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Photo by: Jenny Chuang
USC Men’s Water Polo On The Hunt For 11th National Championship
November 30, 2022 | Men's Water Polo
Trojans are off to Berkeley to open up the 2022 NCAA Tournament with a Thursday quarterfinal vs. Princeton.
THIS WEEK"Our sights are set on the ultimate prize…"#FightOn ✌️ pic.twitter.com/L9bdvmWC55
— USC Water Polo (@USCWaterPolo) December 3, 2022
The 2022 Trojans have secured their 18th consecutive NCAA appearance as champions of the MPSF Tournament. Now, top-ranked USC (18-6) makes its way to Berkeley to engage in action at the 2022 National Collegiate Championship, running Dec. 1-4 at Cal's Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Trojans open up their campaign for an 11th national championship with a quarterfinal clash against Princeton at 5 p.m. on Thursday (Dec. 1). A win there would put USC through to the semifinals against No. 2 seed UCLA at 4 p.m on Saturday (Dec. 3). The 2022 championship battle is set for 3 p.m .on Sunday (Dec. 4).
2022 NCAA Tournament
Spieker Aquatics Complex (Berkeley, Calif.)
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Opening Round: Saturday, Nov. 26
Princeton def. Fordham — 11-10 (OT)
Quarterfinals: Thursday, Dec. 1
LIVE STREAMS
[1] Cal — bye
[2] UCLA — bye
Q1: Pacific vs. UC Davis — 3 p.m.
Q2: Princeton vs. USC — 5 p.m.
Semifinals: Saturday, Dec. 3
LIVE STREAMS
[1] Cal vs. Q1 winner — 2 p.m.
[2] UCLA vs. Q2 winner — 4 p.m.
Championship: Sunday, Dec. 4
WATCH LIVE: ESPNU
Semifinal winners — 3 p.m.
Spieker Aquatics Complex (Berkeley, Calif.)
TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
Opening Round: Saturday, Nov. 26
Princeton def. Fordham — 11-10 (OT)
Quarterfinals: Thursday, Dec. 1
LIVE STREAMS
[1] Cal — bye
[2] UCLA — bye
Q1: Pacific vs. UC Davis — 3 p.m.
Q2: Princeton vs. USC — 5 p.m.
Semifinals: Saturday, Dec. 3
LIVE STREAMS
[1] Cal vs. Q1 winner — 2 p.m.
[2] UCLA vs. Q2 winner — 4 p.m.
Championship: Sunday, Dec. 4
WATCH LIVE: ESPNU
Semifinal winners — 3 p.m.
FOLLOW ALONG
Thursday's quarterfinal games will be streamed by Cal at pac-12.com/live/university-california-4. The NCAA semifinals will stream at ncaa.com/liveschedule, and the NCAA championship game will air on ESPNU. Live stats for all games can be found at scores.6-8sports.com.
RANKINGS
USC started the 2022 season ranked No. 2 in the national preseason poll and No. 3 in the preseason MPSF Coaches Poll. The Trojans were ranked No. 3 for the next two weeks. Ranked No. 5 for a stretch, USC edged up to rank No. 3 until taking over at No. 1 in the nation on Nov. 23. USC remains on top in the latest set of national rankings (released Nov. 30).
NCAA NOTES
Finalists in the NCAA race last year, the Trojans are making their 18th consecutive and 376th overall appearance in the national tournament. With 10 total crowns to its name on the men's side, 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. The Trojans are looking to claim their 11th title in 25 years, with the program's first-ever NCAA championship won in 1998. As a university, USC has won 134 national team championships, including 111 NCAA team titles. USC leads the nation in men's NCAA team titles with 85 to date.
THE CONTENDERS
The 2022 National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship involves a seven-team field, with two at-large teams and five automatic qualifiers as conference champions. The top two seeds are at-large selections out of the MPSF — top seeded host Cal and UCLA — have earned a place in the semifinal round, where they await winners of opening round games. The rest of the field is comprised of automatic qualifiers: MPSF champion USC, Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference champion Fordham, Golden Coast Conference champion Pacific, Northeast Water Polo Conference champion Princeton and Western Water Polo Association champion UC Davis.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
Last season, USC carried a 17-2 overall record into the NCAA Tournament after picking up the top seed with an at-large berth following the Trojans' third-place finish at the 2021 MPSF Tournament. As the No. 1 seed, USC went straight to the semifinals, where it would face UC Davis after the Aggies won their opening round match. The Trojans beat UC Davis 11-8 in the semis to move into the NCAA championship bout against Cal. In a dramatic title match that featured 10 ties and five lead changes, USC was edged out by a last-minute goal by California. The Golden Bears took the lead with 28 ticks to go, and the Trojans' last-ditch effort was blocked to avert overtime and see Cal claim the 2021 national championship with a 13-12 decision in Westwood. At the close of the event, USC had Hannes Daube, Jacob Mercep and Ashworth Molthen named to the NCAA All-Tournament First Team, and goalie Nic Porter was named to the NCAA All-Tournament Second Team. The tournament marked Marko Pintaric's third NCAA trip and second NCAA final appearance as head coach of the Trojans, who finished the year at 18-3 overall.
