Friday, March 1
Claremont, Calif.
11:30 AM
USC
vs
Villanova
Players Mentioned
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
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/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
DEF
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
DEF
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
Photo by: Katie Chin
No. 4 USC Women’s Water Polo Faces Four More In Claremont
February 28, 2024 | Women's Water Polo
Trojans take on Villanova and CMS on Friday and face Pomona-Pitzer and Pacific on Saturday.
THIS WEEK
No. 4 USC's next competition takes the Trojans (8-3) to the Convergence Tournament in Claremont, Calif. There, they'll face Villanova at 11:30 a.m. and then take on host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 2 p.m. on Friday (March 1). On Saturday (March 2), USC pays a visit to Pomona-Pitzer in an 11:45 a.m. clash before facing No. 17 Pacific at 2:15 p.m.
RANKINGS
USC opened up 2024 tied at No. 1 in the national rankings. After the first week of action, the Trojans stood alone at the top. In the latest round of rankings (released Feb. 28), USC currently stands at No. 4 in the nation.
LAST ACTION
USC went 3-1 at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational last week to finish in fifth place at the event.
FIFTH-PLACE GAME: #5 USC 12, #3 Fresno State 9
USC avenged an earlier loss to the Bulldogs as eight different Trojans scored, led by hat tricks from Alejandra Aznar and Rachel Gazzaniga, while goalie Carolyne Stern hauled in 10 saves on the defensive end. Aznar had her hat trick in place by halftime to help USC lead it 7-6 at the break. The Trojans had trailed for a moment, down 4-3 on back-to-back Bulldog goals before Aznar's second strike of the day knotted it at 4-4. Gazzaniga delivered her second to open the second for the go-ahead goal, and then Stern came up big in snuffing a series of Fresno State looks. Isabel Zimmerman and Aznar wrapped goals around a 6-on-5 finish by the Bulldogs, although Fresno State struck on a 5-meter penalty shot before halftime to make it that 7-6 margin. Stern kept stepping up in the second half, making back-to-back blocks to help set up a USC offensive rally. Gazzaniga, Julia Janov and Ava Stryker punched up a 3-0 run for USC while the defense silenced Fresno State to claim a 10-6 lead entering the fourth. Fresno State found goals in the final frame, but USC clicked off scores from Hannah Meyer and Morgan Netherton to keep the Trojans in control for the 12-9 final.
CONSOLATION SEMI: #5 USC 12, #10 UC Irvine 9
Stryker had a hat trick in place by the close of the first period as USC led it 4-2 early on. The Anteaters closed in and were within one at halftime, 5-4, before scoring back-to-back goals to take its first lead during the third. USC responded with a three-goal outburst, with Meyer lighting the fuse and Aznar knocking in two to make it 8-6. UCI scored on a 6-on-5 before the end of the frame, and it was 8-7 USC entering the fourth. In that stretch, the referees whistled fourth penalty shots, with UCI given its third and fourth looks of the game from 5-meters. The game was tied up 9-9 with the Anteaters' third penalty make of the game, only to see USC net one from Stryker before a slam from Janov and a 6-on-5 finish from Stryker to lift USC ahead 12-9 with 1:05 to go. USC goalie Stern put a stop to UCI's final 5-meter penalty try, and the Trojans rounded out their sixth win of the season.
GROUP PLAY
#5 USC 12, #13 Indiana 10
It was an all-out battle in the first three frames. USC would grip a two-goal lead on two occasions in the first eight minutes thanks to the sure hand of Gazzaniga. She'd have her hat trick in place by halftime, but it was a one-goal game at that point with USC holding a 7-6 edge. The Hoosiers made a run in the third to take their first lead, scoring back-to-back goals before Meyer broke through to tie it up. Indiana had an answer for that, though, as well as a blast from Netherton, and USC was in a 10-9 hole entering the fourth. That's where senior Janov stepped up again, punching in a 5-meter penalty shot and then converting on a 6-on-5 to get USC back on top. Isabel Zimmerman sizzled in a score next for the Trojans, taking them out ahead 12-10 with 4:50 left to play. The USC defense held its ground the rest of the way, silencing the Hoosiers down the stretch to lock up the win.
