University Southern California Trojans
Trojans Sweep Top MPSF Honors
December 02, 2008 | Men's Water Polo
Dec. 2, 2008
Already undefeated on the season, the USC men's water polo team has served up a sweep of the MPSF top awards this year, placing Trojans in slots as MPSF Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year and Coach of the Year. Junior J.W. Krumpholz has been named MPSF Co-Player of the Year, with freshman goalie Joel Dennerley selected Newcomer of the Year and head coach Jovan Vavic tabbed with his fifth MPSF Men's Coach of the Year award. The three MPSF winners are joined by four other Trojans earning All-MPSF selections. Krumpholz picks up All-MPSF First Team honors, with Dennerley joined on the All-MPSF Second Team by juniors Shea Buckner and Matt Sagehorn. Selected to the All-MPSF Third Team from Troy are seniors Arjan Ligtenberg and Jovan Vranes.
USC head coach Jovan Vavic picks up the seventh MPSF Coach of the Year award of his career, having earned the honor five times now on the men's side and holding two top honors with the women. Vavic has led USC to its second undefeated regular season in the past three years, as the Trojans are the top-seeded team in the NCAA Championships for the fourth straight season. Vavic's USC squad has won back-to-back MPSF Championships, posting a sweep through conference play and the tournament in 2008. He entered his 14th season as head coach of the USC men with a career record of 284-57 (.833), having boosted that mark to 311-57 (.845) with this year's 27-0 record coming into this weekend's NCAA Tournament. Vavic maintains a winning record against all MPSF teams during his tenure at Troy.
Junior two-meter man J.W. Krumpholz adds his first MPSF Player of the Year award to the Olympic silver medal he earned during the summer with the USA. He shares the Player of the Year honor with Stanford goalie Jimmie Sandman. Krumpholz jumped right into collegiate action with the Trojans and stands tall as USC's top scorer on the year with 41 goals as the Trojans head into a fourth straight NCAA Championship appearance this weekend. Named MPSF Player of the Week twice and recently picking up honors as the MPSF Tournament MVP, Krumpholz now boasts 99 career goals with the Trojans. He is just the third USC male athlete to be named MPSF Player of the Year. Krumpholz was an All-MPSF Third Team selection last year as a sophomore. This year, the 2008 MPSF Co-Player of the Year picks up All-MPSF First Team honors.
USC freshman Joel Dennerley made a quick impact in the waters of Troy this year, joining the Trojans for his first season and capturing the 2008 MPSF Newcomer of the Year award. He was named MPSF Player of the Week after his first weekend in the cage for the Trojans, and has continued to impress. A 6-4 goalie, Dennerley helps USC stand out as the nation's top defensive team for the fourth straight year. He has accumulated double-digit saves in 10 different games this season, most recently grabbing 13 in USC's MPSF Championship win over Pepperdine. Dennerley is averaging 4.33 goals against per game and 8.42 saves per game for the Trojans as they turn to this weekend's NCAA Championship campaign. He also has a place on the All-MPSF Second Team this year.
Hailing on the All-MPSF Second Team with Dennerley are juniors Shea Buckner and Matt Sagehorn. Buckner is second on the team in scoring with 38 goals, bettering last year's tally of 24 in his first year of action as a Trojan. Buckner has scored in 21 games this year with 11 double-digit scoring outings. He was the MPSF Player of the Week once this year, and picked up All-MPSF honorable mention last season. Fellow junior Matt Sagehorn is USC's third leading scorer this year with 36 goals, also having scored in 21 games for the Trojans. An All-MPSF First Team selection last year as a sophomore, Sagehorn earned his first MPSF Player of the Week award this season and currently holds a career scoring count of 96 goals as the Trojans head into the NCAA Championships.
USC's two starting seniors stand tall on the All-MPSF Third Team this year. Arjan Ligtenberg has served up seven goals this year, including an overtime game-winner against Stanford in the SoCal Tournament championship game. He now holds 27 career goals as a Trojan and earned All-MPSF honorable mention in 2007 as a junior. Jovan Vranes has provided 26 goals for the Trojans so far in his senior season. He was an All-MPSF Third Team pick in 2006 as a sophomore and has 84 career goals to his name so far. The two USC seniors have played in NCAA championship games every year since arriving at Troy in 2005, when the Trojans last won the national championship.
With a 27-0 overall record, USC is the top seed at this year's NCAA Championships. The Trojans will play fourth-seeded Navy in the NCAA semifinals at 5 p.m. on Saturday (Dec. 6) at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. The NCAA title match is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday (Dec. 7).
Players Mentioned
