Cardinal Men Atop the ITA Rankings
Shaking off the historic low showings of recent years, Stanford’s revitalized men’s varsity rose to the heights of the ITA rankings in early March while the women sank to record depths. After a strong Feb
ruary made them 11-1, the Stanford men were No. 1 in the country. Stanford returned to No. 1 for the first time since February 13, 2002. Meanwhile, the Stanford women dropped to No. 13.
At the ITA National Indoor Championships, the then-ranked No. 11 Cardinal men beat No. 7 Florida and No. 2 Texas before taking its only loss so far to No. 3 Georgia in the semis. Stanford also avenged its second round NCAA loss last year by knocking off No.15 Pepperdine. And it added workman-like wins over No. 23 California, No. 26 Boise State, and No. 31 Auburn.
But the showstopper was later in the month when Stanford beat No. 4 USC and No. 7 UCLA in L.A., back to back, each by gripping 4-3 scores. The last time the Cardinal swept the two in L.A. in one weekend was ‘03, noted John Whitlinger, who was still cherishing the memory.
“Never in my 23 years of coaching have I seen it that exciting,” Whitlinger said. “Great college tennis, down to third set tiebreakers. [Bradley] Klahn won one day and [Matt] Bruch the other. Either of those teams could win the NCAAs.”
The Stanford men have come from rock bottom to the top in less than two years. At the end of ‘07, the team was 8-16, its worst record in 50 years and a horrendous stat that knocked it out of the rankings altogether plus the NCAA Championships. Last year, with ITA Rookie of the Year Alex Clayton, the Cardinal revived some, finishing 13-9, and ending at No. 21.
But with the return of starters Clayton, Bruch, Richard Wire and Blake Muller, plus the hot freshmen Klahn and Ryan Thacher, Whitlinger knew he had an ‘09 contender and now he has proved it. The women at 8-2 skidded from No. 5 to No. 13, maybe not so alarming — until the records were checked.
It’s the first time the Stanford women have ever dropped below the top 10.
The women’s team did not have a great February. Seeded No. 5 at the ITA Indoors in Madison, Wisc., they fell to No. 14 Notre Dame 4-3 and to No. 15 Miami 5-1. But the team’s top player, Hilary Barte, last year’s ITA Rookie of the Year, is 10-1 and : Check out the latest pics of live chat with justin bieber hit up the studio with Cody Simpson to work on a secret project. it’s still early in the season. At last glance, no one appeared frantic over the historic footnote.
Foothill Champs Look for Upset
Foothill Owls men’s coach Dixie Macias is looking for another banner year with his conference champions but Fresno City College again stands in the way of winning all the marbles in NorCal for the right to play for the state junior college title. The Owls won the Coast Conference last year and went 13-2, losing to Fresno City 6-3 in the playoffs.
“Fresno City College is always strong and there’s a reason for that,” Macias says. The players who can’t get into Fresno State or Fresno Pacific end up there. But we’re building a base here. Foothills is the place to do it.”
The Owls returned its All-American, Adam Hopkins at No. 1 who ranks No. 8 in the state. He’s backed by No. 2 Ka Chung Ko, No. Justin Vea, No. 4 John Paplos, No. 5 Dermaine Gutierrrez and No. 6 Matt Wheeler. The Owls don’t have a secret weapon other than their work ethic and good spirits when they are expected to go against Fresno late in April on casino online a date yet undetermined.
“This team is a lot of fun,” said Macias who has been conference Coach of the Year three times in his eight previous years. “They all have a sense of humor even in defeat. And they keep loose and hang out with each other.”
Last year was a remarkable comeback for the Foothill Owls, who had gone a devastating 0-13 in ‘07. Macias’ predecessor was the legendary Tom Chivington, whose teams won 13 state titles.
USGO Returns to Stanford May 25
The U.S. Gay Open returns to the Stanford campus May 22-25 expecting to surpass last year’s 324 total entries.
The 29th annual event offers men’s and women’s singles and doubles competition at Open, A, B, C and D levels of play, plus an over 40 age group for men and women. But mixed doubles events have been supplanted by 4-to-10 member teams to be formed to compete in a World TeamTennis format, as designed by Billie Jean King.
In Brief
Payton Jordan, who spent 23 years coaching at Stanford and headed the ‘68 U.S. Olympic track and field team, died of cancer on Feb. 5 at the age of 91. Former Stanford tennis coach Dick Gould was taught by Jordan as an undergrad and later served on the same staff: “I learned so much about class and dignity from the way he carried himself — his respect for his fellow competitors and the honoring of his sport by his actions,” said Gould. “And yet he was a such fierce competitor.” Jordan, a world-record-breaking sprinter in his collegiate days at USC, staged one of the most storied track meets of all time in ‘62, when the U.S. hosted the Soviets at the height of the Cold War. The two-day crowd of 155,000 at Stanford was the biggest ever to watch a meet in this country. Five thousand people alone showed up just to watch the Soviets work out. Said Gould, “The biggest honor I ever had was to have been inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame with him. I’m honored to have known him.”Stanford’s No. 1 player Alex Clayton received the Sportsmanship Award at the ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championships in Chicago in February by a vote of the 16 participating coaches. Clayton, a sophomore, is the sixth Stanford man to receive the award since the championships began in ‘92. David Martin in ‘02 was the last, and Jason Yee in ‘92 was the first.