#4 Stanford 12, #5 USC 7
In a morning matchup with the Cardinal, USC made the first moves and built out two-goal leads in the first frame with Stryker, Netherton, Janov and Meyer punching up goals to help the Trojans lead it 4-2 until Stanford got one back before the end of the first. Netherton struck again on a bar-in blast in the second to make it 5-3, and then Gazzaniga followed a Stanford score to lift USC ahead 6-4. With exclusions mounting on the Trojans, the Cardinal crawled back and would lead it 7-6 at halftime. Stanford would clamp down in the second half, though, shutting out USC in the third frame while scoring three, and then only Zimmerman would break through for USC in the fourth while Stanford moved on to claim a 12-7 final and steal the ticket to the semifinals.
NOTABLE:
- With 10 saves vs. Fresno State, USC SR goalie Carolyne Stern has recorded four double-digit save outings this season.
- Stern now ranks as USC's No. 5 all-time saves leader, now with 475 career saves.
- FR Rachel Gazzaniga leads USC in having scored in 10 games this season
- Gazzaniga also now leads USC in scoring with 22 goals this season.
- FR Ava Stryker has scored at least a goal in USC's last five games.
- USC's Gazzaniga, Stryker and SR Julia Janov each scored a team-high eight goals at this year's Barbara Kalbus Invitational.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 11 games deep into 2024, USC's balanced scoring charge is led by Rachel Gazzaniga with 22 goals, followed by Ava Stryker with 21, Julia Janov with 20 and Alejandra Aznar with 18. In all, 15 Trojans have scored at least one goal to date, including four with their first goals as Trojans. Defensively, three USC goalies have factored into the 8-3 start, led by senior Carolyne Stern. Stern is averaging 9.5 saves per game thanks in part to her four double-digit save outings this year. USC's other two goalies — Laine Hourigan and Jada Ward — are in their second season of action as Trojans. Overall, the group averages 8.9 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up just 7.9 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 136-87 so far, while holding teams scoreless in seven different periods to date.
OVERSEAS ACHIEVERS
International experience has been key to USC's development of versatile players. The USA pipeline has crafted a number of outstanding Trojans — past, present and future, including Team USA's Emily Ausmus, who deferred her freshman enrollment at USC in order to train for the 2024 Olympics. Many other U.S. pipeline products will be capped up for USC this season, including Morgan Netherton, Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker, who competed for the USA at Junior Worlds this past summer. Abigail Hendrix, Maggie Johnson, Meghan McAninch, Hannah Meyer, Carolyne Stern, Honnie Vandeweghe-O'Shea, and Isabel Zimmerman also have capped up for the USA at the Youth level. Outside of the United States, several returning Trojans have also gathered international experience with other nations — Alejandra Aznar (Spain), Julia Janov (Slovakia), Emma Lawson (Canada), Fanni Muzsnay (Hungary), Jelena Sarac (Serbia).
CENTER STAGE
USC is without one decorated Trojan international for 2024, as Olympian and Cutino Award finalist Tilly Kearns is training with Australia for the 2024 Olympic Games. That leaves a void at the center position for this season, but head coach Casey Moon has tapped into his handy toolkit in order to adjust. In addition to the proven work done at set by senior Hannah Meyer, Moon has eyes on incorporating newcomer national teamer Rachel Gazzaniga along with sophomore Alex Bonaguidi for increased action, with new addition Madison Haaland-Ford also in the mix at the center slot.
ON THE ATTACK
In the field, USC is fueled by an arsenal of attackers along with deft defenders to go along with its center play. Molly Glad, Abigail Hendrix, Emma Lawson, Jelena Sarac and Honnie Vandeweghe-O'Shea are tabbed for duty on the defensive end, while also set to take aim offensively from the perimeter. USC's onslaught of attackers features newcomers Meghan McAninch and Ava Stryker to go along with veterans Alejandra Aznar, Julia Janov and Fanni Muzsnay, who combined for 88 goals last season. As freshmen, attackers Maggie Johnson and Morgan Netherton pinned up a combine 34 goals. All versatile tools in Moon's box of tricks, the USC attacking core also includes Brooklyn Aguilera, Hannah Carver, Caitlin Cohen, Sally McCarthy, and Isabel Zimmerman.
