Cross country stars Corey Gonzales, grade 11, and Niki Iyer, grade 9, sailed to victories this past week, with each defeating last year’s league champions for their victories. Iyer won plaudits in the San Jose Mercury News for her previous wire-to-wire varsity win at the Serra Invitational at Crystal Springs. The junior varsity football team remains undefeated after a blowout win, and girls golf is preparing for their CCS qualifier this Wednesday. Here are the scores and results from mid-October:
Cross Country:
HUGE WINS FOR GONZALES AND IYER
At Bayland Park last week, Gonzales defeated the previous year’s league champion by 10 seconds, running the fifth best mark in the 5 km course’s history for the win. Gonzales raced to victory by cruising through the early portion of the race, then kicking it into high gear to sprint past the only other runner who had stayed with the leaders on his way to a final time of 16:15.
Iyer continued her hot streak, setting a course record for the 5 km by besting last year’s league champion and winning by a whole minute. Claudia Tischler, grade 12, finished sixth in the varsity race. The runners will compete in the league finals on Thursday.
FRESHMAN PHENOM MAKES THE MERC
Iyer made the San Jose Mercury News just a couple of weeks into her inaugural high school season. She was featured in “After School,” The Merc’s blog for high school sports in Santa Clara and San Mateo, after winning the varsity girls individual race title at the Serra Invitational at Crystal Springs. Despite being “super, super nervous” in anticipation of the race, Iyer leapt out ahead of the pack and lead wire-to-wire, never trailing. Her time was the fifth fastest to-date of all CCS runners this year and the 10th best for any freshman ever in the course’s 70 years of existence. As the San Jose Mercury News’ Darren Sabedra reported, Iyer was simply aiming to finish in the top 10 with a time under 19 minutes. Instead, she finished first with a time of 18 minutes and 3 seconds, trumping the old Harker mark by 50 seconds in a performance that Harker athletic director Dan Molin called “truly elite level.” “Oh man, it was amazing,” Iyer was quoted as saying. “I didn’t expect this at all.”
This fall, Julia Amick, grade 7, took first place in the grade 7/8 division at the WBAL Middle School Cross Country Meet at Hallmark Park, and will complement Iyer’s efforts next year.
Tennis
GIRLS STAY AT .500
The girls’ record in league play now stands at an even 3-3 after a 4-3 loss to Sacred Heart and a 6-1 victory over Notre Dame San Jose last week. This week, the girls go on to play Menlo and Crystal Springs. Their match against Crystal Springs this Thursday is the team’s senior day. A ceremony will follow the game at 5:30 p.m.
Golf
GIRLS DROP ONE PRIOR TO CCS QUALIFIER
Last Tuesday, Lady Eagle golfers dropped their match against Castilleja, despite senior Kristine Lin’s 36. Congratulate Lin and her fellow senior Connie Li on their years at Harker, and wish the team well this Wednesday. The CCS qualifier is today, so wish them luck!
Volleyball
AFTER 1-1 WEEK, GIRLS NOW OWN 10-7 RECORD
Girls volleyball lost to Presentation on Monday in straight games, then bounced back with a three-set victory against Mercy San Francisco on Friday. After the split week, their record now stands at 10-7 overall. The girls will hit this road this week to play Sacred Heart Prep and Castilleja.
Water Polo
BOTH TEAMS LOSE TO FREMONT
Both the girls and boys water polo teams lost to Fremont last week, with the girls dropping their game by a margin of 7-1 and the boys losing 8-6. For the girls, Anushka Das, grade 11, was the only scorer, while Helene Dworak, grade 10, had eight saves in goal. For the gents, Billy Bloomquist, grade 11, led the team with four goals, and Eric Holt, grade 11, added another two. The water polo teams will host Wilcox this Thursday at the Singh Aquatic Center at Harker.
Football
JV STAYS UNDEFEATED
The junior varsity football squad crushed Lynbrook on Friday 34-8 to remain undefeated through three games. This Saturday, they’ll look to extend that streak to four against North Monterey County High School.
Coming Up:
On Thursday, varsity cross country runs in league finals at Crystal Springs Cross Country Park. Girls varsity tennis plays their senior day against Crystal Springs at 3:30 p.m. at the Decathlon Club, followed by a ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Both girls volleyball teams play Castilleja School, with junior varsity playing at 4:30 and varsity playing at 5:45 p.m. All three water polo are also in action against Wilcox High School at the Singh Aquatic Center. The girls varsity water polo team leads off at 4:30 p.m., followed by the junior varsity boys at 5:45 p.m., and the boys varsity water polo team at 6:45 p.m. All teams are off on Friday, but Saturday, junior varsity football has an away game at North Monterey County High School.
