 ESPN 710 has opened voting for its Southern California Sports Awards.
You may recall that a Trojan did pretty well at the LA Sports Council Awards this year. There's also a USC athlete up for the Sullivan Award (see below).
Among USC's five nomination listings from ESPN:
- College Female Team of the Year: A true Cinderella story, USC's women's soccer team finished second in the Pac-10 standings (20-3-2, 6-2-1), but first in the nation as it claimed its first ever, and the Pac-10's first-ever national nhampionship. ... Prior to this season, USC had never advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament ... Sophomore goalkeeper Kristin Olsen was named the tournament's most outstanding defensive player.
- College Male Team of the Year: The Trojans football team, under Pete Carroll, had another phenomenal season, finishing with a record of 11-2. That gave them the Pac-10 title, and a berth in the Rose Bowl, where they dominated Illinois, 49-17.
- Inspirational Athlete of the Year: Ricky Rosas; USC ... Volunteer 'Gatorade Bartender' and office aide, Ricky Rosas has assisted the USC football office for nearly two years. Rosas enjoys working with the program and attends nearly every practice and home football game with the Trojans.
- College Male Athlete of the Year: Sedrick Ellis, USC football ... Ellis played all 13 games for the Trojans and finished the season with 58 tackles, 8 1/2 sacks, seven deflections, two fumble recoveries, and one forced fumble. He was a unanimous choice on the 2007 all Pac-10 first team. Ellis was named USC's Co-MVP.
- College Female Athlete of the Year: Kristin Olsen, USC Soccer ... The USC goalkeeper collected 12 shutouts throughout the season. She was named the most outstanding defensive player of the NCAA Tournament, and she was named second team All American by Soccer Buzz and the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America.
To participate in voting, click here. You will have to register for the ESPN 710 VIP Club.
 USC sophomore golfer Jamie Lovemark has also picked up a big nomination -- for the Sullivan Award. The annual prize is presented to the nation's top amateur athlete. His profile in USA Today:
Lovemark, 20, of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., won the NCAA individual title as a freshman at Southern California last year. He also played on the victorious U.S. Walker Cup team, finishing 3-0 in his matches. Last spring he won the Pacific-10 individual title and led the Trojans to the team title.
To vote for this year's Sullivan Award (no registration needed), click here.
Women's Basketball - The Trojans recovered from a rough road trip by returning to the Galen Center and sweeping the Washington schools. USC is 11-1 at home. Against Washington State, the Women of Troy were led by Nadia Parker (23 points) and Heather Oliver (21 points), who both had career highs. The WSU game was on Think Pink day at USC, a tribute to raise awareness for breast cancer. It was also the Trojans' chance to host Coach June Daugherty, who has made a comeback this season after a different sort of medical crisis.
Women's Tennis - No. 8 USC fell in the consolation quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships this past weekend. It was the Trojans' third straight 4-3 decision, and came after a seven-hour match the night before. Top singles Lindsey Nelson and Amanda Fink won their matches.
Men's Tennis - The Trojans are 7-0 after downing No. 27 Boise State at home this weekend. They're head to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships ranked sixth in the nation.
Men's Volleyball - No. 9 USC has had one loss and one victory in all five weeks of league play, but last week's win was a sweep of rival UCLA -- pushing Troy even further ahead in the Lexus Gauntlet.
Golf - In men's action, sophomores Rory Hie and Jamie Lovemark tied for fifth individually at the UH-Hilo Intercollegiate in Waikoloa. During the tournament Hie shot a school record 62 on the par-70 course. The Women of Troy are competing at the Northrop Grumman Regional Challenge in Palos Verdes.
Swimming and Diving - USC's men's and women's squads both lost to No. 3 Stanford over the weekend in their final competition this season at McDonald's Swim Stadium. Next up, Pac-10 Championships.
Men's Water Polo - Watching #2 USC fall to #1 Cal by a score of 10-9 was surreal. It
wasn't that it was raining in the pool (what difference did that make,
really?), but that Cal is always a wacky place to watch sports. The
"It's all your fault!" chants directed at USC goalie Adam Shilling were
very Berkeley. The post-game celebration of Euro pop/trance and Pabst
Blue Ribbon was downright bizarre. The USC fan wearing a hybrid Ugg
boot/Shetland sheepdog was also out of place. As for the important part, USC dropped their second straight after opening the year 13-0 ... The Trojans saved face by hammering Pacific 14-9 the following day ... Matt Sagehorn had five goals on the weekend.
Women's Volleyball - The Women of Troy lost to Oregon and beat Oregon State. Asia Kaczor tied a school record with 8 aces and also had 22 kills against the Beavers ... USC fell from 6th to 8th in the rankings. They finish their home schedule this weekend against the Washington schools ... NCAA tournament selection is less than two weeks away.