BACK IN ACTION
USC boasts nine returners from USC's 2023 NCAA roster, which reached the NCAA final in the program's 19th straight trip to the postseason to finish with a 29-3 overall record. Maggie Johnson and Morgan Netherton were freshmen on that squad, bringing back key lessons learned along with the other seven members of the returning group that was on deck for that NCAA journey — Brooklyn Aguilera, Alejandra Aznar, Molly Glad, Abigail Hendrix, Hannah Meyer, Carolyne Stern, Honnie Vandeweghe-O'Shea, Jada Ward and Isabel Zimmerman.
CAPTAIN'S SALUTE
Goalie Carolyne Stern is joined by Julia Janov and Maggie Johnson as team captains for 2024. All were instrumental in USC's NCAA run last season, and Janov and Stern are now entering their fourth season playing together. That combined experience and leadership ability gives coach Moon the utmost confidence in his three captains, who are charged with setting the tone and the course for the Trojans in 2024.
CAGE FIGHTERS
A 2023 All-American, Carolyne Stern enters her final season between the pipes. She's been a steadying and reliable force in the cage for USC, thanks in part to the talented younger goalies in the water with her every day. Sophomore Jada Ward and redshirt sophomore Laine Hourigan both served as outstanding backups for Stern last year, and they are joined by two true freshmen this season in Anna Reed and Lauren Schneider to round out a formidable goalkeeping corps for the 2024 Trojans. In her first weekend of work, Stern surged to now rank as USC's No. 6 all-time saves leader, now with 403 career saves to her name as a Trojan.
LAST SEASON
In 2023, USC went 28-3 overall in a season that saw the Trojans make a 19th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. USC posted a perfect 6-0 mark in MPSF competition before taking second place in the MPSF Tournament and later reaching a fifth consecutive NCAA final, where USC lost to Stanford. At the close of the season, Tilly Kearns was selected as a finalist for the Peter J. Cutino Award for the second straight season. She also was a First Team All-American along with Paige Hauschild and Bayley Weber. They were joined by fellow All-Americans Carolyne Stern (Honorable Mention) and Grace Tehaney (Honorable Mention). Head coach Marko Pintaric was named MPSF Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season, and Weber was named MPSF Player of the Year. •
No. 4 USC's next competition takes the Trojans (8-3) to the Convergence Tournament in Claremont, Calif. There, they'll face Villanova at 11:30 a.m. and then take on host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 2 p.m. on Friday (March 1). On Saturday (March 2), USC pays a visit to Pomona-Pitzer in an 11:45 a.m. clash before facing No. 17 Pacific at 2:15 p.m.
RANKINGS
USC opened up 2024 tied at No. 1 in the national rankings. After the first week of action, the Trojans stood alone at the top. In the latest round of rankings (released Feb. 28), USC currently stands at No. 4 in the nation.
LAST ACTION
USC went 3-1 at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational last week to finish in fifth place at the event.
FIFTH-PLACE GAME: #5 USC 12, #3 Fresno State 9
USC avenged an earlier loss to the Bulldogs as eight different Trojans scored, led by hat tricks from Alejandra Aznar and Rachel Gazzaniga, while goalie Carolyne Stern hauled in 10 saves on the defensive end. Aznar had her hat trick in place by halftime to help USC lead it 7-6 at the break. The Trojans had trailed for a moment, down 4-3 on back-to-back Bulldog goals before Aznar's second strike of the day knotted it at 4-4. Gazzaniga delivered her second to open the second for the go-ahead goal, and then Stern came up big in snuffing a series of Fresno State looks. Isabel Zimmerman and Aznar wrapped goals around a 6-on-5 finish by the Bulldogs, although Fresno State struck on a 5-meter penalty shot before halftime to make it that 7-6 margin. Stern kept stepping up in the second half, making back-to-back blocks to help set up a USC offensive rally. Gazzaniga, Julia Janov and Ava Stryker punched up a 3-0 run for USC while the defense silenced Fresno State to claim a 10-6 lead entering the fourth. Fresno State found goals in the final frame, but USC clicked off scores from Hannah Meyer and Morgan Netherton to keep the Trojans in control for the 12-9 final.
