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Klineman sets Stanford up for five-set victory
Stanford swimmers lead Toshiba Classic

Alix Klineman recorded 23 kills and 10 digs, but it may have been her one assist that helped save the night for the Stanford women's volleyball team on Friday night. The seventh-ranked Cardinal recovered from a deficit in the fourth set and went on to beat host Arizona, 25-18, 24-26, 21-25, 25-21, 15-7, in a Pac-10 contest. (Friday, 8:38 PM)

Saturday's Big Game will be aired live at the United States Embassy in Toyko
Prison tennis, The Fall League and more

Big Game parties are not confined to the Bay Area, California, or even the United States. The most notable will be taking place 5,000 miles away, in a U.S. Embassy before a head of state. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will be a guest of U.S. Ambassador John Roos and his wife Susie Roos for a special live telecast in Tokyo of the Big Game over the Armed Forces Network. Why the interest? They all went to Stanford. (Friday, 11:59 AM)

Thursday, November 19, 2009
Pedersen leads Stanford women in a home-opening victory
Kayla Pedersen scored 22 points and had nine rebounds in helping the Stanford women's basketball to a 99-50 victory over visiting Pepperdine in its home opener on Thursday night. Jeanette Pohlen added 20 points as the second-ranked Cardinal (3-0) won its 11th consecutive home opener. Jayne Appel had 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.
(Thursday, 9:53 PM)

Stanford wins NCAA men's soccer tournament opener; first appearance in seven years
Bobby Warshaw and Adam Jahn were named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com national teams of the year earlier in the day. They both contributed to Stanford's 3-0 victory over visiting St. Mary's in the first round of the NCAA tournament later Thursday night.

(Thursday, 9:37 PM)

Menlo boys, M-A girls have good shots at CCS revenge
If this season's Central Coast Section water polo championships are about anything, it would be having a second chance. At least that's how the Menlo School boys and Menlo-Atherton girls likely see it. Both teams lost their respective section championship games last season. Menlo fell to Sacred Heart Prep., 6-3, in the Division II finale and the M-A girls dropped a 7-6 overtime decision to St. Francis in Division I. (Thursday, 5:23 PM)

Stanford's Derrick eyes another run of success at NCAAs
Stanford sophomore Chris Derrick figures to be pretty familiar with the LaVern Gibson Championship Cross Country Course at the Wabash Valley Family Sports Center in Terre Haute, Ind., by now. He's run the course quite a few times, including as a high school senior. He'll be looking to establish personal bests to go with the Cardinal team goal of winning a national title when the final race commences on the dedicated cross-country course on Monday morning. (Thursday, 5:09 PM)

Stanford's bowl game possibilities looking good
Good afternoon and welcome to the college football show we like to call "What Happens If." It's really rather simple. We predict an outcome, say Stanford beating California this Saturday in the Big Game and try to decipher the possible bowl opportunities. (Thursday, 5:01 PM)

There will be more at stake in Big Game than just the Axe
There have been stranger weeks leading up to the Big Game than this one, but it would be difficult to find. Stanford is favored by a touchdown and who would have thought that at the beginning of the season? California was the nationally-ranked team back then, with dreams of Pac-10 titles and the BCS championship series dancing in its heads. Stanford? The Cardinal would have been lucky to win six games and play in a mid-December bowl game. These days it's the Cardinal that is dreaming of a New Year's Day Bowl. (Thursday, 4:37 PM)

Paly's next volleyball win could be biggest ever
M-A, SHP and Castilleja all reach CCS finals

The Mitty girls' volleyball team is ranked No. 1 in the nation, with a 35-0 record. The Monarchs have won six straight Central Coast Section titles, failing to do so only once this decade. Palo Alto, however, is not afraid of the Big Bad Wolf. (Thursday, 9:42 AM)

Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Green busts out for Stanford in losing cause
The Stanford men's basketball team valiantly fought from behind in both halves and yet could only watch as Roderick Pearson's running jumper swished through the net as time expired, giving Oral Roberts an 83-81 victory over the Cardinal as part of the Cancun Classic on Wednesday night. (Wednesday, 10:08 PM)

Dawkins garners top recruiting class
The present may look bleak for the Stanford men's basketball team at this moment in time. The future, however, brings the things that high expectations are made of. While the final results won't be known for five years, the current group of five recruits who signed letters of intent has already been rated as one of the best in the country. (Wednesday, 12:03 PM)

SHP, Menlo meet in boys' CCS water polo final
Menlo-Atherton boys bounced by St. Francis

