It’s 2010 — time for a new year and a new decade for the Stanford Cardinal. It is safe to say that Stanford has dominated the collegiate athletics landscape for the past 10 years, winning every Director’s Cup (15 in a row total) and 21 NCAA Championships over that period. There is no sign of stopping for the Card heading into the second decade of the 2000s and it starts with 2010. Here are 10 things to watch for on the Farm this year.
Men’s Volleyball
The men’s volleyball team is ranked No. 3 in the preseason, its highest preseason ranking since 2002. Coming off a season in which it won 21 games — its most since 1997 — the Cardinal could be national title contenders. The reason for the optimism lies in the experienced lineup, which returns five starters from last year, including kill-leader Evan Romero, All-American setter Kawika Shoji and the 2009 national Newcomer of the Year, libero Erik Shoji.
Men’s Tennis
After a Sweet 16 appearance in the NCAA tournament last year, the men’s tennis team is back this year looking for more. The Cardinal’s top recruiting class joins five returning starters. Alex Clayton, Bradley Klahn, Ryan Thacher and Richard Wire will lead the team, which is ready to return to the Stanford men’s tennis teams of the past. Klahn and Thacher had a decorated fall season in doubles while Clayton was an NCAA singles semifinalist in 2009. This team will be fun to watch in 2010.
Women’s Basketball
A stellar 2009 was only a springboard into 2010, where the women’s basketball team is ranked No. 2, its only loss coming to No. 1 Connecticut. The team looks unstoppable in Pac-10 play this year. Jayne Appel, Nneka Ogwumike and Kayla Pedersen will lead this team deep into the NCAA tournament. You can be sure this team wants a rematch against Connecticut on a neutral court. Don’t be surprised if it happens in the NCAA Finals.
Julia Smit and Elaine Breeden
Two world-class swimmers will be swimming their final seasons on the Farm after what will be historic swimming careers. Smit just broke two world records a month ago and both she and Breeden have Olympic hardware from Beijing in 2008. They will be the ones to watch in the pool this year for Stanford and across the nation. The two are both 19-time All-Americans, Smit with three individual NCAA titles and Breeden two. Needless to say, expect big things out of them in 2010, both at Stanford and beyond.
2010-11 Men’s Basketball
While this season is not over and anything can happen in this year’s Pac-10 (example: Wednesday’s win over USC), fans should be excited for the new crop of talent coming in for Dawkins’s third year. Dawkins’s best recruiting class — currently ranked 13th in the nation by Scout.com — enters Stanford next season to join this year’s relatively young team. After a two-year lull in Stanford basketball, next year could begin a rise back up to where the program has been in the past.
2010 Football
The biggest thing to look forward to from the football team next season is the way it responds after an 8-5 season in 2009. In all likelihood, Stanford will lose Toby Gerhart and backs Stepfan Taylor and Tyler Gaffney will have big shoes to fill. But the defense should be better and Andrew Luck should excel after a year of experience. A schedule with some key home games will be huge and the Cardinal will have the confidence of this year’s winning season in them. A big question mark is how the new coaches will adjust. Stanford will have a few new assistant coaches on the sidelines next season; hopefully the players will take to them nicely.
Chris Derrick
Stanford’s All-American distance runner will hit the track this spring and the cross-country course next fall to continue his already decorated career. The sophomore is already a five-time All-American and was the 2009 Pac-10 Runner of the Year in cross country. A third-place finish at the NCAA Championships in cross country this past fall followed a freshman track campaign where he finished third in the 5,000 meters in the outdoor NCAA finals. He will be looking to add to his success with a first-place trophy in track this season, as well as cross country next fall as he gets older and stronger and his competitors graduate. The guy is just really good.
Teagan Gerhart
The younger sister of Toby Gerhart takes to the Stanford softball field along with her sister, Kelsey. Teagan, a pitcher, will challenge for the starting spot as a freshman. She had a 30-2 record with a .35 ERA in high school. Perhaps the Gerhart magic will carry over from the football field to the softball field this spring.
The Director’s Cup
It’s the beginning of the winter season and we are already winning. It might be over already. Sweet 16.
Danny Belch loves Stanford. E-mail him at dbelch1 “at” stanford.edu.