Jan. 26, 2011

MPSF Release

Stanford, Calif. - The reigning MPSF conference tournament champions have been selected by the coaches to repeat as conference champions in 2011. The Cardinal was a near unanimous choice, earning six of the seven first place votes and 36 points overall.

Denver earned the remaining first place vote and was chosen second, while California and Oregon were picked to tie for third. UC Davis, Saint Mary's and Fresno State rounded out the bottom three of the conference.

Stanford has continued its steady progression to one of the elite teams in the nation in recent years under head coach Amy Bokker. Last season, the Cardinal advanced to the first round of the NCAA tournament, earning the No. 12 seed and narrowly losing to James Madison in the first round.

The Cardinal return two-time reigning MPSF Player of the Year Lauren Schmidt as well as several other key pieces of the 2010 squad, including Leslie Foard, who was on last year's Tewaarton Watch List, leading scorer Sarah Flynn, defensive standout Paige Farmakis and others.

The Cardinal opens its season on February 13 at home against Notre Dame. The Cardinal play its first five games at home, before facing a daunting road schedule that will include several ranked teams.