The Stanford women’s water polo team thrives on a balanced attack and that was the case again Sunday in the third-ranked Cardinal’s 14-5 nonconference victory over San Diego State at Avery Aquatic Center.
For the seventh time this season, nine different players scored for Stanford (19-2), which has a huge Mountain Pacific Sports Federation contest looming next weekend.
The Cardinal carries a season-high eight-game winning streak into Saturday’s 1 p.m. showdown, the final home game of the regular season, against top-ranked and undefeated USC.
The Trojans defeated No. 2 UCLA, 8-5, Saturday, handing the Bruins their first MPSF loss of the year.
That leaves Stanford and USC tied for first place in the conference. The Cardinal finishes the regular season at UCLA, which hosts the NCAA tournament between May 13-15, the following weekend.
The MPSF standings determine the seeding for the conference tournament, hosted by Cal State Bakersfield beginning April 29.
Stanford has clinched no worse than a No. 3 seed for the tournament and has a chance to defend its regular season title.
The Cardinal is the two-time defending national champion and has won four of the past five titles.
Against the Aztecs, Jamie Neushul and Gurpreet Sohi each recorded a hat trick, while freshman Kat Klass scored twice for her ninth multi-goal effort of the season.
Julia Hermann made 11 saves, reaching double digits in stops for the seventh time.
Beach volleyball
Stanford dropped decisions to Oregon, 3-2, and Saint Mary’s, 4-1, on Sunday at the Stanford Sand Volleyball Stadium.
“I felt we let an opportunity get away from us in the first match, but give Oregon credit for fighting back at the end,” said Stanford coach Denise Corlett. “Saint Mary’s is also a very good team. The positive thing for our team is that we keep fighting to the end and will continue to find a way to win the right matches.”
The Cardinal (5-8 overall, 1-2 Pac-12) fell behind early against Oregon (2-7, 1-4), who won the first two matches. Stanford’s No. 4 pair of Courtney Bowen and Jennifer DiSanto lost their match 17-21, 21-19, 15-13, while Tami Alade and Karina Robinson dropped a 19-21, 22-20, 15-11 decision at No. 5.
Merete Lutz and Halland McKenna got Stanford back into the dual with a 21-12, 21-19 win at the No. 3 spot, their seventh win in a row as a pair.
Ivana Vanjak and Catherine Raquel continued to apply the pressure to Oregon, winning 21-16, 21-13 at the No. 2 position. The dual was decided at the No. 1 spot, where Hayley Hodson and Payton Chang fell 18-21, 22-20, 15-12, giving Oregon a 3-2 win.
The Cardinal split the first round of matches against Saint Mary’s (10-3). Alade and Robinson won a dramatic 19-21, 22-20, 15-11 decision at No. 5, with Alexis Froistad and DiSanto losing 21-14, 21-15 at No. 4.
Softball
Stanford fell to host UCLA, 8-0, in a Pac-12 Conference game Sunday night.
The Cardinal (13-19, 0-8 Pac-1) put the ball in play regularly and five Stanford players registered hits. The Cardinal left two runners on base in three of the six innings.
Haley Snyder (7-8) got the start in the circle and kept Stanford lose through the first three innings, permitting just three runs.
However, the Cardinal made three errors in the bottom of the fourth inning that contributed to three additional runs and gave the Bruins a commanding 6-0 lead.
Stanford nearly tied the game in the top of the third inning. With runners on first and second, Kylie Sorenson delivered the Cardinal’s first hit of the game, singling up the middle. Savannah Schulze got a good jump from second and rounded third with pace but was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
The Cardinal rallied for three straight singles to lead off the top of the fourth inning but a pop out and base running error helped end the rally.
Stanford will look to take the finale Monday at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
Sailing
The Stanford Cardinal1 boats finished second at the PCCSC South Designate on Alamitos Bay as eight races in each division were completed in the two-day event.
Cardinal1 compiled 36 points to finish four shy of the USC Trojans1 boats, which finished with 32 points. The A Division had 16 points and the B Division had 20 points.
The Stanford Cardinal2 completed the event in fourth place, with 97 points, 37 by the B Division.
At the Emily Wick Trophy race on Camel Cove in Connecticut, Stanford placed sixth, with 137 points.
Host Brown won the event with 83 points, followed by Boston University (109) and Maryland’s Saint Mary’s College (120).
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics