Heading toward the determination of the winner of the 2013-14 Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, gostanford.com will provide a progression of each of Stanford’s 19 consecutive victories. Here is the second, in 1995-96:
Directors' Cup No. 2 (1995-96) | 1995-96 Season In Photos
At Stanford, 1995-96 was the season of Tiger Woods. The men’s golf team contributed an NCAA fourth-place finish and 61 points to Stanford’s winning Directors’ Cup total, but it also was the year Woods launched his legend, playing his final collegiate season before turning the pro game upside down.
As a sophomore, Woods won eight tournaments, was second three times, and third once. He capped his season and collegiate career by winning the NCAA individual title, and earned his second consecutive Pac-10 Player of the Year award and second All-America honor.
Within a year after turning pro, Woods won The Masters by a record 12 strokes and became, at age 21, the youngest winner in the tournament’s history and the No. 1-ranked player in the world.
Stanford won two NCAA team titles in 1995-96 – men’s tennis and women’s swimming and diving. In all, 12 Stanford teams finished among the nation’s top five, and 23 were among the top 10.
The men’s tennis team won its 14th national title under coach Dick Gould and the women’s swim team won five events at the NCAA’s, including four titles each (two each on relays) for Claudia Franco and Jessica Tong.
While Woods went hardship, A.J. Hinch remained for his senior year, graduating as the finest catcher in school baseball history. Hinch was a three-time first-team All-America and a two-time Pac-10 player of the year. He hit .351 in his career and ranked among Stanford’s all-time top 10 in nine categories. He also led the Cardinal on a late 18-game winning streak that secured a spot in the NCAA tournament for the 14th time in 16 years.
Stanford has had its share of two-sport stars, but Maureen McLaren did something that no others ever accomplished: She won NCAA team titles in both sports, including twice in the same academic year. McLaren was a three-time All-America in swimming as a backstroker and won four consecutive swimming team championships (1993-96), and won two more in volleyball as a backup outside hitter (1992, 1994).
More highlights from 1995-96:
• While Tara VanDerveer took a season off to coach the U.S. women’s basketball team at the Atlanta Olympics, Stanford won 23 straight games under Amy Tucker and Marianne Stanley and advanced to its fourth Final Four in six years.
• Sunken Diamond hosted its first-ever night game, a 5-0 victory over No. 1 Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 2.
• The women’s volleyball team won 26 straight to advance to the NCAA semifinals for the ninth time.
• The men’s basketball team advanced past the first round for the second consecutive year, beating Bradley before a second consecutive loss to UMass.
• The football team, picked to finish last in the Pac-10 under first-year coach Tyrone Willingham, went 7-3-1 and earned a trip to the Liberty Bowl, where the Cardinal fell to East Carolina, 19-13. Willingham was the Pac-10 Coach of the Year.
The Final Count:
1) Stanford, 961.5
2) UCLA, 866.0
3) Florida, 731.5
4) Texas, 700.0
5) Michigan, 689.0
Stanford’s Top Scoring Teams:
1 (tie), Men’s tennis, women’s swimming and diving, 64 points each; 3, Women’s tennis, 63; 4, Men’s gymnastics, 62; 5 (tie), Women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, 61.5 each.