Saturday, January 26
Riverside, CA
12:45 PM
USC
vs
Concordia University (California)
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Water Polo
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/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
D
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
Photo by: Kym Mammolito
No. 1 USC Takes On Two More At CBU Mini Invitational
January 23, 2019 | Women's Water Polo, Features
Trojans face Concordia and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in a doubleheader in Riverside this weekend.
THIS WEEK
USC is off to an undefeated start to 2019 as the Trojans set up their defense of the 2018 national championship. Now 6-0 on the year, USC is off to a doubleheader day at the CBU Mini Invitational in Riverside this weekend. On Saturday (Jan. 26), the Trojans will take on Concordia at 12:45 p.m. before a 2 p.m. faceoff with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps out at Cal Baptist in Riverside, Calif.
USC IN THE RANKINGS
USC kicked off 2019 ranked No. 1 in the national preseason poll and selected at No. 1 in the MPSF preseason poll. As of the Week 2 rankings, the Trojans remain at No. 1 in the land.
SCOUTING CONCORDIA
This will be the 2019 season opener for the Eagles, who went 6-18 overall last year. In a series dating back to 2012, USC is 3-0 all-time against the Eagles after posting a 28-1 win in the teams' last meeting in 2017.
SCOUTING CMS
This will be the 2019 season opener for the Athenas, who went 18-10 overall last year. In a series dating back to 1995, USC is 6-1 all-time against the Athenas after posting a 27-2 win in the teams' last meeting in 2006.
LAST WEEK
USC tore through six opponents at last week at then UCSB Winter Invitational, amassing almost 100 goals and allowing just 19 as the Trojans opened up 6-0 for their 2019 campaign. Nineteen Trojans got to the back of the net in all, with six USC newcomers plugging in their first career goals as Trojans. Maud Megens was USC's top scorer with 14 goals in across the six wins, while freshman Tilly Kearns was No. 2 on the scoring list with 11 in the winning week'd work. Along the way, senior goalie Amanda Longan recorded a new career high -- and the second most saves ever by a USC goalie -- with 19 stops in USC's season-opening victory over Cal Baptist. At the end of the event, Megens would pick up the season's first honors as the MPSF Player of the Week for her 14-goal effort, which included multiple-goal outings in five of USC's six games in Santa Barbara.
CLIMB ON
As the 2019 season gets underway, the Trojans already have players climbing the career charts. With her fifth goal at the UCSB Winter Invitational, junior Maud Megens tallied her 100th career goal as a Trojan on Jan. 18. After adding to that tally at the event, Megens now ranks No. 27 all-time at USC in scoring with 109 career goals. On the defensive end, senior goalie Amanda Longan entered her senior season ranked No. 3 all-time at USC in career saves. She'd haul in a career-high 19 saves in USC's season opener to tally the second most single-game saves by a Trojan, and the senior now grips 629 career saves.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now six games in to 2019, USC has outscored opponents 96-19. Junior Maud Megens is the Trojans' top scorer to date with 14 goals,. Behind her on the 2019 scoresheet sits true freshman Tilly Kearns with 11 goals to date, followed by sophomore Paige Hauschild with 9 and junior Denise Mammolito with 8. A trio of freshmen — Alejandra Aznar, Mireia Guiral and Bayley Weber — are just a step behind with seven goals apiece. On the defensive end, two goalies have checked into the cage to date. Senior Amanda Longan has logged minutes in four games, averaging 13.7 saves and 3.42 goals-against per game. She also boasts the second most single-game saves by a Trojan, having made a career-high 19 stops vs. Cal Baptist on Jan. 19. Redshirt sophomore Holly Parker has stepped in in three games, averaging 9.6 saves and just 2.8 goals-against per game to date. The Trojan defense has rendered opponents silent in at least one period of play in five different games while accumulating a grand total of 10 shutout periods this season so far. Overall, USC is averaging 16.0 goals per game on the offensive end and is allowing just 4.75 goals-against per game defensively.Â
SEASON OPENER
Against Cal Baptist in the Trojans' 2019 season opener, USC tacked up the first five goals of the game — all from the hands of newcomers. The first goal of the year came from Mireia Guiral, whose fellow Spaniard Alejandra Aznar drilled three goals in that 5-0 start. Fellow freshman Grace Tehaney also got to the back of the net in that surge before another freshman — Bayley Weber scored her first of a first-period hat trick to help USC along to a 10-2 lead after eight minutes of action. That 10th goal was also served up by a fresh face in Tilly Kearns, while the final two of the day came from new Trojans as well. Freshmen Sophia Lucas and Claire Haas would tally their first career USC goals in their first appearances in Cardinal and Gold to get in on the winning start to 2019. Aznar finished up with five goals to lead the pack, while junior Maud Megens plugged in four. Freshmen Tehaney and Weber had a hat trick apiece in that opening win over Cal Baptist.
