Sports Shorts Sports Shorts (March 28, 2001)

IN THE POOL . . . Teen-age sensation Tony Azevedo from Stanford scored three goals to lead the USA to a tough, come-from-behind 5-2 win over Canada in the opening round of FINA World Championship Qualification tournament being staged in the coastal resort of La Romana in the Dominican Republic. "There was a lot of tension before the game and I thought we came out a little tight," said Azevedo. "It's tough to start a tournament knowing that you have to win the first game and knowing that if you lose it's a very long tournament. Now we can breathe easier." Azevedo scored the first goal of the game at 4:12 of the first period to give the USA a 1-0 lead. The game went scoreless for the next 16 minutes as the game turned very physical, with the referees allowing the teams to over-press on defense. Azevedo scored his second powerplay goal of the game to knot the score at two after three periods. At the start of the fourth period, Azevedo broke free on a counterattack and drove to the cage and powered the ball into the net for a 3-2 USA lead. A week earlier, Azevedo was the leading scorer for the USA, scoring eight goals to help the Americans take two of of three matches from Canada in a tuneup for the qualification tourney for the FINA World Championships in Fukuoka, Japan (July 19-29).

ON THE COURSE . . . Stanford graduate Brad Hauser of Palo Alto joined with Tim Broe to lead the way as Team USA took fourth place Saturday in the Senior Men's 4K competition during the first day of the 29th IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Ostend, Belgium. It was the best team finish for the U.S. in 15 years. Hauser, a 2000 Olympian, finished 15th in 13:09 while U.S. 4K cross-country champ Broe was 18th in 13:10). Both charged out quickly into the top 20 to lead Team USA to its best placing by a U.S. men's World Cross Country team since the 1986 squad finished third in Neuchatel, Switzerland. "It's a really tough course, and getting out ahead early was very important," Hauser said. "I got out well and just held my position. Only one person caught up with me during the second lap, but besides that no one else caught up with me. It was a great race." In the Senior Men's 8K race, the USA finished third overall--its best finish since 1985 and '86--with Stanford grad Greg Jimmerson clocking 42:14 to finish 52nd overall. In the Junior Men's 4K, the USA finished fourth with Stanford's Ian Dobson contributing a 39th-place finish in 27:34. "These were the worst conditions I've ever faced," Dobson said of the muddy course, 34-degree weather and 35 mph winds. In the Junior Women's race, Stanford freshman Victoria Chang was 61st in 24:37 to help the USA finish 11th overall. I think I went out a little too fast," Chang said. "This was the first time that I've seen the course. Overall this was a good experience for me, especially the start, after that the field spread out a lot. It was interesting. I've never run in conditions like this. I have run cross country in very cold weather before. I think I prefer that to running in the mud."