Trojans Gear Up For Postseason Run This Weekend
November 23, 2004 | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 23, 2004
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LOS ANGELES -- The No. 3 USC men's water polo team (20-4) will compete at the MPSF Championship this weekend (Nov. 26-28) at Stanford University. The Trojans will face No. 6 seed California (19-8) on Friday (Nov. 26) at 3:30 p.m. The team that wins the MPSF Championship will earn the automatic bid for the NCAA Championship (Dec. 4-5) at Stanford.
RANKINGS -- USC is ranked No. 3 in the latest men's collegiate national Top 20 poll.
LAST WEEK-- Senior Cameron Kaiser scored a career-high five goals in a 15-7 nonconference win on Saturday at California Baptist.
Jovan Vavic -- In his 10th season as the head coach of the men's water polo program, Jovan Vavic has built the Trojans into a national power, which culminated with the 1998 and 2003 national championships. Last year, he was named National Coach of the Year and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year after leading the Trojans to the national title with a 24-3 record. Vavic came to USC as an assistant men's water polo coach to John Williams in 1992 and was named co-head coach in 1995. He took over the reins as head coach in 1999 when Williams retired. Vavic is also the head coach for the USC women's water polo team, winning national championships in 1999 and 2004. During the 1998-99 season, Vavic did something no other coach has accomplished as his teams won three national championships: besides capturing the 1998 men's and 1999 women's titles, his 1999 men's club team won the Men's Senior National Club Championship. Vavic has a 32-year water polo career. In addition to his coaching experience, he was a member of a Yugoslavian club team that was a four-time junior national champion (1973-74-76-77). Vavic also played for the Monte-Negro State team, which won the Yugoslav Nationals in 1977 and 1978.
VAVIC'S CAREER RECORD -- Jovan Vavic has a 211-50 (.808) record with the Trojans.
MILESTONE WIN -- With an 11-6 win on Oct. 2 against UC Santa Barbara at the Nor-Cal Tournament, head coach Jovan Vavic recorded his 200th career win at USC.
Z MAN -- Junior two-meter defender Juraj Zatovic (Bratislava, Slovakia) led the Trojans in scoring last year with 57 goals, earning All-America and All-MPSF first team honors. This season, Zatovic leads the team with 43 goals. He recorded 12 goals in four matches during the 2004 So-Cal Tournament, including a team-high four goals in the Trojans' 8-6 win against No. 1 Stanford in the championship match. He also was named 2003 NCAA All-Tournament first team after the Trojans won the national championship. Zatovic played for Slovakia in the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
THE `DON'INATOR -- Sophomore goalie Don Ricci (Sacramento/Jesuit HS) assumed the No. 1 goalkeeper position this season and has made an immediate impact. He recorded 34 saves in three matches during the 2004 So-Cal Tournament. In the semifinal match against No. 4 Cal, he made 15 saves in an 11-6 win and followed up with a 12-save performance against Stanford in USC's 8-6 win in the championship match. In 14 matches this season, he has registered 109 saves.
HALE TO THE CHIEF -- Sophomore driver Thomas Hale (Long Beach/Wilson HS) is second on the team this season with 36 goals after finishing sixth with 23 goals last year. Hale led the Trojans with four goals on Oct. 3 in a 14-10 win over No. 3 Cal in the third-place match at the 2004 Nor-Cal Tournament in Stockton, Calif. He scored a team-high five goals on Oct. 10 in a 14-3 win over No. 17 Bucknell.
LIKE SISTER, LIKE BROTHER -- Freshman Jordan Van Norman (San Diego/University HS) is following in the footsteps of her sister, Moriah, who is a member of the USC women's water polo team and winner of the 2004 Peter J. Cutino Award as the top collegiate female player in the nation. Van Norman is tied for fifth on the team in scoring with 22 goals. He scored three goals in a 9-6 win on Nov. 6 at No. 11 Pepperdine.
STABLE OF TALENT -- This year, the USC men's water polo team has 10 players with experience on the U.S. Junior National Team. The players are: seniors Garrett Gentry and Nick Andrejich, junior James Shin, sophomores Thomas Hale, Trevor Clark and Juan Delgadillo, redshirt freshman Adam Shiling, and freshmen Thomas Corcoran, Jordan Van Norman and freshman Frank Reynolds. The roster also includes junior Juraj Zatovic, who played for Slovakia in the 2004 Olympics in Athens.
MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP MPSF First Round - Friday, Nov. 26 Game 1 - 2 p.m. - #4 Long Beach State vs. #5 UC Irvine Game 2 - 3:30 p.m. - #3 USC vs. #6 California Game 3 - 5 p.m. - #2 Stanford vs. #7 Pepperdine Game 4 - 6:30 p.m. - #1 UCLA vs. #8 UC Santa Barbara
MPSF Semifinals - Sat., Nov. 27 Game 5 - 2 p.m. - Losers of Games 1 and 4 Game 6 - 3:30 p.m. - Losers of Games 2 and 3 Game 7 - 5 p.m. - Winners of Games 1 and 4 Game 8 - 6:30 p.m. - Winners of Games 2 and 3
MPSF Finals - Sun., Nov. 28 Game 9 - 12 p.m. - Losers of Games 5 and 6 - 7th place Game 10 - 1:30 p.m. - Winners of Games 5 and 6 - 5th place Game 11 - 3 p.m. - Losers of Games 7 and 8 - 3rd place Game 12 - 4:30 p.m. - Winners of Games 7 and 8 - 1st place
