Golf in 12th at the NCAA Championships

The No. 6 men’s golf team is in a four-way tie for 12th place after the first round of the NCAA Championships in West Lafayette, Ind. The Cardinal sits with No. 19 Texas A&M, No. 42 Middle Tennessee and No. 2 Alabama at 21-over-par.

The Cardinal was in first after nine holes, but the back-nine was very difficult and the team slipped down to 12th after a few rough holes.

Freshman Steve Ziegler led the way for Stanford on day one, shooting a four-over-par 76. Fellow freshman Sihwan Kim shot five-over 77. Southern California and UCLA are tied for the first round lead at nine-over-par.

Penna and Haber named All-Americans

Though Stanford softball’s season came to a halt this past weekend at the hands of Texas A&M, the accolades have not.

Junior Missy Penna and sophomore Alissa Haber were selected to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-American third team yesterday. This was Haber’s second All-American honor and the first for Penna.

Haber led Stanford this year with a .347 batting average and a .465 on-base percentage. She was only one of two players in the Pac-10 to have 75 or more hits this season.

Penna became the first pitcher in Stanford history to strike out 400 batters in a single season. She finished an excellent junior campaign with 416 strikeouts and 37 wins, both school records. She was second in the Pac-10 in strikeouts and fourth in ERA (1.17). Penna is the 13th All-American in program history.

Klineman and Barboza named to Pan Am Roster

Stanford players Alix Klineman and Cynthia Barboza were selected to the 2008 Pan Am Cup roster announced by USA Volleyball yesterday. The ladies will compete in Mexicali and Tijuana, beginning tomorrow. Former Cardinal standout Kristin Richards also joins Klineman and Barboza on the 12-player roster.

Both Klineman and Barboza have been training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. since early this year. Richards has been playing professionally in Russia and returned just in time for the tournament.

A few more former Cardinal players, including Ogonna Nnamani, Logan Tom and current middle blocker Foluke Akinradewo are also training with the USA team but will not compete at the Pan Am Cup. All players will be eligible for the 2008 USA Olympic Team Roster.

Water polo racks up academic honors

Seven members of the Stanford women’s water polo team were named to the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) All-Academic team yesterday. To be eligible, one must have a 3.0 GPA or better, be at least a sophomore academically, and have competed in at least half of the team’s competitions in 2008.

The seven include senior Jacquelyn Gauthier, junior Kira Hillman, junior Megan May, junior Heather West, junior Koree Blyleven, sophomore Kelly Eaton and sophomore Kelsey Holshouser.

Stanford’s seven selections were the second-most in the MPSF, and this is the fifth straight year the Cardinal has had at least seven women honored.