April 26, 2001
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Upcoming Action . . .
The No. 1 women's water polo team will travel to Honolulu, Hawaii for the MPSF Championships. Stanford goes into the weekend as the first-ever undefeated team in collegiate history. The three-day event will begin on Friday, April 27 at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex. Stanford heads into the championships with a 23-0 record, 10-0 in conference action. The Cardinal will play its first game on Friday against the winner of the morning San Diego State-Long Beach State game at 8 p.m. PT. At the 2000 MPSF Championships, the Cardinal took the title in a clean sweep. Stanford tallied a 5-0 record - first defeating Hawaii, Pacific and San Diego State en route to a showdown with No. 1 UCLA. The Cardinal came out with a 7-6 victory to advance to the finals where it defeated No. 2 Cal, 6-4.
Tourney Time. . .
Stanford has found success in tournament play this season, winning three in 2001. The Cardinal opened the season on The Farm with three wins to capture the Stanford Invitational title and then commenced its road season in Ann Arbor, Mich. as it snagged the title at the Michigan Invitational. The Cardinal continued its roll in Goleta, Calif. with its third title at the UCSB Tournament. Stanford will close out its season with two tournaments - the MPSF Championship and the NCAA Championship.
A Cardinal Tint. . .
Stanford has held the top spot in the national polls since the first poll of the season (Feb. 14). The Cardinal has out-scored its opponents 261-87, a 174 scoring margin. Stanford has been dominant in 6-on-5 advantages, going 65-126 (.515) while holding opponents to 44-130 (.338).
Prime Time Players. . .
Brenda Villa and Jackie Frank earned MPSF Mikasa Player of the Week honors during the 2001 season. Freshman Villa was honored twice, once on Feb. 12 and again on April 1. She earned her second MPSF Mikasa Player of the Week award this season after scoring nine goals in four conference wins. She recorded hat tricks in the wins over San Diego State and UC Irvine and notched two goals against Long Beach State. She also scored one goal in a win over Hawaii. Villa's first accolade came after she helped lead the Cardinal to the Stanford Invitational title. Villa spent two years training with and competing for the US National Team before coming to The Farm. At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, she helped secure a silver medal with a team-leading nine goals. In her freshman season, Villa leads the team with 61 points. Frank earned the nod after a two-win weekend on April 8. During the first game, Frank had a season-best 10 saves against No. 2 UCLA while holding the Bruins to just one goal in the first half. It was the third time this season that Stanford has knocked off UCLA. The next day Frank recorded three more saves in a 7-2 win over No. 10 Loyola Marymount. She allowed just two goals in the game. The sophomore goalkeeper has held opponents to 114 goals while in the net, and has an impressive average of 3.3 goals allowed per game.
Tanner Tablet. . .
Stanford head coach John Tanner has made a splash in his first four years at the helm of the women's water polo program. An experienced and enthusiastic, Tanner took on the fledgling program and has turned it into a competitive force year-in and year-out. In his first year as head coach in 1998, Tanner led Stanford to one of its best seasons in the five-year history of the women's water polo program when the Cardinal went 29-6 and finished third at the Collegiate National Championships. In 1999, the team bested their previous record when the squad posted a record of 25-6 and placed second at the Collegiate Nationals after falling to USC 7-6 in five overtimes in the Championship game. The 2000 Cardinal posted a record of 28-5, the best record ever, on its way to a third-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Last season, the team boasted five All-Americans, four players named to Collegiate National All-Tournament teams, and eight Academic All-Americans. This season, Tanner has led the Cardinal as it became the first-ever collegiate team to remain undefeated during the entire regular season.
History in the Making. . .
Stanford University and the new Avery Aquatic Center will be the site of the first-ever Women's Water Polo NCAA Championship this spring. The dates are set for Saturday, May 12 and Sunday, May 13, 2001. Four teams will compete in the inaugural event for the national championship. The event is expected to be a sellout as 2,500 fans will be a part of history. This will be the first major event to take place at the newly remodeled Avery Aquatic Center, the world's finest outdoor aquatic facility. Tickets went on sale March 1 and will be sold only as a two-day pass until May 12. Tickets are good for both games on each day (total of four games) and are all general admission. The price is $20 for adults and $14 for students, children and seniors. Further information can be obtained by calling: 1-800-STANFORD or checking the official website