Top Seeded Women’s Water Polo Heads To MPSF Tournament

Saturday, April 11

12:45 p.m.

USC

MPSF Tournament

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Photo by: John McGillen

Top Seeded Women’s Water Polo Heads To MPSF Tournament

April 08, 2026 | Women's Water Polo

Championship Central | Ticket Information | Live Stats | Live Stream

LOS ANGELES – The Trojans are hitting their stride, riding an 11 game win streak into the postseason. USC defeated crosstown rival No. 3 UCLA to go undefeated in conference play

Schedule
Saturday - Winner of No. 4 California and No. 5 Arizona State - 12:45 p.m.
Sunday - TBD - 12:45 p.m. OR 2:30 p.m.

Championship Seeding

USC (21-2, 6-0)
Stanford (11-1, 5-1)
UCLA (18-3, 4-2)
California (13-5, 3-3)
Arizona State (24-5, 2-4)
Indiana (15-8, 1-5)
San Jose State (7-15, 0-6)

Last Time Out
USC battled back from an early deficit and used a strong second-half push to take control in a rivalry win over UCLA. The Trojans struck first behind Ava Stryker after winning the opening sprint, but UCLA answered with three straight goals to lead 3-1 after the first.

The Trojans responded in the second quarter, finding their rhythm offensively. Emily Ausmus converted a penalty to spark the run, and Alma Yaacobi followed to even the score at 3-3. USC continued to capitalize on opportunities, with Stryker scoring on a 6-on-5 and Ausmus adding a counterattack goal to give USC a 5-4 lead at halftime.

In the third, the teams traded goals in a tight frame. Rachel Gazzaniga opened the scoring for USC, and Ausmus added another on a power play after Maggie Johnson drew the exclusion. Backed by key saves from Anna Reed, USC held a narrow 7-6 advantage heading into the fourth.

USC took control in the final period with a decisive stretch in transition. Stryker, Natalia Blazevic, Yaacobi, and Ausmus all found the back of the cage as the Trojans built a four-goal cushion. Reed anchored the defense during UCLA's push, helping USC maintain separation.

UCLA made a late run, scoring three of the final four goals, but USC closed it out behind late scores from Gazzaniga and Ausmus, including a penalty conversion, to secure the crosstown win.

Road to the MPSF Tournament
USC enters the MPSF Tournament as the No. 1 team in the nation, continuing a dominant run with an undefeated record in MPSF play (6-0) while also remaining perfect both at home (5-0) and on the road (8-0). The Trojans have proven themselves against top competition with six wins over top-five opponents this season. Offensively, USC ranks among the conference's best in assists, led by Maggie Johnson with 44 and Meghan McAninch with 42, who both sit in the top two in the MPSF. The Trojans also have three players on the Cutino Award Watch List with Emily Ausmus, Ava Stryker, and Rachel Gazzaniga. Defensively, USC has held opponents to single-digit scoring in 11 games this year, anchored by goalkeeper Anna Reed, while the offense has tallied 400 total goals on the season.

History
The Trojans and California Bears most recently met on March 28, 2026 at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center, where USC earned a 14–10 victory over the No. 4 Bears. The two teams also faced off earlier in the season on February 15, 2026, when the Trojans secured a 15–12 win over No. 4 California to place third at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational.

USC's first stop on its spring break trip was in Tempe, Ariz. to take on the ASU Sun Devils. The Trojans earned a 21-17 victory in an offensive showdown over the No. 5 Sun Devils.

Rankings
With the win over Stanford, the Trojans jumped to become the No. 1 ranked team by the CWPA and have held the top spot for three straight weeks. The Women of Troy remain ranked No. 1 heading into the MPSF tournament.

Trio Of Trojans
Three members of the USC women's water polo team were named to the Cutino Award Watch List as announced by the Olympic Club. Emily Ausmus was named to the list for the second straight season and was joined by first time honorees Ava Stryker and Rachel Gazzaniga. The watch list, which is named in honor of the late Hall of Fame coach, recognizes the best player in men's and women's college water polo. This watch list was created in 2022 in an effort to help promote the collegiate game, awareness of the award and the tremendous play of athletes across the country. Twenty athletes, as submitted by varsity college coaches around the country, are recognized for their outstanding play.

MPSF Weekly Awards
Five different USC players have garnered MPSF weekly honors throughout the season. Most recently, Emily Ausmus and Natalia Blazevic earned weekly honors following the win over No. 3 UCLA, with Ausmus named MPSF/Defina Player of the Week and Blazevic tabbed Newcomer of the Week. USC is tied for the most player of the week honorees and is the lone program to have three different players receive the recognition. Emily Ausmus has been named the Player of the Week twice this season with Ava Stryker and Meghan McAninch each being recognized once. USC is also the only team to have two different players earn Newcomer of the Week Honors, with EJ Hourigan (Feb. 10 and Mar. 31) and Natalia Blazevic (Apr. 7) both receiving the award this season.

