Palo Alto Weekly June 20, 2014

Sports

Water polo

SWIMMING

A chance to test USA’s best Top local athletes get a chance to go against Olympians

by Keith Peters ecent high school graduates Andrew Liang from Palo Alto and Ally Howe from Sacred Heart Prep were among the nation’s best in their respective events this past season. This week, however, the competition goes up a notch for both.

Liang and Howe could go up against Olympic gold medalists and world recordholders Michael Phelps and Missy Franklin, respectively, at the Arena Grand Prix of Santa Clara.

Phelps and Franklin will highlight a star-studded field for the final stop of USA Swimming’s 2013-14 Arena Grand Prix Series.

The four-day meet began Thursday and runs through Sunday at the George F. Haines International Swim Center.

In addition to Franklin, who recently wrapped up her freshman season at Cal, a number of Bay Area standouts also are expected to compete. The lineup of Cal Olympians expected to swim in Santa Clara includes: Nathan Adrian, Rachel Bootsma, Natalie Coughlin, Anthony Ervin and Caitlin Leverenz.

Former and current Stanford swimmers expected to compete include the likes of 2013 FINA World Championships team members Eugene Godsoe and BJ Johnson. Cardinal grad Maya DiRado, who is the top seed in the women’s 200 fly (2:08.28) and No. 2 in the 200 IM (2:12.26) and 400 IM (4:32.70), reportedly will miss the meet due to illness.

Recent Stanford grad Felicia Lee, meanwhile, is the top seed in the women’s 100 fly at 58.82.

Stanford’s David Nolan and Tom Kremer will help represent the men’s team.

Along with Liang, Howe and St. Francis grad Curtis Ogren, fellow Stanford freshman Simone Manuel will help provide a look to the future of Stanford swimming.

Manuel has a stunning amount of top-end speed. Last August at the FINA World Championships, Manuel became the first 18-andunder in American history to break the 25-second barrier in the 50-meter freestyle. She went 24.93 in the prelims followed by a lifetime best of 24.80 that got her third in the finals.

Manuel is also world class in the 100-meter free with a stunning time of 53.86 at the 2013 U.S. Nationals. She’s also the American recordholder in the 100-yard free in 46.75, set on a relay lead-off leg in March.

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Keith Peters

Recent Sacred Heart Prep grad Ally Howe is hoping to face Olympic gold medalist Missy Franklin in the backstrokes.

Keith Peters

Recent Palo Alto High grad Andrew Liang could face world recordholder Michael Phelps in the 100 fly prelims.

Heading into Santa Clara, Manuel ranks No. 1 in the U.S. this year in the 100-meter free (54.38) and No. 20 in the world.

In the 50-meter free, she’s ranked No. 5 in the U.S. and No. 31 in the world. On Friday, she’ll go against Franklin in the 100 free. Franklin, the USA gold-medal darling of the London Olympics, is entered in six events this weekend.

Other U.S. standouts slated to swim in Santa Clara include Olympic medalists Matt Grevers, Tyler Clary, Elizabeth Beisel, Conor Dwyer — he tops the men’s Arena Grand Prix Series standings — Matt McLean and Allison Schmitt. In total, more than 60 members of the USA Swimming National Team currently are slated to compete.

Current Cal standout Rachael Acker from Gunn High also will be busy this week in a number of events.

One of the top races of the weekend will be Sunday when the women’s 100 back is held. Franklin headlines the field as the American recordholder and defending Olympic champion. The field also includes Cal teammates Elizabeth Pelton (NCAA champion) and Bootsma ((NCAA champ, American recordholder in 50-meter backstroke) plus Howe, who broke Franklin’s national independent school high school record in the 100-yard back this season.

Competition Friday through Sunday features prelims starting at 9 a.m., followed by finals at 5 p.m. N

ment,â€? U.S. coach Adam Krikorian said. “It’s never been easy, ­VÂœÂ˜ĂŒÂˆÂ˜Ă•i`ĂŠvĂ€ÂœÂ“ĂŠÂŤ>}iĂŠx™Ž each one of our opponents, no matter of the score, is a great chalher efforts, just as she was at the lenge for us.â€?

