Women's Water Polo Prepares For Western Regionals
April 10, 2000 | Women's Water Polo
April 10, 2000
THIS WEEK - The defending national champion USC women's water polo team (17-8 overall, 6-3 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) will have a two-week break before hosting the Western Regionals from April 21-23 at McDonald's Swim Stadium. It will be the final tuneup before the National Championships from May 5-7 in Bloomington, Indiana.
RANKINGS - USC was ranked No. 4 in the latest U.S. Women's Water Polo Top 20 Poll.
NOTES & STATS - The Trojans have outscored their opponents this season by a 241-156 margin and have scored 10 or more goals in 15 matches...The Trojans have outscored their opponents, 74-28, in the first period this season.
LAST WEEK - The Trojans defeated Loyola Marymount at home on April 5, 10-7, to complete the regular season. The team finished fourth at the MPSF Championships in San Jose, with a 3-2 record with wins over Long Beach State (10-2), UC Santa Barbara (10-3) and San Jose State (11-5). USC lost to California, 5-4, and lost to UCLA, 7-4, in the third-place match.
JOVAN VAVIC - In his sixth season as the program's only head coach, Jovan Vavic has built the Trojans into a national power, which culminated with the 1999 national championship. He led the inaugural 1995 squad to a third-place finish at the 1995 Division II National Championships before overseeing the program's move to Division I in 1996. In 1997, the Trojans made their first-ever Division I National Championships appearance with a seventh-place finish while the 1998 team finished in fifth place. In 1999, Vavic, a native of Yugoslavia, was named the National Coach of the Year and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Coach of the Year. Vavic is also the head coach for the USC men's water polo team, which won the 1998 NCAA championship.
VAVIC'S CAREER RECORD - Jovan Vavic has a 112-77 (.593) record in six years with the Women of Troy.
NINA WENGST - A member of the German National Team who took part in the 1999 European Championships, sophomore Nina Wengst (Krefeld, Germany) earned 1998 All-American honorable mention honors and has been leading the way for the Trojans this season as a two-meter player. This season, Wengst leads the team with 53 goals. She scored a season-high seven goals in the 2000 season opener on Feb. 10 in the Trojans' 12-8 win at San Diego State.
ANIKO PELLE - A member of the Hungarian National Team who took part in the 1999 European Championships and the 1999 Fina Cup, sophomore Aniko Pelle (Budapest, Hungary) is second on the team with 47 goals. She earned All-American first team honors last season after leading the team with 52 goals.
BLAME IT ON RIO - The USC women's team used its Spring Break to travel to Brazil for the Sao Paulo International Tournament. The Trojans went 3-1 and won the championship match by beating the Brazilian National "A" Team, 7-4. USC also played the Brazilian "B" Team and the Argentina National Team. Nina Wengst led the Trojans with eight goals for the tournament.
2000 USC WOMEN'S WATER POLO SCHEDULE
(17-8 overall, 6-3 MPSF)
| Date | Opponent | Time/Result |
| Feb. 10 | *at San Diego State | W 12-8 |
| Feb. 11-13 | at UC San Diego Tournament | 3rd place |
| San Diego State | W 17-6 | |
| UC Davis | W 13-8 | |
| Long Beach State | W 14-8 | |
| California | W 7-5 | |
| UCLA | L 3-10 | |
| Stanford | W 5-4 | |
| Feb. | 19 *UC Santa Barbara | W 11-4 |
| Feb. | 20 *at Long Beach State | W 8-2 |
| Feb. | 24 *Hawai'i | W 13-7 |
| Feb. 26-27 | at UC Santa Barbara Invitational | 4th place |
| Redlands | W 16-2 | |
| Hawai'i | W 12-5 | |
| California | L 8-9 | |
| UCLA | L 12-15 | |
| March 2 | *San Jose State | W 11-5 |
| March 3 | *Stanford | L 6-7 (4 OT) |
| March 9 | *UCLA | W 10-8 |
| March 24 | *at California | L 6-7 (OT) |
| March 25 | *at Pacific | W 10-5 |
| April 5 | Loyola Marymount | 5 p.m. |
| April 7-9 | MPSF Championships | 4th place |
| Long Beach State | W 10-2 | |
| UC Santa Barbara | W 10-3 | |
| San Jose State | W 11-5 | |
| California | L 4-5 | |
| UCLA | L 4-7 | |
| (at San Jose, Calif.) | ||
| April 21-23 | Western Regionals | TBA |
| (at USC) | ||
| May 5-7 | National Championships | TBA |
| (at Bloomington, Ind.) |
* Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game
Home matches in bold, at USC McDonald's Swim Stadium
Updated Career Goal Scorers
| 1 | Christina McCall (1995-97) | 142 |
| 2 | Aniko Pelle (1999-00) | 99 |
| 3 | Jennifer Durley (1998-00) | 97 |
| 4 | Nina Wengst (1999-00) | 93 |
| 5 | Cindy Clarke (1995-97) | 89 |
| 6 | Kristie Cissell (1995-97) | 88 |
| 7 | Selah Mapes (1997-00) | 73 |
| 8 | Kellie Clarke (1997-99) | 68 |
| 9 | Nicole Martin (1997-98) | 64 |
| 10 | Sandra Milicev (1999-00) | 61 |
