Sanjay Srinivas – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com Breaking news from the Farm since 1892 Fri, 12 Feb 2016 10:43:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-DailyIcon-CardinalRed.png?w=32 Sanjay Srinivas – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com 32 32 204779320 Women’s golf to kick off spring season at home https://stanforddaily.com/2016/02/12/womens-golf-to-kick-off-spring-season-at-home/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/02/12/womens-golf-to-kick-off-spring-season-at-home/#respond Fri, 12 Feb 2016 10:43:36 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1110676 No. 3 Stanford women’s golf begins its spring season this weekend with the Peg Barnard Invitational at the Stanford Golf Course. The two-day tournament annually brings in some of the best teams on the West Coast, and this season is no exception. Despite the conspicuous absence of top-ranked USC, the Cardinal will face four Pac-12 […]

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No. 3 Stanford women’s golf begins its spring season this weekend with the Peg Barnard Invitational at the Stanford Golf Course. The two-day tournament annually brings in some of the best teams on the West Coast, and this season is no exception. Despite the conspicuous absence of top-ranked USC, the Cardinal will face four Pac-12 foes, three of which (Washington, Cal and Colorado) are ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation.

Historically, the Cardinal’s home-course advantage has paid off in this event, as they have won two out of the past three years. With many rounds of experience, the Cardinal know which holes to play conservatively, such as the tricky par-4 sixth, and which holes are potential birdie opportunities, like the fourth and 11th.

After a surprising run to the national championship last season, the Cardinal recorded two victories in their four fall tournaments, taking first in both the Branch Law Firm Invitational and the Stanford Intercollegiate.

 

Contact Sanjay Srinivas at sanjay_srinivas ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Men’s golf kicks off spring season at Hawaii invitational https://stanforddaily.com/2016/02/04/mens-golf-kicks-off-spring-season-at-hawaii-invitational/ https://stanforddaily.com/2016/02/04/mens-golf-kicks-off-spring-season-at-hawaii-invitational/#respond Thu, 04 Feb 2016 11:01:31 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1110234 No. 5 Stanford men’s golf heads to Hawaii on Thursday for the Amer Ari Invitational at the Waikaloa King’s Course. The event, co-hosted by University of Hawaii-Manoa and University of Hawaii-Hilo, is the Cardinal’s first event of the spring season after a three-month break from competition. The Cardinal join a stacked field on the Big […]

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No. 5 Stanford men’s golf heads to Hawaii on Thursday for the Amer Ari Invitational at the Waikaloa King’s Course. The event, co-hosted by University of Hawaii-Manoa and University of Hawaii-Hilo, is the Cardinal’s first event of the spring season after a three-month break from competition.

The Cardinal join a stacked field on the Big Island; five of the 19 teams are in the nation’s top 25, led by No. 1 Auburn. Though schools from all over the country will play in the three-round tournament from Thursday to Saturday, it will have a decidedly West Coast vibe. Seven Pac-12 schools, including the three teams (Stanford, USC and Arizona State) most likely to compete for the conference title, will attend the tournament. The Cardinal have seen the Trojans and Sun Devils in one tournament each this season, and both teams will be good measuring sticks for Stanford as the spring season progresses.

With fall quarter finals and winter break, the “offseason” between fall and spring can be a difficult time for players to get in work and improve their games. The players’ fragmented, unpredictable schedules mean that much of the responsibility to practice is on the players themselves.

“The guys have a ton of choices to make,” Cardinal head coach Conrad Ray wrote on the team’s blog. “Do I get out for an extra putting session on my own even though the rest of my team might not be there?… Is there an extra event I can put on my schedule if I need some more reps under pressure?”

Historically, the Cardinal have started a little slowly coming off the long break. In each of the last three seasons, Stanford has started the spring season in Hawaii, where they have recorded two seventh-place finishes and a 10th-place finish last season.