Already in the 2013-14 school year, Harker records are being shattered. For the second straight week, Harker’s girls golf team posted the top score in Harker history. Over at cross country, a freshman runner set a new school record by 50 full seconds. Varsity football stomped Livermore Valley in a blowout, while varsity tennis came away from the Los Altos Tournament with a silver division championship and all three water polo teams swept Cupertino. These are the scores and updates for Harker athletics from a busy second week of October:
Golf:
GIRLS GOLF CONTINUES TO ROLL
Two weeks ago, the girls golf team shot a school record in a 199-211 loss to Sacred Heart Prep at Los Lagos. This past week, they did one better, shooting a 210 to set a new record and defeat Notre Dame San Jose by the score of 210-255.
In the match, senior Kristine Lin earned her eighth straight medalist honors, shooting a 2 over par 36. On the fourth hole of the game, a 236-yard par 4, Lin drove the green and then two-putted for a birdie.
In driving the team to its best overall score in history, a number of Harker athletes also reached personal bests. Daphne Liang, grade 10, tied her career best with a 5 over par 39, while fellow sophomore Ashley Zhong did the same with a 7 over par 41. Connie Li, a senior also tied her personal best, shooting a 12 over par 46.
The girls’ work is winning high praises from their leadership. “This is by far the most hard-working and most improved team I have ever coached,” writes coach Ie-Chen Cheng. “Literally, each team member shot her personal best scores in the past weeks.”
The Eagles travel next to face Menlo today and then return home to host Castilleja on Tuesday at Los Lagos. Tuesday will be their senior night. The celebration will cap off a stellar season of record-setting results and personal growth. “The time they put in over the summer and in the past couple of months [is] paying great dividends,” notes Cheng. “We are so proud of what we have accomplished so far.”
After their new victories over Mercy-Burlingame and Notre Dame, the girls are now in sole possession of third place in the league with a 5-3 record. Come support the team on their senior day this Tuesday at Los Lagos Golf Course!
HARKER ALUM PLAYS FOR STANFORD
Maverick McNealy ’13 has made the traveling squad at Stanford golf. With the team, “Mav” traveled to play a tournament at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, the site of the 2017 U.S. Open, and came in 25th place as Stanford secured a victory. All told, Stanford shot a 13 under 851, defeating runner-up UCLA by eight strokes and besting third-place SMU and Oklahoma by a dozen. Fourteen teams in total competed in the tournament. McNealy shot a 72 in the first round, a 75 in the second, and a 73 in the third. His first-round 72 went for par. Stanford plays again on Oct. 18-20, this time at the Golf Club of Georgia in Alpharetta, Ga.
Cross Country:
“TRULY ELITE LEVEL”
Niki Iyer is a freshman. She just won the varsity girls individual race title at the Crystal Springs Invitational this past Saturday.
“This is truly elite level,” wrote Dan Molin, Harker’s athletic director in an email announcing Iyer’s accomplishment to the school.
Iyer never trailed in the race, leaping out ahead of the pack and leading wire-to-wire. Her time set a new school record by 50 full seconds. That time was the fifth fastest of all CCS runners this year, and the 10-best ever for a freshman in the course’s 70 years of existence.
Junior Corey Gonzales had a great week as well, running in the championship varsity boys race and placing eighth against the top runners in all of California.
Both Gonzales and Iyer will run this Thursday at the Baylands Park cross country course. They will be looking for their second win in a row over WBAL league runners.
Football:
TRIPLE THREAT LEADS HARKER TO BLOWOUT WIN
Senior Kevin Moss led the Eagles on offense, defense and special teams in a blowout 58-16 victory against the Livermore Valley Preparatory Hawks. Moss ran for two touchdowns on offense, returned an interception for a touchdown, led the team with three solo sacks, and ran a kickoff back for his fourth touchdown of the game. Quarterback Keanu Forbes, grade 11, had a huge game as well, throwing two touchdown passes to wide receiver Sid Krishnamurthi, grade 11, and one to sophomore running back Jonathan Keller. Forbes ran for a touchdown as well on a 36-yard sprint in the fourth quarter. All told, Harker recorded 387 yards of total offense on 42 plays from scrimmage while a stingy and ferocious defense held the opposing Hawks to just 180 yards on 39 plays. While both teams were able to move the ball, Harker’s defense had Livermore Valley moving in both directions, sending them backwards on eight – count ‘em, eight – timely quarterback sacks. Harker kicker Alyssa Amick, grade 11, added six extra points after touchdowns. The junior varsity squad has the next game on the schedule, taking on Lynbrook this Friday.
