Women's Water Polo Battles UCLA In MPSF Match
April 03, 2002 | Women's Water Polo
April 3, 2002
LOS ANGELES - The No. 1 USC women's water polo team (17-2, 8-0 MPSF) will host No. 3 UCLA (15-3, 7-1) on Friday (April 5) at 3 p.m. and UC Santa Barbara (14-13, 3-5) on Saturday (April 6) at noon at McDonald's Swim Stadium.
RANKINGS - USC is ranked No. 1 in the recent U.S. Women's Water Polo Top 20 Poll.
THAT CHAMPIONSHIP FEELING - USC will get a double dose of a championship atmosphere as McDonald's Swim Stadium will be the host site for the 2002 NCAA and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships. The MPSF Championships will take place Friday-Sunday (April 26-28) while the NCAA Championships will be held Saturday-Sunday (May 11-12). Ticket information for both events can be obtained by calling the USC Athletic Ticket Office at (213) 740-GOSC (4672).
UPSET CITY - The Women of Troy defeated the then-No. 1 ranked Stanford Cardinal on March 29 with a 7-6 victory at McDonald's Swim Stadium. Sandra Milicev scored the game-winning goal with a minute remaining in regulation. Nina Wengst scored three goals to lead the Women of Troy as USC handed Stanford its first loss of the season.
JOVAN VAVIC - In his eighth season as the program's only head coach, Jovan Vavic has built the Women of Troy into a national power, which culminated with the 1999 national championship. He oversaw the program's move from Division II to Division I in 1996. In 1997, the Trojans made their first-ever Division I National Championships appearance with a seventh-place finish while the 1998 team finished in fifth place. In 2000, USC finished second in the nation and placed third in MPSF conference play in 2001. In 1999, Vavic, a native of Yugoslavia, was named the National Coach of the Year and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year. Vavic is also the head coach for the USC men's water polo team, which won the 1998 NCAA championship.
VAVIC'S CAREER RECORD - Jovan Vavic has a 163-84 (.660) record in his eighth season with the Women of Troy.
ANIKO PELLE - Senior utility Aniko Pelle (Budapest, Hungary) is the school's career leader with 231 goals. Pelle is a three-time All-American and won the Peter J. Cutino Award in 2000 as the nation's top female water polo player. She has recorded four goals in a match three times this season.
SOFIA KONOUKH - Senior utility Sofia Konoukh (Chelyabinsk, Russia) earned first team All-America honors last year after leading the Women of Troy in scoring with a school record 103 goals. She leads the team with 39 goals this season. Konoukh scored five goals in a 15-3 win on March 15 at Hawai'i and was named MPSF Player of the Week. She was also named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Co-Field Player of the Year and earned All-MPSF first team honors.
NINA WENGST - Senior two-meter Nina Wengst (Krefeld, Germany) is a two-time All-American and was fourth on the team in scoring last year with 57 goals. On March 29 against No. 1 Stanford, she scored three goals to lead the Women of Troy to a 7-6 upset victory and was named MPSF Player of the Week for her performance. Wengst scored six goals in a 13-8 win on March 23 at San Diego State. She is second on the USC all-time list with 188 goals.
KATRIN DIEROLF - Junior utility Katrin Dierolf (Esslingen, Germany) is second on the team this season with 34 goals. Dierolf has been the leading scorer in eight of the Women of Troy's 18 matches this season. She is coming off a breakout season, finishing third on the team in scoring with 65 goals. For her efforts, Dierolf earned All-America third team and All-MPSF second team honors.
SANDRA MILICEV - Senior utility Sandra Milicev (Becej, Yugoslavia) is seventh on USC's all-time list with 110 goals. On March 29 against No. 1 Stanford, she scored the game-winning goal with a minute remaining. She scored 33 goals in her freshman and sophomore seasons, earning All-American honorable mention in both seasons.
