Boosters

Nine Questions With Mark Marquess

The Buck/Cardinal Chronicle recently had the chance to sit down with Mark Marquess, The Clarke & Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball, to talk about his tenure at Stanford and the 2008 collegiate baseball season.  Marquess starred in both baseball and football on the Farm from 1967-69, and remains one of the best two-sport athletes in Stanford Athletics history.  After playing four seasons of minor league baseball, Marquess returned to Stanford as an assistant baseball coach from 1972-76 before being promoted to head coach in 1977.  In 31 seasons as head coach, Marquess has compiled an impressive record of 1,285-645-5 with two national championships, 13 College World Series appearances, and 12 conference championships.

Q: You have been associated with Stanford baseball for nearly 40 years.  What made you choose Stanford University as both a student-athlete and coach?
A: It was the special combination of academics and athletics.  As everyone knows, we have a special niche for college athletes who are in pursuit of that combination because we achieve in both of those areas at the highest level.

Q: What would you describe as your most memorable moments during your tenure at Stanford as a student-athlete, assistant coach, and/or head coach?
A: That’s difficult because so many things quickly come to mind.  Baseball-wise, it would be our first NCAA Championship in 1987.  But the longer I coach, it is a lot of the non-athletic moments and rewards that mean a lot to me.  It is when former players come back with their own children and comment on the positive experience they had playing baseball at Stanford.  It is very rewarding to see how the Stanford experience has helped the lives of both our former players and their families.

Q: Each and every year you are recruiting not only against the other top collegiate programs in the country, but against professional baseball as well.  How do you communicate with recruits about the importance of a college education?
A: We are fortunate in that most of our recruits, and their families, feel that education is very important or they would not have the grades or test scores needed to attend Stanford.  This gives us an advantage from the start, because most of our players will forego professional ball and attend Stanford because they feel academics are so important.  We have had a few exceptions over the years, but have been very fortunate overall.  In the end, many of our recruits realize that they will probably not get a college degree, and most importantly a Stanford degree, if they sign a pro contract out of high school.

Q: Stanford baseball has a long-standing reputation for recruiting and developing some of the best collegiate pitchers in the nation.  Why has Stanford been so attractive to top pitching recruits over the years?
A: Number one, a coach is only as good as his talent.  We’ve also been able to get good pitching talent because we’ve had excellent pitching coaches.  Tom Dunton was with us for over 25 years, Dean Stotz has been here for over 30 and he has a pitching background, and Tom Kunis was with us for eight years.  All three of them have had a great rapport with our pitchers, and are also terrific coaches.  Another big reason is consistency as we have been fortunate to have only three pitching coaches the last 31 years, and now four, with the addition of Jeff Austin for this season.

Q: How has college baseball changed in the last 10 years?
A: The big change is that college baseball is currently at the pinnacle of its popularity.  Multi-million dollar college stadiums are being built, attendance across the country is up, ESPN now covers every Super Regional game, television ratings are up, and a new College World Series attendance record is being set every year.  What many people do not know is that of every sport that sponsors an NCAA Championship (excluding football), baseball is second only to men’s basketball in revenue generated.  There is also much more parity in the game.  Twenty-five years ago, you could have said that about five schools were capable of winning the national title.  In this era, you could easily say that 40 or 50 teams are capable of winning the national title.

Q: What has the financial support of alumni and friends of Stanford Athletics meant to your program over the years?
A: Everything.  The lifeblood of any team, and baseball is no different, is the ability to get student-athletes in the program and provide scholarships.  We have been very fortunate to be able to provide those scholarships over the years with the help of our endowed scholarship donors and Buck/Cardinal Club donors.  We would not have been able to function without what the Buck/Cardinal Club has done for us during my entire time here at Stanford.  We also owe a large debt of gratitude to those who have supported us through the Diamond Club, and now the Buck/Cardinal Club, and provided us with many extras over the years that have made it possible for us to be a top program.

Q: Beginning with the 2008 season, the NCAA has moved the start of baseball practice and the regular season from January to February.  Can you talk more about the change and how it affects your program?
A: The reason this was done was to make everything equitable for the cold weather programs that cannot get on the field in January.  Our first day of practice is now February 1, and we are going to play the same amount of games (56) in a shorter period of time (the 2008 season will begin on February 22; the 2007 season began on February 3).  The main impact is our players will have to take a lighter class load in the spring because we will have to play an extra game per week for six to seven weeks.  But on the other side, our players can take a bigger academic load in winter quarter because of the later start to the season.

