Thursday, November 30
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Opening Round: USC vs. Harvard
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Photo by: John McGillen
Trojans Take Aim At 10th National Championship This Week At Uytengsu
November 28, 2017 | Men's Water Polo, Features
USC hosts the 2017 NCAA Tournament at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
THIS WEEK
USC settles back into home waters for the final push toward a 10th national championship this week, as the Trojans host the 2017 National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championships at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The last time USC hosted the event, the Trojans wound up holding up their fifth straight NCAA trophy. This year, USC enters the 2017 tournament as the No. 3 seed, set up with an Opening Round clash against Harvard at 7 p.m. on Thursday (Nov. 30). UC Davis and Pacific will face off in the other Opening Round matchup at 5 p.m. that day. The NCAA Semifinals will take place on Saturday (Dec. 2), with top-seeded UCLA awaiting the winner of the UC Davis-Pacific game for a 3 p.m. semifinal. At 5:15 p.m., No. 2 seed California will face either USC or Harvard. The semifinal winners will turn to battle for the 2017 NCAA Championship at 3 p.m. on Sunday (Dec. 3).
2017 NATIONAL COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
OPENING ROUNDS | Thursday (Nov. 30)
5 p.m. -— UC Davis vs. Pacific STREAM | STATS
7 p.m. — USC vs. Harvard STREAM | STATS
SEMIFINALS | Saturday (Dec. 2)
3 p.m. -— UCLA vs. UC Davis/Pacific STREAM | STATS
5:15 p.m. — California vs. USC/Harvard STREAM | STATS
RANKINGS
USC started its 2017 journey holding strong at No. 2 in the preseason national rankings. The Trojans wrapped 2016 at No. 2 in the land after reaching the NCAA final for the 12th consecutive season. After standing at No. 2 for the first five weeks of 2017 competition, USC climbed to No. 1 in the nation on Oct. 4. The Trojans dropped out of the top spot on Nov. 8, and moved to No. 4 for a week before popping back into the No. 1 spot in the latest set of national rankings (Nov. 22).
NCAA NOTES
The NCAA title winners in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, the Trojans are making their 13th consecutive and 32nd overall appearance in the national tournament. With seven crowns claimed in the past 12 seasons, USC made history in 2012 as the first collegiate men's water polo team to make eight consecutive appearances and then added to their historic efforts in becoming the first collegiate water polo team ever to win six straight NCAA titles in 2013. USC has made 12 consecutive trips to the NCAA final entering this 2017 campaign.
THE CONTENDERS
The 2017 National Collegiate Championships involves an eight-team field, with two at-large teams and six automatic qualifiers as conference champions. The top two seeds — at-large recipients UCLA and Cal — earned a place in the semifinal round, where they await winners of play-in games. USC captured the No. 3 seed after picking up an automatic bid as the MPSF Tournament Champion. The rest of the field is comprised of conference champions Harvard (Northeast Water Polo Conference), George Washington (Collegiate Water Polo Association), UC Davis (Western Water Polo Association), Pomona-Pitzer (Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) and Pacific (Golden Coast Conference). In the first two Opening Round games on Nov. 25, Pacific beat Pomona-Pitzer 16-2, and Harvard beat George Washington 15-13 in overtime to advance to the Nov. 30 Opening Round games at USC. The Trojans (25-3) are making their 13th consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament; UCLA (19-4) is making its fourth consecutive appearance; and defending champion Cal (20-3) is making its third straight trip. Harvard (24-7) and UC Davis (22-6) are both making their second straight NCAA appearances. Pacific (20-5) is in the NCAA mix for the second time in five seasons.
