Editor’s note: We prohibit the use of bots and any other artificial methods of voting. Suspicious activity could lead to the disqualification of candidates and a permanent suspension of the Athlete of the Week poll. No voting by email: Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted.
Welcome to the Bay Area News Group (Mercury News & East Bay Times) girls Athlete of the Week poll.
For the entire academic year, we will provide a list of candidates who stood out over the previous week and allow you, the reader, to vote for the winner.
This week, we consider performances from Oct. 28 to Nov. 2.
Polls close at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Vote as many times as you’d like until then without using bots or any other artificial methods of voting.
Votes by email and after 5 p.m. Wednesday are not counted.
Scroll to the bottom for the poll.
Winners are announced each Friday online and in the print edition of the Mercury News and East Bay Times sports sections.
Candidates for future Athlete of the Week polls can be nominated at highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.
We accept nominations until 11 a.m. each Monday.
We also review stats submitted to MaxPreps by coaches/team statisticians.
On to the nominees:
Maura Hambly, Palo Alto volleyball: The sophomore led the Vikings with 18 kills, 16 digs, three aces and two blocks in a CCS Open Division 3-2 quarterfinal victory over Menlo-Atherton. The Vikings advanced to play St. Francis.
Nicole Hayeem, Archbishop Riordan flag football: The quarterback was 29-for-35 passing with seven touchdowns and also ran for a TD in a 54-35 victory over The King’s Academy. The Crusaders finished the season 17-2 overall and 10-0 in the WBAL.
Lulu Hoenninger, Foothill volleyball: The senior had 10 kills and an astounding nine blocks in Foothill’s 3-1 NCS Open Division playoff victory over Redwood, setting up a second-round match against top-seeded Branson.
Ellie Knoll, Menlo School flag football: The senior wideout caught two touchdowns and one two-point conversion in a 55-6 victory over Notre Dame-San Jose. The Knights improved to 16-0 after their home finale.
Anna Koretsky, Fremont-Sunnyvale water polo: The junior had three goals and two assists in a 12-1 victory over Santa Clara. Koretsky finished the week with 81 goals and 25 assists on the season.
Audrey Nordenholz, Albany cross country: The senior set a personal record in the three-mile race at the TCAL meet, finishing first with a time of 19:10.8. She was a minute faster than the second-place runner.
Araika Ramchandran, Castilleja volleyball: The senior stood out in the final regular-season home game of her career, totaling 12 kills, three serving aces and 13 digs to lead the Gators to a 25-22, 25-18, 25-16 sweep of Pinewood.
Shyanne Smith, Liberty flag football: The quarterback threw five touchdown passes in a victory over BVAL rival Freedom. The Lions finished the week with a 17-1 record on the season.
Diana Trujillo, Antioch tennis: After playing in the No. 2 singles spot all season for the Panthers, she stepped into the No. 1 role and defeated her Pittsburg opponnent 6-4, 6-4 in the last match of the BVAL season.
Kennedy Whyte, Monte Vista volleyball: Had 19 kills, five digs and three aces in the first round of the NCS playoffs against Northgate. She followed it up in a quarterfinal upset of Windsor on Saturday with 24 kills, eight digs and four aces.