Q: What can we expect from your team when you open the 2008 season on February 22 vs. Nebraska at Sunken Diamond?
A: We will be a more athletic team than in 2007, and a lot of that is because we have the best freshman class we have had in the last five or six years.  We struggled a bit with our pitching and defense last year, and I know we will be better in both of those areas this year.  This will also be an exciting season in the Pac-10, because the conference looks the best it has been top to bottom in the last 25 years.  It should be a very exciting season.

Q: Tell us about the new scoreboard that visitors to Sunken Diamond will enjoy this season?
A: We are very proud to have a new $1 million dollar state-of-the art scoreboard that will be ready for our season opener against Nebraska.  It is something that our student-athletes are very excited about, and will enhance the game day experience of visitors to Sunken Diamond.  It is a project that we wanted to do for some time, and are very excited to have it in place for this season.

[ top ]

2008 Stanford Men’s Tennis Season Outlook

The 2006-07 season would have been an acceptable campaign for many teams.

Matt Bruch won the Pac-10 Championships as a sophomore for the second year in a row, and the Cardinal posted some impressive wins such as a 4-3 victory over No.  26 Miami at the National Team Indoor Championships in Chicago.  But the team suffered its first losing season in 37 years and was without an All-American for the first time in 38 years.  For a program that has the most championships in college tennis and for a head coach who has won 11 NCAA titles as a coach and player, 2007 – a year marred by injuries – was a season to build on.

This year, a star-studded recruiting class and the return of many top players to the squad mean the Cardinal can return to the limelight.

"This team could surprise some people.  We’ve got a lot of talent," said head coach John Whitlinger.  Stanford returns two-time Pac-10 champion and last year’s No.  1 Matt Bruch, whose injuries last year forced him to miss over half of the team’s dual matches.  Also returning this year is sophomore Richard Wire, who went 10-4 as the team’s No.  1 after stepping into that role midway through the year.  Despite last year’s success, coach Whitlinger looks for more out of Wire.  "I think Richard could have a breakout year this year," said Whitlinger.  "He works tremendously hard and keeps getting better everyday."

Alex Clayton, who is currently the second-ranked singles player in the country, leads a highly-touted freshman class that will augment last year’s squad, and this fall’s impressive results have only shown a glimpse of how good this class could be.

"I think Alex will be a major force in college tennis this year," said Whitlinger.  Clayton is coming off an impressive fall that featured a semifinal appearance at the ITA National Indoor Championships and a quarterfinal appearance at the All-American Championships.  He was also 9-2 against nationally ranked opponents in the fall, with his only two losses coming to the No.  1 and No.  4 ranked players in the country.

However, Clayton is hardly the only freshman who will make an impact on this year’s squad.  Ted Kelly lost only one match in two years as the No.  1 for his high school team and finished the Under-16 division ranked as high as No.  20.  This fall Kelly won the ITA Northwest Regionals doubles tournament with Muller and posted a win over the 14th-ranked player in the country at the ITA Northwest Regionals.  Greg Hirshman, the team’s final freshman, made it into the doubles finals with Wire at the ITA Northwest Regionals and has compiled a 5-4 singles record in the fall.

With such a young squad (all of this year’s players could potentially return next year) Whitlinger believes the biggest challenge this team will face is getting the young players used to college tennis and competing at this level.  But the coach believes this team’s greatest asset, its toughness, will be the difference.  "Are we the most talented team in the country?" Whitlinger asked.  "Maybe not.  But we can be the toughest."

Singles

With many of the top singles players returning from last year and a new group of talented freshmen entering the fold, the competition will be strong for the top six spots.

"This is a deeper team than we’ve had in a while," said Whitlinger.  "You’ve got to like the healthy competition that we are going to have."

Stanford returns 76-percent of its dual match points played last year.  Among the returners are the primary Nos.  1, 2 and 3 players from last year: Bruch, Wire and Muller.  "Muller is a breakout candidate this year," said Whitlinger, "He has a ton of talent.  Everybody made contributions last year, and I could see the same thing happening this year."

The deep Cardinal squad will also allow for strong practices throughout the year according to Whitlinger.  "In years past, our teams have had good competition for playing time and this year I see us having that good competition again.  It has the potential to be a very deep singles lineup."

