Sports Shorts Sports Shorts (June 23, 2004)

NET EFFORT . . . Former Stanford tennis stars K.J. Hippensteel and Ryan Haviland teamed up to win the doubles title at the USTA Las Palmas Challenger at the Sunnyvale Tennis Center on Sunday. Hippensteel and Haviland beat another team of former Cardinal tennis players, Scott Lipsky and David Martin, 7-6 (9-7), 6-7 (1-7), 6-3. Hippensteel, the top seed in singles, lost to seventh-seeded Alejandro Fabbri, 6-4, 6-3, in the singles championship match . . . A pair of Stanford women stars were also scheduled to play first-round matches at Wimbledon, which got underway on Monday. Marissa Irvin was slated to meet fellow American Meghann Shaughnessy and Laura Granville was scheduled to meet Croatia's Karolina Sprem. On the men's side, former Menlo School player Dmitry Tursunov was scheduled to play 19th-seeded Marat Safin, a fellow Russian.

OVER THE TOP . . . Stanford grad Kerri Walsh and her teammate Misty May continued their beach volleyball success over the weekend with a gold medal performance in winning the 1to1 Energy Open women's title in Gstaad, Switzerland on Saturday. Walsh and May beat Brazil's Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede, 26-28, 21-17, 15-10, to share the $27,000 prize. Walsh and May have won 46 straight SWATCH-FIVB World Tour matches. "Adriana and Shelda have been the most successful team ever with so many titles, world championships and Olympic medals," Walsh said. "Our real focus is on Athens. Hopefully this win will start a string of successes in Europe that concludes with a medal in Greece." .... The team of former Stanford men's players, Canyon Ceman and Matt Fuerbringer placed ninth after beating a team from Brazil but losing to a German squad on Saturday.

CARDINAL CORNER . . . The Stanford women's crew team beat Princeton in the grand final of the Women's Henley Regatta on Sunday in England to win the Senior Four event. Stanford beat England's Aberdeen University in the semifinal with a time of 5:42. The Stanford crew was comprised of Wendy Hoeveler, Missy Fiesler, Melissa Haury, Ashley Maloney, and Stephanie Connolly . . . Stanford players Catalina Morris and Jackie Rinehart were added to the USA Schutt Elite softball team which will compete for the Canada Cup beginning July 3 in Surrey, B.C. and at the Champions Cup in Irvine beginning July 14 . . . While many of the veteran players stayed at home, the United States women's national volleyball team won its first two matches at the Pan American Cup in Tijuana, Mexico on Friday and Saturday and were playing Monday against Argentina and Tuesday against Cuba. Team USA defeated Guatemala, 25-10, 25-9, 25-12, to open tournament play and then beat Canada, 25-50, 25-16, 25-21 in the second game. Stanford senior Ogonna Nnamani had six points in the win over Guatemala and eight points against Canada. The tournament serves as a qualifier for the 2005 FIVB World Grand Prix, the premier annual women's competition that features some of the top teams in the world. Team USA earned the silver medal at the Montreux Volley Masters in Switzerland last week. Team USA's veteran players, including Stanford grad Logan Tom, did not make the trip to Mexico, remaining in Colorado Springs to prepare for the upcoming World Grand Prix in Asia next month.

OF LOCAL NOTE . . . The 26th annual Los Gatos Summer All-Comer Track and Field meets will be held every Thursday evening between June 24th and August 12th at Los Gatos High. The pole vault begins at 5 p.m., while the rest of the field events will commence at 5:30 and running events start at 6 p.m. There are five divisions: open, high school, women, masters, and kids under seven. There is a four dollar entry free and a two dollar charge for spectators . . . The Stanford Water Polo Club has begun a new 11-under program for girls beginning. Practices are Monday through Thursday, 2:45-4 p.m. at Menlo College. To sign up for one of the few remaining spots, visit www.stanfordwaterpolo.com for forms and further information . . . The Union Football Club, a Palo Alto-based CYSA soccer program for girls U10-19, Class 1 and Class 3 levels, will hold tryouts in June. For more information and tryout dates e-mail admin@unionfootballclub.com, or call (650) 799-7984 . . . Woodside Priory School is looking for a boys' junior varsity and girls' varsity soccer coach. Contact Athletic Director Mark Stogner 851-6107 mstogner@woodsidepriory.com

BANK OF THE WEST . . . Individual tickets for the Bank of the West Classic are 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 and Lindsay Davenport have committed early to compete at Stanford. 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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