Publication Date: Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Stanford volleyball team loses nation's top freshman to injury
Stanford volleyball team loses nation's top freshman to injury
(October 26, 2005) by Rick Eymer
The Stanford women's volleyball team left Berkeley with a much-needed Pac-10 victory on Saturday but the Cardinal paid a heavy price.
Cynthia Barboza, perhaps the best freshman in the nation, will miss the rest of the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, suffered during Stanford's 30-26, 30-20, 28-30, 32-30 victory over California.
Barboza, who leads the Pac-10 in kills, landed uneasily on her left knee after recording the first point of game three. She had to be carried off the court and eventually needed crutches when she returned to the bench after being examined by doctors at the scene.
Stanford coach John Dunning said Barboza will have surgery within the next 7-10 days.
"From what I know about her, she's going to be very determined in her rehab," Dunning said Monday night. "She should be ready for next season. She has plenty of time."
Stanford (7-2, 15-3) moved into a second-place tie with Arizona, two games behind conference leader Washington, at the midway point of the Pac-10 season. The Cardinal open the second half with a home match against Oregon on Thursday at 7 p.m. Oregon State visits Friday at 7 p.m.
Without Barboza, Dunning will have to change his lineup.
"Other people will get a chance and we'll need to get them as much experience as we can," he said. "It does change a lot of thing. She's very good but one of the reasons we have been so successful is that there are others who can carry the load. As we go through things, it will sort itself out. We'll go about business and get ourselves ready. We'll assume every situation will be hard and we'll prepare for it."
Barboza recorded 297 kills (4.5 per game) and hit at a .306 clip in fitting smoothly into the Stanford system. She helped give the Cardinal a multi-faceted attack that was difficult to defend.
Barboza came to Stanford as a two-time National High School Player of the Year, the first women's volleyball player to achieve that distinction. She's also an experienced international player, serving as an alternate to the 2004 United States Olympic team, and playing in the 2005 Pan Am Cup, the 2003 Pan American Games and at the 2004 18-under World Beach championships.
Barboza's stints with national teams, however, will take a backseat to her rehad, which Dunning says isn't a bad thing.
"She has an opportunity to work on basic skills set because you can't do anything but fundamental work for awhile in slow motion," he said. "It's sad, but she'll be a better player for it. I'm certain she will fight through and be good with rehab."
Fifth-ranked Stanford has had its share of injuries this year. Junior middle blocker Lizzie Suiter, who had 198 blocks last year, second on Stanford's all-time single-season list, has been limited with an ankle injury and eye injury. Freshman Erin Waller, a high school All-American last season, has missed time with a shoulder injury. Menlo School grad Alex Fisher is redshirting her freshman season because of injuries.
Stanford lost Game 3 after losing Barboza but rebounded in Game 4 to win for the first time in three years at Cal.
"We had a great performance," Dunning said. "We could have won Game 3, but right away we rose to the occasion and refocused immediately. That was a real show of strength, playing with their heart and being determined."
"There are so many emotions," Stanford junior outside hitter Kristin Richards said of winning the match and losing Barboza. "I am so proud of this team. This was a team effort and we showed great courage"
Richards, who had 16 kills and 16 digs, has played with and against Barboza for nearly six years.
Freshman middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo added 14 kills and hit .393 for the Cardinal, who held Cal to a .128 hitting percentage. Courtney Schultz (17), Bryn Kehoe (16), and Katie Goldhahn (14) each reached double figures in digs.
The Bears scored the last six points of game three to force the issue, but Stanford recovered from a 24-19 deficit in the fourth game to gain the victory. Richards ended the match, which lasted nearly 2 1-2 hours, with a kill.
Dunning coached in his 700th match as Stanford took a 54-5 advantage in the all-time series with Cal. Junior outside hitter Nji Nnamani had a career high 39 hitting attempts.
Men's water polo
Stanford beat host Long Beach State, 10-8, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match on Saturday, setting the stage for a showdown with defending national champion UCLA on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Avery Aquatic Center.
The fourth-ranked Bruins claimed the national title with a 10-9 overtime victory over the Cardinal at Stanford last December. Fifth-ranked Pepperdine visits Sunday at noon.
Senior driver Thomas Hopkins sparked a third-quarter rally with a four-meter penalty shot as third-ranked Stanford (2-0, 15-9) outscored the 49ers, 4-1, in the period to take control of the match.
Senior driver Peter Varellas led the Cardinal with three goals, while Hopkins and freshman William Hindle-Katel each scored twice.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sandy Hohener recorded nine saves in Stanford's first game since finishing third (beating UCLA, 6-5) at the NorCal tournament in Berkeley.
