El Estoque Online, 21840 McClellan Road, Cupertino, CA (2025)

11/13/2025

Varsity Girls Volleyball won 3-1 against Burlingame High School in the CCS Semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 6. MVHS started out the first set with a strong lead over Burlingame. The gap narrowed in the second set and Burlingame took the third set.

According to senior and middle blocker Nicole Jeleva, the turning point in the Matador’s momentum was losing a long rally late in the third set. Afterwards, players began making mistakes, and then they lost the third set.

“We had all these really long rallies and lost points, which was demoralizing because it wasn’t even that we were doing bad,” Jeleva said. “It’s really easy to get frustrated. But being able to trust your teammates and work as a team is what really allowed us to win in the end.”

However, the Matadors started out strong in the fourth set, often maintaining a six point lead over BHS. However, BHS closed the gap, tying the score at 25-25. After two more intense rallies, MVHS took the win, scoring 27-25. Before each rally, the Matadors began huddling to intentionally slow the tempo and encourage each player.

“They called the whistle on us while we were still in the huddle,” Jeleva said. “Huddling does help as it slows down the game. In a momentum-based game, when you’re slowing it down by taking a deep breath and taking these longer huddles, you can flip the momentum a little bit. We make sure that we’re encouraging our teammates to, like, move forward and not really think about what just happened, but more like thinking about what’s gonna happen, instead of, you know what happened.”

Photos and reporting by Liz Liu and Ellie Wang

11/10/2025

The Northern California Chinese Culture and Athletic Federation hosted its first International Kung Fu Day and Cultural Carnival on Saturday, Nov. 8, in Memorial Park. The event ran from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and featured performances of Chinese martial arts and music. Enrichment activities included traditional Chinese wellness demonstrations in Tai Chi and Baduanjin, simple kung fu classes for children, authentic food from local vendors, interactive booths and hands-on activities like spin the wheel.

Tharun Arya Mahesh, a junior at Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, participated in one of the performances with his martial arts school, Dragon Rhythm Shaolin Kung Fu. DRSKF participated in two separate performances at the celebration: one simple showcase and another, more technically challenging audition for a separate performance program.

Mahesh, who has been practicing kung fu for 10 years, says that although his school only had three weeks to prepare for this event, the students’ performances were a culmination of years of dedication and discipline. Reflecting on his athletic journey, Mahesh believes that the community of martial arts has helped him develop many transferable life skills beyond kung fu itself.

“I love how the audience goes crazy for the things that we think are very simple,” Mahesh said. “It’s so much fun. Through kung fu, I’ve learned business skills and leadership skills, and I teach younger students as well. That’s my favorite part.”

In the days leading up to the performance, DRSKF faced unexpected hurdles that tested students’ preparation and resilience. According to Andrew Tang, DRSKF student and a freshman at MSJHS, it was their ability to adapt that enabled them to power through.

“A lot of our team members became injured or sick just two days before, so there was a lot to fix on the spot today,” Tang said. “It was stressful at first, but everything came together once we got on stage.”

Photos and reporting by Fiona Chen, Isabelle Kok, Corinna Kuo and Asha Wojciechowski

11/09/2025

This is Volume 2 of El Estoque’s “Arts & Ent: In Review,” in which staff review recently released media, including albums, movies, EPs, TV shows, books and games. Swipe to see the second volume of mini-reviews — read full reviews at the link in our story!

9/26: “HERTURN” by Nueve Lio - Reviewed by Fiona Chen
9/26: “stay with the ocean, i’ll find you” by yung kai - Reviewed by Emmy Harimoto
9/26: “The Art of Loving” by Olivia Dean - Reviewed by Lora Lee
9/26: “TIT FOR TAT” by Tate McRae - Reviewed by Meghna Dixit
9/29: “HYPE VIBES” by CxM - Reviewed by Emma Ma
10/9: “Audrey Hepburn” by Maisie Peters - Reviewed by Sana Karkhanis
10/21: “The Crystal Ship” by Ci******es After S*x - Reviewed by Zaid Naqvi

11/07/2025

Varsity Field Hockey fell 9-0 to Palo Alto High School on Monday, Oct. 27, their senior night. Before the game, the team celebrated the five graduating seniors by creating a line down the field, holding their sticks up to create an arch. Through the arch, the seniors walked with their families, posters and flowers.

