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Killer 9-day stretch highlights Cardinal women's 2009-2010 basketbal schedule
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Jayne Appel will be a senior this season/Photo by Kyle Terada
Stanford's women's basketball team announced its 2009-2010 schedule on Monday, and although the opponents were already known, the dates had not been released. In short, the schedule is a doozy.
The home and road schedules looked daunting enough when the names of the opponents became known, but playing Duke, Tennessee and Connecticut in succession in a span of nine days will test any team's mettle. Add in the fact that the schedule includes two cross-country road trips, and it's easy to see why coach Tara VanDerveer calls this "the most competitive schedule in my time here at Stanford."
The Cardinal is a good bet to be ranked No. 2 in the preseason polls after returning the bulk of the team that got to the Final Four this past season, and VanDerveer wants this team to be tournament ready.
The challenges start immediately with a tough road trip, which begins with a November 13 game against Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va., followed two days later by a game at Rutgers in Piscataway, N.J. The Scarlet Knights are certain to land in the preseason top 25 and could be in the top 10.
Stanford's first home game is against Pepperdine on November 19, then a road game against UC Davis precedes the tough part of the nonconference schedule.
The Cardinal plays five straight home games beginning with a November 27 game against Utah, which will be a strong team this coming season, and a November 29 game against Gonzaga, which has become a West Coast Conference powerhouse and could be ranked in the preseason polls.
Then comes a December 13 home game against DePaul followed by the three-game meat-grinder that could either crush the team's spirit or build its confidence to overflowing.
It starts with a December 15 home game against Duke, which is likely to be in the top 10, followed four days later by a December 19 home game against Tennessee, and there is no need to cite the credentials of the Volunteers. Four days after that, Stanford will travel to Storrs, Conn., for a nationally-televised (ESPN2) December 23 game against Connecticut, the defending national champion and a near lock to be the preseason No. 1 team.
A road game against Fresno State a week later is the final nonconference game before the Pac-10 opener on January 3 against Cal at Stanford. The Cardinal also completes its regular season against Cal with a March 6 game in Berkeley.
The Cardinal returns four starters from last season, including All-American Jayne Appel, who had minor knee surgery in June but is expected to be fully recovered well before the season begins.
See entire Stanford schedule here.
See also:
STANFORD PLAYER NAMED CO-CAPTAIN OF USA UNDER 19 TEAM
INCOMING STANFORD FRESHMAN FINDS COMFORT ZONE IN SUMMER LEAGUE
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