Cross Country: Coach Vin Lananna’s squads made strong runs for national titles last season; the men finished second at the NCAAs and the women fifth. A quartet of junior All-Americans—Donald Sage, Grant Robison, Louis Luchini and Ian Dobson—should help the men’s team challenge for the national title. Lauren Fleshman, ’03, third in the country last year, anchors the women’s team.
Field Hockey: Head coach Sheryl Johnson, MA ’81, says “the time has come” for the Cardinal to win its first NCAA championship in field hockey. After finishing 11-8 and second in the NorPac last season, Stanford will rely on three senior co-captains—Amanda Billmyer, Tysie Sawyer and Christina Williams—to make the major plays.
Football: The first really big game of the season is October 5, when Notre Dame—led by former Cardinal head coach Tyrone Willingham—faces Stanford and head coach Buddy Teevens. Teevens may be new to the team, but he’ll have some veteran help. Returning standouts include junior quarterback Chris Lewis, senior running back Kerry Carter and junior wide receiver Luke Powell.
Then there’s that other Big Game. Stanford plays Cal at Berkeley on November 23. The Cardinal will try to extend its streak of consecutive wins against the Bears to nine.
Men’s Soccer: Last season, the third-ranked Cardinal lost to North Carolina in the NCAA semi-finals. This year, says head coach Bret Simon, “our goal is the same as it has always been, and that is to come as close as possible to reaching our full potential as athletes.” A national championship wouldn’t hurt, either. Forward Roger Levesque, a senior who was named last season’s Pac-10 Player of the Year, will help lead the team in that direction.
Women’s Soccer: Senior forward Marcia Wallis, fresh off a key role in the U.S. 21-and-under squad’s Nordic Cup victory in Europe, will lead a Cardinal squad that placed ninth nationally last year. Seven freshmen join the team, among them Jennifer Farenbaugh, a top player out of Southern California who can kick around multiple positions.
Women’s Volleyball: Coming off a national championship, second-year head coach John Dunning will look to two outside hitters to help the team repeat: senior Logan Tom, an All-American who competed in the Sydney Olympics, and sophomore Ogonna Nnamani, who can touch 10 feet, 7 inches in drills.
Men’s Water Polo: Last year, the team took home the NCAA championship, and the Cardinal will aim just as high under new coach John Vargas. Standout seniors include Nick Ellis, Jeff Nesmith and Peter Hudnut. Also back in the pool: sophomore phenom Tony Azevedo.
