If someone had told senior Arthi Abhyanker last year that she would start on the varsity girls basketball team, play the whole game and receive the Honorable Mention for the West Bay Athletic League in her senior year, she wouldn’t have believed it. “Arthi accomplished things this season on the basketball court she didn’t realize she was even capable of,” varsity girls basketball head coach Ryan Cooper said. “If you asked her before the season started if she thought she would have games where she led us in scoring or rebounding, I bet she’d have said, ‘no chance.’” Abhyanker averaged 9.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game for the Knights.
Abhyanker started playing basketball competitively in middle school and continued playing for Menlo throughout all four of her high school years, making varsity in her junior year. Despite not receiving much playing time in junior year, Abhyanker promised herself that she would contribute to the team in her senior year, and has taken on a new role as one of the team’s starting centers.
“I found myself at the bottom trying to work myself back up,” she said. “I think that even though I didn’t play a lot my junior year, I still was a part of the team and enjoyed being with my team, but obviously I wanted to end my high school career with […] a good season.”
Cooper is extremely proud of Abhyanker and her determination to improve. According to Cooper, Abhyanker’s success is a testament to her hard-working and positive character.
“It seemed as if every day of every week she unlocked a new version of herself that she didn’t know existed,” he said. “It wasn’t just in practice where she [improved]. It was the countless hours on the shooting machine and being in here at 8 a.m. with me in the morning before the season started. It’s never out of the realm as an athlete to attain your goals if you work.”
Abhyanker’s impact on the team extends far beyond the court. “I call her our anchor, and I mean that in multiple ways. She’s a locker room anchor, she’s a teammate culture anchor. She’s everything from a personality and character standpoint that you want, and you build winning programs around that,” Cooper said. “She has a positive outlook. She’s very selfless. She puts her teammates first.”
Junior Ruiqi Liu has played alongside Abhyanker for two years and is grateful for her uplifting character and enthusiasm. “I’m really proud of her,” she said. “She’s really enthusiastic, excited about everything we do and I appreciate that about her.” Liu said that Abhyanker made her feel welcome and a part of the program when she was a freshman on varsity.
Abhyanker said she wants the best for her teammates and tries to have an uplifting attitude, never letting herself or her teammates dwell on a mistake. “I want to be everyone on my team’s number one fan when I am on the bench, or even on the court,” she said. “I’ll always be smiling and I’ll always be high-fiving my teammates because I want them to feel uplifted for all their successes.”
Whether it’s dancing with her teammates during Saturday morning practices or listening to one of senior Paige Miller’s pre-game speeches, Abhyanker is grateful for the bonds she has formed with her teammates. “I love my teammates,” she said. “We consider ourselves family.”