According to senior captain and goalkeeper Lauren Hong, the team fared better than previous games with PAHS and showed visible improvement.

“I’m really proud that we got to the other half of the field, and we were able to connect passes a lot more on the last game against Palo Alto,” Hong said. “This time, we were a tiny bit more prepared. So I’m overall, really proud of how the team did today, and I’m excited to see what they do in future.”

Photos and reporting by Shreejay Arja and Suhana Mahabal

11/03/2025

The crowd roars in laughter as a small group of comedians improvise skits. But for one of the members, sophomore Ahmed Subeh, joy comes from sitting down at the keyboard and creating something completely new to fit the atmosphere. Playing improvised music since 2024, he has been supporting his mother’s comedy improv group Flash Forward Improv for a year already, performing every first and third Thursday of the month at Secret Improv Society.

According to Subeh, improv is one of the ways he expresses himself. Subeh first learned piano, then the trombone and learned simple music theory afterwards. But it was last year when his mother had begun performing as an comedy improv group by the name Flash Forward Improv, that Subeh was asked whether he would like to improvise music for them. Subeh began experimenting with improvised music. He learned to quickly create simple chord progressions and found what music fit with certain emotions. While playing on stage was nerve-wracking at first, Subeh learned to play with confidence by detaching himself from his emotions as he was performing.

“Something that I learned that helps in life is that as human beings, we have to detach our stress and anxiety of making mistakes from everything we do,” Subeh said. “Or else we’re never going to actually go for it and learn. We should take chances and be smart in how we use them.”

Reporting by Lucas Liu and Kai Tsuchida

Photos courtesy of Ahmed Subeh | Used with permission

10/29/2025

The City of Cupertino hosted its annual Monster Mash to celebrate Halloween with local families on Saturday, Oct. 25. The event featured stands with mini-games where participants could earn stamps and win prizes, trick-or-treating, and a night parade to close out the celebration.

Intern Nataly Garcia helped coordinate and plan the Monster Mash, stepping in for the event’s usual coordinator, Mariah Greene, who was unable to participate this year. Garcia was delighted to see how the event came together successfully for families.

“We were thinking of ideas and planning everything out,” Garcia said. “But once you actually put it together and have everything in person, seeing every child come in super happy—their faces just kind of glow up when they see the trick-or-treating and all our inflatables. My favorite part of the event is a little bit of everything.”

Photo and reporting by Emmy Harimoto and Kate Yang

10/29/2025

Varsity Football fell 35-0 to MacDonald High School on Friday, Oct. 25 in its final away game of the 2025 season. MHS was off to a strong offensive start in the first half as it scored five touchdowns. According to senior, strong safety and running back Rocco Ling, the team struggled mentally to get into the rhythm during the first half and noted how MHS’ team size and skill was hard to respond to.

“We have a small number of players and they have a huge team,” Ling said. “It was difficult to rely on our strength in conditioning to tire them out because they kept replacing the tired guys with fresh guys.”

Additionally, senior tight end and receiver Kingston Jourdan reflects on his individual performance and emphasizes that the team will continue to focus on putting in the effort as a whole for the remaining two games.

“I didn’t play my best game and had some bumps in the road,” Jourdan said. “Overall, we came back in the second half and didn’t allow any more points, which felt good. For the rest of our season, we understand that as a team that effort is our goal, regardless if we win or lose.”

Photos and reporting by Ananda Singh

10/28/2025

Varsity Girls Volleyball lost 3-2 against Homestead High School on Tuesday, Oct. 14. The match began with HHS taking the lead. HHS won the first set 25-21, though the Matadors won the second and third sets. However, HHS bounced back in the fourth and fifth sets, winning the game.

Despite the loss, sophomore and outside hitter Tracy He is proud of how the team performed, praising junior and setter Kylee Mark’s performance for frustrating the opponent and lauding the team’s energy for rebounding despite the first set’s loss.

“Even though we were losing, we still came back because our energy was high, which is what we try to do in scrimmages and practice,” He said. “Compared to last time we played Homestead in the fifth set, our energy was a lot better this time.”

