Football Gets Back in the Game

In quarterback Trent Edwards’s first start on September 20, the football team threw for a record-low 56 yards, and Edwards was not even the leading passer. But the redshirt freshman came through when it counted, running for a game-winning 14-yard touchdown with four minutes to go in Stanford’s 18-14 defeat of Brigham Young University. Safety Oshiomogho Atogwe, ’04, helped neutralize BYU’s passing game with two interceptions as the Cardinal improved to 2-0, equaling last year’s win total. A week later, tight end Alex Smith caught two touchdown passes against 18th-ranked Washington, but two Huskies interceptions in the final three minutes sealed the 28-17 loss.

Water Polo’s Goal: A Third Championship

Anybody sense a three-peat? At press time, the two-time defending national champion men’s water polo team was off to an 8-2 start. In the season opener on September 7, 10 Stanford players scored at least one goal as the Cardinal trounced the UC-Santa Cruz Banana Slugs, 22-4. The team’s losses, to USC and Cal, were nailbiters, with Stanford losing by one goal in triple overtime. Oh, and did we mention that the NCAAs will take place in the Cardinal ’s home pool?

For Men ’s Soccer, a Sluggish Start

The men’s soccer team knows all about ups and downs. After finishing second nationally last December and starting this season ranked in the top five, the team dropped out of the rankings when it compiled a 2-5-1 record in its first eight games—the worst start since 1994. Junior goalkeeper Robby Fulton—who headed into the season with the lowest goals-against average in school history—pulled his right quadriceps in September and missed several games. The team is still shooting for its third consecutive appearance in the College Cup, but would have to compete without last year’s Soccer America Freshman of the Year, Chad Marshall, ’06, who has already committed to play on the under-20 national team in November.

A Coaching Legend’s Swan Song

Dick Gould, ’59, MA ’60, the all-time-winningest NCAA Division I men’s tennis coach, will retire from coaching next September and become Stanford’s director of tennis. In 37 seasons, Gould led the Cardinal to 17 NCAA team championships, the second-highest total in any sport. Named Coach of the Decade by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association in the 1980s and ’90s, he starts his final season on the Farm with a career .844 winning percentage. At Stanford, Gould coached 10 NCAA singles champions and six doubles champs—including John Whitlinger, ’76, who won both titles in 1974 and will take over as head coach.