The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

The Student News Site of Monta Vista High School

El Estoque

Manas Kottakota

Manas Kottakota, Sports Editor

Manas is currently a junior and sports editor for El Estoque. In his free time, he enjoys biking with his friends, traveling to new places with his family and cooking.

All content by Manas Kottakota
Badminton Head Coach Russell Okuno gives advice to sophomore Maxim Gutnik after his first set of Varsity 3 Boys Singles against Lynbrook High School.

Sounds of sports

MV students and coaches share how they involve music, pep-talks and cheering into their sports life
Badminton Head Coach Russell Okuno gives advice to sophomore Maxim Gutnik after his first set of Varsity 3 Boys Singles against Lynbrook High School.

Words of advice

MVHS coaches discuss their approach to giving student athletes pep talks
Manas Kottakota and Lillian Wang
April 10, 2024
Senior and Varsity 3 Boys Doubles player Saketh Korrada prepares to serve the birdie.

Varsity Badminton loses to Lynbrook High School 25-5

The Matadors fall to reigning league champions
Off-court champs

Off-court champs

MVHS sports depends on overlooked roles such as photographers, the athletic director, and student volunteers.
Two students play soccer at the Junior Stars Academy. Photo courtesy of Charlie Jiang | Used with permission

Game changing volunteers

MVHS students and athletes help support the local sports community through volunteering and coaching
Mixed-gender events

Mixed-gender events

Student athletes share their thoughts on the increase in mixed-gender events in Olympic sports
Manas Kottakota and Daphne Huang
January 26, 2024
Senior and shooting guard Ruchir Banerjee defends an opponent in the paint.

Boys Basketball narrowly falls to Leland High School 58-50

The Matadors lose momentum as the game enters overtime
Manas Kottakota and Sagnik Nag Chowdhury
December 17, 2023

All-star athletes

A class-by-class dive into outstanding athletes at MVHS
Junior and forward Parth Upadhyay defends an opponent

Home court advantage

Exploring the perspectives of athletes playing on their home turf
Manas Kottakota
December 5, 2023
Sophomore and forward Sean Foo defends an opponent.

Boys Basketball falls to The King’s Academy 58-42

The Matadors lose the sportsmanship game
Manas Kottakota and Sagnik Nag Chowdhury
November 18, 2023
Time out! Ep. 9: Gracie Lee

Time out! Ep. 9: Gracie Lee

Following Gracie Lee's journey in dance
Sagnik Nag Chowdhury and Manas Kottakota
November 2, 2023
Senior Neiv Gupta prepares to intercept an opponent’s pass to his teammate. Photo courtesy of Neiv Gupta | Used with permission

Senior sensation: Neiv Gupta

Delving into the successes and future of a senior ice hockey pheno
Manas Kottakota and Brandon Wang
November 2, 2023
Junior Tvisha Jain attempts to gain possession of the ball from an opponent.

Field Hockey falls to Palo Alto High School 2-0

Despite putting up consistent effort, Field Hockey fails to win on senior night
Manas Kottakota and Sagnik Nag Chowdhury
October 28, 2023
EE-SPN Ep. 5: NBA Eastern Conference Preview 2023-24

EE-SPN Ep. 5: NBA Eastern Conference Preview 2023-24

Previewing and predicting the Eastern Conference of the 2023-2024 NBA Season
Manas Kottakota and Arjun Dhruv
October 26, 2023
Freshman and setter Kylee Mark sets the ball to junior and middle blocker Samantha Tong, who prepares to spike the ball.

Girls Volleyball beats Sequoia High School 3-1

Girls Volleyball starts off strong in the first two sets and regains momentum to win the fourth set
Sheng Kee Bakery

Dessert Detectives: Sheng Kee Bakery

Reviewing popular menu items based on quality and taste
Manas Kottakota and Sagnik Nag Chowdhury
October 16, 2023
Rebooting the rally

Rebooting the rally

Examining how the themes of Homecoming 2023 are integrated into the Homecoming rally
Samika Bhatkar and Manas Kottakota
October 9, 2023
EE-SPN Ep. 4: NBA Western Conference Preview 2023-24

EE-SPN Ep. 4: NBA Western Conference Preview 2023-24

Previewing and Predicting the Western 2023-2024 NBA Season
Arjun Dhruv and Manas Kottakota
September 29, 2023
Cafeteria Crackdown 2

Cafeteria Crackdown 2

El Estoque’s Arts & Entertainment section assesses school brunches
In August 2023, the choir room was still undergoing construction. | Photo by Giljoon Lee

Deconstructing construction

Breaking down school construction projects and how they impact MVHS staff
Junior Tvisha Jain dribbles past her opponent in the first quarter. Photo by Manas Kottakota

Field Hockey falls to Branham High School 5-1

Field Hockey continues to prepare for the regular season, but fails to maintain its positive momentum
Manas Kottakota and Sagnik Nag Chowdhury
September 4, 2023
EE-SPN NBA Finals Graphic

EE-SPN Ep. 3: NBA Finals 2023

Analyzing the 2023 NBA Finals
Arjun Dhruv and Manas Kottakota
June 5, 2023
The addition of Proposition 28 provides additional funding for MVHS arts departments, helping to continue sustaining these courses.

Keeping the arts alive

How declining enrollment and Proposition 28 are affecting the arts department
2023 NBA Playoffs Conference Finals EE-SPN Graphic by Arjun Dhruv and Manas Kottakotta

EE-SPN Ep. 2: NBA Conference Finals 2023

Analyzing the conference finals of the 2023 NBA Playoffs
Arjun Dhruv and Manas Kottakota
May 19, 2023
Junior and setter Henry Hu sets the ball to the middle hitter. Photo by Sagnik Nag Chowdhury

Boys Volleyball falls to The Harker School 3-0 on its senior night

Matadors narrowly lost two final sets 22-25 and 23-25
EE-SPN 2023 NBA Playoffs Conference Semifinals Podcast with Manas Kottakota and Arjun Dhruv

EE-SPN Ep. 1: NBA Conference Semifinals 2023

Analyzing the conference semifinals of the NBA Playoffs
Manas Kottakota and Arjun Dhruv
May 2, 2023
Affordability in education

Affordability in education

How money creates disproportionate opportunities for students
Manas Kottakota
April 5, 2023
Chang with her grandma and grandpa. Photo sed with permission by Kayla Chang.

Who inspires you?

Delving into MVHS students’ biggest inspirations and role models
Sophomore and Varsity 3 Boys Singles player Jayden Lim prepares to reach for the birdie. Lim won his set earning MVHS one point.

Photo by Manas Kottakota

Badminton defeats Cupertino High School 17-13 in a close game

Varsity Badminton opens up its season with a close victory
Manas Kottakota and Sameer Maheshwari
March 11, 2023
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