Publication Date: Friday, February 25, 2005
Stanford women splash to lead at Pac-10 swim meet
Stanford women splash to lead at Pac-10 swim meet
(February 25, 2005) by Rick Eymer
The Stanford women's swimming team took the lead after the first day of the Pac-10 championships at the Weyerhaeuser King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way, WA on Wednesday.
The fifth-ranked Cardinal opened with a win in the 200 medley relay in a season-best 1:39.69 with a team of Amy Wagner, Caroline Bruce, Dana Kirk and Brooke Bishop.
Stanford finished second in the 800 free relay with a season-best 7:10.50 with a team of Bruce, Lacey Boutwell, Desiree Stahley and Elizabeth Durot.
"This was a good start for us," Stanford coach Richard Quick said. "I'm pleased that we are in the lead. We need to swim really well in prelims each day to put ourselves in position to score well in the finals."
The meet continues through Saturday.
Fifth-ranked Stanford has won 15 of the 18 conference meets, including the first 13 in a row and in two of the past three years. The Cardinal (5-0, 9-1) are the defending Pac-10 champions.
The meet continues today with Kirk looking to defend her 100 fly title, while Bruce will swim the 100 breast. Bishop is among the favorites in the 100 back, and Gunn grad Ashlee Rosenthal and Cassidy Krug will likely score in the 3-meter event.
The meet concludes on Saturday, with Lauren Costella, Morgan Hentzen and Stahley leading the charge in the 1,650 free while Bishop (200 back), Lacey Boutwell (100 free), Kirk (200 fly) and Bruce (200 breast) will lead Stanford to a strong finish.
Also watch for solid performances from Erica Liu, Katherine Bell and Wagner.
Women's tennis
Pinewood grad Lejla Hodzic, Stanford's No. 6 singles player, earned the No. 24 ranking from the Intercollegiate Tennis Association on Tuesday. Two-time defending NCAA singles champion Amber Liu is ranked No. 28, but that's because she has not played as many events as her teammates.
Senior Erin Burdette, who plays No. 3 singles for the top-ranked Cardinal, is ranked 14th. Alice Barnes (22nd), Theresa Logar (27th), and Whitney Deason (30th) are also among the top 30 in the nation.
Five of the six players each won in straight sets as host Stanford (8-0) defeated 21st-ranked Fresno State, 7-0, on Tuesday.
Barnes, whose match finished after Stanford clinched the team win, split her first two sets and won a 10-2 tiebreaker for the third set to help the Cardinal complete the sweep.
Stanford will be tested this weekend when 11th-ranked UCLA visits the Taube Tennis Center on Friday at 1:30 p.m. No. 12 USC is in town for a 1 p.m. match on Saturday.
Men's water polo
Menlo School senior Jimmie Sandman decided staying close to home was to his benefit. Stanford couldn't be happier.
Sandman and Will Hindle-Katel of Harvard-Westlake in Thousand Oaks signed national letters of intent to play water polo at Stanford.
"I feel very fortune that we are able to get two outstanding prospects," Stanford coach John Vargas said. "They are both incredible athletes who will contribute to our program immediately."
The 6-foot-5 Sandman won Central Coast Section Player of the Year honors in 2004, and has been a member of the USA National Cadet and Youth teams. In 2004, Sandman was named a National Age Group and NISCA High School All-American.
The 6-5 Hindle-Katel is currently a member of the United States Youth Team, and a two-time MVP (2003, 2004) at the National Age Group Championships. Hindle-Katel also gained MVP honors at the 2001 Junior Olympics. Hindle-Katel also was a member of the 2003 USA National Cadet team.
Softball
Fourth-ranked Stanford (11-1) hosts the Stanford Invitational II this weekend. The Cardinal open play with UC Davis (2-10) today at 5 p.m.
Also entered are Auburn (14-4). Alabama-Birmingham (7-6), Sacramento State (5-3) and Texas Tech (3-4).
Freshman third baseman Michelle Smith was named Pac-10 Player of the Week for her efforts in helping Stanford win five games in last week's tournament in Tampa.
Smith hit .429 (6-of-14) with four home runs, seven RBI and four runs scored in victories over Hofstra, Jacksonville, Seton Hall, South Florida and Florida A&M. She was also perfect in the field with three putouts and 15 assists.
Junior shortstop Lauren Lappin and senior catcher Leah Nelson lead the Cardinal with 16 and 15 hits respectively.
Men's tennis
No. 18 Stanford visits UCLA and USC this weekend.
Stanford gets another shot at the Trojans after falling to USC, 4-3, in the 13th place match at the National Team Indoor championships.
Sam Warburg remained the team's highest ranked singles performer at No. 6, while KC Corkery slipped to No. 31 despite remaining undefeated in dual match singles play. Phil Sheng jumped into the rankings for the first time this season, checking in at No. 93.
Baseball
Stanford hosts USC in a three-game nonconference series beginning with a 5 p.m. game today. Saturday and Sunday games start at 1 p.m.
The 13th-ranked Cardinal (7-5) have seemingly settled into a three-man rotation with juniors Mark Romanczuk (2-2, 4.64) and Jeff Gilmore (2-1, 3.09) at the top, and freshman Nolan Gallagher (0-1, 1.76) scheduled to start his third straight Sunday.
