worked so hard for these past four years, slowly inching closer to the top of the leaderboard each and every time. Winning is nice, but what I’ve really enjoyed is hanging out with my team – a genuine, classy group of awesome people.”
Congratulations to Elise Mayer, grade 10, who was among the top female lacrosse players in the Bay Area to be invited to try out for the National Lacrosse Team. After a grueling tryout, Mayer made Team No. 1 and will represent NorCal in a national competition at Yale over Memorial Day weekend. Great job Elise!
Boys Golf
It was business as usual for the boys golf team last week as it picked up two more wins. The Eagles started the week shooting their best score in Harker history with a 2-under-par performance as a team, defeating Menlo 178-187. Jin Kim, grade 11, led the team as he medaled with a 34. Later in the week, the boys defeated Crystal Springs Uplands 178-207. The Eagles shot the top four scores, with Ryan Vaughan, grade 12, leading the way with a 33, followed closely by Avi Khemani, grade 12, shooting a 34. Today, the Eagles take on Sacred Heart Prep and Thursday they face off with The King’s Academy.
Boys Tennis
The boys tennis team stayed red hot as it swept Priory and Pinewood last week, both 7-0, and have now won seven matches in a row. Today and tomorrow, the Eagles will be playing in CCS qualifying matches at Menlo, with CCS starting next week.
Lacrosse
It was a very good week for the lacrosse team as it picked up three wins to bring the season record to 8-6. The girls started the week with an 18-10 win over Salinas, followed by a hard-fought 13-12 win over Carlmont, with a 20-10 victory over Stevenson to finish the week. This week, the Eagles host Notre Dame Belmont on Tuesday and travel to Sacred Heart Cathedral on Friday.
Softball
Members of the softball team flexed their muscles as they put up big numbers in two wins last week. In a 12-1 win over Fremont early in the week, Kristin LeBlanc, grade 11, had three hits and three RBIs, with Grace Park, grade 12, and Taylor Lam, grade 10, also driving in two runs each. Later in the week, it was LeBlanc making noise on the mound as she no-hit Castilleja in a 15-0 mercy rule game. Park led the offense with three RBIs. This week, the Eagles travel to Cupertino on Tuesday and host Notre Dame San Jose on Thursday.
Track and Field
The Eagles took their largest team ever to face off with some of the best in CCS track last week at the CCS Top 8 at Los Gatos. The girls 400-meter relay team of Grace Koonmen, grade 11, Gloria Guo, grade 11, Nikki Solanki, grade 9, and Alycia Cary, grade 10, broke their school record for the third time this season, lowering their mark by .5 seconds. Also, Anthony Contreras, grade 11, ran a personal best in the 400. Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Sacred Heart Prep for WBAL meet No. 3.
Boys Volleyball
The boys volleyball team dropped a 3-2 match with Homestead last week to bring its season record to 14-10 on the season. This week, the Eagles take on Saratoga at home on Wednesday and travel to Cupertino on Friday.
Baseball
The baseball team went 1-2 last week, dropping 9-0 and 6-4 games to Crystal Springs Uplands, before defeating San Jose 13-2 later in the week. The 8-8 Eagles play home and away on Tuesday and Thursday versus El Camino before traveling to North Valley Baptist on Friday.
Swim
The swim team was off last week.It will take on The King’s Academy this Wednesday at Singh Aquatic Center.
What a week it was for the boys water polo team! The Eagles soared through their first two games of the SCVAL-El Camino Tournament, picking up a 20-4 win over Milpitas and a 14-5 win over Fremont, setting up a championship match against league rival Lynbrook. The Vikings had defeated Harker three times during the year, but the Eagles came through with a 12-11 overtime win in the title match. The victory gave the Eagles the co-league championship and a berth to CCS, both firsts for the Harker boys water polo program. On Tuesday, the Eagles faced off with Half Moon Bay in the opening round of CCS, but fell 14-5 to end their season. Congrats on a great run this year!
Girls Varsity Volleyball
The Eagles were defeated last week 3-0 by Notre Dame Belmont, but finished their season on a high note with a 3-1 victory over Notre Dame San Jose on Senior Night. Harker finished the season with a 7-18 record.
Girls Golf
Last week, the girls golf team qualified for CCS with a strong second place finish at the WBAL tournament, in which Katherine Zhu, grade 11, won her third straight individual league title. CCS was held on Tuesday and Zhu was the top Harker golfer, finishing in 15th place out of 99 competitors, with Katelyn Vo, grade 9, finishing 28th. As a team, the Eagles finished ninth out of 13th teams competing at CCS. Congrats on a great year!
