Cardinal women Cardinal women (May 04, 2005)advance to NCAA water polo tourney

by Rick Eymer

If everything falls into place, the third-ranked Stanford women's water polo team may yet have another chance at top-ranked and unbeaten UCLA.

While the Cardinal dropped a 9-5 decision to the Bruins in the championship match of the Mountain Sports Federation tournament on Sunday at Cal, the immediate future still looks bright.

Stanford all but assured itself of a spot at the NCAA championships, which begin May 12 in Michigan, with a stunning 9-5 victory over USC in the semifinals on Saturday.

"It would be neat to have the whole season come down to one more chance (to play UCLA)," Stanford coach John Tanner said. "But it will take a lot to get there. Our first round game could potentially be Michigan, in their home pool, and they are the same caliber of a California or Long Beach State and we lost to Long Beach State earlier in the year. That would be a toss up just to get another game against USC."

Stanford (20-6) on Monday night did receive one of the three remaining bids - UCLA (30-0) automatically qualified - for the NCAA tournament because of its win over the Women of Troy. The No. 3-seeded Cardinal will open against No. 6 Michigan (28-12). USC (23-4) got the No. 2 seed and will play No. 7 Redlands (19-11), while Hawaii got the No. 4 seed and will play No. 5 Loyola Marymount.

UCLA, USC and Stanford are the only schools to win a national Division I title since the NCAA began sponsoring championships in the event in 2001.

It's going to be a difficult chore but we're playing our best right now," Tanner said. "It's very promising."

The Cardinal beat the Women of Troy for the first time in three tries this season. Sophomore goalkeeper Meridith McColl led the Cardinal defensive effort with a career-high 19 saves, six in the final period.

"She was terrific," Tanner said. "She's improved a lot and is such a good athlete. She has worked with (assistant coach) Susan Ortwein and has achieved better consistency. She has the ability to get to the corners and to stay balanced when moving in the pool. She's very determined and a great competitor."

Stanford never trailed in the contest, building a 4-0 lead in the first period on goals by Kelty Luber, Scotti Shafer, Katie Hansen and Hannah Luber.

Stanford opened the tournament with a 7-3 victory over host Cal, outscoring the Bears 4-0 in the first period.

Hansen led the Cardinal with three goals while McColl recorded 15 saves.

"Meridith is also able to block and control," Tanner said. "Rather than deflecting the ball and allowing the other team to keep possession, she controls the ball."

Stanford dropped its third decision to the Bruins, who remained unbeaten at 30-0 and who are the prohibitive favorites to win their third NCAA title.

Palo Alto grad Laurel Champion was one of five Cardinal players to score against UCLA. Hansen, Alison Gregorka, Nancy El-Sakkary and Christina Hewko also scored.

As Stanford did to its first two opponents, UCLA took a 4-0 lead in the first two minutes of play and never looked back.
Softball

Michelle Smith and Erin Howe each hit a home run as fifth-ranked Stanford beat UCLA, 7-5, on Saturday.

The two teams split a doubleheader on Sunday, losing the first game, 8-0, and winning the second, 5-3, with three runs in the top of the seventh.

Stanford (10-5, 37-11) hosts Oregon on Friday at 7 p.m., and Oregon State in a battle for first place in the Pac-10 on Saturday and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Stanford is in second place, a game behind the Beavers (11-4, 38-10).

On Saturday, Howe hit a three-run homer in the first inning to highlight a five-run rally for the Cardinal. Smith added a two-run homer in the second as Stanford built a 7-0 lead and then held off the Bruins behind winning pitcher Becky McCullough.

McCullough allowed five runs - two earned - on nine hits in her complete-game effort.

Catalina Morris added three hits and Jackie Rinehart drove in two runs.

Washington scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to break a 3-3 tie and end Stanford's winning streak at four games on Friday in Seattle.

Lauren Lappin hit a three-run homer in the third to erase Washington's three-run edge. Morris also drove in a run for the Cardinal. Meghan Sickler had two hits.

All of UCLA's eight runs against Laura Severson in the first game on Sunday were unearned because of three Cardinal errors.

The Bruins took a 3-0 lead in the third inning of the nightcap but Stanford rallied in the sixth when Howe singled home two runs.

In the seventh, Sickler entered the game and promptly tied the game with a home run over the left field fence on a 2-1 pitch. Two outs later, Lappin singled and Smith connected for her 18th home run, an on-going school record.

McCullough needed just 10 pitches to retire the side in order in the bottom of the inning to pick up her 16th win in 19 decisions, and her second complete game victory in as many days over the Bruins.
Synchronized swimming

Stanford's Katie Norris won the solo title and the Cardinal were second as a team at the national synchronized swimming championships in Federal Way, WA over the weekend.

Norris, who also finished third in the duet final with Samantha Bongiovanni-Duclos, was presented with the Esther Williams Creative Achievement Award for her artistic impression.

Sara Lowe finished third in the solo event and teamed with Courtenay Stewart to finish second in duet. Stewart was eighth in solo.
Men's golf

Stanford's Rob Grube was named Freshman of the Year after finishing fourth at the Pac-10 Championships.

In 12 tournaments this year, Grube recorded five top 10 finishes, including a tie for second at the U.S. Intercollegiate and the fourth-place finish at the Pac-10 Championships. His stroke average of 72.14 is tops among Pac-10 freshmen.

Grube was also named first team all-Pac-10, while senior Kevin Blue received honorable mention.
Women's lacrosse

Junior Sarah Bach scored four goals and Megan Burker recorded a hat trick to lead 20th-ranked Stanford to a 13-7 victory over host Ohio State on Saturday.

The Cardinal (11-5) head into the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament this weekend at St. Mary's with a five-match winning streak.

Stanford, the top seed, plays Friday against an opponent to be determined.
Women's crew

The Stanford Varsity Eights finished second to California in the Big Row.

"I am very pleased with the first half performance by both the first and second varsity boats," Stanford coach Aimee Baker said. "They came out to compete against a very strong Cal program and did just that for the first half of the race. I do not think that Cal has been tested too many times this season so it felt good to challenge them in the first half. Cal has a very fast group and will be the favorite for the Pac-10's in two weeks. Our group continues to improve each race and will look forward to do the same at Pac-10's."

The Cardinal will compete in the Pac-10 Championships which begin May 15 on Lake Natoma in Rancho Cordova.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.