Last year five different players held down the No.  5 and 6 roles, and this year figures to be no different.  "Our good teams in the past have had strong lineups top to bottom, and I can see us having that again this year," the Cardinal head coach said.

Partially contributing to last year’s shuffling among the roles were the injuries to many Cardinal players.  But with a healthy fall, Whitlinger hopes those worries are behind them.

Doubles
"Doubles is very important," stressed Whitlinger.  "We are going to be playing a lot of close matches this year, and winning that doubles point means you only have to win three of the singles matches instead of four.  That’s huge."

Stanford returns two of its primary doubles teams from last year.  The No. 1 squad of Bruch and Muller, who went 16-3 overall last year, will return along with the primary No.  2 squad of Wire and Paul Morrissey.

- By Stanford Media Relations

[ top ]

2008 Stanford Women's Gymnastics Season Outlook

Past: Head Coach Kristen Smyth enters her seventh season at Stanford University and has established a winning tradition on the Farm.  Prior to 2002, Stanford Women's Gymnastics (SWG) had not broken through to the elite NCAA "Super Six." Today it is a program that has competed in the "Super Six" three out of the last six years.  SWG had only 20 All-American honors in its history until 2002 and now has 69 in total.  SWG has historically struggled with depth but boasts a 2008 roster of 17 student-athletes.

Present: SWG earned a berth in the NCAA Championships Final Round ("Super Six") in 2007 despite losing two seasoned contributors (then juniors Liz Tricase and Tabitha Yim) to injury throughout the season and a highly touted freshman (Allyse Ishino) to a pulmonary embolism.  The team's remarkable finish was an accomplishment driven by hard work and a selfless roster that stepped up for one another no matter what challenge they faced.

Destiny: It is rare in collegiate athletics that a team gets to enjoy the continuity that Stanford Women's Gymnastics can celebrate going into the 2008 season.  Everyone is back, everyone is healed, and even more talent has arrived on campus as Stanford enters its most promising year in the program's history.

"I am so excited for this season," said Smyth.  "There are many reasons to be optimistic about this team.  We have outstanding leadership, with six seniors who know what it takes to be successful at the college level leading the way.  We have valuable experience from last season to build on with six All-Americans returning to a team that is hungry to get back to the 'Super Six'.  Everyone steps up on this team, works hard and is willing to do whatever it takes to compete for a National title.  The gym is alive and it has been a great preseason with 17 talented student-athletes upgrading their routines and vying for spots in our competitive lineups.  Depth will be a tremendous asset this season, and we will rely on everyone to step in throughout the year.  It is most exciting to have Allyse Ishino (now a sophomore) back and healthy.  She is a gifted athlete and a difference maker.  Having her able to compete will be a real boost for our team and a gift for our fans."

The Cardinal ended 2007 as one of the very best teams in the nation.  The team faced challenges early on but rebounded in highly impressive fashion.  After the third week of the 2007 season SWG was never lower than fifth in the national rankings.  The Cardinal parlayed their success into the No.  1 seed at the NCAA South Central Regional, where their strong performance netted them a spot at the NCAA Championships.  A nearly flawless effort in the first day of team competition led to a berth in the prestigious "Super Six" team finals.

The season ended when the Cardinal hit every routine they performed over three days of competition and finished fifth nationally, the second highest finish in school history.  In one of the fiercest competitions in gymnastics history, Stanford finished merely four tenths of a point behind runner up University of Utah.

"Last year was a great season for us.  We nailed our routines on the biggest possible stage in front of 10,000 fans," said Smyth.  "It was fantastic to see the team rise up and deliver when the pressure was on."

Now as Stanford Women's Gymnastics looks toward 2008, it sees a full roster that should be among the most talented in the nation.

All-Around: The Cardinal remains extremely deep and talented in the All-Around.  Eleven-time All-American Senior Tabitha Yim returns to lead and to anchor a veteran squad.  Yim (a co-Captain) is also a Pac-10 Champion in the All-Around and the Beam as well as an NCAA Champion at the 2007 South Central Regional.  Yim has been a tremendous leader and has consistently made the gymnasts around her better.

"Tabitha is magical," said Smyth.  "She has an amazing energy about her and can get her team, and our fans, fired up.  Her contributions to our sport and Stanford gymnastics cannot be measured," said Smyth.  "Tabitha is one of the greatest competitors and performers of all time.  It has been a joy to watch her grow and compete for Stanford."

Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Carly Janiga will return to the Cardinal in the All-Around as well as junior standout and co-captain, Nicole Ourada, senior Alex Pintchouk and Ishino.

Vault: Returning All-Americans Janiga, Ourada, Tricase, and Sophomore Blair Ryland, as well as outstanding seniors Yim, Stephanie Gentry and Pintchouk, return to give the Cardinal tremendous depth on vault.  Tricase (co-captain) is the 2007 South Central Regional vault champion and will lead lots of other strong performers in the 2008 season.  Janiga comes off a banner freshman season after scoring a 9.925 at Nationals.

This could be one of Stanford's strongest events, but an area where Smyth sees both potential and necessity for improvement.  "We performed really well on vault last year at Nationals," said Smyth.  "Mike (Lorenzen) is a great vault coach and we showed that we could score high when we landed well.  In order for us to build off of last season and to be a top team on vault again this year we will need to do what we did last year as well as add a variety of vaults to our repertoire.  This year we are looking to incorporate a couple of Yurchenko 1.5's as well as a pike front half to our lineup.  With the addition of Ishino, and our three dynamic freshmen (Shelley Alexander, Gretchen O'Henley and Danielle Ikoma) I am confident that we will stand out on this event again."

Bars: The bar team was strong for the Cardinal all of last season and bars proved to be a consistent and reliable event throughout the year.  "Chris (Swircek) has done a fantastic job preparing our athletes for competition.  This season he is focusing on increasing the number of releases our gymnasts perform and improving our dismounts," said Smyth.  Leading the way on bars this year will be the four team co-captains, Tricase (two-time defending Pac 10 bar champion), Yim, junior Kelly Fee and Ourada.  These four are steady and consistent competitors and among the best bar performers in the country.  In addition, Stanford returns Janiga, seniors Lauren Elmore and Pintchouk and adds Ishino, a top-flight bar performer to the core group.  "Our goal this year is for all of our routines to have multiple releases and strong `E' dismounts.  I am looking forward to adding Dani (Ikoma) to the line-up.  She adds a spark to the bar team and brings unique skills and a big double layout full out dismount," said Smyth.

Beam: Stanford comes into this season with three All-Americans on the beam team, making the event another one in which the Cardinal should excel.  Fee, Ourada and Yim were all All-Americans last year and Ishino has the potential to really shine on this event.  Fee is an aggressive and charismatic performer and is in position for another strong campaign in 2008.  Ourada placed third in the nation last year on balance beam, one of the highest finishes of any Stanford gymnast on beam in school history.  Other outstanding beam competitors fighting for spots in the line-up will be seniors Elmore, Gentry, Pintchouk, and Aimee Precourt as well as Janiga and Ikoma.  With all the depth on beam this season, competition for line-ups should prove exciting.

"Lauren, one of the toughest beam competitors in Stanford history, is our starter and sets the tone for our beam team.  Our team will compete with confidence and we will differentiate ourselves by our skill selection and difficulty on balance beam," said Smyth.  "In addition, we have outstanding performers and we hope to showcase their lines, beauty and artistry."

Floor: The Floor Exercise is always a crowd favorite and the Stanford team is ready to put on a great show.  With creative and upbeat routines combined with improved tumbling, the floor exercise team should be a force for the Cardinal.  The team has continued to upgrade its difficulty on floor during the preseason and hopes to start the year off competing higher level tumbling passes.  Returning competitors include Yim, Ourada, Janiga, Fee, Pintchouk, Tricase, Gentry, Ryland, and Elmore.  Yim has been a top performer on the floor, including notable All-American honors in 2005, 2006, and 2007.  Janiga earned All-American honors on floor in 2007 as well for her outstanding combination of explosive tumbling and elegant dance.  "We will incrementally increase the floor difficulty over the course of the year," said Smyth.  "We have great performers, and with the increased difficulty in our tumbling the floor team should be very competitive, and fun to watch."

- By Stanford Media Relations

[ top ]

Home On The Farm: February 1-29

[ top ]

Credits

The Buck/Cardinal Chronicle is a publication of the Stanford Department of Athletics.  Copyright 2008 Stanford Athletics.

Editor: Scott Leykam
Writers: Scott Leykam, Stanford Media Relations
Photography: David Gonzales, Kyle Terada
Web Assistance: Ken So

[ top ]