Volleyball:
VARSITY CAPS BUSY WEEK WITH TOURNAMENT WIN
The varsity girls volleyball team had a busy week, defeating Woodside Priory in straight sets, losing to number 2-ranked Menlo, and then going 3-1 at the Los Altos Tournament to earn the silver division championship. Varsity’s record now stands at 9-6 overall and an even 2-2 in league going into tonight’s home matchup against Presentation. The junior varsity team, meanwhile, owns an exceptional 16-5 record and, after victories against Priory and Menlo this week, is looking strong in league play.
Water Polo:
THREE TEAMS SCORE VICTORIES AGAINST CUPERTINO
Three of Harker’s water polo teams faced off against Cupertino last Tuesday, and all three came away with big victories. The boys varsity team won 12-5. The boys junior varsity team won 8-4. And, the girls varsity team won 9-5. This Tuesday, the teams play again, with the boys hosting Saratoga and the girls hosting Mountain View. On Thursday, both teams will host Fremont at the Singh Aquatic Center.
Tennis:
AFTER 1-1 WEEK, GIRLS TENNIS STANDS AT 6-3 OVERALL
The girls tennis team crushed Crystal Springs by a margin of 6-1 last Tuesday, then lost a heartbreaking game to Castilleja, dropping their record to a still-sterling 6-3 overall. The girls will attempt to rebound against Notre Dame and Sacred Heart this week.
Coming Up This Week:
This Monday, the girls golf team heads to the Palo Alto Municipal Golf Course to face off against the Menlo School in a league match, beginning at 3 p.m. Over at Blackford, the junior varsity girls volleyball team will take on Presentation High School at 4:30 p.m., followed by the varsity girls’ game against Presentation at 5:45 p.m.
On Tuesday, the varsity girls tennis team will head to the Decathlon Club in Santa Clara for a league home game against Notre Dame High School – San Jose. At Los Lagos Golf Course in San Jose, the girls golf team will play a “home” game of their own against Castilleja. The freshman girls volleyball team will take on Milpitas High School at Harker’s Saratoga campus at 4:15 p.m. Just 15 minutes later on that same campus, the varsity boys water polo team will face off against Saratoga High School in a league game. The JV boys water polo team will follow them at 5:45 p.m. with a game of their own against Saratoga. Out in Mountain View, the varsity girls water polo team plays Mountain View High School at 6:45 p.m.
All of Harker’s athletic teams are off on Wednesday. Then, on Thursday, varsity cross country travels to Baylands Park in Sunnyvale for a WBAL league meet, beginning at 3 p.m. At 3:30 p.m, the varsity girls tennis team starts a match at Sacred Heart Preparatory School in Atherton. Back on Harker’s Saratoga campus, the varsity girls water polo team plays Fremont High School at 4:30 p.m. The junior varsity boys water polo team will follow that up with a game of their own against Fremont High School at 5:45 p.m, to be followed by the varsity boys water polo team’s night game at 6:45 p.m. Up in San Francisco, the junior varsity girls volleyball team will take on Mercy High School at 4:30 p.m, followed by the varsity girls volleyball game at 5:45 p.m.
Friday sees just one Harker athletic event: The junior varsity football team takes on Lynbrook High School in an away game at 5 p.m.
This report compiled from information provided by Dan Molin, athletic director.
Harker athletes have had a great spring!
Golf
Harker linksman Kyle Roter, grade 12, has received a REACH (Recognizing Excellence, Adversity, Courage and Hard Work) scholarship of $1,500 this week. The REACH Youth Scholarship Program has provided college funds to high school students over the past 17 years who have overcome adversity to excel in academics and sports. Roter suffered from Chiari malformation, a condition in which brain tissue protrudes into the spinal canal. He underwent an operation to correct the problem after headaches became intolerable. His story is told in a video by CalHi Sports: http://bit.ly/132vurc. Roter received the scholarship Wednesday morning at the REACH awards breakfast, chaired by former San Francisco 49er Ronnie Lott, at the San Jose Marriott. All nominees must be high school seniors, maintain a 2.5 GPA, participate in at least one sanctioned high school athletic activity, demonstrate community involvement, and show the ability to overcome adversity or obstacles to reach his or her goals. Nominees also must submit an essay based on his or her experiences.
