July 1, 2011
Men's Cross Country
The Cardinal had another strong season, carrying the nation's No. 1 ranking for most of the year. Stanford swept through the Stanford Invitational and Pre-Nationals during the regular season and then dominated the Pac-10 Championships to begin postseason. Stanford was led by its "Big Three" of Chris Derrick, Elliott Heath and Jake Riley, which finished 1-2-3 at both Pre-Nationals and Pac-10's. The Cardinal also received strong performances from Miles Unterreiner, JT Sullivan and Erik Olson, who finished 9-10-11, respectively, at the Pac-10 meet. At the national meet, the Cardinal finished fourth to return to the podium for the 12th time in program history. Derrick placed fifth and Riley was sixth, as both were named All-Americans.
Women's Cross Country
A young Cardinal team surprised many with a big season that included a Pac-10 Championship. Stanford began the season by winning the Stanford Invitational and later placed third at Pre-Nationals. Kathy Kroeger took the individual title at the Stanford Invitational, while placing third at Pre-Nationals. At the Pac-10 meet, Stanford won the closest race in conference history as the top four teams were separated by just six points. Kroeger finished as the runner-up, while Stephanie Marcy and Jessica Tonnalso had top-10 finishes. After a solid regional meet, Stanford took 13th at the NCAA Championships. Kroeger was forced to drop out of the race with an injury but Marcy picked up the slack, finishing as the team's No. 1 runner for a second straight season.
Field Hockey
Stanford (15-6, 5-1 NorPac) was impressive once again in 2010, making its 10th NCAA Tournament appearance and capturing the NorPac Tournament title for the fourth straight year. Tara Danielsonbecame the school's winningest first-year head coach, as the Cardinal remained a fixture in the national rankings for all but one week. A 4-2 road upset of No. 8 Wake Forest in late September proved to be a signature victory for Stanford, defeating its highest-ranked opponent since shocking No. 3 Michigan State in 2001. Xanthe Travlos was named an All-American for the second straight season, leading a balanced team attack in which 18 players appeared in at least one game, 15 scored at least one goal and 16 registered at least one point.
Men's Water Polo
Stanford (15-8, 5-3 MPSF) bounced back from a challenging first half of the season to win eight of its last 12 and come within a sudden-death goal of making the National Collegiate Championship. The Cardinal hit a three-week snag in which it dropped four of six heading into October, but the team's fortunes turned around with a 5-3 upset of defending national champion and top-ranked USC at Avery Aquatic Center on Oct. 9. As the fourth seed at the MPSF Tournament, the Cardinal upset No. 1 California before falling 8-7 in three overtimes to USC. Jacob Smith (team-leading 54 goals), Jeffrey Schwimer (33 goals) and Sage Wright (32) were all named to the ACWPC All-America Second Team while Paul Rudolph (33 goals) and Peter Sefton (27) rounded out the Cardinal's 25-goal scorers. Goalie Brian Pingreeanchored the Cardinal defense with 7.40 saves per game in his first season as the full-time starter.
Men's Soccer
Stanford had an up-and-down season that ended with an 8-10-0 record and a fourth place finish in the Pac-10. The Cardinal opened the year with four straight losses but showed its mental strength and veteran leadership to rebound with four straight victories. Among the highlights were a late Dominique Yahyavi goal to defeat San Francisco 1-0 on a foggy night in the City. Also, Bobby Warshaw scored a spectacular bicycle kick goal to help Stanford defeat Saint Mary's 3-1. Stanford opened Pac-10 play 0-2 but rebounded to win three straight, including a big win at Cagan Stadium over UCLA. However, the Cardinal missed the NCAA Tournament one year after advancing to the round of 16. Warshaw was named All-Pac-10 First Team for the third straight season, while Yahyavi, Ryan Thomas and Adam Jahnwere named to the Second Team.
