USC • USC • USC • USC • USC • USC • USC • USC • USC • USC • USC • USC • University of Southern California 2012 Women’s Water Polo USC Sports Information 3501 Watt Way • Heritage Hall 103 • Los Angeles, CA 90089 Phone: (213) 740-8480 • FAX: (213) 740-7584 Water Polo Sports Information Director: Darcy Couch • email: [email protected] 2013 NCAA Championships — May 10-12, 2013 No. 1 USC Heads To Harvard For 2013 NCAA Tournament Top-seeded Women of Troy take aim at a fourth national championship this week in Boston. 2013 SCHEDULE/RESULTS THIS WEEK @USCWaterPolo Date Opponent Time/Result The USC women’s water polo team carry some winning momentum into its 10th straight NCAA Tourna- Feb. 9 @Cal State East Bay W 26-4 ment appearance this week. At 24-1 overall, the 2013 MPSF Tournament champs are seeded No. 1 in the @#17 Cal State Northridge W 9-2 eight-team field of contenders traveling to Harvard’s Blodgett Pool for competition May 10-12. The Wom- Feb. 10 @#7 San Diego State W 12-3 en of Troy are looking to claim their fourth national championship on this cross-country journey, hoping to @#5 Arizona State W 13-6 add the 2013 trophy to their 1999, 2004 and 2010 titles. USC (24-1) opens the 2013 tourney against No. Feb. 15 ^#11 Long Beach State W 9-1 8 Pomona-Pitzer (18-16) at 5:15 p.m. ET on Friday, May 10. No. 2 Stanford (27-2), the two-time defending ^Azusa Pacific W 29-4 national champion, will face No. 7 seed Iona; No. 3 seed UCLA (26-6) faces No. 6 seed Princeton (26-5); Feb. 16 ^at Cal Baptist W 22-3 ^Concordia W 24-6 and No. 5 seed UC San Diego (25-13) plays No. 4 seed Hawaii (21-9) at 7 p.m. The winners will advance to Feb. 23 %#18 Pacific W 14-2 May 11 semifinals rounds, with the 2013 national championship game set for May 12 at 5:15 p.m. ET at %#7 San Diego State W 17-5 Harvard’s Blodgett Pool. Feb. 24 %#3 UCLA W 11-10 NCAA TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: http://www.ncaa.com/sports/waterpolo-women/d1 %#1 Stanford W 13-10 March 2 at #5 California * W 10-5 USC IN THE RANKINGS March 9 #3 ARIZONA STATE * W 11-7 USC opened 2013 ranked No. 2 in the nation, and the Women of Troy took over the top spot after beating March 15 #10 SAN JOSE STATE * W 18-4 March 23 at #8 Hawai’i * W 15-7 Stanford in the UCI Invitational championship. The takeover marked the first time USC had been ranked March 30 at CSU Bakersfield * W 19-6 No. 1 in the nation since the conclusion of the vs. Brown W 16-5 2010 season. The Trojans stole the top spot All-Time Records vs. April 4 at #11 Loyola Marymount W 17-6 away from Stanford, which had been at No. 1 for almost a year, on Feb. 27. USC remained 2013 NCAA Teams April 6 at #7 UC Irvine W 11-3 THROUGH MAY 5, 2013 April 13 #2 STANFORD * L 6-4 at No. 1 for seven straight weeks until the USC’s Record April 19 at #4 UCLA * W 11-6 Cardinal grabbed an MPSF win over USC on April 26 &[7] CSU Bakersfield W 21-5 [Seed] Opponent W L (Streak) In NCAA Tourn. April 13, putting the Trojans back at No. 2 for [2] Stanford 26 27 (W1) 2-3 April 27 &[3] Arizona State W 11-5 two weeks until USC avenged its lone loss in April 28 &[1] Stanford W 11-7 [3] UCLA 21 44 (W3) 1-5 beating Stanford at the MPSF Championship. [4] Hawai’i 35 3 (W13) 3-0 NCAA Tournament (hosted by Harvard) The Trojans are now back on top as the No. 1 [5] UC San Diego 10 4 (W10) 0-0 May 10 $[8] Pomona-Pitzer 5:15 p.m. ET team in the nation. May 11 $TBD TBD [6] Princeton 2 0 (W2) 1-0 May 11 $TBD TBD NCAA NOTES [7] Iona 0 0 (--) 0-0 Home games in BOLD CAPS (at Uytengsu Aquatics Center) USC has won three national championships in [8] Pomona-Pitzer 4 0 (W4) 0-0 * MPSF game @ Triton Invitational (hosted by UC San Diego) program history, with the first coming in 1999 ^ Lancer Invitational (hosted by Cal Baptist) before the NCAA sponsored women’s water Overall NCAA Tournament Record*: 18-8 % UCI Invitational (hosted by UC Irvine) *NCAA Tournament began in 2001 & MPSF Tourn. (Berkeley, Calif.) polo. In 2004, the Trojans posted the first-ever $ NCAA Champs (Cambridge, Mass) undefeated season on the way to capturing (P-12) = televised by Pac-12 Networks PAST NCAA APPEARANCES (9) the 2004 NCAA title. USC’s third title came 2004: 1st place (2-0) 2009: 2nd place (2-1) in 2010 in a championship win over Stanford. def. Hartwick 12-4 def. Cal Lutheran 22-2 USC has since finished third in 2005 and 2007, def. Loyola Marymount 10-8 def. Hawai’i 17-5 placed second in 2006, 2008 and 2009 and lost to UCLA 5-4 2012, and was fourth in 2011. This year marks 2005: 3rd place (2-1) May 10-12 • Blodgett Pool (Boston, Mass.) 2010: CHAMPION (3-0) USC’s 10th consecutive NCAA appearance and def. Redlands 18-2 def. Marist 20-5 FIRST ROUND (Friday, May 10) lost to Stanford 5-4 10th overall, as the Trojans hold an 18-8 all- def. Loyola Marymount 10-6 Game 1 — [2] Stanford vs. [7] Iona 1:45 p.m. time record in NCAA tournament play. def. Hawai’i 11-6 def. Stanford 10-9 Game 2 — [3] UCLA vs. [6] Princeton 3:30 p.m. Game 3 — [1] USC vs. [8] Pomona-Pitzer 5:15 p.m. BRACKET BREAKDOWN 2006: 2nd place (2-1) 2011: 4th place (1-2) Game 4 — [4] Hawai’i vs. [5] UC San Diego 7 p.m. The top-seeded Trojans (24-1) earned their def. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 27-2 def. UC Irvine 14-9 def. Hawai’i 9-7 SEMIFINALS (Saturday, May 11) place in the tourney as the automatic bid lost to Stanford 8-4 Game 5 — Losers Game 1 & 2 1:45 p.m. out of the MPSF by winning the tournament lost to UCLA 9-8 lost to UCLA 6-5 Game 6 — Losers Game 3 & 4 3:30 p.m. championship in Berkeley. The rest of the 2007: 3rd place (2-1) 2012: 2nd place (2-1) Semifinal 1 — Winners Game 3 & 4 5:15 p.m. 2013 NCAA field includes two other MPSF def. Hartwick 20-5 def. Princeton 14-2 Semifinal 2 — Winners Game 1 & 2 7 p.m. teams -- No. 2 seed Stanford (27-2) and No. 3 lost to UCLA 7-6 def. UCLA 12-10 FINALS (Sunday, May 12) seed UCLA (26-6) -- awarded at-large berths, def. San Diego State 13-6 lost to Stanford 6-4 7th Place — Losers Game 5 & 6 12 p.m. along with the automatic bids won by confer- 5th Place — Winners Game 5 & 6 1:45 p.m. ence champions around the nation. Those 2008: 2nd place (2-1) 3rd Place — Semifinal Losers 3:30 p.m. seeded teams are: No. 4 Hawai’i (21-9, Big def. Michigan 12-3 Championship — Semifinal Winners 5:15 p.m. West Conference), No. 5 UC San Diego (25- def. Stanford 10-6 lost to UCLA 6-3 All Times Eastern — more — 2013 UNIVersITY OF SOUThern CALIFOrnIA WOMEN’S WATER POLO 13, Western Water Polo Association), No. 6 Princeton match, though, generating its most decisive win over (26-5, Collegiate Water Polo Association), No. 7 Iona Stanford since the 2010 season, when the Trojans went (21-8, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) and No. 8 Po- on to win the 2010 NCAA Championship. The Women of 2013 AWARDS mona-Pitzer (18-16, Southern California Intercollegiate Troy could do no wrong in the first frame, taking a quick MPSF Coach of the Year: Athletic Conference). lead on a sliding blast from Monica Vavic and adding Jovan Vavic to it with a skipper from Hannah Buckling. Those two THIS TIME LAST YEAR continued to provide plenty of firepower for the Trojan USC was the No. 3 seed into the 2012 NCAA Champion- MPSF Player of the Year: offense, blasting two apiece in the first frame around a Monica Vavic ships, held in San Diego. The Trojans opened up with a stinging skip shot from Kelly Mendoza to bump USC up powerful 12-10 win over No. 6 seeded Princeton to face 5-0. Buckling would end the day by scoring USC’s final All-MPSF First Team: rival UCLA in the semifinals. There, USC recorded its first goal of the game, going low corner on the Cardinal de- NCAA tournament win over the Bruins with a strong Monica Vavic fense to match her USC career best of four goals in the Flora Bolonyai 12-10 victory that launched the Trojans into their sixth game. Vavic had a hat trick by halftime, and Anni Espar NCAA title match. Defending champion Stanford was sliced in two goals to help drive the powerful Trojan of- Anni Espar able to hold off the Trojans in the final, however. Four fense out of reach of Stanford. On the defensive end, All-MPSF Second Team: different Trojans scored as USC pulled even at 4-4 in USC’s Flora Bolonyai hauled in nine saves in the game, the fourth frame, but Stanford got two to go down the including a block against a Stanford 5-meter penalty Kaleigh Gilchrist stretch to take the title with a 6-4 win over the Trojans.