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Archive for March, 2011

Tara VanDerveer named head coach of the year

March 30th, 2011

Tara VanDerveer

Tara VanDerveer

TARA VANDERVEER, the Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women’s Basketball, was named the 2011 Russell Athletic/WBCA NCAA Division I Head Coach of the Year, the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) announced Monday.

That’s the same day VanDerveer’s Cardinal beat Gonzaga to enter the NCAA Final Four.

This is the first time that VanDerveer has been honored with the WBCA’s top coaching honor. In addition to earning the national award, she also has collected the WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year award for the fourth time in the past five years.

“It is very humbling to be recognized by the WBCA and by my peers with this honor,” VanDerveer said. “I am very fortunate to get to work with such a smart, hard-working and dedicated team of coaches and players. The dedication that they bring every day both on and off the court is the reason for this program’s success.”

Read more about VanDerveer’s remarkable career at the Stanford Athletics website.

 

Stanford tops list of applicants’ ‘dream schools’

March 29th, 2011

It’s hard to know how much—if any—credence to give to various college guidebook surveys. That said, the Princeton Review reports that Stanford is the top “dream school” for college applicants.

Time magazine, in its coverage of the survey, wrote, “The Ivy League stalwarts have been upended by universities on the left coast. We’re chalking this one up to the weather (just a hunch).”

Princeton Review surveyed more than 8,000 high schoolers involved in the college application process. It asked: “What school would you attend if acceptance or cost weren’t issues?” Stanford claimed the top spot, the Princeton Review says, followed by Harvard.

The Princeton Review also asked 4,000 parents what their dream school was for their children. In that survey, Stanford came in second to Harvard.

The “dream school” survey is part of a larger survey called “College Hopes and Worries.” Among the other findings:

  • 69 percent of parents and students report that their level of stress about the college application process is “very high” or “high.”
  • 72 percent of students and parents say the economy has affected their decisions about college.
  • Parent estimates of college costs—around $75,000 annually—were much higher than those of students.
  • 90 percent of parents and students said financial aid would be necessary.
  • Both groups see the main benefit of a college degree to be a better job and higher income.
  • Half of parents would like to see their children less than 250 miles away; 66 percent of students would like to be farther than 250 miles from home.
  • A majority of both groups said that knowing more about a college’s commitment to environmental issues would contribute to their decision.

See the survey at the Princeton Review website.

The Cardinal heads to the NCAA Elite Eight after close call

March 28th, 2011
Chiney Ogwumike

Chiney Ogwumike helped lead the Cardinal to the Elite Eight Saturday.

There was nothing easy about the Cardinal’s 72-65 victory over North Carolina on Saturday. After a close game, sisters CHINEY and NNEMKADI OGWUMIKE came through in the final minutes to send the Cardinal into the NCAA women’s basketball Elite Eight. Nnemkadi Ogwumike led the Cardinal with 19 points while Chiney, the Pac-10 freshman of the year, added 16.

Gonzaga is up next for Coach TARA VANDERVEER and her team. The game will be played today, Monday, March 28, at 6 p.m. in Spokane, making Gonzaga something of a hometown favorite.

Go Cardinal!

Read more on the Stanford Athletics website.

Marguerite driver wins kudos for his “day job” in Menlo Park

March 25th, 2011

“Three years ago, the Menlo Park City School District community received a gift, in the form of a brand new, state-of-the-art school bus, and, more importantly, a one-in-a-million bus driver named WILFIN MORALES,” Kate Kennedy, a parent at Encinal School in Menlo Park, wrote in the school’s newsletter Encinal Connections.

Several days a week, Kennedy noted, Morales heads from his job in Menlo Park to Stanford, where he drives a Marguerite bus.

But it’s his day job that has won Morales recognition from the County of San Mateo. Recently, the San Mateo County Office of Education named Morales the 2011 San Mateo County Classified School Employee of the Year. And he is a nominee for 2011 California Classified Employee of the Year.

The Dish heard about Morales’ recognition from RALPH CASTRO, manager of the substance abuse prevention program in Health Promotion Services at Vaden Health Center.

“In full disclosure—Wilfin drives my son to school each morning, and he is an awesome person,” Castro wrote in an email.

‘I Got Bounce’ from VanDerveer Records

March 24th, 2011

As the Cardinal Women’s basketball team works on its on-court moves in preparation for Saturday’s game against the North Carolina in Spokane, they have released a new music video from VanDerveer Records called “I Got Bounce.” In the video, the team gets its groove on with the Tree, the Band, the cheerleaders and fans.

BTW: Stanford’s Road to the Final Four website has all the information you need to follow the team during this championship season.

