This is a tennis streak the men want to end This is a tennis streak the men want to end (April 09, 2004)

Cardinal head to Arizona with hopes of snapping a rare three-match losing streak, the team's longest in over a decade

by Rick Eymer

The Stanford men's tennis program has been so good over the years that trying to find the last time it lost three straight matches would be like trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack.

The Cardinal (12-6) will look to end their three-game skid today at Arizona State at 1:30 p.m.

Stanford, ranked 10th in the nation, was upset by host California, 5-2, on Tuesday to extend the Cardinal's longest losing streak in, like, maybe forever.

Menlo School grad James Pade and freshman James Wan managed to win their singles matches in straight sets, and freshman Chris Rasmussen lost a tough match, 4-6, 7-5, 4-6. Wan is 19-0 on the season.

Stanford lost three other singles matches in straight sets.

The Cardinal travel to Arizona on Saturday.

The top-ranked Stanford women (19-0), meanwhile, will close out their regular-season home schedule against No. 37 Arizona today (1:30 p.m.) and No. 41 Arizona State on Saturday (noon).

The Cardinal have won 42 of their past 43 dual matches, the only loss a 4-3 setback to Florida in the NCAA finals last season.

Lele Forood, in her fourth year as head coach, has yet to suffer a dual-match loss at home. She is 101-3 in duals since 2001. Should the Cardinal finish the season undefeated, it will match the best four-year record in school history. Frank Brennan's teams from 1988-1991 went 111-3 while winning four straight NCAA titles. Stanford could finish 29-0 this season, giving Forood a four-year mark of 111-3.

This weekend marks the final regular-season home matches for Cardinal seniors Emilia Anderson and Lauren Barnikow. Anderson is ranked 67th nationally in singles with a 14-1 dual-match record while playing primarily at No. 6 singles. Barnikow is ranked 36th with a sparkling 19-0 record. Most of her wins have come at No. 4 singles.

Barnikow also has teamed with junior Erin Burdette to form the nation's No. 1 doubles tandem. They are 16-1 in duals and 23-2 overall.

Women's lacrosse

Stanford junior midfielder Kelsey Twist was named the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Week after helping the 19th-ranked Cardinal beat California, 15-12, in overtime last week.

Twist scored four goals and added an assist, while registering six draw controls, three caused turnovers and two groundballs.

Twist is third on Stanford's all-time assists list with 50, and is tied for fourth in career goals with 95.

Stanford (4-0, 7-4) hosts No. 13 Northwestern today at 7 p.m. The Wildcats are 5-1 on the road, while the Cardinal are 5-4 at home.

Senior Abbi Hills leads the team with 23 goals, and senior goalkeeper Christina Saikus ranks eighth in the country in save percentage at .579.
Softball

Stanford senior Dana Sorensen and sophomore Lauren Lappin are among the 25 finalists for the 2004 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award.

Former Sacred Heart Prep standout Haley Woods, now at California, is also on the list.

The list will be reduced to 10 players on April 28 and three finalists will be announced May 11.

The 11th-ranked Cardinal (2-1, 29-8) plays at Cal today at 2 p.m., and then host the Bears in a doubleheader on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Sorensen is second in the Pac-10 with 184 strikeouts. She needs 20 strikeouts to reach 1,000 for her career. She already owns the school career mark in that category.
Men's volleyball

Stanford looks to break a three-match losing streak when the 10th-ranked Cardinal host No. 4 Pepperdine in a MPSF match today at 7 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion.

Stanford hosts No. 15 USC on Saturday at 7 p.m.

The Cardinal have six players with a 100 or more kills, with junior outside hitter David Vogel leading the way with 245.
Women's golf

Stanford hosts the Peg Barnard Invitational on Saturday and Sunday at the Stanford Golf Course.

Fourteen teams will play 18 holes each day on the par 72 (6,168 yards) course. Saturday's action will begin with a shotgun start at 8:30 a.m. while Sunday's final round will kick off at 8 a.m. with a shotgun start.

Participating teams include host-Stanford, Montana State, Nevada, Denver, Washington, UC Irvine, Long Beach State, San Francisco, Oregon State, San Jose State, Washington State, Portland State, Oregon and the Scottish Institute.

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