This Week in Sports: Football engineers an epic comeback

Oct. 16, 2023, 11:21 p.m.

Welcome to “This Week in Sports.” We are Kenneth King and Charis Charitsis from The Daily’s sports section, and we will be walking you through the major games, events and stories from the past week.

Football

Stanford (2-4, 1-3 Pac-12) stormed back in the second half from a 29-point deficit to beat Colorado (4-3, 1-3 Pac-12) in double overtime 46-43. Sophomore quarterback Ashton Daniels threw for 396 yards and four TDs. Sophomore wide receiver Elic Ayomanor had 13 catches and three TDs, including one to tie up the first overtime and another for 97 yards that changed the entire game. The Canadian sophomore set an all-time single-game receiving record with 294 yards for the Cardinal, breaking the previous record that had stood for 24 years.

As time was expiring in the fourth quarter, senior kicker Joshua Karty made a 46-yard field goal to send the game into overtime. In the second extra session, senior safety Alaka’i Gilman intercepted a Buffalo pass, setting up Karty’s game-winning 31-yard field goal.

Men’s water polo 

No. 3 Stanford (11-5, 2-2 Pac-12) scored a 9-8 victory over No. 2 ranked California (13-3, 2-2 Pac-12) in Saturday’s Big Splash at Avery Aquatic Center. The Cardinal were up by four goals with just six minutes left in the game but almost lost the lead as the Bears fought back, narrowing the margin to a single goal with a minute left.

However, Stanford’s defense stayed solid thereafter and the team secured the victory. Senior Jackson Painter scored four goals, while seniors Ethan Parrish and Riley Pittman added two apiece. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Griffen Price made a significant contribution with 10 saves.  

Women’s volleyball

Women’s volleyball (15-2, 8-0 Pac-12) won its ninth consecutive match at Maples Pavilion. On Friday, the team beat USC (11-7, 5-3 Pac-12) in convincing fashion (25-22, 25-14, 25-14). Redshirt senior outside hitter Catie Baird posted a match-high 12 kills. Fifth year opposite hitter Kendall Kipp tallied another 12 kills, three aces and one block, while sophomore outside hitter Elia Rubin added 10 kills, three blocks and 13 digs, tallying her eighth double-double this season.

Two days later, the Cardinal faced UCLA (10-8, 2-6 Pac-12). After dropping the opening set 25-27, they turned the game around, winning the next three sets 25-23, 25-20 and 25-10. Baird turned in her first double-double of the season, posting 17 kills and 11 digs. She was also responsible for four of the Cardinal’s eight aces. Kipp contributed 16 kills, four blocks and two aces and Rubin had another 16 kills and three blocks.

Women’s soccer

On Saturday, No. 2 women’s soccer (12-0-2, 5-0-1 Pac-12) tied Washington (6-5-3, 1-4-1 Pac-12) 1-1 at Cagan Stadium. The Huskies took an early lead but the Cardinal fought back and leveled the score in the 48th minute with a goal by sophomore forward Allie Montoya. The match was one-sided with Stanford outshooting the Huskies 31-5 in total shots and 13-3 in shots on goal, including two that hit the crossbar and one that hit the post. Washington’s goalkeeper had a career-high 12 saves as the Huskies put an end to their 19-match losing streak against Stanford, dating back to 2004.

Men’s soccer

No. 9 Stanford (6-2-3, 0-1-3 Pac-12) earned a 2-0 victory over local rival Santa Clara (4-6-2, 2-0 WCC) on Monday night at Cagan Stadium. Redshirt sophomore midfielder Shane de Flores drew a penalty in the 25th minute, but the Santa Clara goalkeeper made a diving save. The two teams ended the first half scoreless.

However, senior midfielder Layton Purchase opened the Cardinal scoring early in the second half. In the 57th minute, sophomore midfielder Fletcher Bank doubled Stanford’s lead as the team maintained offensive pressure through the rest of the game.

On Thursday, Stanford hosted San Francisco (6-2-4, 0-1-1 Pac-12). Sophomore forward Liam Doyle was fouled inside the box in the 34th minute. Junior midfielder Will Reilly took the penalty and scored for the Cardinal, who kept their opponent scoreless until the 85th minute. However, the Dons were able to mount a complete comeback, scoring twice in the last five minutes, putting an end to Stanford’s 18-game winning streak.

Cross country

On Friday, Stanford competed at the ​​Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational. The women’s team captured fourth place in the regular season’s most competitive race, which featured 19 of the top 30 teams, solidifying its spot as one of the strongest teams in the nation after a first place at the USF Invitational opener and a second at Virginia Invitational.

Freshman Amy Bunnage was in the top three pack in the first half of the race. She finished 13th in 20:12.1. For the men’s team, Senior Ky Robinson placed fourth in 23:26.2, just three seconds short of a podium finish.

Men’s tennis

Sophomore Nishesh Basavareddy reached the finals of the ATP Challenger Tournament in Fairfield, Calif., falling in the championship match 4-6, 1-6 to world No. 139 Zachary Svajda. Following the tournament, Basavareddy advanced almost 600 spots to No. 498. in the ATP world ranking.

Women’s swimming & diving

The Cardinal kicked off their season with an impressive 190-105 home victory over Pittsburgh. Stanford claimed all but one title on the day with four 1-2-3 finishes, sweeping the 100 and 200 Back, 100 Free and 200 Fly. Junior Lauren Burch and sophomore Emilie Moore won the 1-meter and 3-meter dive events, respectively.

Men’s swimming & diving

On Friday, Stanford beat Pittsburgh 179-116 at Avery Aquatic Center. Freshmen Rex Maurer and Jonathan Tan combined for four individual victories in their collegiate debuts. Maurer won the 100-yard backstroke in 47.09 and the 500 freestyle in 4:19.45, while Tan won the 50 free in 19.65 and the 100 free in 43.35. Junior diver Jack Ryan won the 1-meter with 396.00 points and the 3-meter with 437.25.

Women’s golf

Both the women’s and men’s teams traveled to Dallas, Texas to play in the Stephens Cup. The Cardinal women finished third in a 17-team field. In the third place match, the team bested South Carolina by a 4-1 score, with junior Caroline Sturdza, sophomores Megha Ganne and Kelly Xu and freshman Paula Martin Sampedro winning their matches. In the individual competition, Sampedro placed fourth, after five front-nine birdies in the final round helped put her at the top of the leaderboard. Xu and senior Sadie Englemann finished sixth and tied for 10th respectively, and Ganne tied for 12th.

Men’s golf

The men’s team placed sixth at the Stephens Cup tournament. In the individual competition, senior Jake Beber-Frankel shot a final round 5-under, with seven birdies, to lead the Stanford contingent with a tie for 17th place. Freshmen Ethan Gao and Kush Arora tied for 19th, their highest finishes so far in their emerging college careers. Both logged scores in the 60s in two of three rounds.

Charis is a senior staff writer and recent alum (Ph.D.’23). If CS is his hobby, sports is his passion. Firm believer that the coach is the most important position in every team sport. A member of the sports section but not a journalist by any stretch of the imagination.

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