Women's Water Polo Prepares For National Title Defense
May 03, 2000 | Women's Water Polo
May 3, 2000 LOS ANGELES - The defending national champion USC women's water polo team (20-8 overall, 6-3 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) enter this weekend as the No. 4 seed for the 2000 National Championships. The Women of Troy won eight of their last 10 matches, including the Southern California Regional title.
RANKINGS - USC was ranked No. 4 in the latest U.S. Women's Water Polo Top 20 Poll.
USC AT NATIONALS - Since the program's inception in 1995, the USC Trojans have qualified to the national championships in five of those six years. In 1995, the Women of Troy placed third at the Division II National Championships before moving to the Division I level in 1996. USC finished seventh in 1997 and fifth in 1998. Last year, the Trojans went 4-0 to claim its first national championship in only their fourth year at the Division I level. USC opened the first day with a 17-2 victory over Indiana and a 6-3 win over UC Santa Barbara. A 5-4 win over UCLA the next day put them into the national championship match, a match that would last five overtimes. In that match against Stanford, Christine Zador scored from 10 meters out to give USC a 7-6 win and the national championship.
NOTES & STATS - The Trojans have outscored their opponents this season by a 273-178 margin and have scored 10 or more goals in 17 matches...The Trojans have outscored their opponents, 83-34, in the first period this season.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL - The host Trojans won all three matches at the Southern California Regional, including a 9-7 win over UCLA in the championship. USC defeated Loyola Marymount, 13-7, and San Diego State, 10-8, to reach the final. It was the first time in five meetings this season that USC defeated UCLA.
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 115-77 (.599) 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 56 goals and earned Southern California Regional first-team All-Tournament and MPSF first-team honors. 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 and is featured in the May/June issue of Sports Illustrated for Women as part of the "Faces In The Crowd" section.
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 55 goals. She was named 2000 MPSF Field Player of the Year and recorded eight goals, including three in the championship match vs. UCLA, at the Southern California Regional. She was named to the All-Tournament first-team for her efforts. 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.
