April 25, 2007
What's Ahead:
-Friday April 27th vs. UC Irvine 11:20 AM
-Saturday, April 28, TBA
-Sunday, April 29, TBA
The Cardinal:
Stanford finished the regular season with two victories over California and San Jose State. Stanford now is 23-1 and 12-0 in MPSF play. With the perfect conference record they have earned the number one seed in the MPSF Championships this weekend in Tempe, Arizona. UCLA has earned the number two seed in the tournament, with USC earning the three seed. Stanford will open in the quarterfinals with a match against the winner of the UC Irvine/ Arizona State matchup. Stanford earlier this season defeated UC Irvine by the score of 10-3 and has defeated Arizona State twice this year by scores of 16-7 and 12-7 in Tempe.
Streaking Stanford:
Stanford ends the season scoring 10 or more goals in 13 of their last 15 matches. They ended the season with 297 goals while allowing only 135.
Gregorka competes for Team USA:
Alison Gregorka was in Australia for the FINA Championships and competed with Team USA. She score two go-ahead goals and handed out six assists in the tournament. Stanford alum Brenda Villa (03') also leading Team USA to the World Championship by scoring 11 goals in the tournament. This was only the second time Team USA has captured the World Championship in competition.
Silver and Hansen a top duo:
Lauren Silver scored two more goals last weekend in the two games to add to her career-high. She finishes with a team-leading 57 goals on the season.Katie Hansen added six goals over the weekend and finishes with 50 goals on the season. With the big weekend, Hansen also set a career-high for herself, eclipsing last years total of 47 goals. The Silver-Hansen combination accounts for 4.86 goals per game, which is the second-best duo in the nation, only behind the duo of Sarah Harris and Kellie Fletcher of Pacific who account for 5.64 goals per game.
Stanford gets eight on the All-MPSF teams:
Eight Cardinal student athletes were named to the All-MPSF teams this week. Seniors Christina Hewko, Katie Hansen and Meridith McColl were named All-MPSF First Team. Senior Alison Gregorka was placed on the All-MPSF Second Team, and Lauren Silver and Jessica Steffens were named as Honorable Mentions All-MPSF. Kelly Eaton and Kelly Donahue were also placed on the MPSF All-Freshmen team to round out to MPSF accolades.
McColl the stopper:
Meridith McColl played stellar in the net again last weekend with 14 saves in the two victories. She handled a very aggressive San Jose State team and limited California in the final quarter to preserve the victory. McColl has now led Stanford to one of its most successful season in school history. The 2001 Stanford women's water polo team finished the season 27-1 and the 2002 team finished 23-2 en route to a national championship.
As a team:
Stanford finishes third in the MPSF in goals scored per game at 12.38, sitting only behind No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 USC who score, 14.63 and 13.82 goals a game respectively. The Cardinal defense also finishes at the number two spot in the MPSF rankings. Stanford is only behind UCLA, and has given up just 5.63 goals per game. UCLA has allowed just 5.38 goals per game.
At the MPSFs:
A year ago, the Cardinal won the MPSF Championships at UC Irvine, as they defeated Hawaii 6-3. Heading into the MPSF Championships Stanford's main competition with be the No. 2 ranked UCLA Bruins and No. 3 USC Trojans
About UCLA:
UCLA comes to the Avery Aquatics Center with the No. 2 national ranking and the top record at 9-0 in the MPSF. They are 20-1 overall and have a 10 game winning streak of their own. The winner of the game Saturday will take over sole possession of first place in the MPSF. UCLA comes into the game as the number one offense in the country and also the top defense in the MPSF. Leading the way for UCLA is driver Kelly Rulon, who has 58 goals. She is the fourth leading scorer in the MPSF, scoring 2.38 goals per game. Sister Katie Rulon also is one of the main threats for the Bruins as she has scored 44 goals on the season. Junior driver Jillian Kraus is also a mainstay for the Bruins as she has found the net 45 times this season and is one of their top defenders. In goal for the Bruins is senior Emily Feher, who is a very accomplished goalkeeper with national team experience.
About USC:
USC enters postseason play with the number three national ranking and an 18-4 overall record. They are also the only team that has beaten the Cardinal this season when they won 8-6 back on February 4th at the Stanford Invite at the Avery Aquatics Center. They are led by Erika Figge, who has scored 43 goals on the season and is the Trojans leading scorer. Brittany Hayes also provides USC with a scoring threat as she has found the net 37 times this season. Lastly, Alexandra Kiss has been a steady contributor to the Trojans this year, tallying 33 goals on the season. With Stanford earning the number one seed in the tournament they will avoid any matchups with these two teams until a potential MPSF championship. UCLA and USC will likely play each other in a semifinal matchup if the seeds play out accordingly.
A live webcast of all tournament games is available via www.SunDevilSportsNetwork.com for $7.95.
What's Next:
After this week's MPSF Championships the Cardinal will hope for a bid to the NCAA Championships. The NCAA Championships will take place May 11th through the 13th. The selection show for women's water polo will take place on April 30th at 6 PM and will be broadcast on CSTV.