If the fall season is any indication, this year’s Cardinal squad has ambitions of a better result this weekend. Playing in four highly competitive fall tournaments, the Cardinal finished outside of the top five just once, highlighted by a runner-up performance at their most recent competition, the Gifford Collegiate.

Central to the Cardinal’s success has been the outstanding play of junior Maverick McNealy, the reigning Nicklaus Award winner and second-ranked amateur golfer in the world. McNealy finished as the top individual in three of the four fall tournaments, finishing eight of those 12 rounds under par. Although McNealy was arguably the best collegiate golfer in the country last season, he has gotten even better this year, avoiding the occasional high-scoring round that tended to take him out of medalist contention in the past.

After McNealy, the remaining Cardinal golfers have each displayed immense talent but have not strung together consistently high results.

Senior David Boote has made the best case this season to be the Cardinal’s No. 2 option. Boote finished fifth at the Gifford Collegiate, his best finish since the NCAA Championships in his sophomore season. Junior Viraat Badhwar has yet to exhibit the form that he did over large stretches last season, when he recorded three top-10 finishes. This season, Badhwar has finished in the top 25 just once so far, making him a likely candidate to improve as the season progresses.

Joining the three upperclassmen on the trip will be sophomore Bradley Knox, freshman Brandon Wu and freshman Isaiah Salinda, who will be competing as an individual in the tournament.

Though the Amer Ari Invitational takes on additional meaning to the Cardinal because of its place in the schedule, Ray is aware of the season’s relatively slow pace and the need to peak at the right time.

“The goal is to have consistent improvement in all areas from each one of our guys throughout the year with the culmination being the NCAA Championships in the spring.”

 

 

Contact Sanjay Srinivas at sanjay_srinivas ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Women’s soccer falls to Duke on penalty kicks in NCAA Quarterfinals https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/28/womens-soccer-falls-to-duke-on-penalty-kicks-in-ncaa-quarterfinals/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/28/womens-soccer-falls-to-duke-on-penalty-kicks-in-ncaa-quarterfinals/#respond Sat, 28 Nov 2015 09:31:47 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1108152 For the second consecutive season, Stanford women’s soccer‘s last game at Cagan Stadium was decided by a Jane Campbell penalty kick in the NCAA Quarterfinals. But this time, Campbell’s kick was saved on a chilly Friday night, and the No. 3 Cardinal (19-2-2, 10-0-1 Pac-12) lost to No. 20 Duke (13-5-5, 4-3-3 ACC) in a […]

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For the second consecutive season, Stanford women’s soccer‘s last game at Cagan Stadium was decided by a Jane Campbell penalty kick in the NCAA Quarterfinals.

Michelle Xiao (5)
Freshman Michelle Xiao (above) scored Stanford’s lone goal against Duke in the 39th minute, beating a defender before firing a powerful shot around Blue Devil goalkeeper EJ Proctor. (SAM GIRVIN/The Stanford Daily)

But this time, Campbell’s kick was saved on a chilly Friday night, and the No. 3 Cardinal (19-2-2, 10-0-1 Pac-12) lost to No. 20 Duke (13-5-5, 4-3-3 ACC) in a 3-2 penalty shootout after being tied 1-1 after 110 minutes of play. The loss to the Blue Devils keeps the Cardinal out of the College Cup for just the second time in the last eight seasons.

From the start of the game, both teams were tenacious on defense, playing strong up the middle of the pitch and preventing the other team from building up play. The defensive struggle up the middle soon transitioned into an exhilarating, free-flowing game up the flanks of the field.

The Blue Devils struck first in the 14th minute, when Casey Martinez’s through ball made it past several players and into the goal box. Though Campbell was able to turn it away, Toni Payne pounced on the rebound and side-footed it into the net to open the scoring.

After recording the early goal, Duke started to sit back on defense, and the Cardinal had to contend with a packed middle of the field.

“Duke sat in and made it hard, kept a lot of numbers behind the ball,” said Cardinal head coach Paul Ratcliffe after the match. “That being said, we got 22 shots, and we needed to finish some of those chances.”

