Sports

2023 Falcon Sports Rankings

Anika Kapasi, Victoria Lin, Aiden Ye, and Andy Zhu • June 1, 2023

League Record: ([wins + ties]/total games) x (value of respective leagues)

Win = 1 pt, Tie = 0.5 pts, Loss = 0 pts
De Anza: x20, El Camino x15, Peninsula Lake x10

League Placement (0-3)

1st – 3 pts
2nd – 2 pts
3rd – 1 pt
4th and below – 0 pts

CCS (1-4)

1 pt – First round/Quarterfinals
2 pts – Second Round/Semifinals/Trials
3 pts – Finals
4 pts – CIF States

Campus Presence (1-5)

1 pt – Most people are unaware of the sport itself and its presence.
2 pts – Not as well known, with most games having few attendants. 1 – Most people are unaware of the sport itself and its presence.
3 pts – A well known presence, with games being somewhat popular and well-attended.
4 pts – Is mainly known throughout campus, is a popular sport among peers.
5 pts – Has a high volume of participants during games and is widely known throughout campus.

Sports Rankings:

Team Evaluations:

Boys’ Volleyball – Despite moving down a league, they had a season with mostly wins (10-5) and even attended two rounds of CCS.

Baseball – Placed No. 2 in their league and attended one round of CCS.

Badminton – A good run overall, with five players attending leagues and advancing to CCS. Girls’ doubles made it to No. 3 in the Norcal States competition.

Girls’ Track – Two girls made States, and five made it to CCS. Overall, the team held their own and had some excellent runners in various disciplines.

Boys’ Tennis – Had a consistent season and made it to the semifinals of CCS before getting eliminated.

Boys’ Basketball – Finished with a 6-6 season and managed to qualify for one round of playoffs before being defeated by Monterey in the second round.

Softball – Overall had a high win rate, even though many team members were inexperienced freshmen, and the team made it to CCS for one round before losing to Santa Teresa.

Girls’ Swimming – Had a semi-successful season and was able to have four girls attend CCS with the relay team placing 13th of 86 teams and one girl making it to States.

Girls’ Tennis – Managed to have a season record of 9-3 after a previous season with no wins. They attended SCVAL, but did not make CCS.

Girls’ Soccer – Even with the loss of several star seniors from the previous season, the team still managed to have a decent amount of wins (4 out of 12) after moving up to De Anza league.

Girls’ Volleyball – Improved immensely compared to last season’s 2-10 record, yet they were unable to attend CCS.

Boys’ Golf – Had a weaker start to the season, which led to a lower win rate, but still was able to attend the first round of CCS.

Boys’ Cross Country – Placed No. 6 out of 23 schools, but didn’t send anyone to States.

Boys’ Swimming – The team improved from their winless season last year, with 6 making CCS and a 1-5 record.

Boys’ Water Polo – Had a weaker season due to the loss of star seniors, placing No. 6 in the league, which was worse than their No. 1 rank performance last year.

Boys’ Soccer – The team performed worse than last year, ending No. 6 out of 8 teams in the El Camino league.

Girls’ Cross Country – Placed No. 7 out of 26 schools, but didn’t send anyone to States.

Girls’ Golf – The team depended on mostly underclassmen to win games.

Girls’ Water Polo – Ended with a 5-9 record, but could have performed better if it wasn’t for key player injuries.

Football – The football team struggled through the season, but managed to pull one win.

Boys’ Track – Had a decent season, with a strong relay team, but was plagued by injuries.

Girls’ Basketball – With a team of only eight, the girls basketball team had a tough season, with a record of 6-17.

Field Hockey – After moving up a division, they ended the season with a record of 2-2-11. Their poor record was partially due to having to adjust to the loss of 8 players due to graduations.

Girls’ Wrestling – Had a season without any wins, but placed 10th out of 15 in their league.

Boys’ Wrestling – Had a winless season.

Choices for Star Players:

Boys’ Volleyball – Kali Duvvuri is a 2x all American in Volleyball, and won the 16u national championship with his club last year. He also made it to All Leagues in the 2023 season.

