STANFORD, Calif. - Mariah Stackhouse didn’t know a pawn from a bishop. Rochelle Ballantyne didn’t know a birdie from a bogey.
But in another only-at-Stanford story, the two excel in golf and chess, respectively, and have forged an unlikely friendship.
Stackhouse, a junior from Riverdale, Georgia, is a two-time first team All-American. As a freshman, she shot a 10-under-par 61 at Stanford Golf Course in the Peg Barnard Invitational, the lowest women’s round in NCAA history. Last summer, Stackhouse helped lead the U.S. to victory against Great Britain and Ireland in the Curtis Cup.
Ballantyne, a sophomore from Brooklyn, N.Y., ranks in the 99th percentile of American junior chess players and is striving to become the first African-American to achieve the chess title of “Master.” She also has her own Wikipedia page.
Their first meeting was simple enough, as Stackhouse and Ballantyne met one day on campus.
“Every year, a sophomore or junior can sign up for a little sib -- which is someone who comes into the community the next year -- and you’re kind of like a friend and mentor to them,” Stackhouse said. “I signed up, and we got paired together. It was a mutual discovery.”
The beauty of their friendship is that neither knew what the other did before they met. Once they found out, they bonded quickly.
“I knew nothing about golf,” said Ballantyne. “She randomly texted me one day and said, ‘You have a Wikipedia page?’ I answered, ‘How did you find out? And you play golf?’
“When we did know these things about each other, it was like, ‘Okay, now when I tell you something, you understand how I feel.’ Even though Mariah doesn’t play chess, she understands how it feels to be on top of your game and how it feels to lose. It’s just a great feeling having a friend who understands those feelings, because not many people at Stanford play chess.”
Even more, Ballantyne went out to watch Stackhouse play golf to get a better understanding for the game.
“Everything is so serene and quiet,” Ballantyne said of her first encounter on the golf course. “I pictured golf to be a certain way, and it was very different from what I imagined. It was still super-cool watching her play and seeing her so focused. It reminded me of how I play chess, not worrying about anything else but my game.”
Stackhouse knew even less about chess.
“The extent of my experience was watching Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” said Stackhouse.
Stackhouse and Ballantyne study together, socialize and have mutual appreciation for each other’s talent. Stackhouse recently played chess against Ballantyne and lost in four moves. Similarly, Ballantyne tried her hand at golf -- and it didn’t go well.
“She schooled me in chess, so I wanted my revenge,” said Stackhouse, a two-time class president in high school who is majoring in communication.
While Stackhouse grew up pounding golf balls on the driving range and grooving her swing, Ballantyne played chess every weekend. Stackhouse won more than 100 junior tournaments before enrolling at Stanford, while Ballantyne won the 2012 All-Girls National Chess Championship in ninth grade at age 14, and received a full scholarship to attend Texas. Her triumph was featured in a documentary film called “Brooklyn Castle.”
“My (single) mom was super-happy because she didn’t have to pay for college,” said Ballantyne, the oldest of four children. “I didn’t really want to play chess in college. I wanted to figure out who I was besides chess.”
With no high school chess team to play on, Ballantyne devoted her spare time to community service and coaching elementary school kids. She earned a full academic scholarship to Stanford and is pursuing a double-major in political science and African and American Studies.
“There are not many chess tournaments in California, especially near Stanford,” Ballantyne said. “I usually just wait until I get home and start playing again.”
Both share a love for music. “When I’m on the golf course, I always have songs in my head when I’m walking down the fairway,” Stackhouse said. “You can’t spend every second of a five-hour round thinking about golf. Songs automatically take your mind to different places. As I’m approaching my ball, I get back into the zone and start thinking about my next shot.”
Added Ballantyne, “When I play chess, I listen to music. It’s my own little world. Whatever’s on the iPad.”
While Stackhouse has her sights set on winning the NCAA team and individual title, Ballantyne is stuck between a book and a chess board. To become a chess Master, she must compete in world-wide tournaments and they require time and money.
“It’s completely dependent on someone paying for me to play and travel,” said Ballantyne. “I still have school, so it’s like picking and choosing my battles. I still lose sometimes when I play at home, but I’m not gaining anything by playing in those tournaments.”
She has plenty to gain by hanging out with the seemingly always-smiling Stackhouse, who has had a busy winter and spring schedule playing for the Cardinal.
“Which means I never see her,” Ballantyne said.
“On weekends!” said Stackhouse. “I won’t abandon you.”