May 7, 2007
What's Ahead:
- Friday May 11th vs. Wagner College, 5 PM
- Saturday May 12th vs. TBA, 1:30 PM or 5:00 PM
- Sunday May 13th, 5:30 PM, NCAA Championship, live, CSTV
The Cardinal:
The Cardinal enters the NCAA Championships with a 25-2 overall record and finished the season with a perfect 12-0 mark. Stanford is seeking to win its first title since the 2002 team was able to win the national championship. Even with a loss in the MPSF Conference Championship game, the Cardinal were still able to be selected as the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Championships. Their first round opponent will be Wagner College from Staten Island, NY, who won the MAAC title with a win over Marist. Stanford finished the MPSF conference tournament with a 9-3 loss to UCLA after two wins earlier in the tournament. In the first two rounds of the MPSF Conference tournament the Cardinal defeated UC-Irvine 17-5 and Hawaii by the score of 16-10. If the Cardinal were to advance, they would face the winner of Loyola Marymount and San Diego State.
History at the NCAA Championships:
2007 marks the 10th time in a row that Stanford has been invited to the NCAA Championships. While this year's team has yet to participate, Tanner's previous nine have reached at least the national semifinals each time. The 2002 team broke through for a national championship and the Cardinal have also earned four runner-up finishes. In the four other NCAA Championship appearances, Stanford has gotten third place.
YearRecordFinish
1998:29-63rd Place
1999:25-6 Runner-Up
2000:28-53rd Place
2001:27-1Runner-Up
2002:23-2National Champions
2003:21-3Runner-Up
2004:19-53rd Place
2005:21-7Runner-Up
2006:24-53rd Place
2007:25-2------------
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.
59 goals for Hansen:
Katie Hansen finished the year strong and completed her senior campaign with 59 goals. She was named 1st Team All-MPSF for her efforts this season and was named to the MPSF All-Conference team after a second place finish in the conference tournament. This makes Hansen a four-time All-MPSF performer after she made the All-Freshmen team her freshman year, MPSF second-team her sophomore, and MPSF first-team her junior and senior seasons. Hansen was also recently named a finalist for the Peter J. Cutino award, which will be announced on June 2nd.
Hewko Heroics:
Hewko was also named to the All-MPSF First team, the second time in her Cardinal career she has done so. She also recorded a career-high 37 goals after scoring 24 in her junior season. Hewko also came up with a big game against No. 2 UCLA, scoring three goals in a 7-6 overtime win. Hewko also has a chance to repeat as an All-American performer when the teams come out next week.
McColl Magic:
Meridith McColl often performed at her best in the biggest of games. She was instrumental in the 23-game winning streak for the Cardinal and came up the biggest in a 7-6 overtime victory over No. 2 UCLA at the Avery Aquatics Center. McColl is now a four-time All-MPSF performer and this is her second consecutive season the All-MPSF First Team. In her sophomore campaign she earned second-team honors and her freshman year she was an honorable mention. She recorded 151 saves on the season and looks to earn a berth to her second All-American team when the NCAA Championships are over.
Silver's scoring streak:
Silver going into this season had high expectations after a 52 goal freshman season. She did not disappoint when she scored 59 goals this season and was able to score in every game but two on the season. With the performance it earned her a spot on the All-MPSF Honorable Mention team after making the All-Freshman team last season.
Gregorka leads the defense:
Alison Gregorka capped on another strong campaign with a spot on the All-MPSF second team. Gregorka was able to tally 20 goals, but did most of her work on the defense end with stout work in the two-meter zone. Gregorka, a two-time All-Academic performer makes the All-Conference team for the first time as a senior. This season Gregorka was also 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.
Coach of the Year:
Head Coach John Tanner was able to pick up his fourth MPSF Coach of the Year award last week as announced by MPSF executive director Al Beaird. John Tanner now owns a 242-42 (.852) overall record at Stanford.
As a team:
Stanford finishes third in the MPSF in goals scored per game at 12.33, sitting only behind No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 USC who score, 14.33 and 13.64 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 5.89 goals per game. UCLA has allowed just 5.41 goals per game.
Scouting the Competition:
Stanford's first round opponent this year will be Wagner College, who won the MAAC conference championship and a berth into the NCAA Championships with a win over Marist. The Seahawks are led by Billy Hoelck who has scored 84 goals on the season. In net they also have a very accomplished performer in Katie Hauck, who has turned away 306 shots on net. To capture the NCAA Championship, the Cardinal will likely have to go through second ranked UCLA or third ranked USC. The Bruins come into the NCAA Championships coming off a MPSF Conference tournament championship. They are led by Kelly Rulon, who scored 66 goals on the season. In goal for the Bruins is senior Emily Feher, who is a very accomplished goalkeeper with national team experience. For the third ranked Trojans, they enter with a 20-5 record and a third place finish in the MPSF Championships. They were led this season by Erika Figge, who scored 46 goals in her senior campaign.
TV for Championship:
The National Championship, which will be played Sunday, May 13th at 5:30 PM will air live on CSTV.