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DIVING
Talent of a Tiger
OF LOCAL NOTE . . . Atherton resident Jonathan Garrick will represent the West team at the 2011 Wyndham Cup golf tournament, set for July 2528 at Eagle Point Golf Club in Wilmington, N.C. Garrick is one of 20 players selected to the West team, which will face the East in the American Junior Golf Association event. The rosters are made up of 10 boys and 10 girls. The West has won the past six showdowns . . . Palo Alto High girls’ volleyball will host open gyms on Mondays and Thursdays in July in the main gym from 7-9 p.m. Student athletes and incoming freshmen are welcome.
Stanford freshman Ipsen hopes to make a splash at Worlds by Keith Peters
K
CARDINAL CORNER . . . Stanford’s Coby Fleener has been named to the 2011 John Mackey Award preseason watch list, which was released Wednesday by the Nassau County Sports Commission. The award is given annually to the best tight end in college football. A fifth-year senior, Fleener has appeared in 38 games, including 11 starts, over the past three seasons. He is coming off his most productive season to date last year, when he caught 28 passes for 434 yards and seven touchdowns. He hauled in a career-high six receptions for 173 yards and three touchdowns in Stanford’s Orange Bowl victory over Virginia Tech . . . Stanford’s 2011 football season opener against San Jose State on Sept. 3 at Stanford Stadium will be televised by Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. Kickoff time has been set for 2 p.m. For ticket information regarding the 2011 season, contact the Stanford Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-STANFORD or visit GoStanford.com . . . Stanford men’s basketball head coach Johnny Dawkins has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him on The Farm through the 2015-16 campaign. ON THE COURT . . . Men and women at least 18 years of age who want the chance to earn free tickets to one of the premier professional women’s tennis tournaments on the West Coast, can become a volunteer at the Bank of the West Classic, July 23-31 at the Taube Family Tennis Stadium at Stanford University. Volunteer positions are currently available in several areas including transportation, ushers, guest services, hospitality, and tournament administration. For more information please go to www.bankofthewestclassic.com and click on “Volunteers� to apply online. Volunteers will receive complimentary tickets to the tournament, a parking pass, and an official tournament shirt. They will be asked to work a minimum of four shifts during the event in order to qualify for these tournament benefits.
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Incoming Stanford freshman Kristian Ipsen, regarded as the nation’s top high school male diver, has plenty of big goals once he becomes a Cardinal but first will compete at the FINA World Championships in Shanghai, China.
Keith Peters
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Photo illustration Paul Llewellyn
COACHING CORNER . . . Palo Alto Knights Youth Football is seeking experienced head and assistant football coaches for the 2011 season. Contact: Mike Piha 269-6100 or mike@ in2change.com.
ristian Ipsen isn’t a household name like Tiger Woods, at least not yet. The two, however, have something very much in common when it comes to athletic accomplishments. Both headed to Stanford University as prodigies. Woods started playing golf at age 2 and won every junior golf tournament imaginable before arriving on The Farm in 1994. In 1991 he was the youngest ever U.S. Junior Amateur champion and went on to win it twice more. He followed that with three U.S. Amateur titles, the first golfer to accomplish the feat. Ipsen started diving at age five. At age 8, he was the youngest diver to final on all three boards at the Junior National Championships and later became the youngest ever to win a junior national title. He has been featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd� and in 2008 was the youngest diver, at age 15, to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Ipsen, who will be a Stanford freshman this fall, is the most accomplished diver ever to attend the school. Most likely, he and Woods are among the select few who were so accomplished on the national level before arriving at Stanford. So, why is Kristian Ipsen so good? “You start with God,� said Stanford diving coach Dr. Rick Schavone. “You do that with every great athlete . . . He’s like a Tiger Woods; like a (Greg) Louganis . . . he’s been a star since he was 9 years old.� Ipsen, who won four straight North Coast Section titles at Concord’s De La Salle High and is arguably the No. 1 high school diver in the nation, was on Stanford’s campus this past weekend as a member of USA Diving’s World Championship team that had a two-day training camp at the Avery Aquatic Center. The team departed on Tuesday for Shanghai, China, where it will compete at the FINA World Championships. The diving runs from July 16-24, with swimming going from the 24th through the 31st. Ipsen, 18, will compete on the 3-meter springboard and join with 31-year-old Troy Dumais in the 3-meter synchro, where they dive together. “This is the most important meet there is for the U.S., outside of the Olympics,� Schavone said. The results at the World Championships will determine how many (continued on page 34)
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