Ratcliffe made heavy rotations on the wings in an attempt to find the right matchups. His last substitution of the half brought on junior forward Ryan Walker-Hartshorn, a move that sent Michelle Xiao from the left side to the right, where she has occasionally played this season as an inverted winger.

Ryan Walker-Hartshorn (8)
Junior forward Ryan Walker-Hartshorn (above) was a late first-half substitution for Stanford that greatly helped Stanford. Her presence in the game sent fellow forward Xiao to the right side, where she quickly managed to score for the Cardinal. (SAM GIRVIN/The Stanford Daily)

The move paid off quickly, as Xiao leveled the game in the 39th minute on a beautiful individual goal. The freshman took the ball just inside the right half of the penalty box, cut inside onto her stronger left foot and curved a powerful shot around Blue Devils goalkeeper EJ Proctor.

Though the rest of the game was scoreless, both teams missed key opportunities to add to their tally. The Cardinal came closest in the 83th minute, when junior defender Maddie Bauer headed a Xiao corner into the crossbar before Proctor miraculously swatted the ball clear.

The Blue Devils nearly struck in the first overtime period on a bizarre play. Blue Devils midfielder Ashton Miller hit a long, knuckling shot toward goal, which Campbell awkwardly batted away. The ball bounced twice dangerously close to the goal before a lunging Campbell knocked it out of harm’s way.

While the young Cardinal squad had an impressive 4-0-1 record in overtime contests this season, it had not seen a game go to penalty kicks since the NCAA quarterfinal last season. This inexperience may have led to the Cardinal’s nervy start to the shootout, as sophomores Andi Sullivan and Kyra Carusa failed to convert their kicks while Duke’s Christina Gibbons made hers to give the Blue Devils a 1-0 lead.

Maddie Bauer (4)
Junior defender Maddie Bauer (center) almost put the Cardinal ahead in the 83rd minute, heading a Michelle Xiao corner off the crossbar before it nearly crossed the goalline. (SAM GIRVIN/The Stanford Daily)

Despite the slow start, the Cardinal kept themselves in striking distance, as Campbell saved Rebecca Quinn’s kick to keep the deficit at 1. Xiao and fifth-year senior Haley Rosen each took their penalties confidently, but the Blue Devils responded to each with made penalties of their own, taking a 3-2 lead heading into the decisive fifth round. Proctor guessed correctly on Campbell’s kick, turning the shot away with her left hand and sending the Blue Devils into the College Cup.

The loss ends a season in which Stanford’s youth, which many thought would cause the team to struggle, was its greatest asset. Next season, the Cardinal return nine of their 11 regular starters, including extremely talented freshman and sophomore classes that accounted for 29 of the team’s 43 goals. For the team’s young core, a loss like Friday’s could be an important stepping stone to future success.

“Going through these types of experiences is what makes you a champion ultimately,” Ratcliffe noted. “You have more motivation after going through this pain, and you have to have adversity to grow.”

Contact Sanjay Srinivas at sanjay_srinivas ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Women’s soccer looks to make seventh College Cup in eight years with win vs. Duke https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/27/womens-soccer-looks-to-make-seventh-college-cup-in-eight-years-with-win-vs-duke/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/27/womens-soccer-looks-to-make-seventh-college-cup-in-eight-years-with-win-vs-duke/#respond Fri, 27 Nov 2015 11:45:53 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1108109 For the seventh time in the last eight seasons, No. 3 Stanford women’s soccer (19-2-1, 10-0-1 Pac-12) has a chance to reach the College Cup, collegiate soccer’s version of the Final Four. The Cardinal will look to further establish their status as a national power when they host No. 20 Duke (13-5-4, 4-3-3 ACC) in their quarterfinal match on Friday.

