April 2, 2003

Stanford, Calif. -

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Ahead for the Cardinal...
Second-ranked Stanford (13-1, 5-0 MPSF) will head south this weekend as the Cardinal is slated to take on No. 17 UC Irvine on Friday, April 4th at 4 p.m. and No. 4 Long Beach State on Saturday, April 5th at noon. The Anteaters are 1-6 in the MPSF this season and hold a 14-15 overall mark. The 49ers' are led by sophomore goalkeeper Bri Hawkins who, along with Stanford keeper Jackie Frank, was named Co-MPSF Player of the Week this week. Long Beach State is tied for third in the conference with a 5-2 record, and they own a 16-5 overall mark.

Previously on The Farm...
The Cardinal hosted No. 3 USC last weekend and notched a 5-3 win over the Women of Troy. Frank posted 10 saves in the second half to hold off USC as Stanford scored all of its five goals in the first 14 minutes. Stanford then posted a 17-6 win over Pacific on Sunday. The Cardinal was led by Brenda Villa, who scored a season-high six goals against the Tigers.

MPSF Honors...
Senior goalie Frank has been tabbed the MPSF Mikasa Player of the Week twice this season. She was first honored after helping the Cardinal to wins over UCLA and UCSB. Frank collected 23 saves in the two games and held the Bruins to three goals and limited the Gauchos to two scores. She picked up her second accolade this week after helping the Cardinal drop No. 3 USC and Pacific.

Captains' Corner...
Seniors Julie Gardner and Nicole Huszcz are leading the Cardinal this year as co-captains. In their final campaign on The Farm, both will look to make their last season their best season. The tandem has combined for 20 of the team's 127 goals as the Cardinal earned its first 13 wins. Gardner has posted four multi-goal games, including a two-goal effort against No. 3 USC on March 29th. Huszcz netted a season-high two goals against UC Santa Cruz in the opening game of the UCSB Invite on March 8th.

National Team File...
Frank and Villa, Stanford's other two players in their final collegiate campaign, spent their off-season with the National Team and helped the U.S. to a silver medal at the 2002 FINA Cup in Perth Australia this past December. Frank led all keepers in goals allowed average and saves while Villa led the tournament in scoring with nine goals. The duo matched up against their U.S. teammates last Saturday when Stanford fell to the National Team 7-3 at the Avery Aquatic Center.

Statistical File...
Every offensive member of the Stanford squad has notched at least one goal this season. The Cardinal has out-scored opponents by an average of 5.7 goals per game. Stanford has limited opponents to 48 goals this season (3.4 gpg) with the tough defense by both the field players and the goalkeepers. Frank and freshman Amanda Matuk have combined for 9.1 saves per game in the net. On the offensive side, Villa leads the team with 27 goals this season while Hannah Luber follows with 15, Gardner has netted 13, Lauren Faust trails with 11, and Laurel Champion has netted 10 goals.

Family Affair...
Cassie Azevedo, a member of the Long Beach State women's water polo team, is the sister of current Stanford men's player Tony Azevedo. Also, the 49ers are coached by Cassie and Tony's father, Ricardo.