Baseball – Lucas Dennis has a 0.28 ERA (pitching), which was the 3rd lowest ERA in the state. He was recruited to Pomona College to continue playing baseball.

Badminton – Sannidhi Boppana, who was one of the two team captains, was one of two players who made it to CIF states. Evan Oaklander qualified for leagues and advanced to CCS and is ranked No. 1 on the school team.

Girls’ Track – Jalyn Harrigan was the No. 1 ranked hurdler in the ECAL section and made CIF states.

Boys’ Tennis – Somei Ogata is the No. 1 ranked tennis player on the team and has a Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) over 10.

Boys’ Basketball – Nicholas Tjaden placed 1st at SCVAL awards and is attending Santa Barbara CC for basketball.

Softball – Saira Ramakrishnan ranked No. 8 in California for no-hitters.

Girls’ Swimming – Kelsey Zhang placed 1st at 500 yard freestyle and 100 yard backstroke in SCVAL then placed first at CIF state swimming for the 100m butterfly.

Girls’ Tennis – Sabrina Manea made it to No. 3 at the SCVAL leagues and played No. 1 singles on the girls’ tennis team.

Girls’ Soccer – Gabi Golko ranked in the No. 1 bracket of the SCVAL.

Girls’ Volleyball – Joanna Song was an overall best player in terms of being able to play all positions, and she led the team to CCS. She also won the SCVAL All League Award.

Boys’ Golf – Howard Shu scored 75 at SCVAL leagues, qualifying for CCS.

Boys‘ Cross Country – Wasil Khan was the best performer at CCS, placing 18th among 104 boys.

Boys’ Swimming – Taewon Yim placed No. 3 for the 200 yard freestyle at SCVAL.

Boys’ Water Polo – Keon Nikfar ranked in the No. 1 bracket for the SCVAL awards.

Boys’ Soccer – Mateo Porta was ranked No. 1 on the SCVAL awards bracket. He had the highest assists per game and points per match, resulting in an overall score of 15, the highest on the boys’ soccer team.

Girls’ Cross Country – Elizabeth Stoiber was also the best performer at CCS, placing 18th out of 101 girls.

Girls’ Golf – Sarah Lim ranked No.1 at the SCVAL girls’ golf finals.

Girls’ Water Polo – Ryder Gangemi is in the first bracket of the SCVAL awards and is a crucial member of the team’s offense.

Football – Seth Hulme is ranked No. 1 in the Peninsula Lake division for receiving yards.

Boys’ Track – Yuvraj Singh has consistently been a top performer in the 100m and 200m distances and could have made CCS if not for a hamstring injury.

Girls’ Basketball – Tanya Ghai was the top scorer on the team, averaging 18.8 points per game, and is attending Harvey Mudd for basketball.

Field Hockey – Georgia Adams was in the first bracket of the SCVAL awards.

Girls’ Wrestling – Rebecca Bossow placed third among female JV wrestlers.

Boys’ Wrestling – Sohum Bhan is the wrestling captain.

About the Contributors

Anika Kapasi, Editor-in-Chief

Anika Kapasi (she/her), Class of ‘25, is an Editor-in-Chief for the 2024-2025 school year. Previously, she was Sports Editor, and a Reporter and Layout Artist. Anika has reported on and taken pictures for various school sports, covered the music program's accomplishments, and has written opinion pieces on numerous school-based events. She was awarded the Journalism Education Association of Northern California Honorable Mention for her Sports Writing in 2023. Outside of journalism, she loves to play for the school soccer team, is a part of the band program, and enjoys being an Editor-in-Chief of Soundings, the student-run literary and arts magazine at SHS.

Andy Zhu, News Editor

Andy Zhu, Class of '25, is a News Editor for the 2024-25 school year. Previously, he was a Sports Editor and a Reporter. Andy has covered topics ranging from teacher profiles to sports reports to lighthearted columns. Outside of journalism, Andy is a big fan of sports, primarily playing basketball and volleyball, but also enjoys more niche sports like spikeball and pickleball. He is also a car enthusiast, often naming models out loud he sees on the road. Andy's current dream 3 car garage: Pagani Huayra BC, Bentley Continental GT, Mercedes G63.