Women's Soccer
Stanford (23-1-2, 9-0-0) won its second consecutive Pac-10 title, completed its second consecutive undefeated regular season, and reached its second consecutive NCAA College Cup final. The Cardinal extended its home winning streak to 35 and its conference winning streak to 20 on the way to reaching its third consecutive College Cup. Stanford lost to Notre Dame 1-0 in the final in Cary, N.C., but Christen Press was named to her third all-tournament team to complete a triumphant season and career. Press earned the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy as the nation's best player after leading the nation in scoring with 26 goals. She broke school records for career points (183), goals (71), assists (41), and tied the mark for goals in a season. In addition, Teresa Noyolaearned her second NSCAA first-team All-America honor.
Women's Volleyball
Stanford turned in another successful season, capturing its fifth straight Pac-10 title. The team (27-4, 15-3 Pac-10) made its 30th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, reaching a regional final for the seventh time under head coach John Dunning. The squad was ranked in the top-5 for the entire season, including four weeks at No. 1. One of the many highlights was winning the inaugural Nike Volleyball Big Four Classic in Gainesville, Fla., and snapping then-No. 1 Penn State's 109-match winning streak in the process. Cardinal seniors Gabi Ailes, Alix Klineman and Cassidy Lichtmanwere tabbed All-Americans, while Klineman was named Pac-10 Player of the Year and National Player of the Year by Volleyball Magazine.
Football
Stanford finished 12-1 and went 8-1 in Pac-10 play for a second-place finish. The Cardinal won 12 games for the first time in school history, and Stanford's eight conference victories matched a school record. Playing in its second-ever BCS game, Stanford put an exclamation mark on its historic season with a 40-12 victory over Virginia Tech in the Discover Orange Bowl in Miami, Fla. The Cardinal held a slim 13-12 lead at intermission but outscored the Hokies 27-0 in the second half en route to the victory. Stanford finished the year ranked fourth nationally in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches Top 25 polls, marking the program's highest year-end ranking since 1940. Stanford scored a school-record 524 points in 13 games, breaking the single-season record set by the 2009 squad (461). The Cardinal was the most improved defensive team in the nation in 2010 as it closed the campaign ranked in the top three in the Pac-10 in seven defensive categories, including scoring defense, total defense, rushing defense, pass defense, pass defense efficiency, interceptions and sacks. Luck was named the Pac-10's Offensive Player of the Year, while center Chase Beeler and fullback/linebacker Owen Marecicearned first team All-America honors.
Wrestling
Stanford posted arguably the most successful season in school history in 2010-11. After a 9-9-1 dual season and a fourth-place finish at the Pac-10 Championships, the highest since 2007-08, Stanford finished a program-best 11th at the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, Pa. Junior Nick Amuchastegui became just the second Cardinal wrestler to reach the NCAA finals, picking up his second career All-America honors in the process. Amuchastegui, along with senior Zack Giesen and sophomore Ryan Mango, became the first trio in Stanford history to garner All-America honors in the same season.
Squash
Under the direction of head coach Mark Talbott, Stanford finished with an overall record of 8-7 and placed sixth in the College Squash Association's Women's National Championships, more commonly referred to as the Howe Cup. The Cardinal dropped a 7-2 decision to third-ranked Trinity in the first round, but rebounded to score a 6-3 victory over Cornell in the consolation bracket. Stanford then fell to Penn, 6-3 in its season finale. Pamela Chuafinished ninth in the final Dunlop Women's Individual Rankings, while Kerrie Semple was ranked 29th.
Women's Basketball
Stanford (33-3, 18-0 Pac-10) returned to the Final Four for the fourth consecutive year in 2010-11, once again capturing the Pac-10's regular season and tournament titles en route. Tara VanDerveer, named Pac-10 Coach of the Year for the 11th time, won or shared national coach of the year honors from the WBCA, Associated Press and the Atlanta Tip-Off Club (Naismith Trophy) in a season in which she became just the fifth Division I women's basketball head coach to reach 800 career wins and was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Jeanette Pohlen was named Pac-10 Player of the Year and selected to the All-America teams of the Associated Press, USBWA and John R. Wooden Award, Nnemkadi Ogwumike joined Pohlen on those All-America teams as well as being named to the State Farm Coaches' All-America Team, and Kayla Pedersen earned Associated Press All-America honorable mention. Chiney Ogwumikecaptured the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year award as well as a spot on the All-Pac-10 Team. Together, the quartet led the Cardinal to its fourth straight 30-win season, one that included a 71-59 victory on Dec. 30 over No. 1 Connecticut that ended the Huskies' NCAA-record 90-game winning streak.
