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Stanford middle blocker Carly Wopat has been selected as the Pac-12 women's volleyball Offensive Player of the Week for Oct. 15-21, Commissioner Larry Scott announced today.

The Cardinal (18-2), which defeated No. 5 Washington and Washington State on the road this past weekend, has now won 16 matches in a row and finished the first half of conference play with a 10-0 record.

Wopat averaged 3.10 kills, 3.75 points and 0.90 blocks per set, while hitting .422 in the two matches. The Santa Barbara native led the team in kills at Washington, recording 15 kills on 34 attempts with just two errors for a .382 attack percentage. The win handed the Huskies their first home loss on the season.

At WSU, Wopat led the team with 16 kills on a .467 hitting percentage, while only recording two errors. Wopat also tallied seven blocks, six digs and an ace against the Cougars.

It marks the third career weekly honor for Wopat and the first of the season for the junior. Last year, she became the first Pac-12 player to be named Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week in the same season. Stanford's total player of the week count now stands at 82.

Stanford begins the second half of Pac-12 play this week against Arizona and Arizona State. The Cardinal and Wildcats square off on Wednesday at 7 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks. Stanford hosts the Sun Devils on Friday, also at 7 p.m. in Maples Pavilion.

Women's basketball
Stanford was voted the preseason favorite by the Pac-12 women's basketball coaches to win the Pac-12 title in 2012-13, Commissioner Larry Scott announced today at Pac-12 Women's Basketball Media Day held at the Pac-12 Networks Studios in San Francisco.

Collecting a maximum number of points (121) and first-place votes (11), the Cardinal earned the honor for the 12th year in a row. Receiving one first-place vote and picked to finish second in the polling was Californis (109), with UCLA rounding out the top three with 100 points.

Under the direction of 27-year head coach and Naismith Hall of Famer Tara VanDerveer, the Cardinal has won the conference's regular-season crown in each of the past 12 years. Coming off a fifth-consecutive NCAA Final Four appearance, VanDerveer welcomes back another talented squad, led by All-American junior Chiney Ogwumike (Cypress, Texas).

Football
The Associated Press reported Monday that Dr. Condoleezza Rice will be a keynote speaker when the NFL holds its career transition program at the Stanford Graduate School of Business this week.

More than 40 former players are expected to attend the four-day event that begins Friday. The program began in 2006 and has since been an avenue for more than 700 NFL players.

"As an educator, I look forward to working with the NFL to help these players find their footing in their new careers so they can have a lasting impact in their communities." said Rice, the former Secretary of State and current professor of political science at Stanford.

Men's tennis
Monday's competition at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northwest Regional Championships in Moraga has been postponed due to rain.

Two rounds of doubles and one round of singles were scheduled to be completed in the main draw, but those have now been shifted to Tuesday.

When play resumes, Stanford freshman Nolan Paige will face third-seeded John Lamble of Santa Clara in the semifinals.

Women's tennis
Stanford freshman Krista Hardebeck will compete for her first career singles title on Tuesday afternoon at the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Northwest Regional Championships.

Hardebeck defeated California's Tayler Davis, 6-4, 6-3, in the semifinals on Monday, punching her ticket to Tuesday's championship at 12:30 p.m. The fifth-seeded Hardebeck will play fourth-seeded Anett Schutting of California.

In the doubles final, the Cardinal's top-seeded duo of Stacey Tan and Ellen Tsay will battle California's Davis and Annie Goransson at 12:30 p.m.

Tan and Tsay knocked off the Golden Bears' duo of Lynn Chi and Klara Fabikova, 8-4, in the semifinals.

A total of 24 other ITA Regional Championships for NCAA Division I men and women are taking place during this month at campuses throughout the country. The singles finalists and doubles champion from each regional earn berths to the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships, slated for Nov. 8-11 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

Winners and finalists from the various ITA Regional Championships around the country, plus at-large selections, will make up the singles field of 32 and the 16-team doubles draw.

— Stanford Sports Information

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