MPSF CHAMPS
USC never trailed from start to finish in the 2022 MPSF Tournament, securing an 18th consecutive NCAA berth with 14-10 win over Stanford in the MPSF championship bout. It was the first MPSF tournament title won by the Trojans since 2017 and first under head coach Marko Pintaric. USC posted a perfect 7-0 mark the Trojans' home waters of Uytengsu Aquatics Center this year. Massimo Di Martire and Jake Ehrhardt served up four goals apiece, and goalie Kyle McKenney made nine saves to help back up USC's run to the Trojans' 12th MPSF title. In the semis against the Bruins, USC constructed a sizable lead over No. 2 UCLA and successfully fended off the Bruins' efforts to battle back as the Trojans captured a key 12-11 win. Every goal proved crucial for the Trojans owing to the Bruins' late-game push. Still, the big numbers came from Carson Kranz and Ehrhardt, who fired in three goals apiece for the Trojan cause. Tony Nardelli's second goal of the game notched USC's all-important 12th, as Nardelli's tip-in was followed by three UCLA goals to carve the margin to one. Key saves from USC goalie McKenney squashed a couple late looks by the Bruins, as McKenney finished with eight saves for USC. In the opening game, the Trojans posted with a 30-3 win over Austin College in the quarterfinals. The 27-goal margin was the largest of the four games played that day and featured career-high efforts by four Trojans — six each from Tony Nardelli and Max Miller, four from Tom McGuire and two by freshman Evan Ausmus. At the close of the event, captain Jake Ehrhardt wasnamed Tournament MVP and was joined by teammates Ashworth Molthen, Massimo Di Martire and Kyle McKenney on the 2022 MPSF All-Tournament Team.
BY THE NUMBERS
Massimo Di Martire leads USC's scoring charge with 55 goals, followed by 51 from Jake Ehrhardt, 42 from Ashworth Molthen and 32 from Marcus Longton. On the defensive end, four goalies have seen time in the cage, with redshirt sophomore Blake Jackson and grad student Kyle McKenney logging the majority of the minutes. McKenney has recorded three double-digit saves outings so far, with Jackson hauling in a career-high 13 in USC's OT win over Long Beach State. Redshirt freshman Eric Hubner became the third USC goalie this season to tally a double-digit save outing, setting his career high with 14 saves vs. Navy on Sept. 25. All told, USC's goalkeeping corps is averaging 8.9 saves per game. As a team, USC has outscored its opponents 350-215 for an average of 14.6 goals per game offensively and 9.0 goals-against per game defensively. The USC defense has held opponents scoreless in 13 periods, including a complete shutout of Concordia, which was shared by Jackson and Hubner on Sept. 3.
MASSIMO'S TRIPLE THREAT
USC grad student Massimo Di Martire hauled in four of USC's six MPSF Newcomer of the Week awards. His first came on Sept. 12 after a dramatic victory in USC's home opener, where the Italian newcomer was the driving force in USC's overtime win over Long Beach State. He had a key hand in two more Trojan victories over that weekend to help his cause in claiming his first collegiate award from the MPSF. Di Martire set his career high with a six-goal outburst in USC's 14-10 overtime win over No. 7 Long Beach State. It was the most goals scored by a Trojan in a single game so far this season. His third goal of the day was the score that forced overtime, where he'd add three more goals for USC as the Trojans took control in OT. Di Martire also tallied four steals and had an assist in the comeback win over the Beach. The next day at the Inland Empire Classic, Di Martire had four assists in a 21-12 win at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and then had a goal and three assists in USC's 19-8 win over Pomona-Pitzer. Two weeks later, he replicated that effort after tallying 11 goals at the MPSF Invite. Di Martire scored in all four games at the Invite, topping out with four goals in a 13-12 semifinal loss to No. 2 UCLA, where he also had an assist and two steals. Di Martire opened the event with three goals and a steal in USC's 17-8 win over No. 16 Fordham, followed by two goals, three assists, two blocks and a steal against No. 6 UC Davis to take a place in the semis with an 11-9 win. In the third-place game vs. No. 1 Cal, Di Martire scored twice and had a block and a steal in USC's 11-10 loss. On Oct. 10, Di Martire claimed his third award after putting forth another impressive effort to help pace USC to its ninth straight home victory last weekend. He was 2-for-2 shooting and added two assists and a steal in USC's 18-7 win over San José State. Both his goals and one assist came in the first period of play during a three-goal USC scoring rally to take the lead for good against the Spartans. Di Martire's fourth pick came on Oct. 31 after he scored four goals and added two assists in USC's 19-14 comeback win over Stanford. His first three goals pulled USC back to tie the Cardinal. His first assist helped tie it again at 10-10 in the third, and he'd add another assist and his fourth goal during the fourth frame as USC pressed ahead of the Cardinal for the MPSF win. Di Martire continues to lead the Trojans in scoring, now with 55 goals on the year
AND A FRESHMAN MAKES FOUR
USC secured its fourth consecutive MPSF West Newcomer of the Week award — this one care of true freshman Andrej Grgurevic on Oct. 3. His win followed two by grad student Massimo Di Martire and one by redshirt freshman Eric Hubner this season. Grgurevic extended his scoring streak to seven straight games while setting a career high for himself with a hat trick in USC's 10-6 comeback win at No. 8 UC Santa Barbara. His back-to-back goals in the third period pulled USC even and then gave the Trojans a lead they would not relinquish. Grgurevic also nabbed five steals and drew an exclusion in the road win. Against No. 9 UC Irvine, Grgurevic earned three exclusions and scored another goal for the Trojans in their 16-10 home win over the Anteaters. A native of Sydney, Australia, Grgurevic is USC's top-scoring true freshman this season with 20 goals scored to date.