THE MATCHUPS
USC vs. California
All-time: 60-57-2
This season: 0-1
Last: L 3-6 (Nov. 4, 2017)
Last in NCAA Tourn.: L 11-8 (OT) (2016 final)
USC vs. Harvard
All-time: 2-0
This season: None
Last: W 19-4 (2016 NCAA semifinals)
Last in NCAA Tourn.: W 19-4 (2016 semifinals)
USC vs. UCLA
All-time: 68-56-1
This season: 1-2
Last: W 7-5 (2017 MPSF final)
Last in NCAA Tourn.: L 10-7 (2015 final)
USC vs. Pacific
All-time: 51-9
This season: 1-0
Last: W 11-7 (Nov. 5, 2017)
Last in NCAA Tourn.: W 12-11 (OT) (2013 fina)
USC vs. UC Davis
All-time: 15-0
This season: None
Last: W 19-3 (Sept. 6, 2014)
Last in NCAA Tourn.: None
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
In 2016, USC carried a 23-1 overall record into the NCAA Tournament after winning the Trojans' ninth MPSF Tournament championship to secure an automatic bid. Top-seeded USC held a 15-game win streak on the way into the 2017 tourney. Offensively, USC was averaging 14.96 goals per game at this point last season. Defensively, USC averaged 4.13 goals-against per game. The offense was led by junior Blake Edwards with 40 goals, topping a tightly knit group of junior scorers. Matteo Morelliwasis next in line with 36 goals, followed by Lachlan Edwards with 34 and Grant Stein with 31. USC had outscored opponents 359-99. Defensively, USC had held opponents scoreless in 40 periods of regulation play. Junior goalie McQuin Baron had capped up in the cage for 22 games and was averaging 11.33 saves and 4.31 goals-against per game. In the 2016 NCAA semifinal, USC topped Harvard 19-4 to launch the Trojans into the NCAA final for the 12th consecutive season. In the title match, tournament host Cal was able to fend off the Trojans in overtime, claiming the title with an 11-8 OT decision. At tournament's end, USC would have five players earn All-Tournament honors. Blake Edwards and Lachlan Edwards were named to the All-Tournament First Team, with McQuin Baron, Nick Bell and Marin Dasic picking up Second Team honors.
AND NOW...
USC totes a 25-3 overall record entering its 2017 National Collegiate Opening Round game, marking the Trojans' 10th consecutive 20-win season. USC is the No. 3 seed as an automatic qualifier after a powerful performance at the MPSF Tournament, where the Trojans beat Penn State Behrend 17-2 before upsetting top-seeded host Stanford 10-5 in the semifinals. In the final, USC controlled things in a 7-5 win over rival UCLA to win the Trojan's 10th MPSF Tournament crown. Entering NCAA action, freshman Marko Vavic stands as the most prolific Trojan to date with 47 goals, followed by senior Blake Edwards with 44, senior Matt Morelli with 34 and fellow seniors Grant Stein and Lachlan Edwards with 31 each. Defensively, three goalies have capped up in the cage. McQuin Baron has appeared in 27 games, with double-digit saves in 11 games. He's averaging 10.7 saves and 5.48 goals-against per game. Will Rubschlager and Simon Wu have shared time in backup roles to Baron, combining for 45 saves. In all, USC has outscored opponents 423-159. As a team, USC ranks No. 1 in the MPSF in offense (15.11 gpg) and in defense (5.68 gapg). The USC defense has silenced opponents in 32 total periods to date.
RECORD-BREAKING BARON
On Sept. 16 in USC's first-ever meeting with MIT, senior goalie McQuin Baron broke USC's all-time career saves record with his fifth save of the game. That notched Baron's 856th save to edge out previous leader Joel Dennerley, who had set the USC record during his senior season on Sept. 18, 2011 — almost exactly six years earlier. Baron already held the USC record for single-season saves, set his freshman year with 288 saves collected in 2014. Now with 1,055 career saves to his name, Baron has become just the second MPSF goalie to break the 1,000-save barrier in his career. As he continues to set his sights on anchoring the Trojans to a national championship, Baron also is hot on the trail of Pacific's Alex Malkis, who holds the MPSF record with 1,057 career saves from 2010-13. Entering the 2017 NCAA Tournament, Baron needs just three more saves to take over as the MPSF all-time career saves leader.
CLIMB ON
While McQuin Baron tops the saves leaderboard at USC with his 1,055 career stops, a set of All-American senior sharpshooters are charging up the scoring charts. Blake Edwards has cracked the No. 10 all-time with 154 career goals. He's followed by Matteo Morelli at No. 13 with 144 goals — eight shy of the top-10. Grant Stein is next at No. 16 with 141 apiece. Just steps behind is Lachlan Edwards at No. 17 in USC history with 139. Fellow senior James Walters, meanwhile, has built his career count up to 93 goals, putting him in striking distance of the century mark as a Trojan.
