Men's Basketball - Taking on Cal Poly before a light crowd of 5,321 on Saturday, it seemed like USC could have sleep-walked through the game. It wouldn't have felt out of place if the Trojan Marching Band took a page from a Warner Brother's cartoon and played Edvard Grieg's Morning Mood. With some typically solid D and an offense showing signs of improvement, USC waltzed away with a 78-55 victory. There's one more game USC can't look past (UC Riverside) before the start of Pac-10 play ... O.J. Mayo spent Christmas in LA instead of going home, presumably working maniacally on his jump shot. That's some serious work ethic.
Women's Basketball - USC won their own 4-team Women of Troy Basketball Classic last week. They downed Grambling State 78-45, then won the championship 75-68 over Portland State. The Trojans are undefeated at home this year. Heather Oliver was named MVP of the tournament with 21 points, 12 rebounds and 9 assists.
Women's Volleyball - After making it the the NCAA Final Four, the Women of Troy finished the season ranked #3 by the AVCA with a 29-5 record. It was the fourth time the Trojans made the semifinals in the past six years. Asia Kaczor (first team) and Taylor Carico (second team) were named All-Americans.
Men's Water Polo - After finishing as NCAA runner-up for the second year in a row, USC had six players honored by the Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches. Senior Tommy Corcoran made the All-American first-team for the first time, and has been recognized on some level for the past three years. Senior Adam Shilling has also been honored for three years, making the second-team in 2007 along with sophomore Matt Sagehorn. Sophomores J.W. Krumpholz and Shea Buckner and senior Gabor Sarusi earned honorable mentions.
Men's Tennis - Trojan alumnus Stan Smith, an NCAA and Wimbledon champ, was honored earlier this month with the Davis Cup Award of Excellence.
 Women's Soccer - The soccer team is the big news on campus (even Pete Carroll was raving about it in his weekly press conference). The Women of Troy made it to the third round of the NCAA tournament for this first time in the program's history, and will host Florida at the Coliseum at 7 p.m. Saturday.
USC played its first two rounds at Missouri, smoking Creighton, 3-0, before edging Mizzou, 1-0. Ashley Nick had a huge week, scoring the winning header against Missouri in double overtime. She connected off of a flip throw-in by Megan Ohai (pictured left). We don't have video of the play, but this is what the rare move looks like.
Besides netting the first game-winner of her career, Nick was named to this year's All-Pac-10 first team. Amy Rodriguez (M/F) and Kristin Olsen (GK) earned second team honors, while freshmen Kasey Johnson (D) and Megan Ohai (M) each garnered an honorable mention. Ashli Sandoval (M) joined Johnson and Ohai on the All-Freshman Team. Janessa Currier, who did not get any league awards, got national recognition with an honorable mention by Top Drawer Soccer.
Florida, who also went to double OT in its last game (actually beyond -- into a shoot-out), will be USC's first opponent in the Coliseum since 2001. It's the third time USC has hosted the tournament there, where they have a 26-5-3 record overall. USC normally plays on McAlister Field (which doesn't have lighting for night games). Tickets can be purchased on game day at Gate 4. It's $10 for adults and $5 for kids under 12.
Men's Water Polo - The Trojans sunk the UC Irvine Anteaters at home last weekend and finished the season with a perfect record at home. They haven't lost at McDonald Swim Stadium since 2004 ... USC will be a #2 seed in Berkeley this weekend for the MPSF league championships and will start off against #7 UCSB.
Women's Basketball - The Women of Troy got back on track last weekend with their first victory of the season. Brynn Cameron led the way with 16 points and Camille LeNoir returned from injury to score 9 in a 70-57 win over Colorado ... USC is currently heading to the Bahamas to play in the Junkanoo Jam. For more on Thanksgiving tournaments, check out this article by Lara Boyko (who regularly covers USC sports).
Women's Volleyball - After beating #5 Washington and unranked Washington State, the Trojans took over the Huskies' ranking in the polls. They'll head to the desert this weekend to finish up the regular season against Arizona and Arizona State, then wait for NCAA Tournament brackets to be announced on Sunday ... Asia Kaczor was named Pac-10 Player of the Week. She set school and conference records with 44 kills and 100 attempts against Washington. This is the fifth time she's been given the honor.
