Sports Shorts
ON THE AIR Friday College baseball: Stanford at Utah, 5 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)
Saturday College baseball: Stanford at Utah, 3 p.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)
Sunday College baseball: Stanford at Utah, 11:30 a.m.; KZSU (90.1 FM)
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Despite having three key players taking the season off to train with the U.S. National Team, the Stanford women’s water polo team nonetheless fashioned a 26-2 record in 2012 and captured its second consecutive NCAA championship with a 6-4 triumph over USC last weekend in San Diego.
NCAA title sparks talk of a three-peat Stanford women lose four seniors, but will add Olympians to water polo championship team by Rick Eymer elissa Seidemann and Annika Dries were never really that far away. The Stanford women’s water polo team missed their physical presence but the two former Cardinal All-Americans, who took a year off from school to train with the U.S. National Team,
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never stopped communicating. After Stanford beat USC, 6-4, in last Sunday’s national championship game game, giving the Cardinal its second consecutive NCAA title, Stanford junior goalie Kate Baldoni and senior Pallavi Menon could start talking about them — as teammates.
“Melissa texted me, giving me a little pump-up,” Baldoni said. “I responded, ‘Mel, you’re such a huge part of this team and I want to be able to hear you in the stands. You’re always with us.’ It’s so great, because they’ve come to more than just this tournament. They’re at every game they can possibly be at,
which is great for our team and I’m so excited to have them back next year.” So excited that they were invited to join in the postgame celebration on Sunday at San Diego State. And both obliged, even though they were (continued on page 43)
CCS GOLF
NORCAL TENNIS
Menlo’s Buchanan caps a busy week with section title
Menlo’s Chan takes a shot at some history
by Keith Peters t has been a whirlwind week for Menlo School junior golfer Andrew Buchanan, who achieved three big goals during that time. The first came a week ago when he shot a 3-under 68 and earned medalist honors in a Central Coast Section regional, helping his team qualify for the finals. The second arrived Monday, when Buchanan competed at the U.S. Open Local Qualifying tournament at Pasatiempo Golf Course in Santa Cruz. He shot a 1-under 70 and tied for third, earning a berth in the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifying at Lake Merced Golf Course in Daly City on June 4. Stanford golf coach Conrad Ray, by the way, shot 74 and missed the cut. Buchanan completed his triple play on Tuesday when he shot a 7-under 64 and earned medalist
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by Keith Peters here have been undefeated players and undefeated teams, squads that won Central Coast Section titles and NorCal championships. The Menlo School boys’ tennis program pretty much has done it all. Well, not quite. There’s something still left undone. Menlo senior Justin Chan, however, can take care of that this weekend when he and his teammates take their 25-0 record into the CIF NorCal Championships at Natomas Racquet Club in Sacramento. The Knights have a bye into the second round on Friday and will open against the winner of Lowell (San Francisco) and Orland at 1 p.m. A victory will move Menlo into the semifinals on Saturday at 11:30 a.m., against either Davis or
T Keith Peters
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Stanford Athletics
OF LOCAL NOTE . . . Gunn High sophomore Cadence Lee placed first in the 108-pound FILA Cadet division at the Body Bar Women’s National Freestyle Championship this past weekend in Lakeland, Fla. By accomplishing that, Lee secured a spot on the USA team that will compete at the Canada Cup in July and the 2012 FILA Cadet World Championships in Kazu, Azerbaijan, in August . . . Palo Alto High grad Gracie Marshall, a freshman shortstop at Tufts, singled in the tying and winning runs in the New England Small College Athletic Conference championship game to lift her team into the NCAA Division III softball playoffs . . . Rachel Ersted, Palo Alto High Class of 2010, coxed Cal’s Women’s Varsity 8+ boat to a gold medal at the Pac-12 Conference Rowing Championships on Sunday at Lake Natoma in Gold River, topping the previously undefeated boat from USC. Ersted repeated as Varsity 8+ champion, having coxed the Bears’ V8+ to last year’s gold medal. Cal swept all four races, becoming 2012 Pac-12 champion. The Bears automatically secured a bid to the 2012 NCAA Rowing Championships, scheduled May 25-27 in West Windsor, N.J. . . . Chris Chavez of Menlo Park and Anne Bersagel of Stanford ran off with the division titles at the Pacific THERx 5K4Play road race on Saturday in Portola Valley. The Grand Prix event was sponsored by the Pacific Association of USA Track & Field. Chavez, 26, took the men’s overall title with a 14:54 clocking over the 3.1-mile course. Kota Reichert, 28, of Menlo Park was third in 15:03. Bersagel, 29, won the women’s overall crown with a 16:45 clocking. Former Stanford track runner Kate Niehaus, 23, was second in 17:00. In the Masters 40-49 division, Kris Paaso, 41, of Menlo Park clocked 17:22 while finishing second. . . . A handful of local players, including Keri Gee of Palo Alto High and Morgan Dressel of Menlo School, helped the City Beach 16 Black girls’ volleyball team win a NorCal Volleyball Association regional championship recently in Sacramento. The victory earned the team enough points to be declared regional champions for 2012 . . . Sacred Heart Prep senior Erin Sheridan has signed a national letter of intent to continue her career at Santa Clara University. Sheridan, a co-captain on the Gators’ CCS Division II championship squad in the fall, was first team All-West Catholic Athletic League and first team All-Central Coast Section as a senior.
Menlo senior Justin Chan is three wins away from making some history.
(continued on page 41)
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