Cross-Town Battle Looms Ahead At UCLA
February 17, 2003 | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 17, 2003
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LOS ANGELES - The No. 3 USC women's water polo team (6-1) will continue Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play on Friday (Feb. 21) at No. 2 UCLA at 3 p.m. The match will have Lexus Gauntlet implications with UCLA holding the season series lead after an 8-4 win against the Women of Troy on Feb. 8 at the Stanford Tournament.
LAST WEEK - USC defeated San Diego State, 11-7, in an MPSF match on Saturday at McDonald's Swim Stadium. Eszter Gyori and Sofia Konoukh scored three goals each to lead the Women of Troy.
RANKINGS - USC is ranked No. 3 in the latest U.S. Women's Water Polo Top 20 Poll.
JOVAN VAVIC - In his ninth season as the program's only head coach, Jovan Vavic has built the Women of Troy into a national power, which culminated with the 1999 national championship. He oversaw the program's move from Division II 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 2000, USC finished second in the nation and placed third in MPSF conference play in 2001. 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 178-87 (.672) record in his ninth season with the Women of Troy.
KATRIN DIEROLF - Senior utility Katrin Dierolf (Esslingen, Germany) is second on the team this season with 12 goals. She was tied for third last year in scoring with 53 goals. In her 2001 sophomore season, finishing third on the team in scoring with 65 goals. For her efforts, Dierolf earned All-America third team and All-MPSF second team honors.
MORIAH VAN NORMAN - Freshman two-meter Moriah Van Norman (San Diego, Calif.) leads the Women of Troy in scoring this season with 14 goals. She scored a team-high three goals in a 9-5 win against Hawaii on Feb. 9 at the Stanford Tournament.
SOFIA KONOUKH - The USC program received good news in the fall when senior utility Sofia Konoukh (Chelyabinsk, Russia) was granted a sixth year of eligibility by the NCAA. She missed a season while participating in the 2000 Olympics. This season, she is third on the team in scoring with 10 goals. Konoukh earned first team All-America and MPSF Player of the Year honors after leading the Women of Troy with 70 goals last year. In 2001, she also earned first team All-America honors after scoring a school-record 103 goals and was named Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Co-Field Player of the Year.
ESZTER GYORI - Sophomore Eszter Gyori (Csongrad, Hungary) is fourth on the team in scoring this season with eight goals. She scored three goals in an 11-7 win on Feb. 15 against San Diego State. Last year, she finished fifth on the team with 27 goals.
LAUREN WENGER - Freshman two-meter defender Lauren Wenger (Long Beach, Calif) has made an immediate impact this season and has scored seven goals. She scored three goals in USC's 11-9 win on Feb. 2 at UC Santa Barbara.
LIZ SIMMS - Junior utility Liz Simms (Balmarm, Sydney, Australia) is one of the top USC newcomers for the 2003 season. She is tied for fifth on the team in scoring with seven goals. On Feb. 8, she scored four goals in a 26-1 win against UC Santa Cruz at the Stanford Tournament. Simms was a member of the 2002 Australian National Team.