Men's Basketball
Stanford closed out the 2010-11 campaign at 15-16 overall while tying for seventh place in league play at 7-11. Fielding a team without a senior for the first time in school history, the Cardinal experienced the inconsistencies associated with a roster in which underclassmen accounted for 10 of the 15 spots. Despite being predicted to finish ninth in the Pac-10, Stanford surpassed its win total from the previous season while its overall record dipped below the .500 mark only twice. All-Pac-10 First Team selection Jeremy Greenwas the Pac-10's fifth-leading scorer at 16.7 points per game. In addition to making more starts (47) than any other Pac-10 team, Stanford's freshman class logged the highest percentage of minutes played (41.7) and accounted for the highest percentage of scoring (40.3).
Fencing
The Cardinal had another big season, resulting in a regional title and a 10th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. The Cardinal was led by Francesca Bassa, who placed fifth at the NCAA Championships in the epee with 14 victories. She narrowly missed advancing to the final four competitors. Bassa was the lone All-American on the women's side, but the men had a pair as Turner Caldwell and Max Murphy both earned the distinguished honor. Caldwell was seventh in the foil with 14 victories, while Murphy was 11th in saber with 11 victories. The Cardinal sent seven athletes to the NCAA Championships as Jake Harbour, Kevin Mo, Ashley Titan and Meaghan Conwayalso competed.
Men's Swimming and Diving
Stanford won its 30th straight Pac-10 title under Skip Kenney and finished third at the NCAA Championships, completing another remarkable season for the Cardinal program. Austin Staab led the way for the Cardinal, winning the 200 IM and 100 fly at the NCAA meet and Pac-10 championships. For Staab's efforts at the conference meet, he was named co-swimmer of the year. Also at NCAA's, junior Bobby Bollier chipped in runner-up finishes in the 200 fly and 500 free. Chad La Tourette was also a national runner-up in the 1650 free race. Stanford began the meet by winning the 200 free relay with an American record. In diving, Brent Eichenseer closed out his career as an All-American, while freshmen divers Noah Garcia and Dhruv Tyagibegan promising careers. Tyagi was named the Pac-10's Freshman of the Year.
Women's Swimming and Diving
Stanford won its second straight Pac-10 title for Lea Maurer this time behind a new crop of freshmen and leadership from its senior class. Senior Kate Dwelley was a runner-up in the 100 free, Maya DiRado was a runner-up in the 200 IM and third in the 400 IM and diver Meg Hostage was third in the one-meter for the Cardinal's top finishers a the NCAA meet. Dwelley finished her career as a 23-time All-American, the 21st Stanford swimmer to have at least 20 top-16 finishes in a career. Sam Woodward will enter her senior season as a 17-time All-American, while Betsy Webbwill be a 12-time All-American. Woodward scored six top-16 finishes, Webb had four. Hostage was an All-American in all three disciplines.
Synchronized Swimming
Stanford capped the season with its third consecutive runner-up finish at the U.S. Collegiate Nationals in Buffalo, N.Y. Despite the second-place finish, the Cardinal captured gold in both the team and duet events. The squad posted a 94.250 in the team final to top the eventual national champion Ohio State (92.875). Juniors Maria Koroleva and Olivia Morgantook home the duet title with a 91.625, edging out the duo from Ohio State (91.250).
Women's Gymnastics
The best start in school history was unable to prevent a disappointing end for Stanford (20-4), which finished fourth in the Ann Arbor Regional and failed to advance to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2006. The Cardinal had a 15-0 record heading into the regular-season finale, but could not sustain the momentum despite finishing with the highest average team score (197.339) since 2007. Among the highlights were handing Utah its first home loss in four years and Michigan its first home loss in three years, and three victories over defending NCAA champion UCLA. Ashley Morganled the nation in scoring average (9.914) in floor exercise and tied for a Pac-10 title in that event.
