Baseball
Coach Jim McGovern reports, “The Gr. 4 baseball team has been steadily adding to their experience and knowledge. Fielding, hitting and running the bases have all improved due to the dedication and determination of this group of players.” Game situations, stealing bases and pitching were the focus over the final few weeks of the season. Standout performances have included the power hitting of Alex Youn, Edward Tischler, Alex Mo and Brandon Stoll as well as the stellar fielding and catching of Alexander Lam, Brandon Chow, Aashish Jain and Varun Baldwa. McGovern added, “They have relished the chance to put their skills to the test and play games with and against the fifth graders.” The enthusiasm and overall excitement of the fourth graders this year can be summed up by the cheer written by Nikhil Manglik and Alexander Lam: “Our pitcher, he is great with a ball, when he throws, he never hits the wall. Our batters are the very best, they put the defense to the test! Our base runners go with lightning speed, you’ll never know when they’ll take a lead! Harker, Harker, yes we rule! The other teams – they simply drool.”
The Gr. 5 baseball team has showed great determination in staying focused throughout the season. The Eagles only had one game this year, but have been preparing with intrasquad exhibition games as well as challenging our fourth graders to some games. The team is led by Trevor Lee, who has shown a tremendous amount of talent at any position. Coach Walid Fahmy was looking forward to the big bat of Kevin Wang and the speed of Jonathan Yiu and Suraj Jagadeesh helping the boys to be competitive. Fahmy was extremely happy with the outlook of the team and was looking forward to finishing up with a strong season.
JV A baseball started the season with a close game (2-3) against Priory, and faced a tough schedule this season. They had an 0-3 record at press time, and were continuing to develop their skills.
The varsity A baseball team, coached by Joe Mentillo and Manny Martinez, is out to gain the respect of the league and is playing some fundamentally sound and competitive baseball. The squad is led by eighth graders Kevin Cali (shortstop/pitcher), Drew Goldstein (catcher/shortstop), J.P. Doherty (center field) and Oliver Chen (pitcher). Matt Harris (catcher) is off to a sizzling start leading the team in hits and playing solidly at catcher.
Volleyball
The Gr. 4 volleyball girls have been learning the fundamentals, including the bump, set and spike. They have also practiced footwork and timing of hitting the ball. Coach Tomas Thompson reports, “They have shown enthusiasm, positive sportsmanship and are eager to learn more about the game. The team has demonstrated consistent improvement and team play this season.” Outstanding effort and attitudes have been shown by Chetana Kalidindi, LeAnn Nguyen, Lindsey Trinh and Ankita Uppugunduri.
The Gr. 5 JV B5 volleyball team was 4-0, despite playing against only Gr. 6 teams. Coach Michelle Hopkins commented, “The girls are all doing an excellent job. Lauren Speckman has an awesome serve and is a positive influence on the rest of the team. All the other girls are playing great. I think volleyball is the sport at Harker!”
The JV B6 volleyball girls improved tremendously over the course of the season and their game scores are getting closer and closer. Coach Loreen Talagtag states, “Leeza Kuo and Helen Wu are key players on the team as they have fantastic serves! Simran Singh has improved tremendously over the course of the season.”
The varsity B2 girls have won two games, which pleased Coach Talagtag because they have had some really tough teams in their division. All the games have been really close but the girls lost by a couple of points. Talagtag reports, “Christina Wong and Manini Desai are key players to look out for. Also Callie Ding has improved so much in the small period of time that we’ve had. These girls are so talented and I’m very proud of how far they’ve come.”
The junior varsity A girls team had a 2-1 record at press time; varsity B girls were 4-2.
The varsity A girls volleyball team is having another phenomenal season. Under the direction of coach Michael Leonard ’04 and assistant coach Christine Emery, Gr. 12, the girls had lost only one game this season at press time, with a 3-1 record. The team is undefeated in league play and is in pursuit of the league championship. The coaches have been getting outstanding contributions from everyone, most notably Amie Chien, Gr. 8, Mercedes Chien, Gr. 7 and Paulomi Bhattacharya, Gr. 8. Leonard states, “The team bonding activities we take part in throughout the season have really helped this team come together. The team is united in pursuit of our goal, which is the league title. I could not be more proud of what these girls have accomplished as a team!”
The varsity B boys team was undefeated at 4-0 for the season. Great job, boys! The varsity A boys volleyball team, coached by Pete Anderson, finished the season with a 9-5 record. The team was led by eighth graders Michael Chen, David Lindars, Bobby Kahlon and Josh Tien.
Tennis
The MS tennis team, comprising 18 players in Gr. 6-8 with USTA ranking, finished the season 17-2 overall. The team was led by eighth graders Jenny Chen and Niki Bedekar and sixth graders Vikram Chari and Deepa Dhore, who are all top-ranked in their respective age groups. Coach Ganesh Vaidya’s hope for continued success was achieved as the girls defeated Bret Harte 7-2 to win the MTP championship!