Cardinal men host BYU in MPSF volleyball opener Cardinal men host BYU in MPSF volleyball opener (January 17, 2003)

by Rick Eymer

The Stanford men's volleyball team opens Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play this weekend with a pair of matches against visiting Brigham Young.

The 12th-ranked Cardinal (2-2) host BYU today and Saturday at 7 p.m. at Burnham Pavilion. Stanford lost to the Cougars in the first round of the MPSF playoffs last season.

Stanford (15-7, 16-10 last year) is coming off a sixth-place finish in the E-Bar Invitational at UC Santa Barbara over the weekend.

Stanford is led by senior opposite hitter Curt Toppel, a first team All-American selection last year. He leads the team with 65 kills, and is hitting at a .444 clip. Toppel was named to the all-tournament team in Santa Barbara.

Senior outside hitter William Strickland is next with 36 kills and a team-high 27 digs. Sophomore middle blocker Craig Buell is Stanford's top hitter at .561, followed by sophomore middle blocker Christopher Sandman at .528.

Redshirt sophomore setter Kevin Hansen averages 14 assists per game and leads the team with six service aces.

The Cardinal are coached by Don Shaw, in his second season as men's coach after a successful 16-year run as women's coach, which included four national championships and 10 conference titles.
Men's tennis

Stanford was ranked fourth in the preseason Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) this week.

The Cardinal just won't be able to display their wares this week, as the National Collegiate Men's Tennis Classic, which was scheduled to begin today at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, has been cancelled because of the withdrawal of the event's main sponsor.

The tournament was scheduled to include individual entrants from Stanford, Notre Dame, USC, UCLA, UNLV and Pepperdine.

Stanford replaced the open date with a match against Tulane, which will be played on Wednesday, March 5 at the Taube Tennis Center.

Stanford's first event of 2003 is a match at Cal on Saturday, Feb. 1.

UCLA was ranked first in the ITA rankings, followed by Illinois and Georgia. USC (7th) and Cal (10th) are also ranked among the top 10.

The Cardinal return NCAA singles semifinalists and ITA All-Americans Ryan Haviland and David Martin.

Martin heads Stanford with a No. 15 ranking, followed by Scott Lipsky at No. 46, KC Corkery at No. 50 and Sam Warburg at No. 52.

Lipsky and Martin check in as the top doubles team for the Cardinal, ranked No. 3 overall. Corkery and Menlo School grad James Pade follow at No. 9. Carter Morris and Warburg are ranked No. 57.
Women's tennis

Stanford, two-time defending national champions, were voted No. 1 in the preseason Omni Hotels Collegiate Tennis Rankings, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) this week.

Stanford plays at the National Collegiate Tennis Classic at UNLV beginning Friday.

The Cardinal, whom have won four of the last six national titles, begins the year atop the women's poll for the fourth straight season.

Stanford received 20 of the 33 possible first-place votes for 807 points. Second-ranked Florida garnered six first-place votes, followed by No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Duke collecting four and three first-place votes, respectively. No. 5 North Carolina, Arizona State, UCLA, Vanderbilt, USC and California round out the top 10.

Stanford has won 57 of its 58 matches under third-year coach Lele Forood, and returns ITA All-Americans Lauren Barnikow and Erin Burdette while adding highly-touted freshmen Alice Barnes and Amber Liu.

Barnes is ranked No. 13 in singles play, followed by Liu at No. 17. Barnikow checks in at No. 25, followed by Burdette at No. 30 and Emilia Anderson at No. 105.

Stanford's doubles team of Barnikow and Burdette are ranked No. 8.
Baseball

Stanford, which has reached the College World Series in each of the past four seasons, begin the year ranked third in the nation by Baseball America, and ninth by Collegiate Baseball.

The Cardinal were tabbed to finish third in the Pac-10 by conference coaches behind favorite USC and Arizona State.

Stanford opens the season on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Santa Clara at 1 p.m. The home opener is Sunday, Jan. 26, also against Santa Clara at 1 p.m.

Stanford, which finished 47-18 overall last year, also plays five teams currently ranked among the nation's top 13, including defending national champion and No. 5 Texas.

The Cardinal meet No. 6 USC and No. 8 Arizona State in addition to No. 4 Florida State and No. 13 Cal State Fullerton.

Stanford returns six starters and two of its three starting pitchers.

Four Cardinal players were named Preseason All-Americans: senior pitcher Tim Cunningham, junior outfielder Sam Fuld, senior catcher Ryan Garko and junior outfielder Carlos Quentin.
Women's volleyball

The honors continue to accumulate for Stanford outside hitter Logan Tom, a two-time AVCA National Player of the Year.

Tom became just the third player in the history of award to repeat as the Honda Award winner for being the top female collegiate athlete in volleyball this season.

Tom, a senior from Salt Lake City, led the Cardinal to a No. 2 final ranking and the national championship final match.

Hawaii's Deitre Collins (1982-83) and UCLA's Natalie Williams (1991-92) join Tom as two-time selections.

Tom had already won her second straight Player of the Year honor this season, becoming the third player in conference history to repeat. She joined former Cardinal Kerri Walsh (1998, 1999) and UCLA's Daiva Tomkus (1988, 1989). The honor marks the 10th time a Stanford player has won the award in the 17 years of Pac-10 volleyball.

Tom led this year's squad in kills and digs per game and ended her career as the Cardinal's all-time kills leader.

Tom, who plays for the U.S. National Team and was on the 2000 Olympic team, is a four-time first-team All-American and has been selected as Pac-10 Player of the Week nine times over her career - more than any other volleyball athlete in conference history.

Tom is now eligible for the 2001 Honda Broderick Cup which will honor the most outstanding female athlete in all sports.
Football

Stanford junior offensive tackle Kwame Harris (6-7, 308) said it was a difficult decision to make but one that seemed right as he announced he is forgoing his senior season at Stanford to enter the 2003 NFL Draft.

Harris, a first-team All-Pac selection this past season, and winner of the 2002 Morris Trophy as the top lineman in the conference, started all 23 games for the Cardinal at right tackle the past two seasons. He was considered among the top offensive lineman in college football in 2002.

"Although my years on The Farm have been filled with fun and growth, my time to venture into the real world has come," Harris said. "I have spent many sleepless nights wondering if my decision to leave Stanford is the right one and although there is no clear-cut method of coming to an answer, my heart yearns for the challenges of the NFL."

Harris joins wide receiver Teyo Johnson as the first Stanford football players to leave early in more than a decade.

"I will forever be thankful to Stanford University for nourishing me into the confident young man who is now on the verge of embarking on one of the biggest journeys of my life," Harris said. "The education I received during my three years is second to none and has prepared me well to deal with all of life's tribulations. It is my utmost intention to complete my degree at Stanford."

"Kwame is a special person," said Cardinal coach Buddy Teevens. "He is an outstanding young man who is very dedicated and committed to excellence in his life, both on and off the playing field. We will miss him as a part of our football program not only for his athleticism, but also for his work ethic, character and integrity. We wish him all the best in his professional football career and future endeavors."