STANFORD, Calif. – Our latest edition of Fast 5 takes a closer look at five notable milestones that were within reach for a handful of student-athletes and coaches prior to the nationwide cancellation of the NCAA's winter/spring seasons because of the COVID-19 global pandemic.
While there's no guarantee these milestones would have been achieved in the remaining months of 2020, several of these individuals were clearly knocking on the door.
Some will get another shot next season and others might fall short, but it's time to recognize how everyone on this list was definitely within reach.
Teaghan Cowles • Softball • Ridgefield, Wash.
There are few things in softball more exciting than the triple and Teaghan Cowles is all about them. Cowles, who back in February became Stanford's all-time leader in career triples, ended her abbreviated senior season with six triples to increase her career total to 21. Cowles was next focusing her sights on a pair of very-much-in-reach Pac-12 records: the all-time mark of 22 held by Arizona's Alison McCutcheon (1995-98) and the single-season total of 10 owned by California's Kendall Richards (1994). A two-time NFCA All-Region third team selection, Cowles has been one of Stanford's most consistent offensive players throughout her career. Another reason for her triples success? Cowles is an excellent baserunner, with her 46 career stolen bases ranking fifth in school history.
Head Coach David Esquer • Baseball
It only took two seasons for David Esquer, Stanford's Clarke and Elizabeth Nelson Director of Baseball, to make an immediate impact on The Farm. Esquer succeeded his college coach, Mark Marquess, who retired in 2017 after 41 years at the helm of the Cardinal. Esquer, who played under Marquess on Stanford's 1987 NCAA championship team and served as an assistant on The Farm from 1991-96, was fresh off his second season and had just guided the Cardinal to its first NCAA Super Regional since 2014. Esquer's third season was off to a slower start, with the Cardinal racking up five wins during the first month despite 12 freshmen making their collegiate debuts while six of those positional players started at least six games. Regardless, Esquer upped his Stanford coaching record to 96-37, and will quickly reach the century mark when college baseball returns.
Emma Higuchi • Women's Tennis • Los Angeles, Calif.
Nicknamed "The Machine" for her consistent ability to pile up automatic wins at the No. 6 spot of the singles lineup, Emma Higuchi was a fixture on two NCAA title teams (2018-19) and three Pac-12 championship squads (2017-19). And while Stanford had already suffered two losses through early March, was anyone really going to be surprised if the 20-time NCAA champion Cardinal found a way to three-peat in May? Fellow senior Emily Arbuthnott had already reached the 100-career singles win plateau and Higuchi was a safe bet to also cross the 100-mark, however the shortened season stopped her count at 94. A two-time All-Pac-12 pick, Higuchi was that rare player who opponents hated to face but also respected for her sportsmanship. How dominant was Higuchi? She won 47(!) individual sets in her career by a score of 6-0 and 11 matches by a score of 6-0, 6-0.
Head Coach Tara VanDerveer • Women's Basketball
There are school milestones. There are conference milestones. And then there's the mountain top. Granted, this milestone would have required a few lucky bounces against elite competition, but it was possible that Tara VanDerveer, Stanford's Setsuko Ishiyama Director of Women's Basketball, could have become the winningest coach in women's college basketball history. VanDerveer was all set to enter the postseason with 1,094 career wins as a collegiate head coach, needing five NCAA victories to overtake Tennessee's Pat Summitt (1,098). Of course, five more wins would have also resulted in Stanford reaching the NCAA title game, which would have been an accomplishment in and of itself, given the Cardinal's injury woes. Then again, VanDerveer's teams always get better as the season continues. VanDerveer, who earlier this season became the first Division I women's head coach to record 500 wins in a single conference, now enters next year five W's away from unchartered territory.
Sunny Villapando • Beach Volleyball • Manhattan Beach, Calif.
Two weeks was all there was of beach volleyball in 2020, denying a young Cardinal squad the opportunity for more valuable game experience. It also prevented Sunny Villapando from likely becoming Stanford's all-time leader in career wins. Villapando, who teamed up exclusively with Charlie Ekstrom as Stanford's top pairing, had tacked on seven more victories during that two-week stretch to increase her career total to 45. That's good for third overall in program history, trailing only Morgan Hentz (50) and Courtney Bowen (49). With Hentz not playing and Bowen graduating last year, Villapando had a clear path to the top and was looking to build on her first two impressive seasons. She'll enter next year six wins off the pace for a Cardinal program that will be entering its ninth season of existence.