CONSOLATION SEMI: #5 USC 12, #10 UC Irvine 9
Stryker had a hat trick in place by the close of the first period as USC led it 4-2 early on. The Anteaters closed in and were within one at halftime, 5-4, before scoring back-to-back goals to take its first lead during the third. USC responded with a three-goal outburst, with Meyer lighting the fuse and Aznar knocking in two to make it 8-6. UCI scored on a 6-on-5 before the end of the frame, and it was 8-7 USC entering the fourth. In that stretch, the referees whistled fourth penalty shots, with UCI given its third and fourth looks of the game from 5-meters. The game was tied up 9-9 with the Anteaters' third penalty make of the game, only to see USC net one from Stryker before a slam from Janov and a 6-on-5 finish from Stryker to lift USC ahead 12-9 with 1:05 to go. USC goalie Stern put a stop to UCI's final 5-meter penalty try, and the Trojans rounded out their sixth win of the season.
GROUP PLAY
#5 USC 12, #13 Indiana 10
It was an all-out battle in the first three frames. USC would grip a two-goal lead on two occasions in the first eight minutes thanks to the sure hand of Gazzaniga. She'd have her hat trick in place by halftime, but it was a one-goal game at that point with USC holding a 7-6 edge. The Hoosiers made a run in the third to take their first lead, scoring back-to-back goals before Meyer broke through to tie it up. Indiana had an answer for that, though, as well as a blast from Netherton, and USC was in a 10-9 hole entering the fourth. That's where senior Janov stepped up again, punching in a 5-meter penalty shot and then converting on a 6-on-5 to get USC back on top. Isabel Zimmerman sizzled in a score next for the Trojans, taking them out ahead 12-10 with 4:50 left to play. The USC defense held its ground the rest of the way, silencing the Hoosiers down the stretch to lock up the win.
#4 Stanford 12, #5 USC 7
In a morning matchup with the Cardinal, USC made the first moves and built out two-goal leads in the first frame with Stryker, Netherton, Janov and Meyer punching up goals to help the Trojans lead it 4-2 until Stanford got one back before the end of the first. Netherton struck again on a bar-in blast in the second to make it 5-3, and then Gazzaniga followed a Stanford score to lift USC ahead 6-4. With exclusions mounting on the Trojans, the Cardinal crawled back and would lead it 7-6 at halftime. Stanford would clamp down in the second half, though, shutting out USC in the third frame while scoring three, and then only Zimmerman would break through for USC in the fourth while Stanford moved on to claim a 12-7 final and steal the ticket to the semifinals.
NOTABLE:
- With 10 saves vs. Fresno State, USC SR goalie Carolyne Stern has recorded four double-digit save outings this season.
- Stern now ranks as USC's No. 5 all-time saves leader, now with 475 career saves.
- FR Rachel Gazzaniga leads USC in having scored in 10 games this season
- Gazzaniga also now leads USC in scoring with 22 goals this season.
- FR Ava Stryker has scored at least a goal in USC's last five games.
- USC's Gazzaniga, Stryker and SR Julia Janov each scored a team-high eight goals at this year's Barbara Kalbus Invitational.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 11 games deep into 2024, USC's balanced scoring charge is led by Rachel Gazzaniga with 22 goals, followed by Ava Stryker with 21, Julia Janov with 20 and Alejandra Aznar with 18. In all, 15 Trojans have scored at least one goal to date, including four with their first goals as Trojans. Defensively, three USC goalies have factored into the 8-3 start, led by senior Carolyne Stern. Stern is averaging 9.5 saves per game thanks in part to her four double-digit save outings this year. USC's other two goalies — Laine Hourigan and Jada Ward — are in their second season of action as Trojans. Overall, the group averages 8.9 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up just 7.9 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 136-87 so far, while holding teams scoreless in seven different periods to date.