Stanford has won eight consecutive season series over USC (1997-2004), with a 39-13 record in that span.
The Cardinal are 6-0 at home this season and has won 44 of its past 49 contests overall, as well as 12 straight regular season home series dating to April of 2003.
Women's water polo
Stanford (5-1, 2-0) plays at the Santa Barbara tournament beginning today with a early morning game against Pacific. The Cardinal play UC San Diego at 4:10 p.m.
The tournament runs through Sunday.
"This has always been a competitive tournament for us, Stanford assistant coach Susan Ortwein said. "We will have the opportunity to play some very important games that will determine the direction of the rest of our season."
Sophomore goalie Meridith McColl has recorded 45 saves over the first six games, and is second in the nation in goals allowed.
Synchronized swimming
Stanford swept the trio event in beating visiting Alabama-Birmingham, 90-72, on Friday.
The Cardinal team of Samantha Bongiovanni-Duclos, Sara Lowe and Courtenay Stewart finished first in trio with a score of 93.0 to lead the sweep.
Stewart and Lowe also won the duet with a score of 93.6 and Katie Norris won the solo event with a 90.5.
On Saturday, Stanford was the top finisher at the Arizona Tri-Meet.
The Cardinal host Arizona on March 5, and then host the Western Regional, a qualifying meet for Collegiate Nationals, on March 6.
Women's basketball
Fifth-year senior Susan King Borchardt was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII second team and freshman Candice Wiggins was named to the top-30 mid-season candidates for the Naismith Trophy.
Borchardt was also an Academic All-District honoree in 2003. She has already finished her undergraduate degree and is fulfilling prerequisites for a graduate program in nutritional sciences.
Wiggins, Stanford's leading scorer with 17.4 points per game, was also named to the mid-season list for the Wooden Award. She is the only freshman on either list. Wiggins is also leading the Cardinal in steals and has amassed 70 this season -- already the ninth-best total in school history.
Women's golf
Stanford shot a final round of 299 on Tuesday at the Wildcat Invitational in Tucson to bring their three-round score to 895 and a seventh-place finish.
UCLA won the tournament with a 12-over par 864.
Men's basketball
Dan Grunfeld and Chris Hernandez were named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I District-14 first team.
Grunfeld averaged 17.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game before a knee injury ended his 2005 season. Hernandez, who scored a career-high 37 points against UCLA, is averaging 14.9 points and 4.1 assists.
Women's gymnastics
Stanford is looking to finish the season strong, and a good showing against visiting Arizona State on Friday at 7:30 p.m. in Burnham Pavilion would help turn things around.
The Cardinal are in the midst of its toughest stretch of competition. After hosting defending national champion UCLA last week, it's the 21st-ranked Sun Devils this week and both No. 4 Utah and No. 6 Florida next week.
Slowed by injuries, Stanford gymnasts still have time to display the form that sent them to the NCAA Super Six last year.
Junior All-American Natalie Foley competed in the all-around for the first time this season at Arizona two weeks ago.
Freshman Liz Tricase also missed a meet due to injury. She's one of the top newcomers in the nation.
Track and field
The nationally-ranked Stanford women's indoor team will be looking for its third straight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title when competition begins today at the Dempsey Indoor Complex on the Washington campus in Seattle.
The Stanford men are also expected to be in the hunt during the two-day meet.
Several Stanford athletes are ranked among the top five in the conference. s list of best times and marks. Janice Davis ranks first in the 60 meters (7.32) and the 200 meters (23.70); Ashley Purnell (24.08) and Christine Moschella (24.08) are ranked third and fourth in the 200.
In the 400, Moschella is top-ranked (54.66), followed by Nashonme Johnson (55.03) in second, Ashley Freeman (56.00) in fourth and Chinny Offor (56.42) in fifth.
Alicia Craig and Anita Siraki are ranked first and second in the 5,000 meters with times of 15:54.72 and 16:07.18, respectively. Julie Allen is fourth (16:36.34).
Both the women's distance medley team (11:07.81) and 1,600 relay team (3:34.92) are also ranked first.
The top five milers in the conference are all from Stanford: Katy Trotter at 4:42.11, Arianna Lambie at 4:44.29, Lauren Centrowitz at 4:46.42, Jeane Goff at 4:49.44 and Amanda Trotter at 4:51.10.
In the 3,000, Siraki and Katy Trotter are ranked first and second with times of 9:17.68 and 9:20.56 respectively. Goff is fourth at 9:29.43 and Julie Allen is fifth at 9:40.45.
Freshman Erica McLain ranks first in the long jump at 19-10 3/4, while Undine Becker is fourth at 19-2. McLain is also first in the triple jump (44-11) and Sarah Hopping is fourth in the weight throw (56-8 1/2).
The Cardinal men are also highly-ranked in several events. The distance medley team is the conference leader at 9:33.49, while the 1,600 meter relay team is fourth at 3:12.21.
Nick Sebes is third in the 400 (46.97) while Curtis Goehring is fifth (47.30).
In the 3,000, Ryan Hall is ranked third at 8:02.63 while Jonathan Pierce is fifth at 8:04.21.
Russell Brown and Lauren Jespersen are ranked fourth and fifth in the mile with times of 4:04.94 and 4:05.41, respectively. Michael Garcia is ranked fifth in the 800 meters (1:50.82).
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