The Bruins (2-0, 15-4) defeated UC Santa Barbara, 8-2, on Saturday as Menlo School grads Grant Zider, John Blanchette and Thomas Foley each scored goals.
Men's tennis
Stanford senior KC Corkery advanced to Tuesday's singles finals at the ITA Regional Tournament in Santa Clara on Monday with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Cal Poly's John Nguyen.
The top-seeded Corkery was scheduled to play second-seeded Alex Slovic of Washington in the title match.
Slovic needed to go three sets before beating Stanford's James Pade, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in Monday's second semifinal.
The winner receives an automatic bid to the National Indoor Championships which begin Nov. 3 in Columbus, Ohio. He will be joined by several at-large selections.
Women's tennis
Stanford's Theresa Logar fell to Cal's Suzi Fodor, 1-6, 6-2, 6-1, in the singles finals of the Wilson/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northwest Women's Regional Championship at Stanford's Taube Tennis Center on Monday.
The Cardinal duo of Alice Barnes and Anne Yelsey also lost in the championship match, 8-6, to Fresno State's Lucia Sainz and Katharina Winterhalter.
Barnes and Yelsey topped Cal's Claire Ilcinkas and Stephanie Kusano, 8-4, in the semifinals. Sainz and Winterhalter advanced with an 8-6 victory over Cardinal pair Amber Liu and Celia Durkin.
A handful of Stanford players are likely to join the champions as at-large picks for the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships at the Racquet Club of Columbus beginning Nov. 3.
Men's soccer
Stanford finally got some offense, and it paid off with a big victory, 3-2 in overtime, over first-place Oregon State in Corvallis on Friday.
The Cardinal (1-5-1, 4-9-2) lost to host Washington, 3-0, on Sunday.
Stanford senior midfielder Cooper McKee scored in the 83rd minute to tie the match, and Michael Brown scored early in the first overtime for the game winner.
Ryan Oblak also scored for the Cardinal, who entered the contest with eight goals in 13 games. The three goals is a season high.
Sophomore midfielder Dan Shapiro set up McKee's goal when he sent a through ball down the left side. Junior defender Galen Thompson sent a cross in from the left side to set up Brown's goal.
Stanford is off until Nov. 4, when UCLA visits Maloney Field.
Women's soccer
Sophomore goalkeeper Erica Holland recorded eight saves and helped Stanford earn a scoreless tie with Arizona State on Friday night.
The Cardinal (2-2-1, 8-5-2) dropped a 2-1 decision to host Arizona on Sunday as Holland had eight saves.
Freshman goalkeeper Alex Gamble was not available because of injury, but the shorter Holland turned in a brilliant effort against the Sun Devils. She made several stops while on the move for her first career shutout.
Against Arizona, freshman Kate Mannino scored the Cardinal's lone goal with an assist from Lizzy George.
The Wildcats scored the game winner in the 79th minute.
"They scored on a penalty kick and then a free kick - it was great shot by (Mallory) Miller, but it's hard when a debatable call decides a game," Stanford coach Paul Ratcliffe said. "But we played well and we had chances."
Stanford hosts USC on Friday at 7 p.m.
Women's golf
Top-ranked Duke won the Stanford Pepsi Intercollegiate and set a course record in doing so.
Duke's Elizabeth Janangelo took top individual honors with an 11-under-par 202. Her six-under-par 65 in the final round also set a new course record on the Stanford Golf Course. Blue Devils' Anna Grzebien and Amamnda Blumenherst tied for second at four-under 209, and coach Dan Brooks won his NCAA record 92nd tournament title.
Freshman Mari Chun led Stanford with her 10th place finish. She shot a collegiate-best three-under-par 68 in the final round for a three-round total of 215.
Men's golf
Stanford shot rounds of 302 and 297 and were in 14th place after day one of the Isleworth-UCF Collegiate Invitational at Isleworth Country Club on Sunday.
The tournament was scheduled to be completed on Tuesday. The schedule was altered in anticipation of inclement weather Monday.
Sophomore Rob Grube led Stanford with rounds of 72 and 74 for a 146.
Sailing
Stanford's Emory Wager finished second at the Men's Singlehanded Pacific Coast Championships on Sand Island in Hawaii on Saturday to earn a return trip to next month's nationals, also hosted by Hawaii.
Wager recorded 65 points to finish behind USC's Greg Helias' total of 59.
Stanford's Evan Brown tied for first in the women's single-handed championships on Friday, but lost the tiebreaker to Hawaii's Tinja Anderson-Mitterling. Both advance to the nationals.
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