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For the seventh time in the last eight seasons, No. 3 Stanford women’s soccer (19-2-1, 10-0-1 Pac-12) has a chance to reach the College Cup, collegiate soccer’s version of the Final Four. The Cardinal will look to further establish their status as a national power when they host No. 20 Duke (13-5-4, 4-3-3 ACC) in their quarterfinal match on Friday.

Though Duke comes to The Farm as an underdog, the Blue Devils have performed well this season against one of the most difficult schedules in the nation. Playing in the ACC, the strongest conference in the country this season, the Blue Devils played second-ranked Florida State to a 0-0 draw and narrowly lost a 1-0 contest to top-ranked Virginia.

The Blue Devils’ experience playing championship-caliber teams showed in their come-from-behind 2-1 victory over No. 5 Florida on Sunday, spoiling what would have been a second consecutive quarterfinal match between the Cardinal and Gators.

The secret to Duke’s success starts from the middle of the pitch. Midfielders Taylor Racioppi and Ashton Miller lead the Blue Devils on offense, combining for 12 goals and 11 assists while controlling possession and generating chances at goal.

Like the Blue Devils, the Cardinal rely heavily on their midfielders on both offense and defense. While sophomore Andi Sullivan has been critical to the Cardinal’s success throughout the season, freshman Jordan DiBiasi and junior Megan Turner have come on strong in postseason play.

Turner’s emergence has been particularly important, giving head coach Paul Ratcliffe the flexibility to play whichever midfielder matches up better against the opposition. The junior scored the opening goal in the Cardinal’s 3-0 win over Arizona in the Round of 16, highlighting her improvement on offense over the course of the season.

“Megan Turner was incredible. She was one of our best players on the field today,” Ratcliffe said after the Arizona match.

While the midfield play will determine which team controls possession and dictates the flow of the game, the matchup between the Cardinal attackers and the Blue Devils’ back line will also be crucial. Both units have had inconsistent stretches this season but have looked strong through tournament play.

After struggling to capitalize on its scoring opportunities early in the season, the Cardinal have seemingly had different players step up every single game. Against the Wildcats, that player was junior Ryan Walker-Hartshorn, who came in as a substitute to score the Cardinal’s last two goals.

Walker-Hartshorn and the Cardinal offense will have their hands full against Duke goalkeeper EJ Proctor, who has allowed just 14 goals this season. Remarkably, seven of those 14 came in losses to Cal and Virginia Tech, strong offensive teams with dynamic forwards. If the Cardinal can control possession and generate the quality chances on goal that they are used to, the normally tough Blue Devils defense is susceptible to crack.

 

Contact Sanjay Srinivas at sanjay_srinivas ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Women’s soccer ends season with a draw, remains undefeated in conference https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/09/womens-soccer-ends-season-with-a-draw-remains-undefeated-in-conference/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/09/womens-soccer-ends-season-with-a-draw-remains-undefeated-in-conference/#respond Mon, 09 Nov 2015 11:20:16 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1106592 No. 3 Stanford women’s soccer (16-2-1, 9-0-1 Pac-12) finished its regular season on Friday night, drawing 1-1 against No. 20 Cal (13-6-3, 6-4-1). With the tie, the Cardinal extended their unbeaten streak to 10 games, finishing undefeated in conference play for the first time since 2012. For most of the second half, it seemed like […]

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No. 3 Stanford women’s soccer (16-2-1, 9-0-1 Pac-12) finished its regular season on Friday night, drawing 1-1 against No. 20 Cal (13-6-3, 6-4-1). With the tie, the Cardinal extended their unbeaten streak to 10 games, finishing undefeated in conference play for the first time since 2012.

For most of the second half, it seemed like the Bears would ruin the Cardinal’s senior night — the final regular season home game for forward Haley Rosen, defender Laura Liedle, midfielder Kate Bettinger and goalkeeper Sarah Cox. Cal forwards Arielle Ship and Ifeoma Onumonu were incredibly active, putting pressure on the Cardinal back line with high-energy runs at goal.