Girls Tennis
Last week, the girls tennis team had 6-1 victories over Presentation and Pinewood. Earlier this week, Rachel Broweleit, grade 9, Srivani Vegesna, grade 9, and the doubles teams of Lizzy Schick, grade 11, and Gina Partridge, grade 9, and Connie Miao, grade 12, and Kathleen Cheng, grade 11, represented Harker at the WBAL tournament. Broweleit played very well and finished in fourth place in the singles bracket. Schick and Partridge took second in doubles. The Eagles play their final regular season match of the year on Thursday against Sacred Heart Prep. The girls will find out this weekend if they will make CCS as a wildcard.
Girls Water Polo
The girls water polo team lost in its first two rounds of the SCVAL tournament last week, 7-1 to Saratoga and 10-2 to Lynbrook. But the season ended on a high note with a 7-1 victory over Milpitas. The girls finished 7-18 on the season.
Football
The football team picked up a victory by forfeit versus Emery Friday. The Eagles are back in action this Saturday for Homecoming as they take on Stellar Prep.
Cross Country
The cross country team takes on the rest of the league in the WBAL championships this Friday at Crystal Springs Cross Country Park.
Eight Harker golfers competed against 44 other middle schoolers from seven schools in the WBAL Tournament at Los Lagos Golf Course on Monday. The Eagles were victorious, beating the second place school by seven strokes. Bowen Yin, grade 8, (far left in group photo) was the top golfer. Competing for Harker were (l to r) Bowen Yin, grade 8, Athreya Daniel, grade 6, Freddy Hoch, grade 6, Elvin Chen, grade 8, Marcus Page, grade 7, Aditya Tadimeti, grade 8, Natalie Vo, grade 8, and Olivia Guo, grade 8. Harker’s middle school golf team is on a roll, having also won the spring WBAL tournament. Go Eagles!
The fall sports season was a huge success! We had more than 300 participants in grades 4-8.
We are very appreciative of all the parental support we received this season. So many parents stepped up to provide snacks and support for the coaches. We also appreciate the hard work and dedication of our athletes and coaches.
Here are the final West Bay Athletic League standings, team records and award winners for the lower and middle school fall sports teams.
Varsity A (Grade 8) Flag Football: Finished in fourth place in the WBAL at 2-6, 6-8 overall. Team awards went to Srinath Somasundaram (MVP), Nicholas Coulter and Marcus Anderson (Eagle), and Rosh Roy (Coaches).
Varsity B (Grade 7) Flag Football: Finished in fourth place in the WBAL at 3-3, 4-7-1 overall. Team awards went to Richard Amarillas (Eagle), Dezi Johnson and Marcus Page (Coaches).
Junior Varsity A (Grade 6) Flag Football: Finished in third place in the WBAL at 2-4, 4-4 overall. Team awards went to Rohan Gorti (MVP), Drake Piscione (Eagle), and Dylan Parikh and Tyler Beede (Coaches).
Junior Varsity B (Grade 5) Flag Football: Finished in fifth place in the WBAL at 1-4. Team awards went to Om Tandon (MVP), Kai Stinson (Eagle) and Vivek Nayyar (Coaches).
Intramural (Grade 4) Flag Football: Team awards went Liam Jeffers (MVP), Nathan Wilcox (Eagle) and Ori Muramatsu (Coaches).
Varsity A (Grade 7-8) Softball: Finished in a three-way tie for first place in the WBAL at 5-1, 6-1 overall. Team awards went to Alaina Valdez, grade 8, and Hunter Hernandez, grade 8 (MVP) and Renee Page, grade 8 (Eagle).
Junior Varsity A (Grade 4-6) Softball: Finished in first place in the WBAL at 5-1, 6-1 overall. Team awards went to Saira Ramakrishnan, grade 4 (MVP), Katelyn Abellera, grade 6 (Eagle) and Ariya Reddy, grade 6 (Coaches).
Intramural (Grade 4-5) Softball: Team awards went to Charlotte Folk, grade 4 (MVP), Elisa Grothe, grade 4 (Eagle) and Cecilia Yang, grade 5 (Coaches).
MS cross country: Team awards went to Anna Weirich, grade 8 (Top Runner), Arya Maheshwari, grade 8, and Bayden Yazalina, grade 8 (MVP), Olivia Guo, grade 8, and James Pflaging, grade 8 (Eagle) and Arianna Martinelli, grade 6, and Clarice Wang, grade 7 (Coaches).
