Though they are just rising sophomores, Stanford’s Alissa Haber and Rosey Neill claimed their first championship on June 30. As part of the USA Softball Junior Women’s National Team, the duo helped the U.S. secure its first gold medal since 1995 at the ISF Junior Women’s World Championship, held this year in Enschede, Netherlands.

The national team was perfect in 11 days of competition across the pond, topped off by a 3-1 win over Japan in the championship game. The American women went 10-0 and outscored their opponents 88-4; Haber scored 10 runs and collected 10 hits, while Neill contributed six runs and four hits.

In the first game against Japan on June 29, Haber led the U.S. offense, going 3-for-4; in the second and final match, she went 2-for-3 and scored the team’s third run.

Wiggins leads undefeated U.S. team

It’s truly becoming a Wiggins World as junior guard Candice Wiggins leads the USA Women’s Basketball Under-21 World Championship team in Moscow, Russia. Serving as co-captain, Wiggins led the U.S. offensive attack in two of five preliminary-round games.

The American women finished undefeated (5-0) in their pool, scoring dominating victories over Japan (98-57), Spain (81-62), Hungary (93-70) and Brazil (96-40).

The national team did face a major challenge, though, in its first-round face-off against Australia on June 29. The Americans trailed by 16 points early in the contest, but clawed back as Wiggins powered a 7-0 run late in the fourth quarter, capped off by a three-point play that gave the U.S. its first lead with just 1:26 remaining.

Wiggins’ effort against the Australians totaled 30 points, and the rising senior also collected a team-high 21 points against Hungary on July 1.

With their first place finish in Group B, the Americans move on to face Belgium (2-3) tomorrow. The semifinals and finals will be held this weekend.

Barboza makes Pan-Am killing for fourth

Sophomore outside hitter Cynthia Barboza took her license to kill international during the last weeks of June.

Though the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball team finished fourth at the Pan-American Cup in Colima, Mexico, Barboza came away with 14 kills in the final two matches, helping lead the U.S. team to a 2008 FIVB World Grand Prix bid.

The American women went undefeated in pool play, but lost in the semifinals to Brazil, 25-15, 25-15, 25-18. Barboza had five points on an ace and four kills in the match.

She followed that performance up with 10 points (all on kills) against the Dominican Republic on June 29. Barboza had just one attack error on 26 swings, but it wasn’t enough to keep the national team in contention for third place. The U.S. women fell 25-19, 26-28, 25-18, 28-26.

Robertson hurls gold at U.S. Championships

Just a couple weeks off its season finish, Stanford track and field was at it again, this time on a national stage at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Indianapolis on June 26.

The Cardinal was well-represented at the meet, with recent graduate Michael Robertson taking the discus title. A 210-01 (64.04-meter) mark earned Robertson the gold after he trailed in the first four rounds. Also on the field, junior Erica McClain took bronze in the triple jump with a 44-06 1/4 (13.57-meter) mark.

Meanwhile, junior Arianna Lambie took fifth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:38.83. Junior Russell Brown and sophomore Garrett Heath were also on the track, posting seventh- and ninth-place finishes, respectively, in the 1,500 meters.