For the past 12 years, either Menlo or Sacred Heart Prep (or both) have played in the Central Coast Section Division II boys' water polo finals. That number jumps to 13 this week now that the Knights and Gators have reached the championship match once again. (Wednesday, 9:58 AM)

Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Godsoe named top swimmer again
The Big Sail goes to Stanford

Stanford senior Eugene Godsoe was named the national collegeswimming.com's swimmer of the week for the second time this season following his triple-distance trifecta at Cal last week. (Tuesday, 5:27 PM)

A move backward became a step forward for Stanford men
Stanford's Simon named Pac-10 Coach of Year

The season started like so many of the previous six years. No goals and a loss and no NCAA tournament berth. Stanford is finishing its men's soccer season with its first appearance in the NCAA tournament since 2002, when the Cardinal reached the championship game against UCLA. Should Stanford and the Bruins continue winning, there could be a rematch.
(Tuesday, 3:43 PM)

Caltrain offers special service for the Big Game
Few things on the Peninsula have been around as long as Caltrain, but one of the closest competitors is the Big Game. Caltrain will provide special service to the 112th game when Stanford faces California on Saturday in Stanford Stadium. (Tuesday, 2:18 PM)

Tiger Woods back on The Farm for Saturday's annual Big Game
Heisman Trophy also in town

The 112th Big Game just got a lot bigger with the addition of an interesting spectator for Saturday's Pac-10 showdown at Stanford Stadium. Tiger Woods, winner of 14 major golf championships and the top-ranked player in the world, will serve as Stanford's honorary captain for Saturday's game against California. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m., with the game being televised on Versus. (Tuesday, 10:55 AM)

Stanford women's NCAA soccer match Friday sold out
The No. 1 Stanford women's soccer team will play host to Santa Clara in the third round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 7 p.m. at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. The match is sold out. Stanford (22-0), the top seed in the 16-team regional, advanced by beating visiting BYU last Saturday, 2-0. (Tuesday, 10:33 AM)

Monday, November 16, 2009
Ogwumike named Pac-10 Player of the Week
Nnemkadi Ogwumike has had an interesting weekend with the Stanford women's basketball team. Thursday she learned her younger sister, Chiney, signed a letter-of-intent to play at Stanford next year. The sophomore forward ended the weekend learning she was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week on Monday.
(Monday, 4:47 PM)

Paly, Bells renew long-dormant football rivalry
When asked about his team's opponent for the opening round of the Central Coast Section football playoffs, Palo Alto coach Earl Hansen commented: "We haven't seen much of Bellarmine, but I have some film to look at." That film, of course, is from this season -- certainly not from the last time Bellarmine and Palo Alto met, which was in 1944. (Monday, 3:03 PM)

A few goals left for Paly girls' volleyball team
After 32 straight victories this season, it would seem that the Palo Alto girls'volleyball team has accomplished just about everything. Well, not quite. (Monday, 1:30 PM)

M-A boys hope to join five other local teams in finals
While it appears there is little or no drama in the Central Coast Section water polo playoffs with all the favorites moving closer to the finals, six local water polo teams might argue with that premise as they head into semifinals this week -- despite the fact that five are favored to advance to Saturday's championship matches at Santa Clara University. (Monday, 10:56 AM)

Sunday, November 15, 2009
Fields stands tall, takes the lead for Stanford men's basketball
Landry Fields will have to take a lot of responsibility for the way the Stanford men's basketball team plays this season. The senior forward doesn't mind one bit. In fact he looks forward to the challenge. "I don't mind it," Fields said after scoring 22 points in Stanford's 70-53 victory over visiting Cal Poly on Sunday night. (Sunday, 9:41 PM)

Stanford, Harbaugh close to contract extension
Stanford football coach Jim Harbaugh is close to completing a contract extension with the school. Athletic director Bob Bowlsby said Sunday in an e-mail that a formal announcement of a new deal was expected to come shortly. (Sunday, 7:45 PM)

Menlo opens NAIA playoffs at Point Loma
The Menlo College women's volleyball team travels to Point Loma Nazarene (19-11) at Golden Gymnasium in San Diego on Saturday for a 2 p.m. tipoff in the opening round of the NAIA national championships. (Sunday, 6:50 PM)

Pedersen rises to the occassion
Kayla Pedersen scored 14 of her 22 points in the second half and grabbed eight rebounds as the Stanford women's basketball team downed host Rutgers, 81-66, in a nonconference game on Sunday.
(Sunday, 1:10 PM)

