Cardinal get high-profile accolades from all over
Stanford’s first NCAA women’s basketball championship in 29 years has drawn a star-studded receiving line, from former Cardinal stars such as Tiger Woods to our nation’s political leaders.
President Joe Biden tweeted out his congratulations Sunday night for how “Coach VanDerveer’s team shows how grit and tenacity can prevail.”
Vice President Kamala Harris, who was in the Bay Area on Monday, extended congratulations to not only the Cardinal but also her husband, who picked Stanford to go all the way in his bracket.
Sophomore Haley Jones appeared Monday on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and recounted how Stan
ford persevered so long away from home because of Santa Clara County’s COVID-19 restrictions.
“We’ve been through a lot. We were pretty relentless this year,” Jones said. “We were on the road for two months, and we just grew closer. We were just resilient. It feels surreal to be here now.”
Stanford hung on for a 54-53 championship win Sunday over Arizona at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Promptly after the win, golfer Tiger Woods tweeted congratulations: “What a win. Home of Champions! Go Card!”
Stephen Curry congratulated the Cardinal and singled out Cameron Brink, the goddaughter of Curry’s mother, Sonya.
“My God-Sister. @CameronBrink22. What’s up Champ???” Curry captioned an Instagram photo of Brink cutting down the championship nets. “Forever a legend. Congrats @ stanfordwbb. Bring it back to the Bay!”
That final line was echoed by the 49ers’ Twitter account, which posted: “Do it for The Bay! Congratulations @StanfordWBB #FTTB.” (That hashtag refers to the Faithful To The Bay marketing slogan the 49ers unveiled last year.) General manager John Lynch, a Stanford graduate, tweeted his congratulations, too.
Another proud alum was Jennifer Azzi, who was part of Stanford’s first NCAAwinning team in 1990 under coach Tara VanDerveer.
“I’m so happy for the team. I’m happy for Tara,” Azzi, an NBC Sports Bay Area analyst said on “Warriors Postgame Live.” “I believe Tara’s the best coach of all time. She’s been successful for the long haul.
“This is their 14th Final Four. For them to really turn the corner and win one, I’m so excited for her and the staff and the players,” Azzi added. “I think one of the coolest things for me and our generation is seeing that there’s a legacy. There’s a real sorority, a sisterhood of all of us that have come through the program. We’ve all taken a piece of Tara through our lives. Besides Tara being a great coach, she’s a great human being.”