The Bears’ energy and possession translated into 17 shots, the most Cardinal goalkeeper Jane Campbell had faced all season. The junior stepped up to the task, making 5 saves and keeping the Cardinal in the game when Cal’s offense started to heat up.

Campbell’s stellar performance was marred by a critical slip-up, as she allowed a rebound off a Bears corner kick that Anna Mejia tapped into the net in the 77th minute.

Just two minutes later, the Cardinal answered with a corner kick of their own. Rosen’s curling effort was blocked out to the top of the box, where freshman defender Alana Cook placed it into the corner of the goal to equalize for Stanford.

“Alana Cook was amazing,” head coach Paul Ratcliffe noted after the game. “She’s one of the best freshmen I’ve ever seen. It was truly remarkable for her to score the goal and make some of the plays she was making on defense.”

Cook and fellow center back Maddie Bauer had standout defensive performances, neutralizing the dangerous Ship, who leads the Pac-12 with 14 goals. Their positional awareness and blocking ability helped Campbell limit the Bears to a single goal.

“They saved me a ton tonight. I’m happy to have two solid people in front of me,” Campbell said of her center backs.

Though the Cardinal relied on their defense more than they typically have this season, the game was fast-paced on both sides, with both teams showing offensive quality and tenacity normally reserved for the playoffs.

Despite having just a single goal, the Cardinal offense was in top form on Friday. Rosen and sophomore Mariah Lee were standouts, the former with crisp passing and the latter with speed that the Bears’ defenders could not match. Lee’s runs off long goal kicks from Campbell often kickstarted the offense in the second half, an aggressive counterplaying strategy that the Cardinal have not had to utilize much this season.

As the College Cup looms, the step up in their opponents’ skill level will likely result in more games like Friday’s, in which the Cardinal cannot simply impose their will on the other team.

“This was a good game to end the season on, because this is indicative of what we’re going to see in the playoffs,” Ratcliffe said. “It was emotional and a real rivalry game. Every game has that tenacity to it. It was a College Cup atmosphere.”

 

Contact Sanjay Srinivas at ssri16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Top three matchups: Stanford vs. Colorado https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/06/top-three-matchups-stanford-vs-colorado/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/11/06/top-three-matchups-stanford-vs-colorado/#respond Fri, 06 Nov 2015 10:22:29 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1106520 The post Top three matchups: Stanford vs. Colorado appeared first on The Stanford Daily.

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The Weekender (Page 6)

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Women’s soccer showing playoff form going into USC matchup https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/28/womens-soccer-showing-playoff-form-going-into-usc-matchup/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/28/womens-soccer-showing-playoff-form-going-into-usc-matchup/#respond Wed, 28 Oct 2015 07:04:42 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1105776 As No. 4 Stanford women’s soccer (14-2, 7-0 Pac-12) closes its regular season, head coach Paul Ratcliffe will be looking to find small ways to improve a red-hot Cardinal team that has blitzed through conference play. A win over No. 24 USC (12-4-1, 7-1 Pac-12) on Thursday would effectively seal the Cardinal’s first conference title […]

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As No. 4 Stanford women’s soccer (14-2, 7-0 Pac-12) closes its regular season, head coach Paul Ratcliffe will be looking to find small ways to improve a red-hot Cardinal team that has blitzed through conference play. A win over No. 24 USC (12-4-1, 7-1 Pac-12) on Thursday would effectively seal the Cardinal’s first conference title since 2012.

Freshman midfielder Michelle Xiao (middle) has provided much needed offensive support to powerhouse forward Haley Rosen and midfielder Andi Sullivan. Xaio has scored four times with just 14 shots at goal this season. (DAVID BERNAL/isiphotos.com)
Freshman midfielder Michelle Xiao (middle) has provided much-needed offensive support to powerhouse forward Haley Rosen and midfielder Andi Sullivan. Xiao has scored four times with just 14 shots at goal this season. (DAVID BERNAL/isiphotos.com)

Stanford’s latest victim was Washington, which was able to match the Cardinal’s pace and on-ball skills with a defense that bent but didn’t break for the first 60 minutes. The Cardinal eventually wore down the Huskies, getting goals from freshman Jordan DiBiasi, fifth-year senior Haley Rosen and freshman Alana Cook in a 3-0 victory that fully reflected Stanford’s dominance on the field.

