This week was huge for Stanford sports. Men’s soccer, women’s soccer and field hockey were all unbeaten on their respective senior nights. Women’s volleyball and men’s water polo continued their dominant runs. Both the men’s and women’s swim and dive teams beat Cal.
Women’s soccer
No. 2 Stanford women’s soccer beat SMU 5-1 on Saturday. Prior to the start of the match, which was Stanford’s final regular season home game, senior night honors took place for Jasmine Aikey, Elise Evans, Allie Montoya and Logan Smith. Once the match got underway, scoring opportunities were hard to come by until sophomore defender/forward Sammy Smith scored the sole first half goal in the 40th minute. After half time, the goals kept coming for Stanford, with redshirt senior forward Andrea Kitahata scoring a pair of goals followed by senior defender Logan Smith and senior defender Elise Evans. Stanford will wrap up the regular season in Berkeley this Thursday.
Men’s soccer
No. 1 Cardinal men’s soccer played twice last week. On Wednesday evening, they shut out San Francisco in a 1-0 defensive battle, which marked the fourth consecutive shout out by the Card. It was redshirt senior forward Shane de Flores, who in the 65th minute, managed to kick in the lone goal. Stanford returned to the pitch on Friday for senior night against SMU, in what turned out to be a 0-0 draw. Stanford will end their regular season with a trip to Berkeley on Friday, where they will have the opportunity to clinch a regular season ACC title and the top seed in the conference tournament.
Field hockey
Stanford field hockey beat UC Davis 3-0 on Sunday after senior night celebrations. Senior midfielder/ forward Chantal Eiwanger, one of 10 players recognized before the game, scored two goals, with the first coming in the first three minutes of play. Junior defender Puja Nanjappa was responsible for Stanford’s third goal. Senior goalkeepers Kendall Dowd and Daisy Ford split goal attending duties and together helped preserve the shutout. With the win Stanford improves to 7-8 on the season. They will close out the regular season Thursday in Berkeley.
Women’s swimming and diving
No. 3 Sanford women’s swimming and diving competed in a two-day double dual meet on Friday and Saturday against Arizona State and No. 5 Cal. The first day of the meet took place at home in the Avery Aquatics Center, before the meet finished up with day two in Berkeley. Stanford won 13 of the 19 event titles up for grabs in the two-day match and walked away with a pair of victories. Junior Caroline Bricker was an individual stand out, winning the 200-meter fly, 400-meter IM and 200-meter breaststroke.
Redshirt senior Torri Huske picked up two individual wins including a personal best time of 51.62s in the 100-meter backstroke, earning her a place in Stanford’s top 10 all-time list. Senior Lucy Bell had a lifetime best of 58.29 in the 100 breaststroke and now holds the second-fastest time ever measured for that event in program history. On the diving board, Stanford’s Molly Gray was untouchable with wins at both the one-meter and three-meter heights. Stanford team relays were dominant, with the Card going three-for-four on wins. The women will return to the Cal campus on Nov. 7 for their next competition.
Men’s swimming and diving
The No. 8 men’s swimming and diving teams competed in the same double duel format against Cal and Arizona State. Stanford beat Cal 205-134 but lost to No. 3 Arizona State. Freshman Ethan Ekk set a new school record time of 8:42.25 in the 1000m free on his way to a victory. Junior Gibson Holmes won in the 200 fly, and freshman Gunner Grubbs took first place in the three-meter dive. The men will also return to Cal on Nov. 7 for their next competition.
Men’s water polo
No. 3 men’s water polo took down No. 5 Fordham on Saturday in a 19-10 victory. Redshirt senior attacker Gianpiero Di Martire, sophomore attacker Botond Balogh and sophomore driver Ben Forer were dominant for Stanford, accounting for a combined 14 of Stanford’s 19 points. Fordham scored the first goal of the match but couldn’t keep up with an offensive onslaught from the Card. Stanford ended the first quarter up 4-1 and never relinquished control. A huge challenge awaits the Cardinal next weekend as they travel down to LA to face No. 2 UCLA on Saturday and No. 1 USC on Sunday.
Football
Stanford football fell 42-7 to No. 9 Miami on Saturday. At the end of the first quarter Stanford held a 7-0 lead after a nine-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Caden High. After going into the half tied 7-7, Miami came out swinging, scoring 35 unanswered points in the second half. With the loss Stanford is now 3-5 on the season and will try to bounce back next weekend at home against Pitt.
Men’s golf
Stanford men’s golf spent the weekend in the peach state at The Golf Club of Georgia Collegiate. Stanford ultimately finished eighth out of 14 teams, with a team score of even par. Stanford’s top player was freshman Edan Cui. Cui finished the tournament in fifth place at five-under-par despite a heartbreaking six-over-par final day, where challenging weather conditions contributed to a slide out of victory contention. Stanford’s second highest finishing player, sophomore Jay Leng, had the opposite story. Leng spent the weekend battling back from a six-over-par card in the first round, putting together an impressive four-under-par final round, catapulting up 30 spots into a tie for 21st place. This tournament marks the end of the fall schedule; Stanford men’s golf will return in late January.
Women’s volleyball
No. 5 women’s volleyball played twice last week. On Friday, they beat Clemson on the road 3-1 after losing the first set. In the match, redshirt sophomore outside hitter Julia Blyashov recorded her first double-double in her collegiate career with a career-high 12 digs and a team-high 15 kills. On Sunday, the Card were back at it sweeping an unranked Georgia Tech 3-0. In the match senior outside hitter Elia Rubin had a standout performance, recording 10 kills, six digs, two blocks and an ace. With the win, Stanford improves to 18-3 on the season and 9-1 in the ACC. Stanford will travel to NC State on Friday and Wake Forest on Saturday.