In a testament to the fantastic performance that both Stanford men’s and women’s teams had during the fall season, the two groups are ranked No. 14 and No. 2, respectively, in the Capital One Cup standings, an NCAA award that recognizes the top overall athletics program in the country. Stanford men’s sports have 22 points, led by top 10 finishes in water polo and cross country, while the women’s teams have accumulated an astounding 72 points, led by field hockey, volleyball and soccer.
Among the highlights of Stanford’s fall season on the women’s side was field hockey posting its best-ever record at 19-3 and achieving its first ever win in the NCAA tournament with an overtime win over Louisville. Women’s volleyball went on a 28-game win streak and ended the season 33-2, falling to eventual national champion and current Capital One Cup leader Penn State in the national semifinals. Similarly, an impressive season for women’s soccer ended in heartbreaking fashion with a 2-0 loss to Florida State in the national semifinals. However, those losses do not diminish the scope of Stanford women’s sports’ achievements in the fall season, which they will look to build upon in the winter and spring.
Stanford’s men’s sports also had an impressive fall campaign that was good enough to put them No. 14 nationally. In what was a sadly recurring trend, men’s water polo fell in heartbreaking fashion, 12-11 in sudden death, to USC in the national semifinals before recovering to paste UC San Diego 20-11 in the third-place game. Men’s cross country, meanwhile, scored a stunning second-place finish in the NCAA championships, paced by senior Maksim Korolev’s fourth-place finish in the 10K.
The Capital One Cup offers major incentives for the winning teams, with $200,000 in scholarships available to the winning school in both women’s and men’s sports. Stanford, which has won the women’s Capital One Cup twice before, will look to build upon its promising start in the coming seasons and secure another trophy to be added to the mantelpiece.
Contact Dylan Fugel at dfugel ‘at’ stanford.edu