Senior golfer and Stanford-bound Maverick McNealy once again won the WBAL individual title yesterday, shooting a 71 at the league finals at Half Moon Bay Golf Course. Shrish Dwivedi, grade 10, tied for fourth with a 76. Both McNealy and Dwivedi have qualified for the CCS tournament next week. The team as a whole awaits to see if their at-large application will qualify. The week before, boys golf came in sixth place out of 16 teams in the 40th annual Aptos High Tournament. Dwivedi shot a 74 and McNealy shot a 75 at Seascape Country Club.
Lacrosse
Girls lacrosse’s historic run for a league championship came to a halt Tuesday with a 17-14 loss to Notre Dame. This year, the girls recorded a Harker record for the most victories in a season with 12. With heart and determination and senior leadership, the girls finished the season yesterday by defeating rival Mercy Burlingame 18-8. This win was a sweet one, especially after having fallen just shy in their bid to capture a league title. After several years of seeming futility, the lacrosse program now finds itself carrying consecutive winning seasons forward.
There is thrilling news for the girls, however, and for the Harker community. Two of Harker lacrosse players, Christine Lee, grade 11, and Hannah Bollar, grade 10, have been named to the regional team for the national tournament.
On April 21, female high school varsity players from all throughout the Bay Area came together to compete for spots on the two Sub-Regional Pacific NorCal teams. The teams will compete in the 2013 U.S. Lacrosse National Tournament in May. 2013 marks the 81st anniversary of the event. It is one of the largest women’s lacrosse events in the nation. The 2013 tournament highlights include division championships, a U.S. team exhibition, and a premier recruiting opportunity for high school players.
In team news last week, the girls went 1-1 with a narrow loss to Mercy Burlingame on Tuesday and a thundering win against Woodside on Friday. Against Woodside, Bollar, seniors Tiphaine Delephine, Michelle Douglas, Wendy Shwe and Apricot Tang, junior Mabel Luo, and Aishu Murari, grade 9, all scored for Harker.
Congratulations to the team on a record-breaking season, and congratulations to Lee and Bollar on their personal achievements!
Track and Field
Track and field took the next step in their outstanding, record-breaking season last week by sending their top runner to the CCS Top 8 meet at San Jose City College last Friday night. With only the best athletes in the CCS competing, Harker had six representatives. Sumit Minocha, grade 12, finished third in the 100m race and then second in the 200m with a 21.65. That mark was the sixth best time in the state this year. Izzy Connell, grade 12, set two new school records, running 57.98 in the 400m and 25.12 in the 200m. She then joined Claudia Tischler, grade 11, Ragini Bhattacharya, grade 12, and freshman Nadia Palte on the mile relay team, where the foursome posted yet another record with a time of 4:13.75. Tischler ran eighth in her 1,600m run with a season-best time of 5:31.65. Corey Gonzales, grade 10, set his third 3,200m school record of the year, moving the mark this time to 9:30.98. At the San Mateo Invitational a day later, Matt Giammona, grade 12, and Arjun Kumar, grade 11, placed second and fourth out of 40 in the shot put with each tossing a personal best. The track and field league trials are this Saturday at Gunn High School and finals next Saturday. Wish them well!
Swimming
Thanks to everyone who came out to support Harker’s senior swimmers! And a big congratulations to seniors Amie Chien, Keri Clifford and Rachel Yanovsky for leading the girls team to victory against Menlo 86-73. In the 100m freestyle, Chien and Anika Mohindra, grade 9, tied for third with a time of 58.81. Grace Guan, grade 9, tied for first place in the 100m backstroke. The JV girls defeated Menlo as well, 66-13. Behind Karen Tu and Yasemin Narin, both grade 9, the girls took first and second in the 50m freestyle.
The varsity boys lost to Menlo, but had some impressive swims along the way. Allen Cheng, grade 11, and Joshua Hung, grade 9, improved their times in the 50m freestyle and 100m freestyle, respectively. Aaron Huang, grade 10, dominated the 100m breaststroke, winning by nearly 11 seconds!