Gunn boys, girls qualify for state meet in cross country
It was just one of those special days for the Gunn cross-country program, which lengthened its season by two weeks following a successful day at the Central Coast Section championships on Saturday at Crystal Springs in Belmont. (Sunday, 9:54 AM)

Saturday, November 14, 2009
Overtime loss sinks Stanford men's water polo
Men's cross country wins Region title

Top-ranked USC topped third-ranked Stanford, 13-12, in overtime Saturday in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation men's water polo contest that could help decide who makes the NCAA tournament and who is out.
(Saturday, 8:14 PM)

Stanford moves to No. 14 in Top 20 after big win
Gerhart named Player of the Week

It was a victory as complete as the final score as Stanford destroyed nationally ranked No. 11 USC on the Trojans' own field on Saturday, 55-21, in one of the more improbable football victories in Cardinal history. It was so impressive that the Cardinal jumped 11 spots to No. 14 in The Associated Press Top 20 this week. (Saturday, 6:13 PM)

Stanford survives a scare to advance in NCAA soccer
Christen Press and Lindsay Taylor each scored a goal, but it was the one Rachel Quon prevented that might have saved the Stanford women's soccer team. Stanford downed BYU, 2-0, in a competitive match that was not decided until Taylor kicked in a rebound with 1:46 remaining to play. (Saturday, 2:57 PM)

Stanford field hockey season ends in the NCAA tournament
Stanford's greatest field hockey season came to a close Saturday with its 4-0 loss to host Princeton in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The 15th-ranked Cardinal (17-5) struggled to create scoring chances against the fourth-ranked Tigers, with Midori Uehara getting the only shot on goal. (Saturday, 10:27 AM)

Palo Alto, Gunn both celebrate football championships
Two games. Two must-win situations. When it was all over, the Palo Alto and Gunn football teams had themselves a league championship, or at least a share of one. Both teams took different routes to get their on Friday night. Palo Alto played to a 14-14 tie with host Wilcox, but wound up capturing the SCVAL De Anza Division crown when Los Gatos was upended by Milpitas, 20-19. Gunn simply blasted its way to a 45-0 victory over visiting Cupertino, thus earning the Titans a co-title in the SCVAL El Camino Division. (Saturday, 8:25 AM)

Friday, November 13, 2009
Menlo gains some revenge with Valpo Bowl win over SHP
It was only a year ago that the Menlo School football team finished the season on a five-game losing streak. To make matters worse, the final two losses were to neighborhood rival Sacred Heart Prep. Menlo's seniors wanted to make sure their season didn't end that way again, and it won't -- thanks to a 27-21 victory over the Gators in the seventh annual Valpo Bowl on Friday on the Knights' field. (Friday, November 13, 2009, 10:23 PM)

It was a rough start to Stanford men's basketball season
Landry Fields scored 25 points, grabbed nine rebounds and made five steals but it wasn't enough as the Stanford men's basketball dropped its season opener, 77-64, to host San Diego on Friday night. Jeremy Green added 13 points for the Cardinal, which lost its opener for the first time in four years. Drew Shiller added 10 points.
(Friday, November 13, 2009, 9:18 PM)

Stanford sink the Ducks in three sets
The seventh-ranked Stanford women's volleyball team gritted out a Pac-10 victory Friday night, beating visiting Oregon, 25-23, 25-16, 25-23. Junior Cassidy Lichtman had 16 kills to lead the Cardinal (10-4, 17-7), which remained in third place in the conference, a game behind Pac-10 leader Washington.
(Friday, November 13, 2009, 9:16 PM)

Trio of double-doubles stake the Stanford women to season-opening basketball victory
Nnemkadi Ogwumike, Jayne Appel and Jeanette Pohlen each turned in a double-double as the Stanford women's basketball team opened its season with a convincing 89-56 victory over host Old Dominion on Friday night. (Friday, November 13, 2009, 6:39 PM)

O'Hara invited to U.S. national team camp
It's been a special senior season for forward Kelley O'Hara, named the Pac-10 women's soccer Player of the Year, and named co-Player of the Year, with teammate Christen Press, on the Top Drawer Team of the Season. O'Hara, who will lead the top-ranked Cardinal (21-0) into the second round of the NCAA tournament against BYU on Saturday at 1 p.m., received an official invitation, with 23 others, to attend the full United States' national team December training camp. (Friday, November 13, 2009, 4:23 PM)

Stanford's O'Hara headed for U.S. National Team camp
Kelley O'Hara, Stanford's record-setting senior forward, isn't expecting any down time in the near future. First, she's busy with her soccer teammates hoping to reach the final four in the sport. When the season is finally over, O'Hara will head off to a U.S. National Team training camp in December with 23 others players. (Friday, November 13, 2009, 1:50 PM)