Photos and reporting by Nylah Gehani and Liz Liu

10/26/2025

Varsity Boys Water Polo fell 11-9 to Cupertino High School on Tuesday, Oct. 21. MVHS started strong in the first quarter thanks to multiple goals from senior Scott Weaver. As the game progressed, CHS started to build up momentum while MVHS struggled with passing and awareness of defensive positioning as their energy levels dropped. Still, the game was very close up until the end of the third quarter, with MVHS ahead 7-6. Despite a strong effort from MVHS, CHS began to score more goals, leaving the Matadors in a points deficit they were unable to make up.

Sophomore Trevor Yuen emphasized the team’s improved consistency compared to their earlier games. Yuen feels that as the team moves forwards, they need to focus on maintaining energy and morale throughout all four quarters.

“I think from this game onwards we should be more hyped about each game and not be scared,” Yuen said. “Because mainly it’s our morale that’s kind of affecting everyone’s mood.”

As the second-to-last game of the season, sophomore Ivan Hon believes that the significance of this game lies in the teambuilding experience as they head into league finals next week, which Hon considers their most important and anticipated tournament of the season. Hon highlighted how the team has newcomers, making it even more crucial for the team to utilize games like these to gain experience playing together.

“I think the importance of this game was not actually winning,” Hon said. “But rather as a learning experience for our teammates.”

Photos and reporting by Ritik Shenoy

10/24/2025

The McClellan Ranch Preserve held its weekly Community Environmental Education Center open house on Saturday, Oct. 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Volunteers and community members gathered to participate in hands-on activities, hoping to gain a better understanding of the local ecosystem and wildlife habitats. Park Ranger Austin Tengan says that the open house is one of the busiest times of the week for McClellan Ranch, allowing guests to observe native species up close and learn about the city’s ongoing habitat restoration work at both Blackberry Farm and McClellan Ranch Park.

“It really helps the public understand the environment that they’re in and how important it is that we preserve as much of the animals’ habitat as we can,” Tengan said. “McClellan Ranch is the only nature preserve we have in Cupertino, so I think it’s really important to get people out here to see what the city is trying to do with some of the habitat restoration.

Families and children interacted with various animals, including Pretzel, a small gopher snake on display. Tengan guided visitors through handling the snake and holding it in addition to other educational activities in hopes of changing misconceptions about local wildlife.

“I find it meaningful to change people’s minds about animals,” Tengan said. It’s important that we protect all of them, not just the cute or familiar ones like dolphins or whales, but also the smaller creatures that often get overlooked. I’ve been fortunate to grow up close to animals, and it’s always fun being able to share that love with kids.”

Photos and reporting by Zaid Naqvi and Rachel Kim

10/23/2025

Varsity Girls Volleyball fell 3-2 to Los Altos High School on Tuesday, Oct. 21 during its senior night. While the Matadors’ early momentum carried them to a 2-0 lead, LAHS got back into the game, sweeping the final three sets to ultimately secure victory.

Before warmups, the team held Senior Night festivities, honoring each senior with a gift, poster and speech delivered by a teammate. Additionally, during the game, the team adjusted its lineup to ensure all six seniors received playing time.

According to Head Coach Nadia Lan, the changes provided a boost in energy that contributed to MVHS’ strong early performance. She highlights this energy as something she wants to build on as the team heads into CCS playoffs.

“What I’m going to work on in the next weeks is how to make team chemistry better,” Lan said. “When they play as a team, they do some amazing things, so I want to keep that going.”

Photos and reporting by Ethan Yang

10/21/2025

Varsity Boys Water Polo lost to Fremont High School 16-5 on Tuesday, Oct. 14. By the first period, MVHS trailed FHS by 3 points, scoring 4-1. However, MVHS slowly lost its coordination, leading to FHS scoring multiple goals, ending the third period with a score of 11-5. MVHS attempted to catch up on the point difference, but FHS kept up a strong offense and defense, leading to the loss. Sophomore Ivan Hon says that, despite the loss, he’s proud of the team for their improvements and hard work during training.

“I think in the future, we need to communicate and condition more, because a lot of the time we’re getting beat by other people’s speed,” Hon said. “I feel like there’s a lot of improvements to be made, but I still feel proud of my teammates.”

Photos and reporting by Elizabeth Yang and Owen Liu

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