Last Wednesday, both the girls varsity and JV teams defeated King’s Academy. The varsity girls swept the 50 freestyle placing first through fourth, with Chien, Mohindra, Sandhana Kannan, grade 9, and Jackelyn Shen, grade 10. The JV girls won both relays, with Narin, Tu, Elisabeth Siegel, grade 9, and Sanjana Kaundinya, grade 10. For the boys, the JV won and the varsity lost in a close meet. On the varsity side, Ryan Palmer won the 200m IM, and Aaron Huang and Craig Neubieser went 1-2 in the 100m butterfly. JV’s Anni Ankola swam a season-best 50 freestyle. At her first-ever varsity meet, sophomore Stacey Chao placed 12th out of 35 divers, scoring enough points to qualify for CCS. Congratulations!
Wish our swimmers well in the league championships this Wednesday and Thursday at Sacred Heart!
Volleyball
Earlier this week, the Monta Vista boys volleyball team strutted into the Blackford gym, boasting a 27-4 and arguably one of the top teams in all of CCS.
In a thrilling upset, Harker’s boys defeated Monta Vista 27-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-22. Harker is now 16-14 overall. Seniors Josh Tien, Bobby Kahlon and Andre Tran, juniors Andrew Zhu, Sean Youn and Will Deng, and sophomores Shiki Dixit and Matt Ho all had oustanding performances.
This past Friday was the boys’ Senior Night. They lost to Homestead, but had a solid victory against Lynbrook last week. In the win, Zhu had 26 kills, Deng added six and Dixit had two blocks.
The week before that, boys volleyball had to go the distance to defeat Harbor in Santa Cruz 15-12 in their fifth game of the season to improve to 14-13 on the year as the boys continue to play the top teams in the section. Zhu led the way with 26 kills.
The boys travel to King’s on Friday, then await their potential CCS assignment on Saturday morning.
Baseball
On Tuesday, baseball lost to Pinewood 8-3 to drop to 7-13-1 overall. Drew Goldstein, grade 12, had two hits in the loss, including a double and an RBI. Neil Sadhu and David Lin, grade 10, and Kevin Cali, grade 12, also recorded hits.
Last week, the boys dropped a game against King’s Academy, but got a great pitching performance out of Cali. On the mound, Cali pitched for 10 strikeouts; at the plate, he was two for three with a double and a run scored. Jacob Hoffman, grade 12, added a double and an RBI.
The Thursday before, the baseball team defeated Crystal Springs but dropped its game the following day to Sacred Heart. Against Crystal Springs, Hoffman was two for four with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored. Keanu Forbes, grade 10, added two hits and an RBI. In the Sacred Heart game, Cali went two for three and scored a run.
Softball
Softball continues to roll, defeating Castilleja yesterday 5-2 in an away game. The girls are now 9-1 in their league and in sole possession of first place with two games remaining. Against Castilleja, Alison Rugar, grade 12, pitched for 16 – count ’em, 16 – strikeouts and had two hits at the plate as well. Ashley Del Alto, grade 12, had a triple and two RBIs. Laura Thacker, grade 11, had two hits and Alisa Wakita, grade 9, and Sarah Bean, grade 10, added RBIs as well.
Last week, the girls went 2-0, beating Menlo 6-0 and Mercy-Burlingame 4-1. Once again, Rugar had 16 strikouts – this time in the Mercy game. Del Alto also had a three-run home run.
The girls have their Senior Day tomorrow at 4 p.m., where they’ll face off against King’s Academy. King’s Academy is the only team in the league to beat Harker this year, and won by just one run. See Harker get their revenge on Senior Day!
Tennis
Boys tennis awaits their fate to see if the team will qualify for the CCS tournament. Stay tuned!
Upper School Football Runningback DeVonte Smith, grade 10, ignited the Harker Eagles’ offense on the road against the Los Altos Eagles, rushing 14 times for 160 yards and a touchdown in Harker’s 14-12 win, their first Santa Clara Valley Athletic League victory of the season. Smith led on both sides of the ball, finishing the game with a team-high 10 solo tackles, and a third-quarter three-yard plunge into the endzone by quarterback Spenser Quash, grade 12, put Harker up for good. Linebacker Ryan Mui, grade 12, had nine solo tackles. Samir Chaudhry, grade 11, and Justin Marion, grade 9, each had a fumble recovery. This Friday is senior night for the team as they host Monta Vista on Davis Field.
Cross Country
In cross country action, both the boys and girls teams ran in the Crystal Springs Center Meet last Thursday. Corey Gonzales, grade 10, continued a fine year, setting a new Harker record with a 16:13 run and finishing in fifth place. Gonzales’ run was 40 seconds faster than his previous personal best, set in the CCS Championships last year, and 1:30 faster than his time at the same meet the year before. Tyler Yeats, grade 12, placed 26th, helping the team to a 12th place finish. Ragini Bhattacharya, grade 12, ran her best race of the year, placing 10th on a cold and rainy afternoon while running a season-best 20:11. Claudia Tischler, grade 11, was right behind Bhattacharya in 12th, running her personal best on the Crystal course, 20:19. Outstanding freshman Mary Najibi placed 41st with a time of 22:09, a top-five all-time freshman mark for Harker.