Women's Swimming and Diving - USC beat Ohio State in a dual meet and multiple swimmers hit NCAA qualifying times.
Photo by Bill Barrett / courtesy USC
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?
If you haven't heard by now, #18 USC lost its season opener in men's basketball to unranked Mercer. O.J. Mayo led the way with, appropriately, 32 points. But losing to Mercer? Really? That's one way to spoil Mayo's opener...
It didn't turn out too well for 2nd-ranked men's water polo, either, who fell to #1 Cal in the rain at Berkeley. You can't exactly blame it on the ball being wet. It was the Trojans' second straight loss after starting the season 13-0 ...
It's been a good day for Schadenfruede fans, as Ohio State lost for the first time and Notre Dame lost for the, errrr, it's hard to keep count ...
Over in Cal Memorial Stadium, this is the third time this season USC has played a team wearing throwback jerseys. The weather could be described as a heavy, carpeting drizzle. The Trojans are 20-21-3 all-time in the rain, with their last "official" rain game against Notre Dame in 2004. It's not pouring, but it's messy enough that Cal receivers slipped and fell on their first two offensive plays of the game. The game is starting very sloppy ...
It's certainly enough to make the press box uncomfortable. The electric outlets for everybody's laptops are exposed and protected by damp towels, so if you don't see any posts for awhile ...
It was a rough weekend in Troy, with a few bright spots sprinkled in ...
Women's Volleyball - The Women of Troy provided some of the best results for USC this weekend, taking down #9 Cal and #3 Stanford. USC surprised the Cardinal with a come-from-behind victory at the Galen Center ... Asia Kaczor was named the national player of the week, with a combined 52 kills and 30 digs against the NorCal schools. It's the first time a Trojan has earned the honor since November 2003, and 5th time in the program's history ... USC is riding a 20-match winning streak at home, and are undefeated in the Galen Center since dropping the first match played in the facility against Stanford ... Friday is alumni night, with about 25 former players scheduled to attend (including Leslie Nelson, flying all the way from Paris).
Men's Water Polo - UCLA's Chay Lapin would fail an underwater fire-prevention class. The Bruins' goalie was on fire in the pool on Sunday, stopping 15 shots (including two penalties) to break the Trojans' 13-game winning streak. The 9-5 loss is USC's worst since falling to Stanford by the same score in 1997 ... There was something very idyllic about the game: palm trees, a pool, temps in the mid-80s, and a packed house working on their collective tan. Very SoCal.
Women's Soccer - USC lost, 2-0, on Friday to UCLA. Amy Rodriguez showed some of her international-level skills by trying to sell the ref on a penalty kick. After a hard tackle she remained face-down in the box for several seconds and tossed her arms in the air. She got the whistle, but the kick was placed just outside the 18. It was a good metaphor for the Trojans -- so close, yet so far. USC played tough, but UCLA put away two far-post goals in the second half. You can read more notes on the game in this post.
Women's Cross Country - The Women of Troy finished 8th in the Pac-10 championships -- a marked improvement from last year (10th) but still falling short of expectations for the promising young squad. Despite this weekend's result, USC will be sending six runners to NCAA regionals ... Sarah Cocco was the top finisher for USC and second among freshmen in the Pac-10.
Women's Swimming and Diving - In a meet where each team was restricted to 8 participants, USC came in fourth at the SMU Swimming and Diving Classic. Rebecca Soni was named Swimmer of the Meet, winning three individual events and one relay ... Both the men and women have the Trojan Invitational this weekend.
Women's Rowing - USC owned the water at the Head of the American Regatta in Sacramento, featuring mostly West Coast competition (including Cal and Stanford). The Trojans won every event, including 10 of the top 11 in pairs (Cal had a team in 8th).
Football Watch Lists - Several players were named to semifinalist lists for postseason honors ... Sedrick Ellis and Keith Rivers are among 17 players up for the Lott Trophy, awarded to the defensive player with the biggest impact on his team both on and off the field ... Rivers is also one of 10 semifinalists for the Butkus Award, given to the nation's premier linebacker ... Sam Baker is one of just four offensive players among the 12 Rotary Lombardi Award semifinalists, given to the top lineman in the nation.
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.
