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Powell, VanDerveer up for hoop honors

by Rick Eymer

Maybe the rest of the country is finally beginning to recognize what the Pac-10 and most West Coast women's basketball teams know: Stanford junior Nicole Powell is pretty good.

Powell was named one of 13 finalists for the State Farm Wade Trophy, presented to the top female collegiate basketball player in the country.

The award will be presented on Monday, April 7 in Atlanta in conjunction with NCAA Women's Final Four. Powell hopes she's there with the rest of her Cardinal teammates as participants.

Powell, who received her sixth career Pac-10 Player of the Week honor on Monday, is averaging a near double-double of 18.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.8 steals for the Cardinal, which clinched its third straight Pac-10 regular season title with a victory over UCLA on Saturday.

Powell has scored in double figures in 14 of her 16 games since returning from a back injury, and has pulled down 10 or more rebounds eight times. In conference play, she ranks among the Pac-10 leaders in 11 out of 12 possible categories.

Powell has already made her mark in the Stanford record book. She holds the school single season (327) and single game (21) rebounding records, and ranks first in school history in rebounds per game (9.1), fourth in points per game (16.0), fourth in free throw percentage (81.0), sixth in rebounds (734), eighth in assists (419) and 15th in points (1,296).

In related news, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced that Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer was named one of 25 finalists for the Naismith Women's College Basketball Coach of the Year Award. VanDerveer has guided the Cardinal to a 22-3 record and Pac-10 Championship thus far this season.
Women's golf

Stanford shot a 294 on the final day of competition at the Arizona Invitational in Tucson on Wednesday to finish fifth overall with a three-round score of 902.

Pepperdine won the tournament with a 876, followed by USC (890), Arizona State (895) and Tennessee (897).

It's the third top-five finish for the Cardinal this season, while junior Angela Rho, who placed seventh a score of 220, for her best finish on the year. Senior Kim Rowton recorded her fifth top-20 finish as she scored a 222 to tie for ninth.
Cross country

Stanford coach Vin Lananna was named NCAA Division I Men's Coach of the Year by the United States Cross Country Coaches Association (USCCCA).

Lananna earned the honor for the fourth time in his career and the third time during his 11-year tenure at Stanford after leading the Cardinal men's squad to the team title at the 2002 NCAA Championships. Lananna also won the honor at Stanford after winning national titles in 1996 and 1997, as well as at Dartmouth in 1986.
Women's swimming

Eighth-ranked Stanford will be looking for its 15th title in 17 years as the Pac-10 championships continue through Sunday at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center in Federal Way, Wash.

The meet features five of the nation's top 15 teams with No. 6 Arizona, No. 7 California, No. 9 USC, No. 12 UCLA and No. 15 Arizona State joining the Cardinal.

Arizona and UCLA are the only other schools to have won a Pac-10 title other than Stanford.

The meet will also serve as final opportunity for individual swimmers and divers to qualify for the NCAA championships to be hosted by Auburn beginning Thursday, March 20.

Seven-time NCAA champion Tara Kirk leads Stanford into the conference championships. She currently holds the nation's best times in both the 100 (59.74) and 200 (2:09.66) breast. She also holds four American records (100, 200 breast; member of 200, 400 medley relay teams) and won NCAA titles in each of the four events in 2002 after winning three NCAA titles as a freshman (100 breast, 200 medley relay, 400 medley relay).

Kirk extended her perfect string of victories in the 100 breast to 25 this season with wins the first eight times she has competed in the event.

Freshman Kristen Caverly has three times that rank among the nation's top 10 marks this year through February 5 in the 400 IM (3rd, 4:10.37), 200 IM (10th, 1:59.58) and 200 breast (10th, 2:14.28).

Amy Wagner and Lacey Boutwell are both two-time NCAA champions, swimming the lead and anchor legs respectively on Stanford's winning 200 and 400 medley relay teams last year. Boutwell earned five All-American honors in 2002, also taking eighth in the 100 free, and as a member of the Stanford's seventh-place 200 yard relay squad and eighth-place 800 yard relay team. Wagner was a three-time All-American in 2002, also earning the honor in the 100 back with a ninth-place showing.

Other returning All-Americans include Sarah Jones (200 free relay), Tami Ransom (200 free relay), and Gunn grad Ashlee Rosenthal (three-meter diving).
Men's tennis

The countdown to 1,000 continues as seventh-ranked Stanford defeated visiting Utah, 7-0, on Tuesday at the Taube Tennis Center.

Stanford is two wins shy of 1,000 in the program's history, and hosts Tulane on Wednesday, March 5.

In the meantime, the Cardinal returns to action this weekend when they travel to the Pacific Coast men's doubles championships beginning today in La Jolla.

Against Utah, Stanford (7-2) lost just eight games in the three doubles matches and won all six singles matches in straight sets.

At No. 1 singles, 46th-ranked Scott Lipsky won his fifth dual match in six tries with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Roeland Brateanu. Carter Morris and Phil Sheng each earned their first dual singles victories of the season.
Wrestling

Harold Penson, Stanford's only senior, will be making his fourth trip to the Pac-10 tournament this weekend.

Penson, Matt Gentry, Brad Metzler and Nathan Peterson have combined for 72 wins this season. Gentry, Metzler and Peterson each earned a berth to the NCAA championships last season.

Penson leads the Cardinal this season in pins (six) and is tied for second on the team in wins (16) and has collected 55 wins in his Stanford career. As a freshman, Penson went 0-2 at the Pac-10 Championships, but in his next two campaigns he recorded one win at each of the conference tournaments.
Baseball

John Hudgins and seventh-ranked Stanford (9-6) face a big test this weekend when USC visits Sunken Diamond for a three-game series beginning today at 6 p.m. and continuing Saturday and Sunday, both at 1 p.m.

