University Southern California Trojans
Men's Water Polo Visits Cal, Stanford
October 26, 1999 | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 26, 1999
LOS ANGELES - The defending NCAA champion USC men's water polo team (15-2 overall, 3-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation for third place) returns to the Bay Area this weekend. First, the Trojans visit California (7-8, 2-3) on Saturday (Oct. 30) for an MPSF match at noon. Then, USC looks for some revenge from last weekend's result when it takes on Stanford (14-2) on Sunday (Oct. 31) in a non-conference game at noon.
RANKINGS
USC was ranked No. 1 in the Oct. 20 U.S. Water Polo Top 20 Poll.
California was No. 5 and Stanford was No. 3.
OPPONENTS
California leads the series with USC, 43-24-2 (since 1979).
This is the first meeting between the schools this season ... Stanford
leads the series with USC, 49-21 (since 1979). Four of the last five
meetings have gone into overtime, with the exception being last Saturday's
5-3 Cardinal win.
LAST WEEKEND
The Trojans suffered their second loss of the season, again
to Stanford, as the Cardinal picked up a 5-3 victory in an MPSF game on
Saturday (Oct. 23) at McDonald's Swim Stadium. USC had a 2-1 halftime lead
but was outscored 3-0 in the third period. The Trojans rebounded with an
8-5 non-conference win at UC Irvine on Sunday (Oct. 24). James Castle
scored two goals and Richard McEvoy made 12 saves.
JOVAN VAVIC
After serving as co-head coach for the last four seasons,
Jovan Vavic takes over as head coach in 1999. The last year has been a good
one for Vavic, as he helped the USC men to the 1998 NCAA championship, then
led the USC women to the 1999 national championship as their head coach.
Entering this season, Vavic's record as co-head coach was 89-18 (.832).
RICHARD McEVOY
After earning All-American third team status the last two
seasons, Richard McEvoy (Pembroke Pines, FL/Cooper City HS) may very well
be the best goalie in the country as a 1999 senior. He has made 158 saves
in 1999, 9.3 per game (second in the MPSF), and is allowing just 5.6 points
per game (third in the MPSF). He ranks fourth on USC's career save list
with 550. McEvoy made the All-Southern California Tournament second team.
ALLEN BASSO
One of USC's most veteran players, senior driver Allen Basso
(Lake Forest/El Toro HS) is having an impressive season. He has scored 38
points, a career high, the best on the team and nearly twice as many as the
team's No. 2 scorer. He is averaging 2.2 points per game, best in the MPSF.
He has connected on a team-high six two-pointers. He made the All-Southern
California Tournament first team. He has been named MPSF Player of the Week
twice already. The first honor came after scoring five points in the season
opener against Long Beach State. The second came after he scored 12 points
in four games to help USC to the Nor-Cal Tournament championship. Last
season Allen made All-American honorable mention and scored 25 points.
GEORGE CSASZAR
USC's leading scorer in 1998, George Csaszar is off to
another good start as a 1999 junior driver. A native of Hungary, he is
second on USC with 20 points this season. He made the All-Southern
California Tournament first team. Last year he made the All-American second
team and scored 60 points.
OTHERS
In addition to McEvoy, Csaszar and Basso, the Trojans feature
three other All-Americans from a year ago ... Senior 2-meter man James
Castle (Hacienda Heights/Wilson HS), an All-American second teamer in 1998,
was slowed by injury to start the 1999 season. But he has rebounded to
score 16 points ... Senior 2-meter man Peter Janov (Bratislava, Slovakia)
is considered USC's ironman because of the tremendous amount of minutes
that he plays. An All-American honorable mention last season, he has scored
15 points this season ... Sophomore utility player Ivan Babic (Belgrade,
Yugoslavia) is another standout who also made All-American honorable
mention last season. He has 16 points in 1999.
LAST SEASON
The Trojans captured the 1998 NCAA championship by beating
Stanford, 9-8, in overtime in the title game. USC finally won an elusive
championship after finishing second six times, including four of the
previous five years. Marko Pintaric, who hit the game-winning two-pointer
against Stanford, was named the NCAA Player of the Year. The Trojans
finished with a school-record 25-3 mark.
