Women's Water Polo Could Have Best Team Yet
June 21, 1999 | Women's Water Polo
February 11, 1999
LOS ANGELES - Since its first year in 1995, the USC women's water polo team has made great strides and is now among the nation's top teams. In 1999, the Women of Troy seem ready to take another huge step - one that could bring USC closer to a national championship.
While the roster from the 1998 squad that placed fifth in the nation (and went 22-16 overall) has changed greatly, four of the top six scorers return, as well as senior All-American goalie Bernice Orwig. Then, there's the addition of 12 newcomers, which has the potential to be the best recruiting class in the country.
That combination has fifth-year head coach Jovan Vavic looking forward to the 1999 campaign, which begins this weekend (Feb. 12-14) at the UC San Diego Tournament.
"I'm very happy with our progress and talent," said Vavic, who has a record of 65-67 at USC. "We have so many new players that the main question will be how well we can play together and respond to pressure situations. Talent-wise, I believe that we're finally good enough to beat anyone. We have caught up to the rest of our competitors."
Those teams are likely UCLA, California and Stanford, which are usually found at the top of the polls. In the preseason rankings, USC was right behind these Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponents at No. 4.
One key as to where USC ends up will be Orwig. A member of the U.S. National Team and an Olympic hopeful in 2000, she has been Troy's most important player the last two years. Orwig earned All-American second team honors each of the last two years and has been the main reason behind USC's defensive success.
"In my opinion, Bernice is the best goalie in the country," Vavic said. "There's no doubt that she will determine much of how we do this season. She is a special player who has a great future. It's important that she stays healthy."
Orwig's backups at goalie are returning sophomores Marin Pietrzak and Kendra Browne.
But in the other half of the pool, USC had trouble scoring at times in 1998. This season, USC will aim to have an improved offensive game to balance its defensive presence.
There aren't many returning field players, but the group includes several of the top scorers from 1998. They are: sophomore 2-meter player Jennifer Durley (42 goals), junior 2-meter player Selah Mapes (32), senior driver Kellie Clarke (28) and sophomore 2-meter player Kimberly Comacho (17).
Then, there are the talented newcomers, including three freshmen from Europe who are members of their respective national teams: utility players Sandra Milicev of Yugoslavia and Aniko Pelle of Hungary and 2-meter player Nina Wengst of Germany.
Of the three transfers, one in particular should make an immediate impact: junior utility player Lisa Saenz was the state's top junior college player a year ago at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, Calif. She is joined by Golden West teammate Kori O'Rourke, a junior driver, and sophomore 2-meter player Ashley Ryan, a transfer from Whittier (Calif.) College who was an all-conference second teamer there last year.
Several freshmen are also good enough to make the leap into Division I play and contribute, such as 2-meter player Suzannah Johnson of Lynbrook High in San Jose and drivers Shelli Linza of Los Alamitos (Calif.) High and Christine Zador of Johansen High in Modesto.
Additional freshmen who are expected to provide depth include drivers Jennifer Carlisle (a 1998 redshirt), Amber El-Hajj (Valhalla High in El Cajon, Calif.), Sarah Ramsey (Watkins High in St. Louis, Mo.) and Allison Speer (Glendale [Calif.] High).
"Every new player is offensive-oriented," Vavic said. "Our offense will pick up tremendously. The three foreign players were all top scorers in Europe, Saenz was the top junior college scorer in the state and several of the freshmen were great scorers in high school."
Two players are expected to redshirt this season with injuries: sophomore goalie Whitney Allen and sophomore utility player Juli Castle.
Vavic, who led USC to a seventh-place finish in 1997 and a fifth-place finish in 1998 (and was the co-head coach of USC's 1998 men's NCAA championship team), hopes the Women of Troy can make an even better jump this year.
"I was very pleased with our performance at nationals last season," he said. "But this year, we have the opportunity to go even further. I am looking forward to seeing what this team can accomplish."
Note: In the UC San Diego Tournament, USC plays Long Beach State on Friday (Feb. 12) at 10:10 a.m., then meets Hawaii on Saturday (Feb. 13) at 8 a.m. Brackets will then be set up for the remainder of the tournament.