Women's Basketball - The Trojans didn't trail against UCSB for the entire game -- until overtime. They wound up losing 69-63. Brynn Cameron got back on track after missing last season. She led the way with 18 points. Morghan Medlock (17) and Aarika Hughes (11) both had career scoring highs ... Camille LeNoir is expected back against Colorado this weekend.
Women's Cross Country - Sarah Cocco placed 18th at NCAA regionals and became the first freshman from USC to reach the NCAA championship meet. She's one of only four freshmen runners to make it without being a member of a qualifying team. The squad was 16th at regionals and will not advance.
Men's Golf - The Trojans are done until February. Last week the team finished third at the CordeValle Colligiate. Sophomore Rory Hie and freshman Tim Sluiter tied for ninth. Jamie Lovemark struggled with strep throat.
Swimming and Diving - The men slipped by Arizona State in their dual meet 150-149. Richard Gosper's 50 freestyle qualified as an NCAA consideration time. The women fell to the Sun Devils. Whitney Henson had a season best in the 500yd freestyle.
Lexus Gauntlet - USC and UCLA haven't gone head-to-head since last week, so it's still tied up. Did anybody notice that ESPN gave some love to the volleyball rivalry?
Women's Volleyball - USC took down UCLA over the weekend to even the season series. The Women of Troy are still undefeated at home since the opening match loss last year and are 3rd in the Pac-10 and ranked 6th nationally ... The win was coach Mick Haley's 700th as a D-1 women's coach and 100th in the Pac-10 (all league wins have been at USC).
Men's Tennis - The team of Robert Farah and Kaes Van't Hof were runners up in ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Tennis Championships, losing to top seed Virginia in the finals. The loss ended an eight-game winning streak. The pair is 13-3 on the year.
Women's Soccer - The Trojans beat Arizona, 3-1, and Arizona State, 1-0, at home this weekend. They're #4 nationally and #2 in the Pac-10, finishing undefeated at home for first time since 1995.
Baseball - The Cardinal and Gold series was extended to three games last week. The squad is now off until February ... Eric Chavez of the A's won a Gold Glove. He was a USC commit several years ago, but turned pro at the 11th hour.
Men's Golf - After two days USC was tied for 2nd overall, 10 shots overall behind UCLA, at CordeValle. Rory Hie fell from 7th to 2nd. Play continues Wednesday ... Jamie Lovemark is struggling due to illness.
Swimming and Diving - USC hosted the Trojan Diving Invitational over the weekend. Four divers qualified for Zone Championships pre-qualifier for nationals.
Women's Tennis - Amanda Fink and Gabriela Niculescu made it to the consolation quarter finals of the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Tennis Championships. The team is done until January.
Lexus Gauntlet - The USC-UCLA rivalry series is tied, 12.5-12.5, thanks to the women's volleyball victory -- and despite a couple rough outings against the Bruins the weekend before by women's soccer and men's water polo.
Women's Soccer - Amy Rodriguez is tougher than you. After cracking her head into another player in a 3-0 win over Cal last week, a doctor stapled an inch-long gash back together so she could continue playing. Not stitched. Stapled. Two days later, she scored a header in the final minutes to tie top-ranked Stanford, 1-1, in Palo Alto ... The Trojans' big weekend earned them a #2 ranking in Soccer Buzz, and #5 in Soccer Times and Soccer America (which didn't even have USC ranked to start the season) ... Lauren Brown was named to the SoccerBuzz
Elite Team of the Week ... The Women of Troy invade Westwood on Friday to take on UCLA. The crosstown showdown could be one of the best games of the year. The Bruins are now ranked #1 in all four major polls, and the last three games betweens these teams went into overtime.
Women's Volleyball - USC earned a split on the road last week, beating Washington State, 3-1, but getting swept by Washington. At 17-3 (6-3 in conference), the Trojans are two games behind the Huskies and Stanford in the Pac-10. They fell from 4th to 6th in the national rankings (Washington was 5th) ... There are nine games left in the Pac-10 season. The next three will be at home.
Men's Water Polo - USC continued to roll, though allowed more scoring than usual. Last week they took down UC Santa Barbara by a score of 14-10, the first time the Trojans have allowed double digits since Oct. 7, 2006. The Trojans also continued to spread their own scoring around, with 10 different players hitting the back of the net ... The top-ranked and undefeated Trojans jump in the pool with UCLA on Sunday. USC has a four-game winning streak against their crosstown rival, each by a single goal.
Men's Golf - USC placed third in a field of 18 at the Isleworth-UCF Collegiate Invitational in Florida, which wrapped on Tuesday. Sophomore Jamie Lovemark was second overall.
Women's Swimming and Diving - Football wasn't the only sport with a good weekend in South Bend. The #13 Women of Troy sunk #17 Notre Dame in the water. They were led by Golden Goggle nominee Rebecca Soni, who won three races and broke two pool records.
