Weekly Roundup

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.

Weekly Roundup

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.

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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.

Weekend Roundup 8

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.

Weekly Roundup 6

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.

Weekly Roundup 5

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.