First place finishers:
Grade 7-8 boys team (Seal Point Meet): Arya Maheshwari, Bayden Yazalina, Ray Wang and James Pflaging, all grade 8; and Saurav Tewari, grade 7,
Grade 8 boys team (Hallmark Park Meet): Arya Maheshwari, Bayden Yazalina, Ray Wang and James Pflaging, all grade 8.
Anna Weirich, grade 8 (Rolling Hills Meet, John D. Morgan Park Meet).
Grade 7-8 boys team (Harker Meet): Arya Maheshwari, Bayden Yazalina, Ray Wang and James Pflaging, all grade 8; and Dawson Chen, grade 7.
Grade 6 boys team (Harker Meet): Rupert Chen, Siddharth Selvakumar, Markus Zhang, Bora Koyuncuoglu.
Rupert Chen, grade 6 (Harker Meet).
LS swimming: Team awards went to Sriteja Kataru, grade 4, and Keren Eisenberg, grade 4 (Eagle), and Andrew Au, grade 5, and Shayla He, grade 5 (Coaches).
MS swimming: Team awards went to William Zhao, grade 7, and Chloe Affaki, grade 8 (Eagle) and Evan Bourke, grade 8, and Simren Kochhar, grade 7 (Coaches).
Congratulations to the boys water polo, girls volleyball and boys cross country teams for receiving 2016-17 fall season Scholastic Team Awards. Each season, the CCS recognizes the five varsity teams from each sport with the highest collective GPAs. Boys water polo (3.877 GPA) and girls volleyball (3.833) earned the top honors in their sports, while boys cross country (3.878) had the second-highest GPA in their sport. Check out the full list of honored schools here:
Niki Iyer, grade 12, was recently named an Athlete of the Week by The Mercury News for her amazing performance at the second WBAL meet held last week. Iyer set the fastest girls time of the season among CCS runners at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale, finishing the 3.1 mile course in 18 minutes, 9 seconds. Her time was also the fifth-fastest ever on the course. Next up for Iyer and the cross country team is the WBAL Championships on Nov. 4 at Crystal Springs Cross Country Park.
The boys volleyball and girls lacrosse teams will welcome new head coaches this spring as Alex Jones and Alyssa Dunlap take over the reins in their respective sports.
Jones will take over boys varsity volleyball; last year he was an assistant coach. He will continue as the varsity girls assistant coach. Jones played Division 1 volleyball at Cal State Northridge and the University of Hawaii, as well as for the USA Volleyball Junior National Beach Team.
On the coaching side, Jones led the bronze medal winning team at the Junior National Championships, as well as the boys and girls championship teams at the Beach High Performance Championships.
“My expectation for the boys team this season is to compete with every team in our league,” stated Jones. “This year our league schedule is much tougher and it will be great for the boys to play against high-level teams.”
Upper school athletic director Dan Molin is delighted to have Jones stepping up. “I’ve been involved with volleyball most of my life and I can say with confidence that Alex is among the finest young coaches I’ve seen,” he said.
Dunlap also brings an impressive resume to her new role as head coach for girls lacrosse. She led her high school lacrosse team to three straight Pennsylvania State Championships and was a two-time first team High School All-American. She was then a four-year starter at Vanderbilt University where she was an All-West Region selection and named to the All-American Lacrosse Conference first team.
More recently, Dunlap coached at Stanford University and Treelax Lacrosse Club. “I want to give these girls a really good fundamental foundation,” stated Dunlap, “and every game we should see some progress.”
“Alyssa has a wealth of experience already at such a young age,” stated Molin. “She has a contagious energy and enthusiasm that will generate more of a buzz around girls lacrosse.“
Boys volleyball opens its season at home against Monterey on Feb. 28, and girls lacrosse opens at home against Mitty on March 10. The spring season is still a ways off, but the excitement is already high for the two newest Harker head coaches. Go Eagles!
Our very own Ted Ujifusa was recently named the 2016 CCS Boys Water Polo Honor Coach. CCS honors one coach per sport each year for “his/her contribution to that sport at the interscholastic level,” according to the CCS website. Coaches are selected based on their coaching accomplishments, contributions to their school and community, and inspiration to others, among other criteria.
Coach Ujifusa will receive his award at the CCS Water Polo Championships on Nov. 12 at Independence High School. The Harker boys water polo team was the CIF State Academic Team Champion for the 2015-16 year and is currently 11-4 under Coach Ujifusa. Congratulations, Coach! Go Eagles!