December 31, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

Stanford teams in 2004 started and ended with success

by Rick Eymer

The year began full of vim and vigor for Stanford and its athletes. There was a sense of greatness surrounding both the men's and women's basketball teams as both were on the way to winning Pac-10 regular-season titles and conference tournament titles.

Stanford's athletic success wasn't restricted to basketball though. Schools don't win 10 consecutive Director's Cup specializing in one sport, nor do they win at least one NCAA title for 29 straight years without a comprehensive sports philosophy.

The calendar year 2004 was no different. The women's tennis team took home its third NCAA title in four years during the spring, and the women's volleyball team captured its sixth overall national championship in the fall.

There were some disappointments and near-misses along the way, but 2004 was an overall success.

It began during the basketball season as the Cardinal men won their first 26 games of the season, a school record, and finished 30-2. They made their 10th straight trip to the NCAA tournament and were ranked first in the country for four weeks.

Junior All-American Josh Childress became the first Stanford player named Pac-10 Player of the Year. He then became the highest Stanford player taken in the NBA draft when the Atlanta Hawks made him the sixth overall pick.

Chris Hernandez was first in the Pac-10, and fourth in the nation in free throw percentage (.914).

Mike Montgomery was the conference Coach of the Year, as well as being named national Coach of the Year by several publications. He also left for the NBA, taking the head job with the Golden State Warriors.

The Cardinal women reached the Elite Eight for the first time in seven years as Nicole Powell became the school's third-leading scorer with 2,062 points during an All-American campaign.

The men's swimming team won its 23rd straight Pac-10 title as Peter Marshall swam the best time in the United States in the 100 back with a 45.21. He would later set a world short-course record in winning the NCAA individual title. Jayme Cramer was the national 200 free champion as Stanford finished second at the NCAA meet.

Markus Rogan set five Austrian records and would later swim to silver medals in at the Olympics in Athens.

Tara Kirk set a world short-course record in the 100-meter breast at 1:04.79 in winning the NCAA title in the event, and finished her collegiate career with a 35-0 mark. She also won the 200 breast title in an American short-course record 2:20.70. Kirk, named the NCAA Woman Athlete of the Year, would also earn an Olympic medal during the summer.

Dana Kirk, Lacey Boutwell and Cassidy Krug each won Pac-10 titles.

Matt Gentry became the first Stanford wrestler to win an NCAA title, a feat he accomplished in the 157-pound weight class. He finished the year with a 42-0 record.

Synchronized swimmer Katie Norris won an NCAA title in the solo event.

The women's gymnastics team won the Pac-10 title and finished third in the NCAA. In conference competition, Natalie Foley recorded a 10.0 in the vault and Lindsay Wing became the first four-time Pac-10 champion on the beam.

Sam Warburg won the Pac-10 individual men's tennis title. He teamed with K.C. Corkery to win the NCAA doubles title.

Amber Liu won her second NCAA individual women's tennis title, a week after Stanford completed a 29-0 season to win the national team title and give coach Lele Forood a 111-3 mark in her four years on the job.

The women's track team finished second in the Pac-10, with Sara Bei, Alicia Craig and Jill Camarena winning individual titles. Craig went on to win the NCAA 10,000 meter title, her second straight.

Men's gymnast Dan Gill won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation All-Around title and the sports' equivalent to football's Heisman Trophy.

The softball team reached its second College World Series in four years.

The women's water polo team reached the Final Four, but placed third. The baseball team lost in regional play, failing to qualify for the College World Series for the first time in six years.

The men's water polo team lost in the NCAA title match after winning the MPSF tournament the previous week. Tony Azevedo and Tom Hopkins were named All-Americans.

The cross country teams failed to defend their NCAA titles, but the women's volleyball caught fire in November and kept winning until it captured the NCAA title.

Ogonna Nnamani, who became the Pac-10 all-time kills leader, was named first-team All-American and national co-player of the year.

The renovation of Maples Pavilion was completed three weeks ahead of schedule and came in $4 million under budget. The facility reopened its doors for business on Dec. 10, and the Stanford women's basketball team christened it with a win over Pepperdine.

The next chapter is about to be written.

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