ALL-AMERICAN EDGE
With eight All-Americans back in the water for 2017, USC head coach Jovan Vavic has more All-American talent than he has room for in his starting lineup. In that core group of decorated All-Americans, seven are seniors. Two of them are repeat team captains — James Walters and returning top scorer Blake Edwards — both two-time All-Americans. One is Cutino Award winner McQuin Baron, who will soon be taking over as USC's all-time saves leader. Three more Trojan All-Americans — Matteo Morelli, Lachlan Edwards and Grant Stein — accumulated over 100 combined goals last year. The seventh — standing out as the brains of the group — is NCAA Elite 90 Award winner Mihajlo Milicevic, who stars as a stingy defender for the Trojan cause. The only first-time All-American in the crew is on his way in to his second season at USC, as sophomore Matt Maier returns to the pool as the 2016 MPSF Newcomer of the Year.
DEPTH CHARGE
As valuable as USC's sizeable senior class is, Jovan Vavic has his eyes on a few other returners as linchpins in this season's efforts. Now sophomores, Olympian Thomas Dunstan, MPSF Newcomer of the Year Matt Maier and FINA Junior World Championship silver medalist Marin Dasic are even more prepared to be impact players for the Trojans. Junior Zach D'Sa and redshirt sophomore Daniel Leong both had breakout seasons last year and are primed for major playing time in 2017. Redshirt junior Tim Leong has also maneuvered his way into an increased role, while redshirt sophomore Sam Slobodien, too, made major strides last season and during the summer, lining himself up for extra duty at the two-meter mark along with fellow centers Maier, James Walters and Lachlan Edwards. In all, the Trojans return 90 percent of their scoring production from last season as well as their entire goalkeeping corps.
NEW CREW
Among the talented Trojan youth movement, Vavic taps redshirt freshmen Luke Wyatt, Chas Hornecker and Luka Karaman and true freshmen Marko Vavic and Christian Hockenbury as the brightest stars who are seeing the benefits of their hard work and skills developed in the run-up to this 2017 campaign. At 6-foot-6 and with U.S. National Team experience, Vavic stands to be a quick and powerful fit into his father's gameplan. Marko is the third of head coach Jovan Vavic's children to cap up at USC, following in the footsteps of older brother Nikola and sister Monica, who won a combined five NCAA Championships as Trojans.
OPENING DAY
Twenty-one Trojans got on the scoresheets in USC's season-opening action at the UCLA Mini Invitational. Fifteen Trojans logged goals in each game as USC posted a 27-3 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps followed by a 24-3 win over Pomona-Pitzer. Along the way, five Trojans — Marko Vavic, Troy Furniss, Christian Emerson, Christian Hockenbury and Chas Hornecker — registered their first career goals at USC.
TROJAN TRAVELS
In July, the Trojans took a trip through international waters, soaking up some sun while splashing down in seas, pools and rivers across France, Italy, Croatia and Montenegro. The Trojans set up camp in Nice (France), Recco (Italy), Split (Croatia) and Herceg Novi (Montenegro) while scrimmaging local teams and training for the upcoming 2017 season back in the USA. That European adventure brought the entire USC squad together as a team, offering up invaluable opportunities to gel in the water and out. In fact, the last three USC teams to take a similar summer training trip to Europe came back to the USA and won the national championship that same year. It's a theme that bodes well for the 2017 Trojans, who boast a senior class that is 13 Trojans strong and who have 11 redshirt freshmen and newcomers lined up for their first official action this season.
AND NOW, THIS
Now in his 23rd year at the helm of the USC water polo program, Jovan Vavic has guided the Trojans to the NCAA title match every season for the past 12 years. He's captured seven championships during that stretch. Last season, USC manufactured a 24-2 overall record, losing just one road game during the regular season, winning the MPSF Championship and then falling in a frustrating NCAA final that went to overtime in its opponent's home pool. This year, the Trojans are lined up as host of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, set for Dec. 2-3 at USC's own Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The last time the Trojans hosted the national championship, they capped it off by hoisting the 2012 championship trophy. This year, USC aims to once again successfully defend the Trojans' home waters while adding a 10th NCAA trophy to the men's collection of championships.
