The Farm Report: May 4

Gritty victories over two top-eight opponents secured Stanford Beach Volleyball’s first-ever appearance in the national championship dual match, as the Cardinal topped No. 8 California and No. 5 Florida State by matching scores of 3-1 in the quarterfinals and semifinals of the 2026 NCAA championship, respectively.

However, in the final, No. 1 Stanford fell to No. 3 UCLA, 3-0, in the national championship dual match Sunday at the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship, ending a historic run for the Cardinal that included its first national championship tournament quarterfinal win, semifinal win, and national championship dual match appearance.

The Cardinal (39-5) ended its season with seven more victories than any previous year on record and made its deepest run in the national championship tournament, winning three matches in the 2026 tournament compared to three total matches in its five other appearances.

For the third-straight season, the Stanford sailing is on top. The Cardinal went 21-1 across two days of competition at the ICSA Women's Team Race National Championship to take home the title for a third-straight year. Stanford has now won six women's sailing national championships overall (2026, 2025 - twice, 2024 - twice, 2023).

Ellie Harned, Kit Harned, Sophie Fisher, Piper Blackband, Vanessa Lahrkamp and Alice Schmid were the six that accomplished the feat. The 21-1 overall record at the 15-team regatta gave Stanford a comfortable edge over second place Yale, who finished 18-4.All six were a part of last season's title, with Lahrkamp, Schmid and Ellie Harned posting a third consecutive championship performance.

On the road in College Station, No. 18 Stanford Men’s Tennis took down two opponents, clinching their spot in the NCAA Super Regionals for the fifth consecutive season. 

In the opening round, the Cardinal outlasted No. 43 Penn on Texas A&M’s campus, 4-1, to continue in the tournament. Stanford dropped the doubles point, but responded in singles with four first set victories, with three of those matches ending in straight set victories for the Cardinal, clinching the first round.

Then in the following round, the Cardinal kept their season alive with a top-10 victory, defeating 11th-seeded No. 10 Texas A&M, 4-2, to advance to the NCAA Super Regionals. Similar to the opening round, Stanford dropped the doubles point before securing the first sets in four of the singles matches. Alex Razeghi provided Stanford with the clinching point.

No. 2 Stanford defeated No. 6 California on Saturday morning at the annual Big Row at Redwood Shores, sweeping all six boats in its final regular-season event.

The Cardinal started strong and never looked back, defeating the Golden Bears in the second varsity four by a 22-second margin. Stanford’s first varsity four continued the Cardinal’s winning ways as Stanford (7:30.3) posted a faster time than California (7:46.4).

Postseason action awaits the Cardinal as it competes in its second ACC Championship, scheduled for May 15-16.

Honoring its seniors on Friday, No. 15 Stanford finished the regular season with a 14th-straight win, taking down Sacramento State 9-0 in five innings to move to 46-12. The shutout marked an eighth-straight game with under three runs allowed by the Cardinal pitching staff, and the third shutout in the last four games.

Stanford struck first, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first on just one hit. The first five batters of the game all reached base safely, and all scored in the inning as the Cardinal batted around in the inning.

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Stanford track & field capped off the 2026 regular season at its home track on Friday evening, hosting the 30th edition of the Payton Jordan Invitational at Cobb Track & Angell Field.

Three Cardinal placed in the top four in the discus, with Julia Lemmon (50.67m) and Emma Sralla (49.79m) finishing third and fourth. Lemmon also added a runner-up finish in the shot put at 14.84 meters.

Tess Stapleton also shined in the final home race of her career, winning the 400m hurdles in 57.62 to lead a 1-2 finish alongside Diane Richard (58.64). Stapleton’s time was just two-hundredths of a second off the meet record, set by Cardinal alum Kori Carter in 2012.

No. 30 Stanford opened its NCAA Tournament with a 4-2, first-round victory over No. 38 BYU in Malibu, California on Friday. The win was the program’s 172nd NCAA Tournament win all-time, as the Cardinal now owns a 172-24 postseason mark.

The Cardinal dropped doubles for the fifth consecutive dual but responded emphatically in singles with straight-set victories at the first four spots, including the first three from its No. 1 freshman class.

However, Stanford’s season came to an end in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday afternoon. The Cardinal lost to host and No. 11 Pepperdine 4-0.

In its final action ahead of the IRA Championships, No. 5 Stanford lightweight rowing posted a bronze medal finish at Eastern Sprints, hosted on Lake Quinsigamond.

The Cardinal only sent its varsity eight to race this weekend in Worcester, and it advanced to the grand final with a second-place finish in its heat on Sunday morning. Stanford trailed only Princeton in the first heat, finishing with a time of 6:34.733 ahead of crews from Boston University and Wisconsin.

 

 

 

 

 

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