University Southern California Trojans
Men's Water Polo Visits No. 1 UCLA on Friday
November 09, 1999 | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 9, 1999
LOS ANGELES - The defending NCAA champion USC men?s water polo team (18-3 overall, 5-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation for third place) plays what is likely its most important match of the season, as the Trojans travel to UCLA (16-2, 7-0) on Friday (Nov. 12) for a 3 p.m. MPSF game. USC can hand the top-ranked Bruins their first conference loss, climb back into the race for No. 1 and force a three-way tie for first place in the conference (along with Stanford). A UCLA win wraps up the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the MPSF Tournament for the Bruins. Then, the Trojans host Long Beach State (11-10, 2-4 ? plays UC Irvine on Tuesday) in their final MPSF match of the season on Sunday (Nov. 14) at noon at the McDonald?s Swim Stadium.
RANKINGS - USC was ranked No. 3 in the Nov. 3 U.S. Water Polo Top 20 Poll. UCLA was tied for No. 1 and Long Beach State was No. 5.
OPPONENTS - USC holds a 37-28-1 record against UCLA (since 1979), and is 1-0 against the Bruins in 1999 after beating them in the championship game of the Nor-Cal Tournament ... USC is 38-14 against Long Beach State (since 1979) and has won 17 straight against the 49ers, including a 9-8 victory in the 1999 season opener.
LAST WEEKEND - USC earned a pair of sizable victories over the weekend, as the Trojans blasted No. 7 Pepperdine, 12-2, on Saturday (Nov. 6) and No. 4 California, 13-5, on Sunday (Nov. 7). Peter Janov?s three goals and Richard McEvoy?s 10 saves sparked the MPSF win over the Waves. The non-conference win against the Golden Bears saw McEvoy collect 15 saves and Ivan Babic score four goals. McEvoy was named MPSF Player of the Week.
JOVAN VAVIC - After serving as co-head coach for the last four seasons, Jovan Vavic takes over as head coach in 1999. The last year has been a good one for Vavic, as he helped the USC men to the 1998 NCAA championship, then led the USC women to the 1999 national championship as their head coach. Entering this season, Vavic?s record as co-head coach was 89-18 (.832).
RICHARD McEVOY - After earning All-American third team status the last two seasons, Richard McEvoy (Pembroke Pines, FL/Cooper City HS) may very well be the best goalie in the country as a 1999 senior. He has made 200 saves in 1999, 9.5 per game (second in the MPSF), and is allowing just 5.4 points per game (third in the MPSF). He ranks fourth on USC?s career save list with 592. McEvoy made the All-Southern California Tournament second team. He was named MPSF Player of the Week on Nov. 8 after collecting a total of 25 saves against Pepperdine and California.
ALLEN BASSO - One of USC?s most veteran players, senior driver Allen Basso (Lake Forest/El Toro HS) is having an impressive season. He has scored 41 points, a career high, the best on the team and nearly twice as many as the team?s No. 2 scorer. His average of 1.95 points per game is third best in the MPSF. He has connected on a team-high six two-pointers. He made the All-Southern California Tournament first team. He has been named MPSF Player of the Week twice already. The first honor came after scoring five points in the season opener against Long Beach State. The second came after he scored 12 points in four games to help USC to the Nor-Cal Tournament championship. Last season Allen made All-American honorable mention and scored 25 points.
GEORGE CSASZAR - USC?s leading scorer in 1998, George Csaszar is having another good year as a 1999 junior driver. A native of Hungary, he is tied for second on USC with 23 points this season. He made the All-Southern California Tournament first team. Last year he made the All-American second team and scored 60 points.
OTHERS - In addition to McEvoy, Csaszar and Basso, the Trojans feature three other All-Americans from a year ago ... Senior 2-meter man James Castle (Hacienda Heights/Wilson HS), an All-American second teamer in 1998, was slowed by injury to start the 1999 season. But he has rebounded to score 21 points ... Senior 2-meter man Peter Janov (Bratislava, Slovakia) is considered USC?s ironman because of the tremendous amount of minutes that he plays. An All-American honorable mention last season, he has scored 22 points this season ... Sophomore utility player Ivan Babic (Belgrade, Yugoslavia) is another standout who also made All-American honorable mention last season. He has 23 points in 1999.
LAST SEASON - The Trojans captured the 1998 NCAA championship by beating Stanford, 9-8, in overtime in the title game. USC finally won an elusive championship after finishing second six times, including four of the previous five years. Marko Pintaric, who hit the game-winning two-pointer against Stanford, was named the NCAA Player of the Year. The Trojans finished with a school-record 25-3 mark.
