Publication Date: Friday Apr 17, 1998

STANFORD ROUNDUP: Staying No. 1 is the goal

Some colleges are fortunate to have one team ranked No. 1 in the nation. This spring, Stanford has three--men's and women's tennis and baseball. Retaining that lofty status will be the primary goal for each team beginning today when all three continue their march toward postseason play and, perhaps, eventual national championships.

The Stanford women's tennis team, 10-1 in Pac-10 play and 22-1 overall, can wrap up a perfect home season by sweeping USC (today) and UCLA (Saturday at noon) at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium.

The defending NCAA champion Cardinal has won 43 consecutive dual matches, and is favored to improve that streak despite the fact No. 16 UCLA handed Stanford a 5-4 loss on April 3 in Los Angeles. The Cardinal hasn't lost at home since March 5, 1995, to eventual national champ Texas.

Saturday marks the final home appearance of four Stanford seniors--starters Julie Scott and Ania Bleszynski, plus reserves Heidi Stalla and Sophy Woodhouse. All will be honored on "Senior Day" before the UCLA match.

Scott, the nation's No. 4-ranked singles player with a lifetime dual-match record of 89-14, can tie Heather Willens (91-14 in 1990-93) for No. 3 on the all-time Cardinal list with a pair of wins this weekend.

Almost as impressive as Scott's 19-3 dual-match record this season is the 18-3 mark compiled by Bleszynski, who teams with Scott to form the nation's No. 9-ranked doubles tandem.

The Stanford men's tennis team, meanwhile, will take its No. 1 ranking to Los Angeles this weekend to face USC and UCLA. The Cardinal is 10-0 in the Pac-10 and 22-0 overall, following Tuesday's rain-delayed 6-0 nonconference win over Boise State.

The shutout improved Stanford's amazing dual-match singles record to 125-1 this season. The Cardinal also has won 32 straight dual matches.

Bob Bryan, Paul Goldstein, Ryan Wolters, Geoff Abrams and freshmen Alex Kim and Scotty Scott provided the winning points in the win over Boise State.

The match marked the final home appearance of Goldstein, who polished off Boise freshman Adam Webster, 6-2, 6-0, when a torrential downpour forced action to Stanford's new indoor court.

"I was nice to close with a win," Goldstein acknowledged. "I felt really nostalgic out there."

The Stanford baseball team, meanwhile, began the week in the No. 1 position for the 10th straight week. The 10-week stay is the longest in the 1990s and tied for second longest since the Baseball America poll began in 1981. Oklahoma State holds the mark with its 12-week run in 1988 while Texas was the nation's best for 10 weeks in 1987.

Ironically, Stanford went on to dethrone the Cowboys and Longhorns and win the College World Series both those years.

The Cardinal (14-4, 31-6-1) will be in Tucson this weekend to face Arizona (8-13, 28-18) for three Pac-10 Southern Division games. Stanford will visit Santa Clara on Tuesday night (7 p.m.) and then play host to Cal (2-18, 14-24) on April 24 and 26.

Stanford has won three straight, including a 12-2 nonconference romp over Sacramento State on Tuesday night in Sunken Diamond. Sophomore John Gall had four hits and four RBI, raising his average to .393 heading into the weekend series. Gall's batting average and 45 RBI leads the team. 

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