At halftime of the Homecoming football game against Palo Alto on Sept. 30, the crowd quieted just enough to hear the announcer declare that Balakumaran Balasubramanian and Daviana Berkowitz-Sklar had been voted as the 2016 Homecoming king and queen.

“Homecoming was an unforgettable experience, putting on our last Quad Day and having the honor to be on the court with so many of my friends,” Berkowitz-Sklar said. “It was really fun to ride around the field while Bala's fan group yelled ‘Bala Bala!’"

The rest of the court, announced on Sept. 26 before the teachers’ Quad Day performance, was also honored at halftime and comprised of freshmen George Bian and Lily Jiang; sophomores Andrew Gao and Ashley Feng; juniors Robert Scott and Jaime An; and seniors Zach Grob-Lipkis, Joyce Lai, Steve Lai and Rachel Won.

“When I won, I was really not expecting it, so I was really happy and thankful to the junior class for voting for me,” An said. “Winning was just something added on top of all the great parts of homecoming this year.”

Additionally, besides the honor of parading in front of the crowd, the royalties also had the chance to meet one another, Homecoming commissioners and staff and last year’s King and Queen, Davis Robertson and Anne Rollinson, for dinner at Florentines before the game.

“Even if some of us didn't know each other too well, the dinner helped the rest of the night go even smoother and be more enjoyable,” An said.