Looking at the Cardinal’s stat sheet, it’s hard to imagine a time in which this team was not the Pac-12-slaying juggernaut it is today.

This season, Stanford has recorded 311 shots while conceding only 96, a testament to both the overwhelming amount of time the Cardinal control the ball and the immaculate play of the Cardinal defense.

However, this statistical dominance hides an uncomfortable fact about the Cardinal: For all their talent, they often seem to be less than the sum of their parts.

Despite ranking seventh in the nation in shots per game, Stanford ranks just 44th in goals per game, a disparity coming from many sources, including tentative finishing, overreliance on crosses and poor shot selection.

While some of these problems have partially resurfaced in the Cardinal’s current eight-game winning streak, it seems like the entire team is playing its best soccer at exactly the right time.

Gone are the days in which Rosen or sophomore midfielder Andi Sullivan had to carry the offense by themselves. Now freshman wingers Michelle Xiao and Tegan McGrady and sophomore Mariah Lee give the Cardinal spark and balance from the outside.

Stanford’s impressive array of quality attacking options is one of the team’s best assets and has allowed for goals from all over the field. Although Rosen and Sullivan still lead the team with 5 goals each, the Cardinal have 10 players who have found the net at least twice. The Cardinal appear to have finally solved their finishing woes by relying on a goal scoring by committee approach that produces new heroes every night.

This offensive parity complements a rock-solid defense that makes even one-goal leads look insurmountable to opposing teams. Junior Maddie Bauer and Cook have been among the best in the country at their center back position, leading a Stanford defense that has allowed just 10 goals in 16 games.

Though the Cardinal are overflowing with talent and seem to be peaking at the right time, the team must continue to make adjustments in order to contend for a national championship.

Ratcliffe consistently preaches that the attack must remain on its front foot and take high-percentage shots with a more clinical approach. The normally-stout Cardinal defense often looks shaky on set pieces, most recently when it conceded an own goal off a free kick against Colorado.

USC provides a good opportunity for the Cardinal to put those adjustments into effect. The Trojans play a similar style to the Cardinal, winning games by ruthlessly controlling possession and conceding very few shots.

Junior midfielder Morgan Andrews, who transferred from Notre Dame before the season, is the centerpiece of the Trojan offense, recording 3 goals and 4 assists so far for USC.

Like Stanford goalkeeper Jane Campbell, Sammy Jo Prudhomme has done well in her few opportunities, posting a 0.62 goals against average while saving 83 percent of the shots she faces.

The two teams will face off at home on Thursday, Oct. 29, and play will begin at 7 p.m. on Maloney Field.

With the Pac-12 title on the line and the prospects of a College Cup appearance down the road, the Cardinal are showing their playoff form. Their playoff hopes may rest on a difficult question for Ratcliffe and his coaching staff: How do you improve a team that already has everything?

 

Contact Sanjay Srinivas at sanjay_srinivas ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Golf teams come out strong in season openers https://stanforddaily.com/2015/09/23/golf-teams-come-out-strong-in-season-openers/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/09/23/golf-teams-come-out-strong-in-season-openers/#respond Wed, 23 Sep 2015 07:53:48 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1103656 Stanford’s men’s and women’s golf teams kicked off their seasons last week, with the No. 2 women comfortably winning their opening tournament, while junior Maverick McNealy led the No. 5 men to a fourth-place finish in their opener. Seniors Mariah Stackhouse and Lauren Kim continued to display the form that helped the women’s team win its […]

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Stanford’s men’s and women’s golf teams kicked off their seasons last week, with the No. 2 women comfortably winning their opening tournament, while junior Maverick McNealy led the No. 5 men to a fourth-place finish in their opener.

