Cardinal Finish Season with Yet Another Title

STANFORD, Calif. -- The Stanford Cardinal finished the season with a third-straight NCAA Championship after defeating Georgia in the NCAA finals at UCLA. The victory was Head Coach Dick Gould's 15th championship in his 31 years at Stanford, and it gave Stanford University a record-setting six NCAA titles in a single season.

Although a relatively young team, the Cardinal fought through the season in impressive fashion. The starting six featured three freshmen and a sophomore. But the Cardinal finished 26-2 in team competition, including an 11-0 streak to finish the season. Individually, Stanford players swept the singles and doubles titles at both the Pac-10 Championships and the Collegiate Invitational in Ojai. Stanford players also shared Pac-10 Player of the Year honors and four players were named All-Americans.

Leading the Cardinal: Sophomore Two-Time All-American Ryan Wolters led Stanford at No. 1 singles ... Wolters was named Pac-10 South Co-Player of the Year, along with teammate Bob Bryan ... Wolters posted an impressive 22-3 dual match record over the year, including a 3-0 dual mark at the NCAA championships ... He teamed with junior Paul Goldstein to win the Pac-10 Doubles title in Ojai, CA ... Goldstein, the No 2. singles player, was lost to a foot injury for part of the season ... He returned to win the doubles title with Wolters at Ojai ... He then went 3-1 at No. 4 singles in the NCAA tournament to finish the season with a near-perfect 14-1 dual match record (20-4 overall) ... Goldstein won the Rafael Osuna-Arthur Ashe Award, given to the nation's college tennis player who best exemplifies competitive attitude, ideals of sportsmanship, and excellence of performance ... He also earned All-American and Pac-10 South First Team honors this season.

Stanford Newcomers: Three freshmen played integral roles this year for the Cardinal ... All-American Bob Bryan played No. 2 and No. 3 singles and was named Co-Pac-10 South Player of the Year following his tournament victory at the Pac-10 Singles Championships ... Bob went undefeated at the No. 2 singles position during the NCAA Championships and posted a key victory over the second-ranked player in the nation, Mississippi's Sebastien DeChaunac, in the tournament semifinals ... After missing the fall season with tendonitis, Bob's twin brother, All-American Mike Bryan, came on strong in the spring, posting a 21-4 dual match record that included a 13-1 mark at No. 3 singles ... He was named to the All-Pac-10 South Second Team ... The Bryans teamed up in doubles to post an unblemished 4-0 mark in the NCAA team tournament ... The Bryans also finished the season with an overall doubles record of 26-11 (19-8 dual) ... Fellow freshman Geoff Abrams was solid all year at No. 4 and No. 5 singles for the Cardinal ... He finished the season with a 22-4 record in dual match play (36-7 overall) ... He also won the singles and doubles title (with Elliott) at the Collegiate Inivitational in Ojai, CA ... Abrams was named to the All-Pac-10 South Second Team.

Senior Leadership: Senior Captain Grant Elliott finished his career at Stanford by winning the clinching match at the NCAA Championships at UCLA ... He provided valuable depth and leadership this year, posting a 21-2 dual match record at No. 5 and No. 6 singles ... In doubles, he teamed with Abrams to finish with a 31-5 overall record, including a 14-1 mark at No. 2 doubles ... Elliott won the doubles title with Abrams at the Collegiate Invitational in Ojai, CA ... The lone senior on the team, he is the only player lost from this year's championship squad.

Head Coach Dick Gould: Dick Gould has once again proven himself to be one of the top collegiate tennis coaches in the nation ... Gould's Stanford teams have now won 15 NCAA team titles in his 31 years on the farm ... Through those 31 seasons, Gould's squads have posted a record of 612-124 (.832) ... Stanford has now won five NCAA titles under Gould in the 1990s alone ... The Cardinal have also won three-consecutive NCAA titles for the second time in the last ten years and have now won seven of the last ten titles ... Gould has now coached 42 All-American tennis players at Stanford ... Any player who has played for Stanford during any four year period since 1970 has at least one NCAA Championship ring.

Assistant Coach John Whitlinger: John Whitlinger was named the college tennis 1997 Assistant Coach of the Year ... A two-time All-American player at Stanford, Whitlinger finished his 11th season as assistant with a seventh NCAA championship over that span and solidified his position as one of the nation's top tennis teachers.

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