A unique A unique (April 02, 2003) softball split

Sorensen loses to UCLA no-hitter, then beats Huskies with no-hitter

by Rick Eymer

After being on the wrong end of a no-hitter earlier in the weekend, junior Dana Sorensen (11-4) went out and threw her second no-hitter of the season on Sunday as the Stanford softball team earned its first Pac-10 victory with a 4-0 victory over second-ranked Washington. Stanford (1-2, 26-11) lost to top-ranked UCLA, 5-0, on Friday as Keira Goerl (20-2) pitched her first no-hitter of the season. Sorensen took the loss, despite 12 strikeouts. Washington beat the 12th-ranked Cardinal, 6-0, on Saturday. Sorensen made sure there would be no repeat as he struck out 11 en route to her second no-hitter of the year. Stanford scored three runs in the third inning, all the offense Sorensen needed. With one out and the bases loaded, Leah Nelson was hit by a Tia Bollinger pitch that scored Cassi Brangham. Meghan Sickler then delivered a pinch-hit double to left field plating Jessica Allister and Maureen LeCocq. Sorensen came within one walk of a perfect game, though that runner was eliminated on a double play so that she faced the minimum 21 batters. Leah Nelson hit her first home run of the season to pad the lead. Stanford travels to Sacramento State for a nonconference doubleheader on Wednesday. Lauren Lappin had two of the Cardinal's four hits in Saturday's loss to the Huskies. The Bruins hit four home runs on Friday. Men's tennis Stanford (2-0, 14-2) brings a nine-match winning streak into play this weekend when the Cardinal open a six-match homestand with three tough matches within five days. Sixth-ranked Stanford hosts No. 28 USC (11-6) on Friday at 1:30 p.m., then hosts No. 4 UCLA (16-1) on Saturday at 1 p.m. before taking on No. 7 California (14-2) on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Only the Cal match will count in the Pac-10 standings as the Cardinal look to avenge a 4-3 loss to the Bears back on Feb. 1. Stanford is coming off a 6-1 conference victory over Oregon on Saturday. The Cardinal beat previously undefeated Washington, 5-2, on Friday. Against Oregon, Stanford received straight set singles victories from sophomore Sam Warburg at No. 3, freshman James Pade at No. 4, sophomore Phil Sheng at No. 5 and redshirt junior Carter Morris at No. 6. Sheng clinched the win over the ninth-ranked Huskies with a dramatic 6-2, 7-5, 7-6 victory over Dillon Ruby at No. 6 singles. Sheng was down 6-5 in the third, but came back to tie the set and win the tiebreaker. Women's tennis The Pac-10 race should get very interesting this weekend when second-ranked Stanford travels to Los Angeles for matches against No. 3 USC on Friday and No. 12 UCLA on Saturday. The Cardinal (3-0, 13-1) prepared for their big weekend with a pair of 7-0 victories last week over Washington State and No. 10 Washington. Stanford ended Washington's 10-game winning streak on Saturday and hope to end the Lady Trojans current 12-match win streak. USC (4-0, 17-1) holds a half-game lead over the Cardinal in Pac-10 play. UCLA (3-1, 12-5) has won four in a row, and is a half-game behind Stanford in the conference standings. Stanford did not drop a set against the Cougars, as Stanford won all six singles matches for the third consecutive match. Amber Liu, Erin Burdette, Alice Barnes, Emilia Anderson, Lauren Barnikow and Story Tweedie-Yates all picked up straight set victories. The Cardinal swept the doubles point from the Huskies, winning all three matches. Stanford duo of No. 2 Barnikow and Burdette picked up their 11th win in dual competition, 8-6 over 11th-ranked Claire Carter and Darija Klaic. At No. 3 doubles, Anderson and Tweedie-Yates won, 8-2. Women's gymnastics Junior Lindsay Wing won the balance beam to lead Stanford to a second-place finish at the Pac-10 championships at Pauley Pavilion on the UCLA campus Saturday night. The Bruins finished with a score of 198.175, while the Cardinal recorded a 197.700. Lise Léveillé and Natalie Foley placed third and fourth, respectively, in the all-around. Men's volleyball Senior Curt Toppel, playing in his first match since Feb. 1, after missing the previous 11 with a strained abdominal muscle, had match-highs of 15 kills and eight digs to lead 11th-ranked Stanford (9-8, 12-11) to a 30-28, 34-32, 30-22 sweep over unranked USC on Friday night at Burnham Pavilion. Senior William Strickland had 14 kills, six digs and a .545 hitting percentage for the Cardinal, while redshirt sophomore Kevin Hansen added 40 assists. Top-ranked Pepperdine outlasted Stanford, 37-35, 41-39, 30-28, on Saturday night. Toppel led Stanford with 16 kills and six digs, while Strickland had 15 kills and six digs and senior Paul Bocage added 10 kills, four blocks and a .500 hitting percentage. Saturday's match was the final regular season home contest for five Cardinal seniors: Bocage, William Curtis, Kyle Strache, Strickland and Toppel. Stanford begins a five-match road swing at No. 4 Long Beach State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. Men's gymnastics Stanford finished third at the MPSF team finals on Friday in Lincoln, Neb. On Saturday, junior Dan Gill took first place on the high bar with a 9.700 en route to third place in the All-Around competition in the Individual finals. Gill scored a 9.500 on the floor and a 9.125 on the parallel bars for two third place finishes. Senior Marshall Erwin took top honors with a 9.750 on the rings, while sophomore Kelly Lang won the parallel bars competition with a score of 9.350. Women's lacrosse Stanford (6-2) dropped a 12-7 decision to third-ranked Duke Saturday at Maloney Field. Sophomore Kelsey Twist netted the first goal of the second half to bring the 17th-ranked Cardinal within one, but the Blue Devils went on a 3-0 run to extend their lead to 8-4. Junior Abbi Hills tacked on two goals for the Cardinal to keep pace with Duke, but Blue Devil attacker Corinne Broesler scored three goals in the last 15 minutes.