Water Polo
Girls water polo went 4-1 this past weekend at the Western State Tournament in Modesto, with their only loss coming in sudden-death overtime to Liberty High. The girls earned fifth place overall with victories over Gregori, West, Notre-Dame-Belmont and Pitman. Keri Clifford, grade 12, had 24 goals over the weekend and goalie Helena Dworak, grade 9, had 28 saves. The tournament success comes on the heels of the girls’ dramatic 6-5 victory over league foe Santa Clara last Thursday. Harker is now an impressive 16-5 overall, the most wins in the program’s history, and tied for first place in the league at 7-2.
Boys water polo suffered two nail-biter losses last week, dropping games to Fremont 6-5 and Santa Clara 12-11. Karan Das-Grande, grade 12, had six goals against Santa Clara and Eric Holt, grade 10, chipped in five. Both the boys and girls play their senior day at home this Thursday.
Golf
The girls golf team dominated Mercy Burlingame with a 249-299 win at Crystal Springs on Friday. Patricia Huang, grade 12, led the Eagles with a five over par 41 performance on a difficult course. Daphne Liang, grade 9, shot her career-best 46. Contributing scores were junior Kristine Lin’s 46, senior Jessica Son’s 48 and junior Connie Li’s 68. Newcomer Madelyn Wang, grade 10, made her debut league performance, having only picked up golf at the beginning of the season. The Eagles remain in sole possession of second place in the WBAL with a 4-1 record, taking on first-place undefeated Castilleja today and Friday of this week.
Volleyball Girls volleyball had an excellent showing at the Presentation Tournament on Saturday, considered to be among the toughest tournaments in California. The girls started the day by losing to the 13th ranked team in the nation, Archbishop Mitty, in a very respectable match, then went 1-3 the rest of the day.
Tennis
Girls tennis took nearly three hours to complete their match on Thursday as rain poured down, but as the storm receded, Harker defeated host Crystal Springs 4-2. Harker had leapt out to a swift 3-0 lead before the rain interrupted and caused a long delay. Two other teams lost after the delay, and it was not until Athlete of the Month Daria Karakoulka, grade 12, who played #2, stepped up to defeat her opponent in near darkness that Harker finally sealed the victory. Harker now stands at 8-1 and 5-1 in league. Girls tennis senior day is this Friday v. Notre Dame-San Jose.
Student golfer Maverick McNealy, who will enter grade 12 this fall, managed to make it to the final eight at the USGA Junior Amateur championship, held July 16-21 at the Golf Club of New England in Stratham, N.H.
McNealy faced Canada’s Matthew Scobie in the quarterfinal match, where he rallied back from 4 down after eight holes, winning three straight holes with birdies on holes nine and 10 and a bogey on hole 11. The back-and-forth continued with Scobie winning holes 12 and 14, and McNealy responding with a pair of birdies on the next two holes. On hole 18, McNealy earned a par to force the match to extra holes. Both players scored par on hole 19, but Scobie parred on the 20th hole to finally win the match.
“Though it was slightly disappointing, I was very, very happy with my first performance on an international stage,” McNealy said. “By making the top 8, I earned an exemption from qualifying for next year’s Junior Amateur at Martis Camp in Tahoe! Very exciting!”
McNealy closed several point deficits in the early rounds to qualify for the top 64, defeating Cameron Young of Scarborough, N.Y., Dylan Wu of Medford, Ore. and China’s Zecheng Dou.
June 13, 2012:
Rising senior Maverick McNealy recently took second place overall at the U.S. Junior Amateur qualifying golf tournament at the Sunnyside Country Club in Fresno. McNealy shot 70-73, earning the final spot in the U.S. Junior Amateur Championship by a single shot, becoming one of 150 golfers in the country younger than 18 to compete in the championship.
The Sunnyside tournament was McNealy’s third attempt at qualifying for the U.S. Junior Amateur. In 100-degree weather, the tournament was especially challenging. “It was very difficult to stay mentally and physically sharp,” he said, “but I think the fact that I was very regimented with nutrition and hydration allowed me to make up a lot of ground on the second round.”
