Women's Basketball - Nadia Parker had 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Women of Troy shut down UCLA 49-36. It was a historic low point total for the Bruins and half of their season average. It was USC's seventh straight win over UCLA ... USC is in sole possession of fourth place in the Pac-10 and could be a dark horse candidate for the NCAA tournament.
Women's Water Polo - USC opened up MPSF play with wins over No. 10 UC Irvine and No. 8 Arizona State. Michelle Stein was named the league's player of the week after scoring seven goals on the road trip.
Women's Swimming and Diving - In its last dual meet of the season, No. 25 USC beat No. 15 UCLA, 158-142.
Baseball - The Trojans open the season on Friday with a three-game series at Florida International.
Men's Tennis - No. 6 USC fell to No. 7 Texas at the ITA National Indoor Championships in Seattle over the weekend.
Women's Tennis - Coming off two losses, No. 11 USC cruised to a 7-0 victory over No. 52 San Diego.
Men's Volleyball - USC continued its oddly symmetrical league play last week, beating UC San Diego and losing to Long Beach State. The Trojans take a break from MPSF this weekend and instead will play in the Hall of Fame Classic in Springfield, Mass.
Lexus Gauntlet - It's all but over. USC leads 50 to 17.5, and it takes 55 points to clinch at least a split title. This will continue the odd tradition USC and UCLA alternating wins of the annual trophy. It's oddly like men's volleyball.
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.
 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?
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.
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.
 Three Trojans are among the nominees for the 2007 Golden Goggle Awards, presented by USA Swimming.
Junior Rebecca Soni presents a compelling case for Breakout Performer of the Year. She underwent heart surgery in 2006, but stormed back in 2007 to win her second consecutive consecutive NCAA title in the 200-yard breaststroke. Once school got out, she went to the U.S. Summer Nationals and took home titles in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke.
Alum Mark Warkenstin is nominated for the Perseverance Award. While at USC he was a 4-year All-American and a 4-time World University Gold Medalist. A distance swimmer, he's won back-to-back 25K national titles and won the 2007 U.S. Open Water Grand Prix.
Olympic gold medalist and former Trojan Klete Keller is nominated as part of a relay. His men's 4x200 freestyle relay team broke the world record by more than a second at the 2007 FINA World Championships. They're up for Relay Performance of the Year.
Last year, former Trojan and Olympic gold medalist Eric Vendt won the Perseverance Award.
Internet voting is open to the public on the USA Swimming website, and current standings are shown after you submit your vote.
The winners will be honored at a ceremony hosted by Carson Daly on Nov. 18 at the Beverly Hilton.
Random trivia: The talk show host may not be known as a swimmer, but went to college on a golf scholarship and is into cycling and boxing.
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.
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