It was another crucial week for Stanford athletics. Field hockey ended their season in disappointing fashion, men’s and women’s tennis qualified athletes for NCAA tournament play, women’s rowing had its first and only competition of the fall and home basketball games have started. Women’s soccer was the highlight of the week after they won the ACC title and secured a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Field hockey
Stanford field hockey’s postseason run ended in disappointment last week when they fell 3-4 to No. 2 Virginia in the ACC tournament. Stanford’s goals came from freshman Summer Knight-Thomas, fifth year Maroussia Walckiers and sophomore Nadine Brenninkmeyer. Ultimately the Cardinal fell short, unable to make a game tying goal in the closing minutes.
Men’s tennis
Graduate student Alex Chang and sophomore Alex Razeghi competed at the ITA sectional championships in Berkeley, both as individuals and as a double. In doubles play they went 3-1, successfully qualifying for the NCAA Doubles Championships in Orlando, Florida from Nov. 18-23.
Women’s tennis
Freshman Alyssa Ahn went 6-0 at the ITA sectional championships in Berkeley, decisively beating Naomi Xu of Cal 6-0, 6-1 to take home the singles title. Ahn’s victory qualifies her to compete in the NCAA Championships in Orlando on Nov. 18-23. Notably, this is the second year in a row that a Stanford freshman has won the single section championship, following the win of Valerie Glozman in 2024, and the 13th time in the last 15 years that a Stanford athlete has won the tournament.
Women’s soccer
No. 1 women’s soccer played twice last week as they took part in the ACC tournament. On Thursday they played a semifinal match against No. 7 Virginia. After scoring three first-half goals, courtesy of sophomore Charlotte Kohler, who scored twice, and senior Jasmine Aikey, Stanford was able to hold on in the second half for a 3-2 victory. On Sunday, they beat No. 2 Notre Dame in an all-time classic ACC Championship match that ultimately had to be decided in penalties. Sophomore Charlotte Kohler clinched the ACC title with a sixth-round penalty kick. With the victory Stanford earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and will host Cal Poly on Friday.
Men’s soccer
No. 2 men’s soccer also played twice last week. On Wednesday, they beat No. 15 Boston College in a 4-2 comeback win in the first round of the ACC tournament. In the second round of the tournament on Sunday, Stanford fell 1-0 to the No. 7 SMU Mustangs. SMU’s lone goal came off of a second-half penalty kick. The 48-team NCAA Tournament seeding will be announced on Monday, Nov. 17. Until then Stanford will return to The Farm to recover and prepare for the tournament.
Men’s water polo
No. 3 men’s water polo played twice last week and won both games. On Wednesday they beat No. 17 Santa Clara 17-9. Redshirt freshman Max Zelikov and junior Alex Gheorghe both recorded hat tricks in the game. On Sunday, the Card beat No. 6 Pacific 16-7 to close out their regular season home schedule. Sophomore Botond Balogh led scoring with four goals. The Cardinal will have their final regular season match this coming weekend, against No. 4 Cal in the annual Big Splash.
Men’s swimming and diving
No. 8 Stanford men’s swimming and diving had a successful outing at the annual Triple Distance Meet this week in Berkley. The Card ended up taking home eight victories courtesy of six different athletes on the day. Junior Henry McFadden secured a win in the 200 fly, senior Andres Dupont Cabrera won in both the 100 and 200 free, senior Liam Custer was the first to reach the wall in the 400 IM, junior Gibson Holmes was victorious in the 200 IM, sophomore Finn Harland one both the 50 and 100 yard backstroke and junior Johnathan Tan won the 50 free, part of a podium sweep for the Cardinal. Up next, the team heads to Austin, Texas next week for the annual Texas Diving Invite.
Women’s swimming and diving
No. 3 Stanford women’s swimming and diving was dominant at the same annual Triple Distance Meet in Berkley. The Card was victorious in 10 events on the day. Senior Gigi Johnson won the 200 free, sophomore Levenia Sim won 50 and 100 back, junior Caroline Bricker took the 200 back, junior Lucy Thomas won the 50 breast and senior Lucy Bell took both the 100 and the 200 breast. Redshirt senior, and reigning Olympic champion in the 100 fly, Torri Huske swept the IM category winning the 100-, 200-, and 400-meter races. Next week the team will travel to Texas for the Texas swimming and diving invites Nov. 13-22.
