Stanford continued its streak of at least one NCAA title in each of the past 40 seasons, the longest active streak, and its streak of 22 consecutive times it has been awarded the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup as the most successful Division I intercollegiate athletic department in the nation.
Here’s a rundown of the top storylines of the 2015-16 season on The Farm:
1. Christian McCaffrey
The Heisman Trophy runner-up and Associated Press Player of the Year enjoyed a season for the ages. Most notably, the sophomore running back shattered the FBS single-season all-purpose yardage record set in 1988 by Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders.
“He’s the best football player in the nation,” Stanford coach David Shaw said of McCaffrey, who broke the school record with 2,019 rushing yards. “I don’t know if there’s any question. Nobody in the nation is doing what he is doing. It’s not even a debate.”
McCaffrey surpassed Sanders during the Pac-12 championship game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, by amassing 461 all-purpose yards — the fifth-highest single-game total in FBS history.
2. return to Rose Bowl
For the third time in four years, Stanford made the trip to Pasadena for New Year’s.
McCaffrey caught a 75-yard touchdown on the opening snap and returned a punt 63 yards to the house in the second quarter as the Cardinal cruised to a 45-16 victory over Iowa. McCaffrey finished the season with 3,864 all-purpose yards.
Quarterback Kevin Hogan, the program’s record holder for career wins with a 36-10 record, went on to be taken in the fifth round of the NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs.
3. NCAA title on the pitch
Streak of NCAA titles reaches four decades as Stanford men’s soccer earns its first national championship. Junior forward Jordan Morris, a U.S. national team member, scored his 12th goal of the season just 87 seconds into the College Cup final and added another in the 51st minute on a rainy Dec. 13 at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., as the rout was on in a 4-0 victory for the Cardinal.
4. Can’t count ’em out
Stanford women’s tennis becomes the lowest-seeded team to win the NCAA title. Three years ago the Cardinal achieved the feat as a No. 12 seed, and in 2010 claimed the title as a No. 8 seed. But after playing without its No. 1 player Carol Zhao for half the season, Stanford found its rhythm at the right time and beat the odds as the No. 15 seed to secure a 19th national championship (18 NCAA, 1 AIAW).
5. sweet 16 upset
Stanford women’s basketball pulled off a stunning 90-84 victory over No. 1 seed Notre Dame in the NCAA Lexington Regional to advance past the Sweet 16 and into the Elite 8. The Fighting Irish entered the game on a 26-game winning streak and sought to reach the Final Four a sixth straight time. (Stanford lost to Washington two days later.)
“Our team felt pretty confident,” said junior forward Erica McCall, who scored a career-high 27 points. “I think we didn’t have the pressure on us. We just went out there and had fun. That was the biggest thing.”
6. Time for a change
Stanford hires Jerod Haase as its men’s basketball coach, replacing Johnny Dawkins, who won two NIT titles but made only one NCAA Tournament appearance during his eight years. Haase, 42, was recruited out of high school in South Lake Tahoe by then-Cardinal coach Mike Montgomery, but instead chose to attend Cal before transferring to Kansas after his freshman year.
“It didn’t work out the first time,” Haase said at his introductory press conference. “I wasn’t able to come and realize the dream of playing at Stanford at that point. This is a situation where I have a second chance at something very, very special.”
7. Three-peat denied
A bid for a three-peat by Stanford women’s water polo was denied after undefeated USC scored the game-winner with 6 seconds left. Cardinal freshman Kat Klass scored with 11 seconds left, briefly providing the equalizer in the NCAA final. But it wasn’t meant to be in an 8-7 loss.
“It’s heartbreaking, but we got beat by a great, great shot,” Stanford coach John Tanner said. “It hurts a lot to get to the brink of winning and not be able to pull it off.”
8. Disqualification at NCAAs
A disqualification in the 200-yard freestyle relay left Stanford as the runner-up at the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships. The 40 points proved to be the difference, even after swims such as freshman Ella Eastin’s American-record in the 200-yard individual medley.
“In our hearts, we know that we put up the best fight and that we all did it for each other,” Eastin said. “Obviously everyone on that pool would like to win a national championship, and sometimes things don’t go your way.”
A couple of weeks earlier at the Pac-12 championships, the quartet of Ally Howe (Sacred Heart Prep-Atherton) in the backstroke, Sarah Haase in the breaststroke, Janet Hu in the butterfly and Lia Neal in the free set American records in both the 200- and 400-yard medley relays.
9. Oh, so close on the links
Seeking back-to-back NCAA women’s golf titles, it came down to a playoff once again. Stanford senior Lauren Kim, a Los Altos High grad, came back from 3-down to bring the match back to all-square by winning holes 16, 17 and 18. But on her second playoff hole, her par putt slid past the hole and Pac-12 foe Washington prevailed 3-2.
“I don’t feel like anyone is walking away a loser today,” Stanford coach Anne Walker told Golf Channel’s Billy Ray Brown after the match. “It was a high level of golf and all of these kids should be proud of themselves.”
10. Sticking the landing
Stanford men’s gymnastics finished as the NCAA runner-up, while junior Akash Modi became the individual champion in parallel bars and high bar. Senior Dennis Zaremski claimed the NCAA title in the still rings.
11. Grappling with success
Stanford wrestler Joey McKenna (165 pounds) became the first freshman All-American in school history, and the first Cardinal to place third at NCAAs.
12. Synchro and rowing
On top of the 109 NCAA titles, the Cardinal has accumulated 23 national championships in other sports. This season, that included synchronized swimming and lightweight rowing.
“When I was handed the trophy, I didn’t know what to do,” said synchro captain Evelyna Wang, who grew up in Los Altos. “I just got on the podium and the only thing that felt right was just to hold it over my head.”
It was the eighth U.S. Collegiate National Championship for synchro, while lightweight rowing won the Intercollegiate Rowing Association Championship for a sixth time in seven years.
“It is even more meaningful because we are right in the middle of final exams,” head lightweight rowing coach Derek Byrnes said. “They are racing, taking exams and studying and racing and studying some more. It’s the Stanford student-athlete and it is very impressive.”
Email Vytas Mazeika at vmazeika@dailynewsgroup.com; follow him at Twitter.com/dailynewsvytas.