Men's Gymnastics
It was a banner year for Stanford, which won its second national championship in three years while claiming the school's 100th NCAA title. After trading the No. 1 ranking with Oklahoma for most of the season, the Cardinal defeated the Sooners at the MPSF Championships to earn the conference title and then again for the national title. Tim Gentry was named MPSF Co-Gymnast of the Year and earned the conference title on rings. Alex Buscaglia also won a conference title, doing it on the horizontal bar. He then backed that up with an NCAA title in the same event. At the NCAA's, the Cardinal trailed most of the meet, but knew it had the highest scoring event, vault, to finish on. Needing a solid final rotation to take over the lead, Stanford nailed the vault and won going away. Gentry led the Cardinal, earning three All-America honors, while Buscaglia, Cameron Foreman, Josh Dixon, Eddie Penev and Chris Turnereach added an All-America honor as well.
Men's Volleyball
Coming off a national championship, Stanford (19-9, 15-7 MPSF) created the motto, "First to First." Though the Cardinal was unable to match the accomplishments of 2010, it finished a respectable third in the powerful Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and was on the brink of an at-large berth into the four-team NCAA tournament field. A first-round home loss to Long Beach State in a five-set thriller ended the season in the MPSF tournament. Stanford won at Pepperdine for the first time since 1997 and swept the season series against the Waves and UCLA for the first time ever in the same season. Junior libero Erik Shoji earned his third first-team All-America honor and junior outside hitter Brad Lawsonhis second.
Lacrosse
Producing the best season in school history, the Cardinal returned to the NCAA Tournament and posted a school-record 16 wins. Stanford reeled off eight straight wins to open the season, including upsets of top-10 teams in Notre Dame and Syracuse. Stanford climbed to as high as No. 6 in the IWLCA poll, the best in school history. Stanford entered the MPSF tournament as the No. 1 seed and after breezing through the first round, ran into a tough game against Oregon in the final. The Cardinal fell behind 7-0 early in the game, but then mounted an incredible comeback to fight all the way bay and win 12-10. The Cardinal earned the automatic berth to the NCAA tournament, dropping a back-and-forth game 13-11 to host Florida. Leslie Foard became the first IWLCA first team All-American in school history. Lauren Schmidt earned third team honors and both were named nominees for the Tewaaraton Award. In addition, the Cardinal swept the MPSF awards with Foard earning Player of the Year, Anna Kim earning Newcomer of the Year and Amy Bokkerearning Coach of the Year.
Women's Water Polo
It was a golden year for Stanford (28-1, 7-0 MPSF) as the Cardinal captured its second NCAA title with a 9-5 victory over California. The Cardinal opened 2011 with 24 straight wins before suffering a 9-8 upset at the hands of UCLA in the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament, but bounced back to win its next four games and earn the gold trophy. Sophomore two-meter Annika Dries swept the Peter J. Cutino Award as the nation's top female collegiate player as well as the MPSF Player of Year award as she led the Cardinal with 65 goals, including five in the national title game win over the Golden Bears. Fellow two-meter Melissa Seidemann scored 51 goals and was named to the All-MPSF First Team while fellow All-MPSF selections Alyssa Lo (42 goals), Kim Krueger (36) and Kaley Dodson (27) added to the offensive firepower. In the cage, the duet of senior Amber Oland (All-MPSF Second Team, 7.80 saves per game, 4.96 GAA) and sophomore Kate Baldoni(7.35 saves per game, 4.04 GAA) formed the backbone of the MPSF's top defense, as the Cardinal allowed just 4.79 goals per game.
Women's Tennis
Stanford (28-1, 8-0 Pac-10) fell 4-3 to Florida in the NCAA title match while two lengthy streaks were also snapped in the process. The loss was Stanford's first since a 6-1 defeat at UCLA back on Feb. 26, 2010, a stretch of 47 consecutive wins. Additionally, Florida became the first opponent to win a dual match on Stanford's home court since California posted a 5-4 victory back on Feb. 27, 1999. The NCAA-record streak spanned more than 12 seasons, resulted in 184 consecutive wins and featured a pair of national championships (2002, 2006). Hilary Barte and Mallory Burdette claimed the NCAA doubles title, while Stacey Tanbecame only the 10th unseeded player to appear in the championship singles match despite falling in the final. Stanford captured the Pac-10 title with an 8-0 record, and has now won the conference crown outright or claimed at least a share of the hardware in all but one season since 1987.