Women's Soccer - The Women of Troy earned their highest ranking ever, landing at 3rd in Soccer Buzz and 6th in Soccer America ... After taking a week off, the Women of Troy got back in action last week by defeating Oregon, 1-0, and Oregon State, 5-0 ... With the two complete-game shutouts, Kristen Olsen was named Pac-10 player of the week. She's the first Trojan to win that honor in two years ... Nini Loucks suffered a knee injury and had an MRI today. She could be the fourth defender lost for the season. USC leads the league in shutouts even without the services of Meagan Holmes, Kat Stolpa and Laura McKee.
Men's Water Polo - The Trojans piled up four wins this weekend to take the SoCal Championship for 5th straight year, just weeks after capturing another NorCal Championship. They're now 12-0 and a unanimous #1 in the nation ... Shae Buckner was named the MPSF player of the week thanks to his 8 goals (including 2 in the semifinal over UCLA and 4 in the final against Stanford).
Women's Volleyball - The fourth-ranked Women of Troy also swept the Oregon schools on the hardcourt last week. They breezed to 3-0 victories over both Oregon and Oregon State, including a season-high 16 blocks against the Ducks ... Diana Copenhagen is still week-to-week ... Setter Taylor Carico's shots to the opposing left sideline (instead of setting and different than a sneak or dump) have been dubbed "310 Kills" after her Manhattan Beach area code.
Women's Swimming and Diving - The 14th-ranked Trojans easily took down Oregon State in the first dual meet of the season ... Both the men's and women's teams travel to Notre Dame this Friday. If you happen to be in South Bend early, you can cheer them on.
Baseball - Rehashing a note from last week ... Don't think you can get anything for free at a Mercedes dealership? Head Coach Chad Kreuter will be speaking at Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel on Thursday, Nov. 1, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The first 200 baseball fans who RSVP get free admission, food, drinks and maybe even a couple of rounds of golf. Kreuter will discuss the 2008 season and the Trojan Baseball Classic Golf Tournament -- then he'll raffle away a couple of free entries. RSVP by Oct. 30 to (213) 740-2733.
Basketball - Both the men and women started regular practice this week ... Gary Parrish ranked the men 17th headed into the season and had some pointed comments about Mayo and Hackett ... ESPN's Insider looks at the men's team in their free preview.
It's been a busy football week, but a belated roundup means we get some late-breaking good news from the links.
Women's Tennis - USC had a huge week at the Edean Ihlanfeldt Invitational. The team picked up its first tournament win of the year, beating Arizona State by nine strokes and finishing well ahead of a field of West Coast rivals. Sophomore Belen Mozo came from behind to tie the leader heading into the final round, then won her first collegiate title on a scorecard tiebreaker.
Men's Water Polo - The #1 ranked Trojans beat Stanford in convincing fashion on Saturday. We all know it wasn't on the gridiron -- try the pool. USC men's water polo remained undefeated by shutting out the third-ranked Cardinal in the second half to claim a 7-2 victory. As we've seen all season, scoring was spread around. Five players hit the back of the net ... Goalie Adam Shilling was named MPSF Co-Player of the Week after allowing just two 6-on-5 goals and making 10 saves and two steals ... The team remains a unanimous selection for #1.
Women's Cross Country - Coach Tom Walsh said it could take a couple months for freshman Zsofia Erdelyi to adjust after moving to USC from Hungary. Looks like adjustment time is over. Erdelyi set a course record at the UCSD Triton Invitational, leading the Women of Troy to a second-place finish overall. It's the third consecutive individual victory by a Trojan. The last two were by Sarah Cocco, who was sick and unable to compete in San Diego.
Baseball - Don't think you can get anything for free at a Mercedes dealership? Head Coach Chad Kreuter will be speaking at Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel on Thursday, Nov. 1, from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The first 200 baseball fans who RSVP get free admission, food, drinks and maybe even a couple of rounds of golf. Kreuter will discuss the 2008 season and the Trojan Baseball Classic Golf Tournament -- then he'll raffle away a couple of free entries. RSVP by Oct. 30 to (213) 740-2733.
Women's Volleyball - The Women of Troy dropped the first showdown in the Lexus Gauntlet last week, falling at UCLA in their second Pac-10 loss of the year. Ranked one spot ahead of the #5 Bruins, USC fell, 3-1 ... Senior co-captain Diana Copenhagen could be out for a while. She is now listed as week-to-week because of an abdominal strain ... USC will honor Paula Weishoff on "All-Time Great Night" this Thursday at the Galen Center. The ceremony will take place during the match against Oregon State, which begins at 7 p.m.