MPSF Championship two weeks The Italians opened a threeprior in helping lead Stanford to goal advantage midway through the MPSF tournament title. the second period. The U.S. reKiley Neushul and Steffens sponded with seven unanswered produced much of the offensive goals to take control of the confirepower. They shared the team test. lead, each with 51 goals. The pair “In the first quarter we played combined for 14 hat tricks, eight as bad as we’ve played,� Krikorifrom Neushul and six from Stef- an said. “In fact, Italy is a strange fens, to power an offense that av- team, a unique team for us. For eraged 13.31 goals per game. a lot of our younger players it Each player earned meant a new experience. her second first-team But we got better as the nod, for Steffens it being game went on.� her second consecutive The Americans came and, for Neushul, hers up empty on their first sandwiched a secondfour man-up advantages team selection in 2013. and finished 3-for-9 in Dodson was named to those situations. Italy this year’s third team afmissed a penalty shot ter two previous honorand lost one of its top able mentions (2011 and players, Valeria Palm2013) and a first-team Annika Dries ieri, for elbowing. selection in 2012.

The U.S. played withShe scored 24 goals this season, out veteran Kami Craig for most including two in Stanford’s 9-5 of the match. She left early with a NCAA title-winning victory over laceration on her hand.

UCLA on May 11. On the other “Our youth showed in the beside of the pool she was one of the ginning but we settled down and Cardinal’s top perimeter defend- played much better,� Krikorian ers, as well. said. “Losing Kami early in the Stone, in her first season as the game was unfortunate but I was Cardinal’s No. 1 goalie, proved very pleased to see how we hanmore than equal to the task, mak- dled the adversity.� ing 147 saves (7.64 per game) Dries and Rachel Fattal each with a goals-against average of added two goals for the Amerijust 5.91. cans, who took an 8-4 Over 24 games, Stone lead into the final quarallowed just 114 goals, ter and then held on for and over the Cardinal’s the victory. three wins at the Na“We came out a little tional Collegiate Chamslow but we turned that pionship conceded just a around with the intentotal of 15 goals, or five sity of our defense,� per contest.

Dries said. “We came Earning her second back together as a team, All-America honorable put away shots when we mention, Grossman gave Kiley Neushul needed to and played the Cardinal the nation’s smart in the second top 1-2 interior combo in pairing half. We’ve changed our defensive with Dries at the two-meter spot. mentality.�

Grossman scored 45 goals, Cardinal grad Melissa Seidefourth-best on the team, and col- mann and Kiley Neushul also lected five hat tricks among 14 scored for the U.S., which lost to multi-goal games.

Spain in last year’s championship Collecting her first All-America following its gold-medal effort in honor following her first season the 2012 London Olympics. on The Farm was freshman driver Team USA, which finished the Jamie Neushul. tournament undefeated, picked Also receiving honorable men- up their eighth Super Final gold tion was Menlo-Atherton High medal in 11 opportunities. The grad Becca Dorst of UCLA. Americans needed a shootout to On the Division III team, Sa- beat Russia and went on to beat cred Heart Prep grad Sarah West- Canada, Spain, Brazil, Australia, cott of Pomona-Pitzer was named and Italy with no match closer to the first team. than two goals. Menlo Park’s KK Clark also played a solid role in * * * Current and former Stanford the U.S. success in China. players helped the U.S. Women’s “We can talk about the goals, Senior National Team turned a but first of all we improved debad situation into a golden oppor- fensively. We needed that after tunity Sunday, recovering from a we missed all 6-on-5s in the first first-period deficit to beat Italy, period but we came out more ag10-8, and capture the champion- gressive, more focused, that was ship of the FINA World League the key,â€? Krikorian said. “We Super Final in Kunshan, China. were very consistent over the six Steffens scored three goals and games, and the group has grown the Americans overcame a 4-1 tremendously in the short amount deficit to earn their eighth world of time we’ve been together.â€? N championship and the fifth in six (USA Water Polo and Stanford years. “There are 10 or 11 teams who Athletics also contributed to this can be the best in any tourna- story) ĂœĂœĂœÂ°*>Â?Âœ Â?ĂŒÂœ"˜Â?ˆ˜i°VÂœÂ“ĂŠUĂŠ*>Â?ÂœĂŠ Â?ĂŒÂœĂŠ7iiÂŽÂ?ÞÊUĂŠ Ă•Â˜iÊÓä]ÊÓä£{ĂŠU Page 61