BACK-TO-BACK BATTLE
For almost a decade now, there's been a fierce title tug-of-war between two teams. The claim to the NCAA women's water polo championship has gone to either USC or Stanford for the past nine seasons. For every tug in the Trojan direction — there's been four titles won by USC in that stretch — the Cardinal have grabbed ahold the next year. At the end of the line this season is a chance for the USC women to do what they've never done before — to claim back-to-back national championships.Â
ON YOUR LEFT
Alejandra Aznar's addition bumps USC's set of left-handed shooters to four, with fellow freshman Grace Tehaney also wielding a deft left hand, while returning lefties Verica Bakoc and Sabrina Garabet are already proven sharpshooters.Â
SET DEPTH
USC has also brought in reinforcements at 2-meters. The Trojans now have three true centers at the ready in newcomers Mireia Guiral and Tilly Kearns and sophomore Nina Ceklic. Courtney Fahey and Kaylee Brownsberger also were in the mix at set last year.
PERIMETER POWER
A powerful presence at set can open up the perimeter, where USC's top guns will be armed and ready to strike. Paige Hauschild was USC's top scorer last year, followed by Denise Mammolito, who is now a junior. Fellow junior Maud Megens also is back, standing out as one of the most dangerous scorers in the world. Add in the firepower of Alejandra Aznar, and head coach Jovan Vavic likes what he's seeing on the offensive end.Â
GETTING DEFENSIVE
On the opposite side of the pool, head coach Jovan Vavic also has growing confidence. No doubt that Cutino Award winner Amanda Longan looms large as arguably the best goalie in collegiate waters. She has two rising proteges alongside her in redshirt sophomore Holly Parker and freshman Erin Tharp. That trio will back up what is becoming a strong defensive corps, where Hauschild has already proven herself as a relentless defender. So, too, does freshmen Bayley Weber and Mireia Guiral stand to make a defensive impact alongside returning defensive-savvy Trojans Randi Reinhardt and Denise Mammolito.
2019 TROJANS AT A GLANCE
In USC's arsenal for 2019 are the MPSF Player and Newcomer of the Year in Amanda Longan and Paige Hauschild, not to mention MPSF and National Coach of the Year Jovan Vavic, who is at the helm of the USC program for the 25th season. Both Longan and Hauschild were First Team All-Americans, while Longan also reigned supreme as the Peter J. Cutino Award winner. And yes, they both are back. Alongside them are two other All-Americans in juniors Denise Mammolito and Maud Megens, who further highlight a grand total of 11 returning Trojans who were on the NCAA roster in 2018. Gone are three All-Americans who take with them two NCAA championship rings in Brianna Daboub, Victória Chamorro and Hayley McKelvey, but Vavic has great faith in the power of his returners — and his new crop of Trojan talent.USC has three new international players capped up for their first action as Trojans this year, along with a set of talented California products who stand out in the Trojan freshman class. Australian import Tilly Kearns is joined by Spaniards Alejandra Aznar and Mireia Guiral as the newest Women of Troy. That trio along with U.S. Junior National Team members Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber add a fresh depth charge to the USC gameplan.
LAST SEASON
In 2018, the Trojans ended the year on a 16-game win streak while capturing the program's sixth national championship and third title in six years. USC won the 2018 MPSF Tournament crown after a 13-10 semifinal win over UCLA and then a 13-12 overtime victory over top-seeded Stanford. USC then set up as host of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, and the Trojans took out Wagner 12-5 in the quarterfinals and beat UCLA 10-6 in the semis to face off against Stanford once again. There, the Trojans gutted out a 5-4 victory to win it all in home waters. USC finished the year 26-1 overall. Freshman Paige Hauschild was USC's top scorer in 2018 with 68 goals. She'd be named the MPSF Newcomer of the Year and a Cutino Award finalist. The Cutino Award honors would go to her Trojan teammate, as junior goalie Amanda Longan earned USC's eighth Cutino Award. She also was the National and MPSF Player of the Year, while Jovan Vavic was the National and MPSF Coach of the Year. Longan and Haushild were joined by sophomore Maud Megens as First Team All-Americans, while Brianna Daboub was named to the Second Team, Hayley McKelvey was on the Third Team, and Denise Mammolito earned All-America Honorable Mention.•
Â
USC is off to an undefeated start to 2019 as the Trojans set up their defense of the 2018 national championship. Now 6-0 on the year, USC is off to a doubleheader day at the CBU Mini Invitational in Riverside this weekend. On Saturday (Jan. 26), the Trojans will take on Concordia at 12:45 p.m. before a 2 p.m. faceoff with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps out at Cal Baptist in Riverside, Calif.