Men's Tennis - Sophomore Robert Farah made an impressive run at the Polo Ralph Lauren Men's All-American last weekend, becoming the first Trojan to reach the championship match in two decades. He was also the first qualifier to make it that far since 2001. He won the first set against fourth-ranked Travis Helgeson of Georgia before falling, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.
Women's Basketball - The nation's top recruit two years ago, guard Jacki Gemelos will miss her second straight season due to another surgery on her right knee. She will join incoming high school All-American Stefanie Gilbreath, who also tore her ACL, on the bench this year.
Now that we're settling into the fall, I'm going to make a concerted effort to schedule certain features more regularly. I'll be shooting for Weekend Roundups (like you see below) to run on Monday night/Tuesday morning. That will allow the dust to settle (injury reports, ranking announcements, etc.) while keeping everybody up to date with results that probably won't be on Sports Center. This edition is late in the week, so there are a couple nods to the coming weekend. I may also experiment with separate posting on weekend previews. Let me know if there's anything you want (or don't want) to see.
I'll exclude football and men's basketball from roundups, since those tend to be covered ad nauseum. If you need to know who won the football game, I've got a feeling you didn't start your search here. That said, I haven't covered hoops very much. That will change quickly.
Of course, special articles and announcements can happen here at any time.
Women's Volleyball - The USC-UCLA rivalry draws first blood of the school year tonight at 7 when the Women of Troy invade Westwood ... After losing its first game of the year to Stanford last Thursday, USC rebounded with victories over Cal on Sunday and UC Irvine on Tuesday ... Jessica Gysin helped lead the Trojans in a come-from-behind against the Anteaters. She's seeing more time due to an abdominal strain suffered by Diana Copenhagen.
Men's Water Polo -The #1 Trojans struggled against #7 Long Beach State last weekend, coming back to win, 9-8, and maintaining their home winning streak. Tommy Corcoran had a career-high four goals ... USC will face an even bigger test on Saturday when it puts its perfect record on the line against #3 Stanford at home.
Women's Soccer - The Women of Troy are enjoying a week off after a big surge last week. They had a fifth consecutive shutout on Friday at Long Beach, then took down Portland, one of the nation's top teams, at home on Sunday ... Amy Rodriguez was named to the Soccer America Team of the Week after getting an assist against Long Beach and the game-winning goal against Portland. Freshman Megan Ohai earned her first national honors by making the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week. She scored against Long Beach and assisted on both goals against Portland ... The women's soccer top 25 rankings shifted almost as much as that "other" football sport. In Soccer Buzz, the Trojans went from 14th to 7th while Portland fell from 3rd to 8th. USC was unranked by Soccer America but jumped to 10th (Cal made a similar jump from unranked to 12th). Top Drawer only upped USC from 24th to 23rd, but smacked Portland from 1st to 10th. NSCAA has the Trojans at 13th. Confused yet?
Baseball - USC announced a number of events this week. The annual golf tournament fundraiser will be at Dove Canyon Country Club on Nov. 19 (for more information or to register, click here) ... Scout Day is Oct. 23 at 3 p.m. ... Fall practice will conclude with the Cardinal and Gold Series at Dedeaux Field at 3 p.m. on Nov. 1 and 2 p.m. on Nov. 2 ... The Alumni Game is Feb. 2 at 1 p.m. (213-740-5762 for more info) ... Check out the posts just before and after this one for more info on the new Rod Dedeaux Research for Baseball Institute.
Women's Tennis - Doubles pair Amanda Fink and Gabriela Niculescu have advanced to the second round of the main draw at the Riviera/ITA Women’s All-American Championships. They face Clemson today and could be pitted against UCLA if they make it to Saturday ... In singles action, the nation's #2 seed Lindsey Nelson withdrew due to injury after losing her first set on Thursday. #10 Sarah Fansler lost her match.
Men's Tennis - After three matches on Thursday, Robert Farah is the only Trojan left standing. He advanced in singles play to the third round of the Polo Ralph Lauren Men’s All-American. Kaes Van't Hof lost his singles matchup. The two paired up in doubles action, failling to Alabama.