Part of the secret to McNealy’s recent success has been his steady training routine. “I practice and play every day of the summer, and have a very regimented pre-tournament routine. I do a workout two days before a tournament, but none the day of or day before. I get to the course 50 minutes before my tee time, and warm up on the range (I hit 13 wedges, 13 irons and 13 woods), then I chip and hit sand shots for about five minutes, and then putt until I head to the first tee,” he said.
McNealy will compete in the California State Amateur tournament in late June before heading to the U.S. Junior Amateur in July. He hopes one day to play division 1 golf in college.
As spring sports wind up, the laurals are being awarded! Six out of Harker’s 10 volleyball teams have won their league titles and varsity A tennis, Grades 6-8, is peaking and heads to playoffs. Read coach Theresa (Smitty) Smith’s report:
Grade 8 varsity A girls volleyball has not lost a match in the last two years, went 7-0 this season, good enough for WBAL champions.
Grade 7 varsity B girls volleyball finished 6-1, good enough for WBAL tri-champions.
Grade 6 junior varsity B6 girls volleyball finished 6-2, good enough for WBAL tri-champions.
Grade 5 junior varsity B1 girls volleyball finished 5-1, good enough for WBAL co-champions.
Boys
Grade 8 varsity A boys volleyball finished 10-1, good enough for ADAL champions.
Grade 7 varsity B boys volleyball finished 6-2, good enough for ADAL champions.
Tennis:
Varsity A tennis, grades 6-8, finished the WBAL season at 8-0, and won the WBAL playoff championship v. Menlo, 6-3. They are currently 8-0 in the MTP and play in the semifinals next Monday and the finals next Wednesday. They currently hold an overall record of 16-0!
Hollis Thompson, who attended Harker from 1996 to 2001 (K-4) and became a star forward for the Georgetown Hoyas basketball team, will enter the 2012 NBA draft. Thompson, a junior at Georgetown who has chosen to forgo his senior year, will finish his career as the Hoyas’ all-time three-point field goal percentage leader at 44 percent. He is also the 12th-highest three-point scorer in Georgetown history, with 128 three-point shots made.
“He was one of my favorite library students in his younger grades,” said librarian Enid Davis. “He was a very bright child. Then, he was the size of just one of his arms now!”
Girls lacrosse went 2-1 last week starting with a close 17-15 loss to Bella Vista Tuesday. The girls then traveled to Santa Catalina Thursday to earn a 19-9 win and marked the first time ever defeating the Cougars! The girls opened league play Friday with a 17-11 victory over rival Notre Dame-San Jose.
Big shout out to the boys basketball and football team members who came to support lacrosse. Scorers were: Asia Howard, grade 12 (one); Michelle Douglas, grade 11 (three); Hannah Bollar, grade 9 (four); Tiphaine Delepine, grade 11 (four), Wendy Shwe, grade 11 (five). Christine Lee, grade 10, had 16 saves in goal. The girls host tough league opponent Mercy-Burlingame Friday, so please come out and support them! This is Andrew Irvine’s first year as head coach. He has four years of experience working under former head coach Dawn Clark. Jason Berry is his assistant coach.
Swimming
Our swimmers opened the league portion of their season with some outstanding results. The girls team defeated Menlo 141-57 and Mercy-Burlingame 132-60. The girls earned first place finishes in all events
The girls 200-medley relay of Katie Siegel, grade 12, Lucy Cheng, grade 12, Kimberly Ma, grade 10, and Amie Chien, grade 11, won and qualified for CCS.
The girls 200-free relay of Tiffany Wong, Rachelle Koch, Amie Chien, all grade 12, and Manon Audebert, grade 10, won and qualified for CCS. The girls 400-free relay of Siegel, Cheng, Ma and Audebert won and qualified for CCS.
Audebert won the 200 free; Ma won the 200 individual medley and the 400 free, qualifying for CCS in both. Chien won the 100 free, Wong won the 50 free, Siegel won the 100 fly and the 100 back, and qualified for CCS in both. Cheng won the 100 breast and qualified for CCS in that and the 200 IM. Honorable mentions include Koch and Keri Clifford, grade 11.
The girls swam again March 28 so watch for results including first place finishes from Audebert, Ma, Siegel and Koch, and the relays featuring Chien, Cheng and Tiffany Wong. Coming soon!
Final score, boys: Menlo 108, Harker 92
The 200-medley relay of Kevin Khojasteh, grade 12, Aaron Huang, grade 9, Craig Neubieser, grade 9, and Daryl Neubieser, grade 12, won and qualified for CCS. The 200-free relay of Khojasteh, Huang and both Neubiesers won and qualified for CCS.
