Feb. 26, 2008

Stanford picked up a multitude of impressive awards over the weekend at the Howe Cup Banquet. Stanford was one of only two teams (Smth College) who had at least five scholar-athletes honored. A scholar-athlete must have a minimum GPA of 3.5 and have participated in at least three-quarters of the team's dual matches in order to qualify. Katy Brewster '10, Esther Cheng '08, Karissa Hazy '07, Stephanie Kwok '08, and Elizabeth Riley '08 were all named scholar-athletes. Stanford was the only team in the Howe Cup top eight with more than two scholar-athletes.

Senior Esther Cheng was also honored with the Wetzel Trophy. The honor is awarded to the top CSA player who did not start playing squash until college. Cheng was a highly-ranked tennis player in high school, but did not pick up squash until her freshman year at Stanford, when she played at the #3 spot. Cheng continued to bolster the Cardinal line-up last year at the #5 position and this year at #8. She remained an important part of the team despite the addition of numerous recruits who were all competitive junior squash players. Cheng has played a crucial role on the team in the last four years off the court as well, providing a steadying influence and strong leadership.