MOUNTAIN PACIFIC INVITATIONAL RECAP
In the first game of the day at the 2017 Mountain Pacific Invitational at Uytengsu Aquatics Center, USC saw 12 Trojans score andle three USC goalies log time in the cage to help notch an 18-9 win over San José State. The next day, USC shrugged off a three-goal deficit in the quarterfinals and a two-goal hole in the semis to claim two tight comeback wins. The Trojans had to make a fourth-quarter comeback to beat No. 10 UC Irvine 10-9 in the quarters. The Anteaters had been up 9-6 on the Trojans entering the final eight minutes of regulation. With some key defensive stops, USC was able to generate a four-goal rally on scores from Matteo Morelli, Blake Edwards, Marko Vavic and Matt Maier to lift USC ahead 10-9 with 2:30 to go. USC's defense would step up for the rest, and the Trojans averted a dire situation to claim the comeback victory. That set up a rematch with No. 3 Stanford in the semis, where USC showed it still had some fight left to make a late move to beat the Cardinal 11-10. USC gripped a 3-1 lead in the first period of play, but would fall behind 8-7 entering the fourth. After a see-saw battle ensued to lock it up 10-10 entering the final minute, Morelli let loose a laser that put USC on top 11-10 with 28 ticks to go. Baron would come up big with a late save, and USC was able to hang on for the crucial comeback victory. Down by three goals with 4:13 left in Sunday's title match vs. UCLA, USC dug deep to carve the deficit down to one with 1:47 on the clock. Dunstan earned a power play for his Trojans, and Morelli served up his seventh assist of the tournament in finding Stein for a ripper that made it 12-10 at 3:07. After turning away the Bruins, USC got back on the attack, with Blake Edwards finding the hot-handed Stein for a sizzling skip that cut it to 12-11. Edwards would come up with a steal next, and USC called timeout with 1:20 to go. The referee's whistle would turn the ball back to the Bruins soon after, however, but Vavic was able to come up with a steal with 37 seconds left. Lachlan Edwards let loose a brilliant backhand, but it slammed the post, and USC's next try to equalize was off the mark. That left the ball in UCLA's hands for the final possession, and the Bruins opted to pad its lead with a last-second strike that finished things as a 13-11 UCLA win for USC's first loss of 2017.
USC settles back into home waters for the final push toward a 10th national championship this week, as the Trojans host the 2017 National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championships at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The last time USC hosted the event, the Trojans wound up holding up their fifth straight NCAA trophy. This year, USC enters the 2017 tournament as the No. 3 seed, set up with an Opening Round clash against Harvard at 7 p.m. on Thursday (Nov. 30). UC Davis and Pacific will face off in the other Opening Round matchup at 5 p.m. that day. The NCAA Semifinals will take place on Saturday (Dec. 2), with top-seeded UCLA awaiting the winner of the UC Davis-Pacific game for a 3 p.m. semifinal. At 5:15 p.m., No. 2 seed California will face either USC or Harvard. The semifinal winners will turn to battle for the 2017 NCAA Championship at 3 p.m. on Sunday (Dec. 3).
2017 NATIONAL COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
OPENING ROUNDS | Thursday (Nov. 30)
5 p.m. -— UC Davis vs. Pacific STREAM | STATS
7 p.m. — USC vs. Harvard STREAM | STATS
SEMIFINALS | Saturday (Dec. 2)
3 p.m. -— UCLA vs. UC Davis/Pacific STREAM | STATS
5:15 p.m. — California vs. USC/Harvard STREAM | STATS
CHAMPIONSHIP | Sunday (Dec. 3)
3 p.m. — Championship Game STREAM | STATS
RANKINGS
USC started its 2017 journey holding strong at No. 2 in the preseason national rankings. The Trojans wrapped 2016 at No. 2 in the land after reaching the NCAA final for the 12th consecutive season. After standing at No. 2 for the first five weeks of 2017 competition, USC climbed to No. 1 in the nation on Oct. 4. The Trojans dropped out of the top spot on Nov. 8, and moved to No. 4 for a week before popping back into the No. 1 spot in the latest set of national rankings (Nov. 22).
NCAA NOTES
The NCAA title winners in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, the Trojans are making their 13th consecutive and 32nd overall appearance in the national tournament. With seven crowns claimed in the past 12 seasons, USC made history in 2012 as the first collegiate men's water polo team to make eight consecutive appearances and then added to their historic efforts in becoming the first collegiate water polo team ever to win six straight NCAA titles in 2013. USC has made 12 consecutive trips to the NCAA final entering this 2017 campaign.