USC IN THE RANKINGS
USC kicked off 2019 ranked No. 1 in the national preseason poll and selected at No. 1 in the MPSF preseason poll. As of the Week 2 rankings, the Trojans remain at No. 1 in the land.
SCOUTING CONCORDIA
This will be the 2019 season opener for the Eagles, who went 6-18 overall last year. In a series dating back to 2012, USC is 3-0 all-time against the Eagles after posting a 28-1 win in the teams' last meeting in 2017.
SCOUTING CMS
This will be the 2019 season opener for the Athenas, who went 18-10 overall last year. In a series dating back to 1995, USC is 6-1 all-time against the Athenas after posting a 27-2 win in the teams' last meeting in 2006.
LAST WEEK
USC tore through six opponents at last week at then UCSB Winter Invitational, amassing almost 100 goals and allowing just 19 as the Trojans opened up 6-0 for their 2019 campaign. Nineteen Trojans got to the back of the net in all, with six USC newcomers plugging in their first career goals as Trojans. Maud Megens was USC's top scorer with 14 goals in across the six wins, while freshman Tilly Kearns was No. 2 on the scoring list with 11 in the winning week'd work. Along the way, senior goalie Amanda Longan recorded a new career high -- and the second most saves ever by a USC goalie -- with 19 stops in USC's season-opening victory over Cal Baptist. At the end of the event, Megens would pick up the season's first honors as the MPSF Player of the Week for her 14-goal effort, which included multiple-goal outings in five of USC's six games in Santa Barbara.
CLIMB ON
As the 2019 season gets underway, the Trojans already have players climbing the career charts. With her fifth goal at the UCSB Winter Invitational, junior Maud Megens tallied her 100th career goal as a Trojan on Jan. 18. After adding to that tally at the event, Megens now ranks No. 27 all-time at USC in scoring with 109 career goals. On the defensive end, senior goalie Amanda Longan entered her senior season ranked No. 3 all-time at USC in career saves. She'd haul in a career-high 19 saves in USC's season opener to tally the second most single-game saves by a Trojan, and the senior now grips 629 career saves.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now six games in to 2019, USC has outscored opponents 96-19. Junior Maud Megens is the Trojans' top scorer to date with 14 goals,. Behind her on the 2019 scoresheet sits true freshman Tilly Kearns with 11 goals to date, followed by sophomore Paige Hauschild with 9 and junior Denise Mammolito with 8. A trio of freshmen — Alejandra Aznar, Mireia Guiral and Bayley Weber — are just a step behind with seven goals apiece. On the defensive end, two goalies have checked into the cage to date. Senior Amanda Longan has logged minutes in four games, averaging 13.7 saves and 3.42 goals-against per game. She also boasts the second most single-game saves by a Trojan, having made a career-high 19 stops vs. Cal Baptist on Jan. 19. Redshirt sophomore Holly Parker has stepped in in three games, averaging 9.6 saves and just 2.8 goals-against per game to date. The Trojan defense has rendered opponents silent in at least one period of play in five different games while accumulating a grand total of 10 shutout periods this season so far. Overall, USC is averaging 16.0 goals per game on the offensive end and is allowing just 4.75 goals-against per game defensively.Â
SEASON OPENER
Against Cal Baptist in the Trojans' 2019 season opener, USC tacked up the first five goals of the game — all from the hands of newcomers. The first goal of the year came from Mireia Guiral, whose fellow Spaniard Alejandra Aznar drilled three goals in that 5-0 start. Fellow freshman Grace Tehaney also got to the back of the net in that surge before another freshman — Bayley Weber scored her first of a first-period hat trick to help USC along to a 10-2 lead after eight minutes of action. That 10th goal was also served up by a fresh face in Tilly Kearns, while the final two of the day came from new Trojans as well. Freshmen Sophia Lucas and Claire Haas would tally their first career USC goals in their first appearances in Cardinal and Gold to get in on the winning start to 2019. Aznar finished up with five goals to lead the pack, while junior Maud Megens plugged in four. Freshmen Tehaney and Weber had a hat trick apiece in that opening win over Cal Baptist.