Thursday, November 12, 2009
Stanford has a 'Pressing' engagment against Lumberjacks
Green reinstated for men's hoops

Junior forward Christen Press scored 10 minutes into the second half to break a scoreless tie and help the Stanford women's soccer team beat visiting Northern Arizona, 2-0, Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament. (Thursday, November 12, 2009, 8:58 PM)

Gerhart a semifinalist for Doak Walker Award
Stanford senior Toby Gerhart has been named one of 10 semifinalists for the 2009 Doak Walker Award, which honors the nation's top collegiate running back. (Thursday, November 12, 2009, 5:35 PM)

Palo Alto faces Wilcox with league title at stake
While a Central Coast Section football playoff berth is wrapped up, Palo Alto still has a little work to do to win the SCVAL De Anza Division football championship. It comes down to just two scenarios, and both of them are good. (Thursday, November 12, 2009, 5:25 PM)

Ready or not, Stanford hoop teams set to tip off their seasons
The Stanford basketball season officially gets underway on Friday the 13th. The men's team already has experienced enough bad luck to last the year. The women's team has had a few setbacks, too, but has the ability to overcome a lot of them. Ready or not, both teams will tip off their seasons this weekend. (Thursday, November 12, 2009, 5:08 PM)

Stanford's Jenkins hopes to realize her final goal in soccer
Alicia Jenkins still gets a little upset whenever she thinks about the final game of her freshman year at Stanford. The Cardinal thoroughly outplayed Clemson in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA women's soccer tournament, but lost in penalty kicks. A lot has changed since then as Stanford has climbed all the way to No. 1 in the nation this season. (Thursday, November 12, 2009, 4:57 PM)

Stanford is in a rush to upset USC this weekend
You don't hear a lot about the guys in the Tunnel Workers Union, or their beanies. Stanford running back Toby Gerhart and quarterback Andrew Luck swear by them though. The members of the union, a.k.a. Stanford's offensive line, include center Chase Beeler, tackles Jonathan Martin and Chris Marinelli, guards Andrew Phillips and David DeCastro. (Thursday, November 12, 2009, 4:34 PM)

O'Hara leads Stanford sweep of Pac-10 honors in soccer
Record-setting senior Kelley O'Hara was named as the Pacific-10 Conference's women's soccer Player of the Year on Wednesday, leading a sweep of individual honors for No. 1-ranked Stanford. Freshman midfielder Mariah Nogueira was named Newcomer of the Year, the third consecutive year Stanford has won the honor, and Paul Ratcliffe repeated as Coach of the Year. (Thursday, November 12, 2009, 9:24 AM)

Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Menlo's Bekowies is Cal Pac Player of the Year
Menlo College middle blocker Deborah Bekowies was named California Pacific Conference Player of the Year for the second consecutive season as the all-conference team was announced Wednesday. (Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 9:37 PM)

Stanford golfers stay on the fairways
The second-ranked Stanford's men's golf team won the Gifford Intercollegiate Championships at CordeValle Golf Club in San Martin, Calif. with a final round of 352 Wednesday. (Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 7:58 PM)

Castilleja's Zelinger a state winner in Heisman contest
When the application for the Wendy's High School Heisman Award became available earlier this school year, Castilleja senior Eve Zelinger figured why not? "My college counselor suggested that I apply," Zelinger said. "I had nothing else to do so I filled it out. It had a short essay and some questions to answer." (Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 5:40 PM)

Castilleja's Albanese makes it all official
Stanford announces signings

It was the first day that high school seniors could sign national letters of intent with the college of their choice. For Castilleja's Sammy Albanese, it was a year in the making. (Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 2:58 PM)

Memories of the way they were
Edwards to start for Bills

Two years ago, Stanford went to the Los Angeles Coliseum as a 41-point underdog against No. 2 USC. The oddsmakers did the math after looking at the Cardinal's first three Pac-10 games that season -- losses to No. 14 UCLA (45-17), No. 13 Oregon (55-31) and No. 23 Arizona State (41-3). (Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 11:49 AM)

Competition heats up in second round of CCS
The Menlo School and Menlo-Atherton girls' tennis teams both won league titles with unbeaten records this season. The Knights took the West Bay Athletic League (Foothill Division) with a 10-0 mark while the Bears captured the PAL Bay Division with a 12-0 effort. The Central Coast Section team tournament won't be so easy. (Wednesday, November 11, 2009, 9:44 AM)

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