Spring at Stanford was anything but dry when it came to sports. In addition to the high-drama national championship won by the women’s golf team, excellence was conspicuous among so many teams and individuals that it reflected on the entire athletics program.
A second straight national title by the women’s water polo team, which triumphed over UCLA in early May, helped secure the Women’s Capital One Cup. The Cardinal edged out Florida for the award, which goes to the nation’s top overall athletics program; Stanford has received the award three times during its five-year existence.
That followed the clinching of the Division I Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup, which covers men’s sports as well as women’s, for the 21st straight season. The award, presented to the most successful intercollegiate athletic department, counts points based on finishes in up to 20 sports, 10 men’s and 10 women’s.
Adding to the national championship luster in late May was the Intercollegiate Rowing Association crown for the women’s lightweight team, which swept the varsity eight and varsity four events. Stanford’s national titles now number 127 (107 NCAA), and the school has won at least one NCAA championship in each of the last 39 seasons.
Individual honors were just as notable. Maverick McNealy concluded his sophomore year by earning the 2015 Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year award as the best men’s golfer in Division I. McNealy is the second straight Nicklaus winner (following Patrick Rodgers) and led Division I over the season with six collegiate victories. His 69.05 single-season stroke average was the second best in NCAA history.
Complementing the team achievements in water polo, senior Kiley Neushul captured the Peter J. Cutino Award, which is given to the outstanding U.S. collegiate male and female water polo players, as voted by coaches of Division I schools.
In the category of achievements sans honors, freshman decathlete Harrison Williams made a record-shattering impression at the NCAA outdoor track and field championships. Expanding on the imprint he made in early May by breaking the Stanford decathlon record that had stood since 1952 ( established by the legendary Bob Mathias), Williams raised the mark to 7,806 points and finished fourth at the meet. He qualified for the 2016 Olympic trials and moved to No. 2 on the all-time U.S. junior list (19 and under).
Stanford also recently chose Kelsey Harbin of the field hockey team (which went 19-3 last fall) as the school’s representative for the NCAA Woman of the Year, which acknowledges academic efforts and community service as well as athletic performance. Nine finalists from 480 nominated student-athletes will be announced in September.