OVERSEAS ACHIEVERS
International experience has been key to USC's development of versatile players. The USA pipeline has crafted a number of outstanding Trojans — past, present and future, including Team USA's Emily Ausmus, who deferred her freshman enrollment at USC in order to train for the 2024 Olympics. Many other U.S. pipeline products will be capped up for USC this season, including Morgan Netherton, Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker, who competed for the USA at Junior Worlds this past summer. Abigail Hendrix, Maggie Johnson, Meghan McAninch, Hannah Meyer, Carolyne Stern, Honnie Vandeweghe-O'Shea, and Isabel Zimmerman also have capped up for the USA at the Youth level. Outside of the United States, several returning Trojans have also gathered international experience with other nations — Alejandra Aznar (Spain), Julia Janov (Slovakia), Emma Lawson (Canada), Fanni Muzsnay (Hungary), Jelena Sarac (Serbia).
CENTER STAGE
USC is without one decorated Trojan international for 2024, as Olympian and Cutino Award finalist Tilly Kearns is training with Australia for the 2024 Olympic Games. That leaves a void at the center position for this season, but head coach Casey Moon has tapped into his handy toolkit in order to adjust. In addition to the proven work done at set by senior Hannah Meyer, Moon has eyes on incorporating newcomer national teamer Rachel Gazzaniga along with sophomore Alex Bonaguidi for increased action, with new addition Madison Haaland-Ford also in the mix at the center slot.
ON THE ATTACK
In the field, USC is fueled by an arsenal of attackers along with deft defenders to go along with its center play. Molly Glad, Abigail Hendrix, Emma Lawson, Jelena Sarac and Honnie Vandeweghe-O'Shea are tabbed for duty on the defensive end, while also set to take aim offensively from the perimeter. USC's onslaught of attackers features newcomers Meghan McAninch and Ava Stryker to go along with veterans Alejandra Aznar, Julia Janov and Fanni Muzsnay, who combined for 88 goals last season. As freshmen, attackers Maggie Johnson and Morgan Netherton pinned up a combine 34 goals. All versatile tools in Moon's box of tricks, the USC attacking core also includes Brooklyn Aguilera, Hannah Carver, Caitlin Cohen, Sally McCarthy, and Isabel Zimmerman.
BACK IN ACTION
USC boasts nine returners from USC's 2023 NCAA roster, which reached the NCAA final in the program's 19th straight trip to the postseason to finish with a 29-3 overall record. Maggie Johnson and Morgan Netherton were freshmen on that squad, bringing back key lessons learned along with the other seven members of the returning group that was on deck for that NCAA journey — Brooklyn Aguilera, Alejandra Aznar, Molly Glad, Abigail Hendrix, Hannah Meyer, Carolyne Stern, Honnie Vandeweghe-O'Shea, Jada Ward and Isabel Zimmerman.
CAPTAIN'S SALUTE
Goalie Carolyne Stern is joined by Julia Janov and Maggie Johnson as team captains for 2024. All were instrumental in USC's NCAA run last season, and Janov and Stern are now entering their fourth season playing together. That combined experience and leadership ability gives coach Moon the utmost confidence in his three captains, who are charged with setting the tone and the course for the Trojans in 2024.
CAGE FIGHTERS
A 2023 All-American, Carolyne Stern enters her final season between the pipes. She's been a steadying and reliable force in the cage for USC, thanks in part to the talented younger goalies in the water with her every day. Sophomore Jada Ward and redshirt sophomore Laine Hourigan both served as outstanding backups for Stern last year, and they are joined by two true freshmen this season in Anna Reed and Lauren Schneider to round out a formidable goalkeeping corps for the 2024 Trojans. In her first weekend of work, Stern surged to now rank as USC's No. 6 all-time saves leader, now with 403 career saves to her name as a Trojan.
LAST SEASON
In 2023, USC went 28-3 overall in a season that saw the Trojans make a 19th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. USC posted a perfect 6-0 mark in MPSF competition before taking second place in the MPSF Tournament and later reaching a fifth consecutive NCAA final, where USC lost to Stanford. At the close of the season, Tilly Kearns was selected as a finalist for the Peter J. Cutino Award for the second straight season. She also was a First Team All-American along with Paige Hauschild and Bayley Weber. They were joined by fellow All-Americans Carolyne Stern (Honorable Mention) and Grace Tehaney (Honorable Mention). Head coach Marko Pintaric was named MPSF Coach of the Year for the third consecutive season, and Weber was named MPSF Player of the Year. •
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
