Ogwumike named National Player of the Week
Junior forward Chiney Ogwumike was awarded USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week yesterday. It is the first time the women’s basketball star has won the title, but marks her second national honors this season; in November she was named the inaugural espnW National Player of the Week.
The Cypress, Tex., native also won her third Pac-12 Player of the Week award this year for her play against Utah and Colorado over the weekend. Ogwumike grabbed double-doubles in both contests, with an average of 21.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game.
The No. 5 Cardinal’s performance against the Utes and Buffaloes also returned the team to the top four in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since the home loss to No. 6 California two weeks ago. It also keeps Stanford tied at the top of the Pac-12 conference with Berkeley.
The team now heads out on the road to face Oregon and Oregon State over the weekend.
Four men’s water polo players named All-Americans
The ACWPC recognized four Stanford men’s water polo players in its All-America honors yesterday. Sophomore utility Alex Bowen was picked on the first team, freshman driver Bret Bonanni named to the second team and freshman driver BJ Churnside and junior two-meter player Forrest Watkins given honorable mention.
This year Stanford finished with the No. 4 national ranking and a 16-7 record, including a 5-3 mark in the MPSF conference. Bonanni led the Cardinal with 73 goals, the highest for a Stanford player since Tony Azevedo <\#213>05 scored 80 in 2004. Bowen, meanwhile, scored 64 goals, including 12 hat tricks and two six-goal games against Long Beach State, and Watkins and Churnside ended the year with 31 and 22 goals, respectively.
Morgan captures Pac-12 Gymnast of the Week honors
On Tuesday the Pac-12 Conference named senior captain Ashley Morgan Gymnast of the Week for her performances at Georgia a week ago on Monday and against California last Saturday. It is her second career Gymnast of the Week selection and Stanford’s 23rd award all-time.
Morgan won the all-around competitions in Athens, Ga., and Berkeley, Calif., and also won two other individual titles against California, adding first place on vault and floor exercise. In Berkeley, she also tied her career-best 9.925 on vault, set a new season-best 9.925 on floor and tied her season-best 9.850 on uneven bars.
No. 11 Stanford will host No. 4 UCLA from 4 p.m. at Burnham Pavilion this Saturday, with the meet televised live on the Pac-12 Networks.
— Tom Taylor