Men's Tennis
Reaching 20 wins for a third straight season, Stanford (21-6, 5-1 Pac-10) dropped a hard-fought 4-3 decision to No. 1 Virginia in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships, falling just short in an upset bid that would have ranked among the program's most memorable wins. Instead, Stanford became the first opponent to secure three points in a match against undefeated Virginia and reached the quarterfinal round for the first time since 2006. On a quest for Stanford's first NCAA doubles crown since 2004, Bradley Klahn and Ryan Thachercame up short in a 7-6 (4), 6-3 loss to Texas A&M's Jeff Dadamo and Austin Krajicek. The Cardinal took second in the Pac-10 at 5-1, and pieced together a 13-match winning streak before the loss to Virginia- the program's longest stretch since an 18-match streak in 2001.
Softball
Stanford (42-17, 10-11 Pac-10) posted its 12th 40-win season and advanced to its fifth Super Regional under head coach John Rittman. The Cardinal, which was ranked in the top-20 for the entire year, set new single season records for batting average (.300) and stolen bases (91). Junior shortstop Ashley Hansenwas named the Pac-10 Player of the Year and became the Cardinal's first USA Softball National Player of the Year, just the second non-pitcher to earn the award. Hansen, a first team All-American, set single season Stanford records for batting average (.495), hits (95) and slugging percentage (.797).
Baseball
With seven underclassmen starters, Stanford (35-22) reached the Super Regional at North Carolina in the program's 30th NCAA Tournament appearance. Sophomore Stephen Piscotty led the Cardinal in hitting at .364, earning first team All-Pac-10 honors, while freshman Brian Ragira, the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, led the Cardinal with 46 RBIs. Piscotty and Jones were the only players to start every game, with Piscotty starting at first and Jones at catcher. Jones rebounded after a slow start to hit .267, joining two-sport running back and outfielder Tyler Gaffney as two players who finished the year on hot streaks. On the mound, Chris Reed led five players in the MLB draft with a first round selection of the Dodgers. Reed led the Cardinal in saves with nine and a 2.56 ERA. Mark Appelanchored the rotation as a sophomore, finishing with a 6-7 record and 3.02 ERA.
Men's Rowing
Stanford concluded the 2011 season with an inspiring effort at the IRA Championships in June, as the Four charged into its Grand Final and took home and fifth-place national finish. Meanwhile, the I Eight, which had finished second at the San Diego Crew Classic earlier in the year, and with All-Pac-10 selection Alex Syversonon board, bounced back from a semifinal defeat to take eighth in the national final. With the Frosh Eight's ninth-place finish, all three Cardinal boats turned in top-10 national finishes in a respectable showing at the IRAs.
Women's Rowing
In one of the closest margins, if not the closest, in NCAA history, Stanford missed out on what would have been the program's second straight team title by five-hundredths of a second at the 2011 NCAA Championships. Sitting in second place on the scoreboard heading into the I Eight final, the Cardinal finished in third place, with eventual champion Brown in second. With both teams tied at 85 points, the title went to Brown via the tiebreaker, which is the top finish in the I Eight, in which Brown bested the Cardinal by .05 of a second. Behind the efforts of All-Americans Anna Dawson, Elle Logan, Grace Luczak and Erika Roddy, 2011 marked the program's third straight top-four national finish, while the II Eight brought home its first-ever individual NCAA title with a convincing win in its grand final.
Women's Lightweight Rowing
Stanford claimed a repeat IRA national title as the Lightweight Eight once more dethroned the nation's top-ranked team in the IRA Championships final, edging Princeton by just over half a second. Behind the efforts of All-Americans Liz Fenje, Mariel Lanas and Gretchen Stumhofer, and under the guidance of head coach Al Acosta, who was named the CRCA National Coach of the Year for the third time in four years, the Cardinal saved its best races for last, overcoming the Tigers and bringing home a second gold medal.