Women's Golf - Overlooked from last week, #4 USC lost by one stroke to Duke in the NCAA Preview tournament.
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.
From a USC press release about men's water polo:
OK... everyone is wondering where the Trojans’ 44-game winning streak that spanned the 2005 and 2006 seasons stands. By hitting win No. 35 with its win over UCLA, the team passed up the USC football program’s storied win streak, which was snapped in the 2005 national championship game just a month after the USC water polo team claimed the 2005 NCAA title. Water polo’s 44-game run well overtook the program’s previous best winning streak of 17 games, but it was still seven wins short of the all-time longest men’s water polo winning streak in the country — held at 51 by Stanford (1985-87). At Troy, USC women’s volleyball put up a 52-match winning streak across the 2002-03-04 seasons.
The holiday weekend is over. While you were busy watching TV or playing dodgeball at the beach, the men and women of Troy were busy with all sorts of action. There's probably no need to touch on football, so here's everything else:
Women's Volleyball -- The fourth-ranked Trojans swept their own tournament, the 2007 USC Classic, taking home the hardware by beating Cal State Northridge, 3-0; #14 Duke, 3-2; and Mercer, 3-0.
Women's Soccer -- The Women of Troy notched two victories, first over Weber State (5-1) and then at UC Santa Barbara (2-0). Freshman Megan Ohai had two goals in the first contest and one in the second. They got caught in traffic on their way to Santa Barbara, but that was nothing compared with ...
Men's Basketball -- Yes, USC hoops was south of the border for some early action against bona fide pro teams. Sorta. Due to leftover hurricane damage, they could only play one of four scheduled contests in Mexico. They beat Caliacan, 102-82, after falling behind early on. Freshmen O.J. Mayo and Davon Jefferson each scored 29 points. Despite some intense travel, they got in their fair share of recreation.
Women's Cross Country -- In its first meet of the year, USC came in 6th at the Cal State Fullerton Season Opener. For a PDF of the results, click here. You actually might be interested if you run 5Ks.
Men's Water Polo -- The team scrimmaged with UC Irvine and Long Beach State.
Elsewhere -- Anybody wondering what "USC's best kept secret" was according to an ad on the student wristbands for Saturday's game? They provided a link to an on-campus coffeehouse called Ground Zero ... Maybe Todd McNair could use some help from Matt Leinart's spin doctors ... USC alum Ian Kennedy pitched his first game in the big leagues. He needed seven innings for his first win as a New York Yankee, allowing just one earned run and hitting 96 mph on his first pitch ... San Diego Padre Jack Cassel also had his first Major League start this weekend. The brother of former Trojan and current New England Patriot Matt Cassell got knocked out after three innings and two runs. Jack played at Pierce College in the Valley ... Cal fans were extra rowdy against Tennessee because somebody gave them 50,000 megaphones ... The USC Triathlon Team starts practice this morning and has an open meeting for signups on Wednesday at 8 p.m., location TBA (probably at the Lyon Center).
While most people are planning to watch USC football, Pete Carroll's boys aren't the only Trojans competing next month.
- Women's Soccer kicks off Aug. 31 before playing nine games in September. They host a tournament mid-month that will include Georgia, Nebraska and Tennessee.
- Women's Volleyball gets underway on Aug. 24 and will face 10 opponents before league action starts on Sept. 20.
- Men's water polo gets in the pool with Long Beach State on Sept. 1. They play LMU on the 8th, head to NorCal for a tournament mid-month and start league action against Pepperdine on Sept. 22.
- Women's Cross Country has its first invitational on Sept. 1 at Cal State Fullerton. The team travels to San Diego on the 15th and Pepperdine on the 22nd.
- Men's and Women's swimming and diving hosts an intrasquad meet on Sept. 22.
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Men's Basketball - Taking on Cal Poly before a light crowd of 5,321 on Saturday, it seemed like USC could have sleep-walked through the game. It wouldn't have felt out of place if the Trojan Marching Band took a page from a Warner Brother's cartoon and played Edvard Grieg's Morning Mood. With some typically solid D and an offense showing signs of improvement, USC waltzed away with a 78-55 victory. There's one more game USC can't look past (UC Riverside) before the start of Pac-10 play ... O.J. Mayo spent Christmas in LA instead of going home, presumably working maniacally on his jump shot. That's some serious work ethic.