THE CONTENDERS
The 2017 National Collegiate Championships involves an eight-team field, with two at-large teams and six automatic qualifiers as conference champions. The top two seeds — at-large recipients UCLA and Cal — earned a place in the semifinal round, where they await winners of play-in games. USC captured the No. 3 seed after picking up an automatic bid as the MPSF Tournament Champion. The rest of the field is comprised of conference champions Harvard (Northeast Water Polo Conference), George Washington (Collegiate Water Polo Association), UC Davis (Western Water Polo Association), Pomona-Pitzer (Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) and Pacific (Golden Coast Conference). In the first two Opening Round games on Nov. 25, Pacific beat Pomona-Pitzer 16-2, and Harvard beat George Washington 15-13 in overtime to advance to the Nov. 30 Opening Round games at USC. The Trojans (25-3) are making their 13th consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament; UCLA (19-4) is making its fourth consecutive appearance; and defending champion Cal (20-3) is making its third straight trip. Harvard (24-7) and UC Davis (22-6) are both making their second straight NCAA appearances. Pacific (20-5) is in the NCAA mix for the second time in five seasons.
THE MATCHUPS
USC vs. California
All-time: 60-57-2
This season: 0-1
Last: L 3-6 (Nov. 4, 2017)
Last in NCAA Tourn.: L 11-8 (OT) (2016 final)
USC vs. Harvard
All-time: 2-0
This season: None
Last: W 19-4 (2016 NCAA semifinals)
Last in NCAA Tourn.: W 19-4 (2016 semifinals)
USC vs. UCLA
All-time: 68-56-1
This season: 1-2
Last: W 7-5 (2017 MPSF final)
Last in NCAA Tourn.: L 10-7 (2015 final)
USC vs. Pacific
All-time: 51-9
This season: 1-0
Last: W 11-7 (Nov. 5, 2017)
Last in NCAA Tourn.: W 12-11 (OT) (2013 fina)
USC vs. UC Davis
All-time: 15-0
This season: None
Last: W 19-3 (Sept. 6, 2014)
Last in NCAA Tourn.: None
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
In 2016, USC carried a 23-1 overall record into the NCAA Tournament after winning the Trojans' ninth MPSF Tournament championship to secure an automatic bid. Top-seeded USC held a 15-game win streak on the way into the 2017 tourney. Offensively, USC was averaging 14.96 goals per game at this point last season. Defensively, USC averaged 4.13 goals-against per game. The offense was led by junior Blake Edwards with 40 goals, topping a tightly knit group of junior scorers. Matteo Morelliwasis next in line with 36 goals, followed by Lachlan Edwards with 34 and Grant Stein with 31. USC had outscored opponents 359-99. Defensively, USC had held opponents scoreless in 40 periods of regulation play. Junior goalie McQuin Baron had capped up in the cage for 22 games and was averaging 11.33 saves and 4.31 goals-against per game. In the 2016 NCAA semifinal, USC topped Harvard 19-4 to launch the Trojans into the NCAA final for the 12th consecutive season. In the title match, tournament host Cal was able to fend off the Trojans in overtime, claiming the title with an 11-8 OT decision. At tournament's end, USC would have five players earn All-Tournament honors. Blake Edwards and Lachlan Edwards were named to the All-Tournament First Team, with McQuin Baron, Nick Bell and Marin Dasic picking up Second Team honors.
AND NOW...
USC totes a 25-3 overall record entering its 2017 National Collegiate Opening Round game, marking the Trojans' 10th consecutive 20-win season. USC is the No. 3 seed as an automatic qualifier after a powerful performance at the MPSF Tournament, where the Trojans beat Penn State Behrend 17-2 before upsetting top-seeded host Stanford 10-5 in the semifinals. In the final, USC controlled things in a 7-5 win over rival UCLA to win the Trojan's 10th MPSF Tournament crown. Entering NCAA action, freshman Marko Vavic stands as the most prolific Trojan to date with 47 goals, followed by senior Blake Edwards with 44, senior Matt Morelli with 34 and fellow seniors Grant Stein and Lachlan Edwards with 31 each. Defensively, three goalies have capped up in the cage. McQuin Baron has appeared in 27 games, with double-digit saves in 11 games. He's averaging 10.7 saves and 5.48 goals-against per game. Will Rubschlager and Simon Wu have shared time in backup roles to Baron, combining for 45 saves. In all, USC has outscored opponents 423-159. As a team, USC ranks No. 1 in the MPSF in offense (15.11 gpg) and in defense (5.68 gapg). The USC defense has silenced opponents in 32 total periods to date.
