A Seven-Event Champion
On her way to an NCAA heptathlon championship, senior Tracye Lawyer became the first woman in Pac-10 history to capture three straight conference titles in the event. Competing in near 100-degree heat at the Pac-10 finals, Lawyer tallied 5,794 points in the seven-event competition to outdistance Ellanne Richardson of Washington State by 134 points. Then, at the NCAA championships, before a crowd including 14 of her relatives, Lawyer chalked up a career-best and school record 5,855 points. She is the first Stanford athlete to win the heptathlon. The Cardinal women's track and field team finished 13th.
Goodbye to Golf Coach Goodwin
He guided Tiger Woods, produced two Pac-10 winning teams and, in 1994, coached his squad to an NCAA championship. Now, after 12 years, men's golf coach Wally Goodwin is retiring. Goodwin, 72, was honored in 1994 as NCAA Coach of the Year. This May, his team finished the season 15th overall at the NCAA west regional. Senior Joel Kribel, who tied for second at the NCAAs a year ago, tied for 20th this year and missed qualifying for the championships by two shots. By finishing the season with a 70.12 stroke average for 14 tournaments, Kribel broke a school record set by Woods.
Women's Rugby Wins it All
Stanford doesn't often face off against an Ivy League school for a national title. But when it came time for the women's rugby finals in State College, Pa., there was the Cardinal -- beating Princeton, 43-31, in overtime. The club squad finished the regular season with a 10-game winning streak and downed Navy in the national semifinals before facing Princeton. In 1998, the team dismantled the competition to win the title in USA Rugby's version of Division II. After that, USA Rugby combined the divisions, giving Stanford a shot to prove itself against the sports' dominant East Coast teams.
After Five Overtimes, Second Place
It may have been the best national title game ever -- at least in water polo. The women's team finished second to USC, succumbing only after an astonishing five overtime periods. Sophomore Hilary Gallogly scored with nine seconds left in regulation play to send the game into overtime, and senior goalie Heather Crary scored on a length-of-the-pool shot with 59 seconds left in the second overtime to tie the game. That forced sudden death, which continued until USC scored three periods later. No team led by more than a goal at any point in the game.