MPSF Top Ten
In overall MPSF games, the Women of Troy continue to show up across the board in the conference's top five. Emily Ausmus ranks first in field blocks (15), third in goals (65), fourth in points (88), and third in performance indicator (126.9), while also placing second in steals (34) and third in sprint wins (20). Maggie Johnson leads the conference in assists (44), highlighting her role as USC's primary distributor. Meghan McAninch also ranks among the leaders, sitting second in assists (42), third in points (92), fifth in performance indicator (93.7), and fourth in sprint wins (19). Rachel Gazzaniga ranks fifth in earned exclusions (35), while Anna Reed stands third in saves (158) and fifth in steals (30), rounding out USC's presence on both ends of the pool.

In conference-only play, USC continues to place multiple players among the MPSF's top performers. Emily Ausmus ranks third in goals (20), second in points (28), and first in performance indicator (39.05), while also placing fourth in steals (9) and second in sprint wins (9). Maggie Johnson leads the conference in assists with 18, while Meghan McAninch ranks fifth in sprint wins (6). Rachel Gazzaniga ranks third in earned exclusions (15), and Anna Reed leads all goalkeepers with 44 saves while also ranking third in steals (10), continuing USC's strong showing in conference competition.

Automatic Ausmus
Emily Ausmus leads the Trojan scoring for the second consecutive season. The sophomore has 65 goals and is firing at a .650 clip. Ausmus has racked up 24 assists to give her 89 total points on the year. Just one season ago, the Riverside, Calif. Native became the fastest player in program history to reach 100 career goals and currently sits 13th with 179 total.

Don't Let McAninch Get Hot
Meghan McAninch is heating up at just the right time. The junior has the second most goals on the squad with 50 and leads the Women of Troy with 92 points. McAninch earned the first conference weekly honors of her career after being named the MPSF/Delfina Player of the Week following the win against Stanford. McAninch powered the Trojan offense in their wins over two top five opponents with 10 points across the two games. McAninch recorded a hat trick and two assists in the 14-13 victory over #5 Hawai'i and tacked on two sprint wins. She then brought that momentum into the pivotal conference matchup against #1 Stanford with a four goal performance and an assist to hand the Cardinal its first loss of the season by a score of 11-10.

Cage Command
Anna Reed has been the starting keeper for the Women of Troy throughout the season. The redshirt-sophomore has tallied four double digit save performances this season. Reed has also held opponents to single digit scoring in 11 outings. With 250 stops over two seasons, Reed sits 10th in program history for career saves.

All Out Attack
USC's scoring has been on fire in the 2026 campaign. Through the first six games, the Trojans tallied 20-plus goals in four contests. Emily Ausmus leads the way with 65 goals and 89 total points with Meghan McAninch close behind with 50 goals. 14 Women of Troy have surpassed the 10-goal mark this season.

Trojan Personnel
The 2026 squad will be led by two captains– sophomore attacker Emily Ausmus and senior attacker Maggie Johnson. Ausmus had a stellar start to her collegiate career, racking up a program single season record 114 goals. The Riverside, Calif. native had a team high 31 multiple-goal outings and was named a Cutino Award finalist along with a member of the All-America First Team, MPSF Newcomer of the Year, All-MPSF First Team, MPSF All-Tournament Team and MPSF All-Newcomer Team.

Johnson is in her third season as a captain for the USC women's water polo team. The senior out of La Jolla, Calif. scored 23 goals and recorded four multiple-goal outings. Johnson led the MPSF in assists with 58 to cap off a strong 2025 season.

All-American Returners
The Trojans return three All-Americans to the roster for the new year in Ausmus, Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker.

Gazzaniga was named to the All-America Third Team following a sophomore season in which she scored 46 goals. Gazzaniga posted 13 multiple-goal outings and tacked on 21 assists, 36 drawn exclusions and 34 steals.

Stryker recorded 72 goals, good for third on the team, in the 2025 season. An All-American Honorable Mention, Stryker had multiple goals in 23 games and tallied 41 steals.

New Kids On The Deck
Six newcomers joined a stacked squad for the 2026 campaign. Natalia Blazevic out of Vancouver, B.C. is the lone international freshman. Blazevic boasts international experience, competing as part of the Canadian Junior National Team at the 2024 PanAm Games.

The five other members of the incoming class all hail from California including three from Newport Beach. Ashley Kwan, Kara Carver, Kate Sloman, Payton Netherton and EJ Hourigan round out the group that looks to make an immediate impact for the Trojans.

International Experience
Alma Yaacobi, Sinia Plotz and Jelena Sarac competed at the 2026 European Aquatics Women's Water Polo Championship. Yaacobi competed with Israel who finished seventh. Sarac was a member of Team Serbia who finished 10th. Plotz was on Team Germany who placed 11th.

Ausmus, a 2024 Olympian, and McAninch competed with Team USA at the U20 World Championships in Salvador, Brazil over the summer. The pair returned to campus with gold medals as they helped the U.S. to its first U20 championship since 2015. Ausmus was named the MVP of the tournament after leading the team with 21 goals across six wins. McAninch was named Player of the Match in group play and scored six goals to help the United States win the title.

Sinia Plotz was Germany's top scorer at the 2025 FISU World University Games. Plotz served as team captain and helped lead the host country to victory. The senior utility player scored 13 goals across the event held in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, including a hat trick in the championship match.

Ausmus, Gazzaniga and Stryker all competed at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore for Team USA where the Americans reached the semifinal round.