RECORD-BREAKING BARON
On Sept. 16 in USC's first-ever meeting with MIT, senior goalie McQuin Baron broke USC's all-time career saves record with his fifth save of the game. That notched Baron's 856th save to edge out previous leader Joel Dennerley, who had set the USC record during his senior season on Sept. 18, 2011 — almost exactly six years earlier. Baron already held the USC record for single-season saves, set his freshman year with 288 saves collected in 2014. Now with 1,055 career saves to his name, Baron has become just the second MPSF goalie to break the 1,000-save barrier in his career. As he continues to set his sights on anchoring the Trojans to a national championship, Baron also is hot on the trail of Pacific's Alex Malkis, who holds the MPSF record with 1,057 career saves from 2010-13. Entering the 2017 NCAA Tournament, Baron needs just three more saves to take over as the MPSF all-time career saves leader.
CLIMB ON
While McQuin Baron tops the saves leaderboard at USC with his 1,055 career stops, a set of All-American senior sharpshooters are charging up the scoring charts. Blake Edwards has cracked the No. 10 all-time with 154 career goals. He's followed by Matteo Morelli at No. 13 with 144 goals — eight shy of the top-10. Grant Stein is next at No. 16 with 141 apiece. Just steps behind is Lachlan Edwards at No. 17 in USC history with 139. Fellow senior James Walters, meanwhile, has built his career count up to 93 goals, putting him in striking distance of the century mark as a Trojan.
ALL-AMERICAN EDGE
With eight All-Americans back in the water for 2017, USC head coach Jovan Vavic has more All-American talent than he has room for in his starting lineup. In that core group of decorated All-Americans, seven are seniors. Two of them are repeat team captains — James Walters and returning top scorer Blake Edwards — both two-time All-Americans. One is Cutino Award winner McQuin Baron, who will soon be taking over as USC's all-time saves leader. Three more Trojan All-Americans — Matteo Morelli, Lachlan Edwards and Grant Stein — accumulated over 100 combined goals last year. The seventh — standing out as the brains of the group — is NCAA Elite 90 Award winner Mihajlo Milicevic, who stars as a stingy defender for the Trojan cause. The only first-time All-American in the crew is on his way in to his second season at USC, as sophomore Matt Maier returns to the pool as the 2016 MPSF Newcomer of the Year.
DEPTH CHARGE
As valuable as USC's sizeable senior class is, Jovan Vavic has his eyes on a few other returners as linchpins in this season's efforts. Now sophomores, Olympian Thomas Dunstan, MPSF Newcomer of the Year Matt Maier and FINA Junior World Championship silver medalist Marin Dasic are even more prepared to be impact players for the Trojans. Junior Zach D'Sa and redshirt sophomore Daniel Leong both had breakout seasons last year and are primed for major playing time in 2017. Redshirt junior Tim Leong has also maneuvered his way into an increased role, while redshirt sophomore Sam Slobodien, too, made major strides last season and during the summer, lining himself up for extra duty at the two-meter mark along with fellow centers Maier, James Walters and Lachlan Edwards. In all, the Trojans return 90 percent of their scoring production from last season as well as their entire goalkeeping corps.
NEW CREW
Among the talented Trojan youth movement, Vavic taps redshirt freshmen Luke Wyatt, Chas Hornecker and Luka Karaman and true freshmen Marko Vavic and Christian Hockenbury as the brightest stars who are seeing the benefits of their hard work and skills developed in the run-up to this 2017 campaign. At 6-foot-6 and with U.S. National Team experience, Vavic stands to be a quick and powerful fit into his father's gameplan. Marko is the third of head coach Jovan Vavic's children to cap up at USC, following in the footsteps of older brother Nikola and sister Monica, who won a combined five NCAA Championships as Trojans.