Sailing
Stanford swept through all three weekends of the Pacific Coast Collegiate Sailing Conference for the second-straight year, becoming one of eight squads to have teams at all three races on the Oregon river. The team sailors finished eighth, the women 14th and the coed team, 12th. Hannah Burroughs was named an All-American in the crew division to close out her sailing career, while the new crop of sailors of Mateo Vargas, Molly McKinney, Sally Mace and Kevin Laubewere each named All-PCCSC. Vargas, McKinney and Mace all reached the fall finals of the single-handed nationals.
Men's Golf
The last time Stanford missed qualifying for the NCAA Championships (2006), it came back to win the national championship the following year. The Cardinal hopes history will repeat itself next season after it was denied a spot in the NCAA Championship field by virtue of its sixth place finish at the NCAA Central Regional. Stanford also failed to win a tournament for the first time since 2005-06, although it counted six top-five finishes on the year, highlighted by a second place showing the 12 team Gifford Intercollegiate Championships in early November. Sophomore Andrew Yunearned First Team PING All-America honors after collecting seven Top 5 finishes on the year, including his first collegiate victory at The Prestige at PGA West.
Women's Golf
Featuring three underclassmen in its lineup for much of the season, Stanford finished fifth at the Pac-10 Championships and qualified for the NCAA Championships for the second straight season. Stanford survived a pressure-packed final day at the NCAA Central Regional in South Bend, Ind., turning in a final round 300 (+12) to finish seventh and earn a spot in field at the NCAA Championships in Bryan, Texas, where it finished 23rd out of 24 teams. Sophomore Kristina Wong earned second team All-Pac-10 honors in the strength of her five top-10 finishes. She also led the Cardinal in stroke average at 74.0. Sophomore Sally Watson, who had four top-15 finishes on the year, was an honorable mention All-Pac-10 selection. Watson, along with senior Rebecca Durham and junior Sydney Burlison were named to the Pac-10's All-Academic first team, while Wong and junior Lila Bartonwere Honorable Mention picks.
Men's Track and Field
Stanford had a big season with a pair of top-10 NCAA finishes. During the indoor season, the Cardinal men earned its first-ever MPSF title and followed that up with an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Stanford had three individual winners at the MPSF meet with Amaechi Morton winning the 400 meters, Elliott Heath taking the mile and Miles Unterreiner capturing the 5,000 meters. At the NCAA meet, Heath won his first NCAA individual title, winning the 3,000 meters with a blazing kick to come from behind in the final 300 meters. Outdoors, the Cardinal placed sixth at the Pac-10 meet, but backed that up with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA meet. Geoffrey Tabor won a Pac-10 title in the discus, while eight individuals and a relay advanced to the NCAA Championships. Chris Derrick led Stanford at the NCAA meet, earning All-America honors in both the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Other first team All-Americans were Morton in the 400-meter hurdles, JT Sullivan and Benjamin Johnson in the steeplechase and Jake Rileyin the 10,000.
Women's Track and Field
The Cardinal finished up another outstanding season with a 15th-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships and an eighth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. In addition, the Cardinal was third at the MPSF Championships during the indoor season and fifth at the Pac-10 Championships. Stanford had several individuals perform well throughout the season with Whitney Liehr sweeping the MPSF and Pac-10 titles in the triple jump and following that up with All-America performances both indoors and outdoors in the event. Katerina Stefanidi was the NCAA runner-up in the pole vault indoors and was the Pac-10 Champion and placed third at the NCAA's outdoors. Other standouts included Stephanie Marcy, who won the Pac-10 title in the 10,000 meters and earned three All-America honors during the season. Eda Karesin also won a Pac-10 title and finished as the NCAA runner-up in the javelin. Finally, Kori Carter rewrote the Stanford record book in the hurdles, claiming the 100- and 400-meter hurdles school records and advancing the to NCAA's in both events as a freshman.