Men’s basketball
Men’s basketball played at home twice last week. On Tuesday, they beat Portland State 89-79. Freshman Ebuka Okorie and senior Chisom Okpara scored 26 and 21 respectively. On Saturday, they were back at it against Montana State in the game that ended with a final score of 91-68 in favor of the Card. The offense was led by another impressive performance from Okorie, who put up 29 points. Senior Benny Gealer, redshirt sophomore Aidan Cammann and graduate student AJ Rohosy also all had double-digit scoring nights. The Cardinal are back in action Wednesday night at home against Montana.
Women’s basketball
Women’s basketball was a perfect three-for-three last week at home. On Monday, they won their season opener against UNC Greensboro 87-42. Stanford had five players put up double- digits in points to open the season. On Thursday they were back at it against Santa Clara who they beat 79-58. Two freshmen, Lara Somfai and Alexandra Eschmeyer, recorded double-doubles on the night. In the final game of the week on Sunday, the Card dominated Cal Poly in a 90-55 win. Junior Nunu Agara led the team in scoring with 16 points and seven rebounds. Stanford has its first road test this Friday against Washington State.
Wrestling
No. 19 Stanford traveled to Stillwater, Okla. on Friday and fell to No. 5 Oklahoma State 33-7. Stanford’s only wins came from redshirt sophomore Tyler Knox, and redshirt freshman Aden Valencia. Knox improved to 2-0 on the season and is currently ranked No. 6 nationally in the 133-pound class. Valencia, currently ranked No. 18 in the 149-pound class, successfully defeated No. 2 Casey Swiderski in a 13-3 major decision. Stanford will travel to face California Baptist on Saturday.
Women’s volleyball
No. 5 women’s volleyball played twice last week at Maples Pavilion, beating both No. 15 North Carolina and Duke in 3-0 victories. Against North Carolina, junior Jordyn Harvey hit .560 including 14 kills, six digs, four blocks and an ace, while senior Elia Rubin contributed another 12 kills, four digs and five blocks. Against Duke on Saturday, Rubin dominated some more with a career-high .609 with 23 errorless swings, 14 kills, eight digs and three blocks. After a third set ace, Rubin has officially become Stanford’s all-time career leader in aces. Coming up this week, Stanford will host No. 3 Pitt on Friday and No. 10 SMU on Sunday, both at Maples.
Sailing
Sailing was split between the ICSA Singlehanded Championship and West Coast Championship. Stanford came in third at both competitions. Junior Thomas Sitzmann scored 40 points, with five top-five finishes at the ICSA Singlehanded Championship. Next weekend Stanford will compete in the ICSA Match Race Championship and PCCSC Open Race Championship.
Football
Last weekend Stanford football made the trip to Chapel Hill, N.C. to play the University of North Carolina (UNC) in what turned out to be a 20-15 loss. The first half was slow and ended in a 3-3 tie, after Stanford knotted up the score with a field goal to end the half. The second half saw more scoring but not for Stanford. Throughout the next quarter and a half, UNC scored 17 unanswered points. By the time Stanford was able to find the endzone late in the fourth quarter the deficit had grown too large. The Cardinal enter a bye week as they use the long break to prepare for the 128th Big Game on Nov. 22.
Women’s rowing
Women’s rowing traveled to San Diego to compete in the San Diego Fall Classic last week. Of their nine boats, Stanford sent out four boats in the Open 8+ competition, where they swept the top four spots, and they sent out five boats in the Open 4+ competition where they again swept the top five. All nine of Stanford’s boats were unbeaten by teams from UCLA, University of San Diego, UC San Diego, San Diego State and UC Santa Barbara. Lightweight rowing sent out one lightweight team in the 8-person division and took seventh place, despite being the only lightweight team in attendance. In the four-person division, Stanford sent out two lightweight teams, taking sixth and 12th place respectively. The rowing teams will return in the spring for more action.