BACK-TO-BACK BATTLE
For almost a decade now, there's been a fierce title tug-of-war between two teams. The claim to the NCAA women's water polo championship has gone to either USC or Stanford for the past nine seasons. For every tug in the Trojan direction — there's been four titles won by USC in that stretch — the Cardinal have grabbed ahold the next year. At the end of the line this season is a chance for the USC women to do what they've never done before — to claim back-to-back national championships.Â
ON YOUR LEFT
Alejandra Aznar's addition bumps USC's set of left-handed shooters to four, with fellow freshman Grace Tehaney also wielding a deft left hand, while returning lefties Verica Bakoc and Sabrina Garabet are already proven sharpshooters.Â
SET DEPTH
USC has also brought in reinforcements at 2-meters. The Trojans now have three true centers at the ready in newcomers Mireia Guiral and Tilly Kearns and sophomore Nina Ceklic. Courtney Fahey and Kaylee Brownsberger also were in the mix at set last year.
PERIMETER POWER
A powerful presence at set can open up the perimeter, where USC's top guns will be armed and ready to strike. Paige Hauschild was USC's top scorer last year, followed by Denise Mammolito, who is now a junior. Fellow junior Maud Megens also is back, standing out as one of the most dangerous scorers in the world. Add in the firepower of Alejandra Aznar, and head coach Jovan Vavic likes what he's seeing on the offensive end.Â
GETTING DEFENSIVE
On the opposite side of the pool, head coach Jovan Vavic also has growing confidence. No doubt that Cutino Award winner Amanda Longan looms large as arguably the best goalie in collegiate waters. She has two rising proteges alongside her in redshirt sophomore Holly Parker and freshman Erin Tharp. That trio will back up what is becoming a strong defensive corps, where Hauschild has already proven herself as a relentless defender. So, too, does freshmen Bayley Weber and Mireia Guiral stand to make a defensive impact alongside returning defensive-savvy Trojans Randi Reinhardt and Denise Mammolito.
2019 TROJANS AT A GLANCE
In USC's arsenal for 2019 are the MPSF Player and Newcomer of the Year in Amanda Longan and Paige Hauschild, not to mention MPSF and National Coach of the Year Jovan Vavic, who is at the helm of the USC program for the 25th season. Both Longan and Hauschild were First Team All-Americans, while Longan also reigned supreme as the Peter J. Cutino Award winner. And yes, they both are back. Alongside them are two other All-Americans in juniors Denise Mammolito and Maud Megens, who further highlight a grand total of 11 returning Trojans who were on the NCAA roster in 2018. Gone are three All-Americans who take with them two NCAA championship rings in Brianna Daboub, Victória Chamorro and Hayley McKelvey, but Vavic has great faith in the power of his returners — and his new crop of Trojan talent.USC has three new international players capped up for their first action as Trojans this year, along with a set of talented California products who stand out in the Trojan freshman class. Australian import Tilly Kearns is joined by Spaniards Alejandra Aznar and Mireia Guiral as the newest Women of Troy. That trio along with U.S. Junior National Team members Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber add a fresh depth charge to the USC gameplan.
LAST SEASON
In 2018, the Trojans ended the year on a 16-game win streak while capturing the program's sixth national championship and third title in six years. USC won the 2018 MPSF Tournament crown after a 13-10 semifinal win over UCLA and then a 13-12 overtime victory over top-seeded Stanford. USC then set up as host of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, and the Trojans took out Wagner 12-5 in the quarterfinals and beat UCLA 10-6 in the semis to face off against Stanford once again. There, the Trojans gutted out a 5-4 victory to win it all in home waters. USC finished the year 26-1 overall. Freshman Paige Hauschild was USC's top scorer in 2018 with 68 goals. She'd be named the MPSF Newcomer of the Year and a Cutino Award finalist. The Cutino Award honors would go to her Trojan teammate, as junior goalie Amanda Longan earned USC's eighth Cutino Award. She also was the National and MPSF Player of the Year, while Jovan Vavic was the National and MPSF Coach of the Year. Longan and Haushild were joined by sophomore Maud Megens as First Team All-Americans, while Brianna Daboub was named to the Second Team, Hayley McKelvey was on the Third Team, and Denise Mammolito earned All-America Honorable Mention.•
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USC Water Polo's Emily Ausmus | Trojans Live 3.24.25
Monday, March 24
Women's Water Polo - Stanford 8, USC 3: Highlights (5/10/24)
Friday, May 10
Julia Janov - 2024 NCAA Women's Water Polo Banquet speech
Thursday, May 09
Women's Water Polo - Stanford 12, USC 11: Highlights (4/28/24)
Sunday, April 28