OPENING DAY
Twenty-one Trojans got on the scoresheets in USC's season-opening action at the UCLA Mini Invitational. Fifteen Trojans logged goals in each game as USC posted a 27-3 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps followed by a 24-3 win over Pomona-Pitzer. Along the way, five Trojans — Marko Vavic, Troy Furniss, Christian Emerson, Christian Hockenbury and Chas Hornecker — registered their first career goals at USC.
TROJAN TRAVELS
In July, the Trojans took a trip through international waters, soaking up some sun while splashing down in seas, pools and rivers across France, Italy, Croatia and Montenegro. The Trojans set up camp in Nice (France), Recco (Italy), Split (Croatia) and Herceg Novi (Montenegro) while scrimmaging local teams and training for the upcoming 2017 season back in the USA. That European adventure brought the entire USC squad together as a team, offering up invaluable opportunities to gel in the water and out. In fact, the last three USC teams to take a similar summer training trip to Europe came back to the USA and won the national championship that same year. It's a theme that bodes well for the 2017 Trojans, who boast a senior class that is 13 Trojans strong and who have 11 redshirt freshmen and newcomers lined up for their first official action this season.
AND NOW, THIS
Now in his 23rd year at the helm of the USC water polo program, Jovan Vavic has guided the Trojans to the NCAA title match every season for the past 12 years. He's captured seven championships during that stretch. Last season, USC manufactured a 24-2 overall record, losing just one road game during the regular season, winning the MPSF Championship and then falling in a frustrating NCAA final that went to overtime in its opponent's home pool. This year, the Trojans are lined up as host of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, set for Dec. 2-3 at USC's own Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The last time the Trojans hosted the national championship, they capped it off by hoisting the 2012 championship trophy. This year, USC aims to once again successfully defend the Trojans' home waters while adding a 10th NCAA trophy to the men's collection of championships.
MOUNTAIN PACIFIC INVITATIONAL RECAP
In the first game of the day at the 2017 Mountain Pacific Invitational at Uytengsu Aquatics Center, USC saw 12 Trojans score andle three USC goalies log time in the cage to help notch an 18-9 win over San José State. The next day, USC shrugged off a three-goal deficit in the quarterfinals and a two-goal hole in the semis to claim two tight comeback wins. The Trojans had to make a fourth-quarter comeback to beat No. 10 UC Irvine 10-9 in the quarters. The Anteaters had been up 9-6 on the Trojans entering the final eight minutes of regulation. With some key defensive stops, USC was able to generate a four-goal rally on scores from Matteo Morelli, Blake Edwards, Marko Vavic and Matt Maier to lift USC ahead 10-9 with 2:30 to go. USC's defense would step up for the rest, and the Trojans averted a dire situation to claim the comeback victory. That set up a rematch with No. 3 Stanford in the semis, where USC showed it still had some fight left to make a late move to beat the Cardinal 11-10. USC gripped a 3-1 lead in the first period of play, but would fall behind 8-7 entering the fourth. After a see-saw battle ensued to lock it up 10-10 entering the final minute, Morelli let loose a laser that put USC on top 11-10 with 28 ticks to go. Baron would come up big with a late save, and USC was able to hang on for the crucial comeback victory. Down by three goals with 4:13 left in Sunday's title match vs. UCLA, USC dug deep to carve the deficit down to one with 1:47 on the clock. Dunstan earned a power play for his Trojans, and Morelli served up his seventh assist of the tournament in finding Stein for a ripper that made it 12-10 at 3:07. After turning away the Bruins, USC got back on the attack, with Blake Edwards finding the hot-handed Stein for a sizzling skip that cut it to 12-11. Edwards would come up with a steal next, and USC called timeout with 1:20 to go. The referee's whistle would turn the ball back to the Bruins soon after, however, but Vavic was able to come up with a steal with 37 seconds left. Lachlan Edwards let loose a brilliant backhand, but it slammed the post, and USC's next try to equalize was off the mark. That left the ball in UCLA's hands for the final possession, and the Bruins opted to pad its lead with a last-second strike that finished things as a 13-11 UCLA win for USC's first loss of 2017.
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Stefan Brankovic | Trojans Live 09.23.24
Monday, September 23
Men's Water Polo - USC 13, UCLA 9: Highlights (11/18/23)
Saturday, November 18
Men’s Water Polo - USC 20, Augustana 4 : Highlights (11/17/23)
Friday, November 17