Stanford Rallies to Sweet 16, 75-49

March 22nd, 2011

VanDerveer cheers. Photo courtesy Stanford Athletics

Cardinal women’s basketball Coach TARA VANDERVEER walked off the court Monday night with a star senior on either side, the perfect home record in place, thanks to four years of spectacular play by her team’s KAYLA PEDERSEN and JEANETTE POHLEN.
But during the game – against St. John’s – it was Stanford’s dominant sister duo, NNEMKADI and CHINEY OGWUMIKE, who were the key to the team’s advance to the NCAA’s Sweet Sixteen.
Nnemkadi scored 22 points, Chiney added 13 points and 12 rebounds to bring the Cardinal to a 75-49 win.
Stanford will play North Carolina in Spokane Saturday.
Read the full story on the Athletics website.

 

House Majority Leader Cantor visits Hoover

March 22nd, 2011

Photo by L.A. Cicero

Congress is in recess this week, and that gave House Majority Leader ERIC CANTOR a chance to leave the Washington beltway for Silicon Valley. During a speech he delivered Monday at the Hoover Institution, the Virginia Republican hailed Stanford and other research universities as a key ingredient to spurring economic recovery.
He recalled a recent meeting with Chinese officials who were astounded that tech companies like Google and Apple were “born out of the basements and backyards of America” and came to dominate the business world.
“For me, the answer starts at world-renowned institutions like Stanford University,” where ideas can be fostered, tested and given room to grow, Cantor said.
“We know how to take ideas and bring them to market better than anyone else,” he said. “That’s why time and again we create things that change the world. We pursue ideas even though they may fail.”

-Adam Gorlick

SLAC staffers welcomed home from Japan

March 18th, 2011

ck2-japan-white-woodley-215Thanks to the preparedness of their Japanese hosts and their own cool heads, GLEN WHITE and MARK WOODLEY two physicists from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, have returned home safe and sound after being caught up in the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. They bring with them valuable information for future SLAC travelers and an appreciation for the efforts of their SLAC colleagues to keep the lines of communication open.

Read their dramatic story in SLAC Today

Stanford wins platinum for bike friendliness

March 17th, 2011

dish_platinumStanford took top honors last week at the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C. Among the 32 institutions considered for the designation for Bicycle Friendly Universities, 20 received designations, and only one — Stanford — received a platinum nod. The program recognizes colleges and universities that create environments where bicycling can thrive.

According to a press release issued by the League of American Bicyclists, Stanford stood out for its breadth of programs, including “a great cycling network, education programs like the Bike Safety Dorm Challenge, and bicycling incentive programs that resulted in an extraordinary number of people biking for transportation and recreation.”

“We view this less as the finishing point of our efforts than as the new starting line,” said BRODIE HAMILTON, director of Parking & Transportation Services. “The many departments that contribute to Stanford’s overall bicycle program intend to make even greater progress in the years ahead to create a safer and more sustainable environment for our community through improvements for bicyclists and all road users.”

ARIADNE SCOTT, the university’s bicycle program coordinator, credited the entire campus for the honor, particularly the Department of Public Safety and the campus planning office, without whom, she said, the designation may not have happened. “We’re honored to receive this,” said Scott said of the award. “We want Stanford to leave a legacy for alternative transportation.”

March Madness comes to Maples

March 15th, 2011
 Nnemkadi Ogwumike (left) and Chiney Ogwumike during the press conference following the semi-final game of the 2011 Pac-10 Tournament game against the Arizona Wildcats at Staples Center last Saturday. Stanford won, 100-71.

Nnemkadi Ogwumike (left) and Chiney Ogwumike answer questions during the press conference following the semi-final game of the 2011 Pac-10 Tournament game against the Arizona Wildcats at Staples Center last Saturday. Stanford won, 100-71.

Stanford women’s basketball earned the No. 1 seed in the Spokane Region and will face UC Davis in Saturday’s first round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, the NCAA announced Monday.

No. 2/2 Stanford (29-2), the Pac-10′s automatic qualifier following the capture of its eighth Pac-10 Tournament title, and fifth in a row, March 12, faces Big West Conference champion UC Davis Saturday, March 19, at 3:30 p.m. at Maples Pavilion.

The winner of Saturday’s first-round contest will move on to face the winner of Saturday’s 1 p.m. opener between eighth-seeded Texas Tech and ninth-seeded St. John’s Monday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m. at Maples Pavilion.

Both contests will be aired by one channel of the ESPN family of networks, including ESPN, ESPN2 and online on ESPN3.

For ticket information and for the full announcement, visit the Athletics website.