Hudgins (3-0, 2.75) has won each of his last two starts, and leads the team with 36 strikeouts and in 36 innings pitched, while allowing just four walks. He has pitched at least six innings in each of his five starts, and opponents are hitting just .228 off him with 31 hits.

He'll be opposed by USC right-hander Brian Bannister (2-1, 1.93).

Ryan McCally (1-1, 4.10) goes Saturday against Trojan lefty Frazier Dizard (1-0, 4.50.

Stanford has yet to determine Sunday's starter against lefty Bobby Paschal (0-2, 2.60) as Tim Cunningham remains out of the rotation because of a broken bone in his finger.

Stanford won a season-high six straight games before falling at defending national champions Texas in its most recent contest last Sunday. The streak including a doubleheader sweep of the Longhorns on Saturday.

Part of the recent success can be attributed to defense. Stanford has been errorless in five of its last six games while hitting .290 as a team.

USC leads Stanford in the all-time series, 197-145-3. However, Stanford won seven of the eight games played between the clubs last year, including a pair of NCAA Super Regional contests to end the Trojans' season. Stanford won four of the five games played between the clubs at Sunken Diamond last year.
Women's water polo

Top-ranked Stanford (5-0) open Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play this weekend as third-ranked UCLA and No. 10 UC Santa Barbara visit Avery Aquatic Center.

Stanford and UCLA, who have met in the NCAA finals each of the past two years, meet for the second time this season today at 5 p.m. The Cardinal beat the Bruins, 4-3, in the title match of the Stanford Invitational.

Stanford meets the Gauchos on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Women's volleyball

Stanford's spring season will begin on April 2 with a tournament in Bakersfield.

The Cardinal, national runners-up to USC in the fall, also have a tournament in Portland and a scrimmage against Santa Clara.

Stanford ended the season ranked No. 2 nationally with a 32-5 record, and returns two All-Americans in outside hitter Ogonna Nnamani and middle blocker Sara McGee, and four starters.
Softball

Stanford juniors Jessica Allister and Dana Sorensen were named to the NFCA Leadoff Classic All-Tournament Team.

Stanford finished 2-1, beating North Carolina (6-0), Southern Mississippi (2-0) and dropping a 1-0 contest to third-ranked Nebraska last weekend in Columbus, Ga. Massachusetts was crowned the NFCA Leadoff Classic Champion, while Alabama and Nebraska placed second and third, respectively.

Allister, a catcher, led the Cardinal with a .429 batting average over the weekend. She went 3-for-7 with a double and two RBI. Allister also gunned down five base runners and allowed only one stolen base in three games.

Sorensen made it through the weekend with a 0.00 ERA in 11 1/3 innings of work. She picked up the win over North Carolina and threw the final five innings against Nebraska, striking out 11 and did not allow a batter on base. Sorensen finished with 21 strikeouts, one walk and allowed only three hits.

Stanford (12-3) hosts its second tournament of the year this weekend.

The Stanford Classic will feature three teams ranked in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top-25 Poll. No. 11 Stanford will be joined by 12th-ranked Georgia, No. 21 Texas A&M and Long Beach State.

The tournament begins today at 11 a.m. and continues through Sunday, with the championship game slated for noon.

Georgia (18-1) has won 13 consecutive contests. Oregon handed the Bulldogs their only loss, 3-2 in 12 innings, at the Seminole Classic in Tallahassee. Georgia has only played one ranked opponent, beating No. 15 Florida State 5-4.

Long Beach State (6-5) finished 2-1 in their invitational last weekend. Lauren Johnson has a .412 average with four doubles, three home runs and seven RBI to lead the 49er offense. Head coach Pete Manarino is one won shy of 700 for his career.

Texas A&M (12-6) won its second consecutive tournament at the St. Joseph's Aggie Invitational II last weekend. Men's diving

Stanford travels to Federal Way, Wash. for the Pac-10 championships beginning Thursday and running through Sunday at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatics Center.

Last year, USC claimed all three women's diving crowns while Arizona swept all three competitions on the men's side.

The NCAA Zone "E" championships will take place Friday through Sunday, March 14-16, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The finals will take place March 27-29 at the Jamail Texas Swim Center in Austin, Texas.
Men's crew

Stanford's Jamie Schroeder continued his run through international and national team competition.

On Sunday, Schroeder defended his double championship in Boston.
Women's tennis

Fifth-ranked Stanford started with singles play in anticipation of rain against Pepperdine on Monday, but could only get to the first set before the match was called to due the wet weather at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.

Stanford (5-1) was scheduled to host Pacific on Thursday.
Women's lacrosse

Stanford (2-0) hosts Denver on Sunday at 4 p.m. on Maloney Field. This will be the Pioneer's first game of the season.

The Cardinal are coming off a win at home against New Hampshire last Saturday.
Synchronized swimming

Stanford won its own the five-team Stanford Invitational on Saturday at the Avery Aquatic Center.

The Cardinal finished with 90 points, ahead of Incarnate Word (52), Michigan (39), Washington (33) and Arizona (26).

Stanford won the Collegiate Western Regional championship on Sunday, also at the Avery Aquatic Center. The Cardinal concluded the one-day event with 99 points, ahead of Arizona's 81 and Washington's 70.5.

The Cardinal won all four events --- the team, trio (Ashley McHugh, Stephanie Joukoff, Jennifer Kibler), duet (Shella Sadovnik, Joanne Taylor) and solo (McHugh).