Men's Swimming and Diving - The 15th ranked men's team got in the pool for the first time this year and had no problem dispatching #22 Notre Dame. Vanni Mangoni won three events and the Trojans had multiple 1-2-3 finishes.
Women's Cross Country - Senior captain Laura Meyers was the fastest woman at the Titan Invitational in Fullerton, leading USC to a second place finish overall. It was the fourth consecutive first place by a Trojan ... Several of USC's top runners sat out in preparation for the Pac-10 Championships being held this weekend at Oregon State.
Women's Tennis - In a successful ITA West Regionals, USC's Amanda Fink and Gabriela Niculescu took home the doubles title, qualifying them for the national indoor championships in November. Fink also made the semifinals in individual play.
Men's Tennis - Call it a double-double. The men also took the ITA West Regional doubles title this weekend with the tandem of Robert Farah and Kae Van't Hof.
Baseball - This season's schedule is out. Two of the games are against Irvine. The Anteaters are coached by former Trojan skipper Mike Gillespie, who also happens to be the father-in-law of current USC coach Chad Kreuter. That's almost as awkward as the whole Brady Quinn's sister thing.
Men's Water Polo - The Trojans started league action this weekend, taking down #5 Pepperdine to extend their home winning streak to 24. They should be #1 in the polls for the fourth week in a row ... When people say USC is deep, they're not talking about the pool. Coach Jovan Vavic has so much talent on his hands that he subs six players at once like an ice hockey line. They're making sure to spread the wealth, too. In each game so far, the team has had a different scoring leader. Eighteen of 22 field players to get in the water have hit the back of the net, and nobody has more than seven goals. One of those players to get on the scoreboard this season is highly touted Trevor Clark, who missed the last two years with injuries. ... Sometimes the stiffest competition is in your own backyard. All of the top 10 schools in men's water polo are in California.
Women's Volleyball - The fourth-ranked Trojans took down both Arizona schools last week to open Pac-10 play. They've started the season 12-0 for the 7th time in team history (four of those seasons ended in a national championship). ... Freshman Geena Urengo (libero) is leading the Pac-10 with 0.52 service aces per game. ... Like men's water polo, women's volleyball is best in the West. All of the Pac-10 had a winning record prior to league play, and the top seven teams are a combined 73-5. ... USC will be honoring two former players this year. Paula Weishoff, a three-time Olympian and MVP of the 1992 Olympic squad, led the Trojans to their third national championship in 1980. She will get special recognition at the match against Oregon State on Thursday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.
Women's Soccer - The Women of Troy had a pair of 2-0 wins over the weekend to improve to 6-1-1. Ranked as high as #14, they host the nation's top program (Portland) on Saturday at 1 p.m. ... USC had a heralded recruiting class a couple years ago, but this year's crop may rival them in productivity. The winning goal in all six victories has come from a freshman. ... Three players have played every minute so far: Kristin Olsen, Janessa Currier and Karter Haug. Olsen, the starting goalkeeper, has recorded four consecutive shutouts.
Women's Cross Country - Freshman Sarah Cocco has run in two meets this year -- and won both. The team placed third overall at the Pepperdine Invitational this weekend.
Women's Basketball - The offseason news has been more bitter than sweet for women's hoops. The top recruit in 2006, Jacki Gemelos, missed last season with a knee injury. She reinjured it this month and may miss another year. She'll have it scoped next week. ... Adding insult injury to injury, 2007's top recruit, Stefanie Gilbreath, is also out with an ACL problem. ... These two injuries are compounded by the loss of last season's top three scorers. Jamie Hagiya, Chloe Kerr and Shay Murphy are all headed overseas to play professionally in Greece. Murphy is also one of six Trojans in the WNBA.
Baseball - Former Trojan coach Mike Gillespie is going to coach at UC Irvine. So much for retirement. ... With MLB's regular season wrapping up, Trojan Brian Bannister (now with the Kansas City Royals) is a dark horse for AL Rookie of the Year. He was AL Rookie of the Month in August.
Golf - USC's men finished third at the Fall Preview tournament this weekend. Women's play will end on Wednesday.
 Just a few months after tearing up the links as a Freshman, USC's Jamie Lovemark was named to the U.S. Walker Cup squad. He will join seven other American amatuers in defending the cup against Britain and Ireland. Play begins September 8 at the Royal County Down Golf Club in Newcastle, Ireland.
Lovemark will return to the USC this season as the NCAA's defending individual national champion and defending national player of the year. Before joining the Trojans, he was the youngest player to ever win the PGA Western Amateur.
He is the fifth Trojan to make the Walker Cup squad, but first since Sam Randolph in 1985.
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ESPN 710 has opened voting for its Southern California Sports Awards.
USC sophomore golfer Jamie Lovemark has also picked up a big nomination -- for the Sullivan Award. The annual prize is presented to the nation's top amateur athlete. His profile in USA Today:
