Sports Shorts Sports Shorts (May 26, 2004)

NOTEWORTHY . . . Stanford junior Tony Azevedo was awarded the Peter J. Cutino award for the nation's top male water polo player. Azevedo received the award, his third straight, at a banquet at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. USC's Moriah Van Norman won the female award. Stanford senior Wendy Watkins was a finalist for the honor . . . Stanford grads Brenda Villa scored twice and Jackie Frank recorded five saves as the United States women's water polo team defeated Russia, 7-5, in the championship game of the Women's Kirishi Cup in Russia on Sunday . . . Stanford grad Patricia Miranda earned qualified for the first United States Olympics women's wrestling team by defeating Clarissa Chun of Hawaii in the 105-pound division in Indianapolis on Sunday.

CARDINAL CORNER . . . With a final round of 298, the Stanford women's golf team finished the season with a 12th place showing at the NCAA Championships which concluded Friday. The Cardinal finished with a four-day total of 1,195 on the par 72, 6,215-yard Lake Course at Grand National in Alabama. UCLA shot a four-under par, 1,148 to win up its second NCAA title. California's Sarah Huarte shot a final-round 69 for a total of 278 to win the individual title by a stroke over Oklahoma State's Karin Sjodin. The Cardinal were led by senior Angela Rho, who tied for 37th individually, shooting a 296 . . . The Stanford men's golf team finished 24th at the NCAA West Regional tournament with a three-round score of 921 at Sunriver Resort's par-72, 7,597 yard Crosswater Club in Oregon. Top-seeded UCLA finished at 1-over (865) after a final round team-score of 294 to win the team title. UCLA's Travis Johnson and Arizona's Chris Nallen tied for medalist honors at 5-under 211. Cardinal Kevin Blue finished tied for 43rd individually, with a three-day total of 223.

LACROSSE NEWS . . . The Tomahawks, champions of the NorCal Junior Lacrosse Association, reached the championship of the state tournament on Sunday at Cate School in Carpinteria, falling to Foothill of Orange County, 12-5, in the title game. The Tomahawks beat Cat, 6-5, in overtime to qualify for the title match.

BANK OF THE WEST . . . Individual tickets for the Bank of the West Classic are now on sale. The Classic, a WTA Tour Tier II event, will be held July 12-18 at the Taube Tennis Stadium on Stanford's campus. Venus Williams, Kim Clijsters and Lindsay Davenport have all committed early to compete at Stanford. The trio represent the past six championships in event, with Clijsters the defending champion. She also won in 2001, while Williams won the title in 2000 and 2002 and Davenport won in 1998 and 1999. Williams missed last year's tournament with a strained abdominal muscle. Tickets are priced between $10-$80 per session and are available through City Box Office at 1-415-392-4400 or through Tickets.com at (650) 478-2277. Day sessions Monday through Thursday begin at 10 a.m. and Friday and Saturday at 11 a.m. Evening sessions begin at 7:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturday at 8 p.m. Sunday's final is scheduled for 1 p.m.

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