HUBNER'S HAUL
USC scored a second straight MPSF Newcomer of the Week award with redshirt freshman Eric Hubner's pick as a winner on Sept. 19. The goalie had a breakout performance in USC's win against Navy, making a name for himself while also taking a spot in the history books. In his first full game in goal as a Trojan, Hubner blocked two 5-meter penalty shots on the way to a 14-save performance in USC's 14-5 win over No. 20 Navy at the Aggie Roundup. Hubner also became the first USC goalie on record to score a goal as he struck from distance in the first period to lift USC to a 3-1 lead. Hubner's 14 saves vs. the Midshipmen were the most in a game by a USC goalie this season.
ON THE RISE
Now in his fifth season with the Trojans, Jake Ehrhardt continues his climb up the career scoring charts. With 42 goals this year, Ehrhardt has moved up to rank No. 7 all-time, now with 175 career goals. That puts him four goals shy of climbing to No. 6 in the USC history books.
BACK FOR MORE
Two All-Americans — Jake Ehrhardt and Ashworth Molthen — both return from that 2021 roster, which also featured All-MPSF honoree Carson Kranz. In all, USC's arsenal includes savvy seniors Marcus Longton and Chris Sturtevant. Ehrhardt and Sturtevant serve as USC's team captains, leading a 30-player Trojan roster boasting balance, talent and determination to bring the program its 11th national championship. Last season, Ehrhardt, Molthen, Longton and Kranz all logged at least 20 goals for the Trojan cause, and their firepower will be key to USC's gameplan in 2022. They'll have plenty of support, too. Savvy perimeter scoring prowess also returns in the hands of Sturtevant, Chris Agliozzo, Luka Brnetic, Jake Carter, Tom McGuire and Joshua Waldoch, while the offensive grunt work at two-meters falls largely on the muscle of Max Miller and Tony Nardelli.
INTERNATIONAL TRAVELERS
Jake Ehrhardt has four seasons of experience with the Trojans, having been a freshman when USC won its most recent NCAA crown in 2018. He also has U.S. National Team experience — although he is not alone. Redshirt senior Ashworth Molthen also has been a member of Team USA, and junior Carson Kranz represented the United States at the 2021 FINA Junior World Championship. Additionally, three newcomers saw international action at the recent FINA Youth World Championships, where freshmen Evan Ausmus and Bernardo Herzer played for the USA, and freshman Andrej Grgurevic capped up for Australia.
NEW CREW
USC's incoming reinforcements are headlined by Italian import Massimo Di Martire, who also has National Team experience and who has joined the Trojans as a grad student. And in addition to Ausmus, Grgurevic and Herzer, USC's true freshmen are primed to shine. Lefties Charlie Saunders and Jack Vort pair well with the two-meter power of Zac Crenshaw. Meanwhile, fans can expect to see more of returners Reed Stemler, Henry Saunders and Aidan Wattson.
PINTA'S PROGRAM
Marko Pintaric, who has been part of 14 NCAA championships during his 21 years on the USC coaching staff, is in his fourth year at the helm of the Trojan water polo program. Last season on the men's side, he guided the Trojans to a 17th consecutive NCAA appearance, reaching the NCAA final for the 16th time in that span. Pintaric was named head coach of the USC men's and women's water polo teams on August 29, 2019, replacing former head coach Jovan Vavic. An All-American and 1998 NCAA champion as a player at USC, Pintaric served as co-head coach for the USC men for three seasons (2016-18), most recently helping the Trojans to the 2018 NCAA Championship. His USC coaching career began as an assistant coach to both the USC men and women in 2001. Pintaric stayed in a dual coaching role until NCAA rules for coaching staff sizes changed in 2015-16, prompting a move to a scouting director role with the women while his assistant coaching role continued with the men for the next four years.
LAST SEASON
The 2021 season was a return to normalcy as far as scheduling goes, following a 2020 season affected by coronavirus restrictions. Head coach Marko Pintaric's 2021 Trojans made yet another run to the NCAA final, making it 16 appearances in the title match in the last 17 seasons. USC posted an 18-3 overall record in taking third at the MPSF Tournament and making it through to the NCAA championship, where the Trojans fell 13-12 to Cal. At season's end, USC had six players earn ACWPC All-America honors in First Team picks Hannes Daube, Jacob Mercep and Nic Porter, Third Team honorees Jake Ehrhardt and Ashworth Molthen, and Honorable Mention recipient Wyatt Barker. •
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