Khojasteh won the 200 individual medley and the 100 back and qualified for CCS in both, Daryl Neubieser won the 50 free and the 100 free and qualified for CCS in both, Huang won the 100 breast and qualified for CCS; Honorable mentions include Craig Neubieser and Austin Lai.
Baseball
After losing to Monta Vista earlier in the week, our baseball team bounced back with a 18-0 win against North Valley Baptist to improve to 4-4. Noah Levy, grade 12, was 2 for 4 with a triple and three RBIs.
March 28, in the league opener against King’s Academy, with bases loaded, two outs, a 4-4 tie in extra innings, junior Drew Goldstein drove in the winning run with a line-drive single to win the game 5-4. Kevin Cali, grade 11, pitched eight strong innings with seven strikeouts. Nate Hoffman, grade 12, went 3 for 5 with two RBIs. Jacob Hoffman (no relation), grade 11, went 3 for 6 batting including a double. The boys are 5-4, 1-0 in league and travel to Menlo March 30.
Boys Tennis
Boys Tennis lost to Monta Vista and Menlo last week before coming back and defeating Priory 7-0 on Thursday, making them 3-3 overall, 3-2 in league play. This week things turned around with their second victory over Priroy, 5-2, on Priory’s home courts. Sachin Jain, grade 12, played #1 singles and won a close tiebreaker in the third set. Number one doubles team of Chris Chang, grade 11, and Jason Chu, grade 9,had an easy victory, 6-1, 6-0 and set the tone for the match. Harker is now tied for second place in the WBAL (with SHP) and our overall record is 5-4. They travel to King’s Academy, March 29.
Boys Volleyball
Boys volleyball lost to Lynbrook and Mountain View last week to drop to 5-7 overall, 1-3 in league. Andrew Zhu, grade 10, had 19 kills in the loss to Lynbrook and Zach Ellenberg, grade 12, added 12 kills. They host to Lowell and Monta Vista this week.
Harker tennis coach Craig Pasqua was honored at the 2012 Awards Celebrating Excellence in Service (ACES) dinner in February, held by the Northern California Chapter of the United States Tennis Association. Pasqua, who has spent several years working with at-risk children on Indian reservations, was given the Trailblazer award in the Diversity category.
A graduate of Stanford University and a professional tennis coach since 2000, Pasqua was first approached to work with Native Americans in 1996, when David Gantzer of Standing Tall Tennis asked him to help out with the organization. “Being American Indian, I was able to break down some barriers and go places Dantzer was unable,” said Pasqua, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and also part Modoc. When Dantzer retired in 2006, Pasqua took over the organization and moved it to San Jose, where he has been running it ever since.
Since its inception, Standing Tall has worked with more than 10,000 people in 21 states and 40 reservations, serving about 80 tribal entities. “We have had continuing programs in the Dine, Hopi, White Mountain Apache and Potawatami Nations,” Pasqua noted.
In addition to his work with American Indians, Pasqua has been an active volunteer at other organizations. He has volunteered at the U.S. Open’s Arthur Ashe Kids’ Day since 2009, and serves on the board of the Santa Clara Indian Health Center. He has also been the president of the North American Indian Tennis Association.
Despite his impressive service record, Pasqua was “totally surprised to receive this award!” he exclaimed. “I’m extremely grateful and wish to thank the USTA NorCal Division and Harker for giving me the flexibility to spend some of my time away from the school.” Pasqa runs the Harker summer tennis program, too. Details are available on our summer web page.
Over the summer, sabreur Regina Chen, grade 10, finished third out of 89 competitors in her age group and weapon at the Summer National Fencing Championships in Reno. Ranked 29th going in, she seeded 30th after pools and upset the 19th-ranked fencer to advance to the final eight. There, she defeated the sixth-ranked fencer to reach the semifinals where she was defeated by the ultimate national champion, leaving her tied for third place. Chen is now ranked 26th in the U.S. in points. With that finish, Chen earned an A-2011 rating, the first A rating held by any fencer from Harker! In addition, Chen has been named to the 2010-11 First Team of the USA Fencing All-Academic Team for having a GPA of 3.85 or greater. Chen also competes throughout the year at local tournaments and won the gold medal in her event at the Super Youth Circuit tournament held in San Jose in March. She trains at and competes for Cardinal Fencing Club on the Stanford campus.