Stanford, CA - March 30, 2014.  Stanford Men's Golf, The Goodwin 2014.  At Stanford Golf Course
No. 1 ranked Maverick McNealy started off the season shooting 7-under to win the Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational. (SHIRLEY PEFLEY/stanfordphoto.com)

Seniors Mariah Stackhouse and Lauren Kim continued to display the form that helped the women’s team win its first national championship last spring. Stackhouse’s consistent play and mastery of the par-5s helped her score 7-under 212 in the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational, good for second place individually.

Kim made up for bookend rounds of even par with a stellar second round in which she recorded six birdies against a single bogey. Kim’s tournament score of 5-under was seventh among all individuals.

“No surprise seeing Mariah and Lauren at the top of the leaderboard,” said head coach Anne Walker. “They are arguably the best one-two combo in the country and it’s great to have them leading our team.”

Stanford’s three other golfers contributed heavily to the Cardinal’s wire-to-wire victory, avoiding overlapping bad rounds and picking up much-needed birdies. Junior Casey Danielson started the tournament with one of her best collegiate rounds, an immaculate bogey-free 68.

Sophomore Shannon Aubert also started the tournament strong, following up a first-round 71 with a 70 in the second. Danielson and Aubert both finished in 12th place at 2-under par. The duo’s continued development is an encouraging sign for the Cardinal, giving them a strong top four that can compete with any team in the country.

While her teammates started strong, junior Quirine Eijkenboom saved her best performance for last, finishing with a team-low 72, highlighting the Cardinal’s talent throughout its roster. Eijkenboom’s solid round allowed the Cardinal to keep distance from the field despite having relatively high scores from their top four golfers.

The men’s team displayed a similar level of overall talent, taking fourth place in the 15-team Olympia Fields/Fighting Illini Invitational.

The tournament featured some of the strongest teams in the nation, but the toughest opponent during the three days seemed to be the course itself. Olympia Fields Country Club, which hosted the 2003 U.S. Open, proved to be an immense challenge, holding every team over par for the tournament.

McNealy, the defending Haskins Award winner and a recent participant in the U.S. Amateur and Walker Cup, managed the difficult course better than anyone else, shooting a 7-under 203 to win medalist honors.

While McNealy’s bogey-free 67 left him in good position to contend for the medal, his second round was even better. The junior aced the 15th hole with a towering 6-iron shot and birdied six other holes on the day to finish at 5-under 65. McNealy’s first and second rounds were the only under-par rounds Stanford recorded.

McNealy’s final round, a relatively uneventful 71, was enough to give him a three-shot victory over Illinois’ Thomas Detry. The win was McNealy’s second straight at this tournament and the seventh of his Stanford career.

The Cardinal avoided making many bogeys, which was good enough in such difficult scoring conditions. Junior Viraat Badhwar was one of the steadiest golfers in the field, making just eight bogeys en route to a 16th-place finish.

McNealy’s incredible play and Badhwar’s reliability give coach Conrad Ray’s team a chance to win tournaments and contend nationally later on. Like the women’s team last year, the Cardinal’s untested youth must develop before Stanford can take a step forward. For sophomores Franklin Huang and Bradley Knox, that means maintaining their promising play over 18 holes and eventually over the course of the tournament.

This weekend, the women’s team returns to Florida, the scene of its championship run, for the Annika Intercollegiate, the second of its four fall events. The men have the week off before traveling north to Portland, Oregon for the Nike Golf Collegiate Invitational on Oct. 4-6.

For both teams, the fall stretch is just the beginning of a long season that should last until the end of May. While showing good form is important, especially for the younger golfers, these teams will try to hit their peak, and live up to their expectations, later in the year.

Contact Sanjay Srinivas at sanjay_srinivas ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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