University Southern California Trojans
Busy Week Ahead For No. 2 Women of Troy
February 06, 2008 | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 6, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
THIS WEEK
The No. 2 Women of Troy set up for five games in three days as USC delves deeper into the 2008 season with a home game and then a trip to the Stanford Invitational. The Trojans (1-0) have a shot at tallying their 40th straight win in their home pool at McDonald's Swim Stadium when USC hosts Cal State San Bernardino at 5 p.m. on Thursday (Feb. 7). From there, USC heads right into tournament action with a visit to the competitive Stanford Invitational. The Trojans (1-0) are bracketed with host No. 3 Stanford (1-0), No. 5 California (4-0) and No. 10 Arizona State (6-1). Tournament play opens for USC against Cal in a 9:40 a.m. match on Saturday (Feb. 9). That afternoon, USC will face Stanford at 4:40 p.m. Both Saturday games will be held at Avery Pool. On Sunday (Feb. 10), the Trojans round out their bracket with an 8 a.m. face-off against Arizona State at Baker Pool. The winners of each bracket will move into the tourney championship game that Sunday at 4:40 p.m. The third-place game is set for 3:15 p.m. In the opposite bracket at No. 1 UCLA (5-0), No. 4 Hawai'i (0-0), No. 6 San Jose State (5-1) and No. 13 Michigan (2-2). (Full Stanford Invitational schedule on page 6 of attached release.)
RANKINGS
USC is ranked No. 2 in the national poll this week. Cal State San Bernardino is unranked, but the entire field at the Stanford Invitational represents eight of the nation's top 15 teams. In USC's bracket, Stanford is No. 3, California is No. 5 and Arizona State is No. 10. The other four teams in the tourney are No. 1 UCLA, No. 4 Hawai'i, No. 6 San Jose State and No. 13 Michigan.
LAST WEEK
No. 2 USC kicked off 2008 with a powerful home win, topping No. 10 Hartwick 16-3 behind scoring from 10 different Trojans last weekend, expanding USC's home win streak to 39 straight victories at McDonald's Swim Stadium. USC allowed just one goal in the first three periods of play, holding the Hawks scoreless throughout the second and third periods. Six Trojans tallied multiple-goal games in the win, as Jordan Anae, Forel Davies, Michelle Stein, Alison Riddle, Kally Lucas and Veronika Bartunkova each scored twice for USC. And scoring their first goals as Trojans on the day were freshmen Kristen Dronberger, Sarah Van Norman and Tekla Beckmann. Sophomore Alexandra Kiss also slammed in a goal for USC to round out the scoring effort. Sophomore goalie Tumua Anae registered a career-high 13 saves in the win, allowing just two goals. Freshman Courtney Ray finished out the game in the cage with two saves and one goal against.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
USC brought a 1-0 record and a No. 1 national ranking into the 2007 Stanford Invitational. Once up north, USC kept rolling with a clean sweep of group play to work into the championship game. The Trojans beat No. 7 ASU 12-4 to open things, then downed host No. 3 Stanford 8-6 to close out the first day. In an early 8 a.m. game against No. 10 San Jose State, USC posted a 10-6 win to set up against No. 2 UCLA in the final. Although the Trojans led by three going into the fourth period, the Bruins managed five goals in the final frame to pass up USC and steal away the tournament crown with an 11-10 decision. USC had beaten UCLA 10-8 in last year's Stanford Invitational first-place match. In this year's tourney, Brittany Hayes led USC in scoring with 10 goals, followed by five apiece from Erika Figge and Kami Craig and four each by Miranda Nichols and Patty Cardenas. Craig was USC's top scorer in the championship game, dealing out a hat trick against the Bruins. In the cage, goalie Whitney Morgan finished the tournament with 23 saves including a season-high nine against Stanford. Tumua Anae had six saves after appearing in the second half against ASU and SJSU.
SCOUTING CAL STATE SAN BERNARDINO
The Coyotes are 3-0 on the season with wins over Redlands, Whittier and Concordia Irvine. Cal State San Bernardino went 23-18 last season and finished sixth in the Western Water Polo Association. This year, CSSB is led in scoring by Freyja Berg with 13 goals. USC and CSSB have played just once before, an 18-4 USC victory on Feb. 5, 2005.
LAST SEASON
In 2007, USC finished third in the NCAA Tournament and in the MPSF Tournament, losing to eventual national champion UCLA by a single goal in the semifinals at both tournaments. The Trojans went 22-6 overall last season and were 10-2 in MPSF action. The Women of Troy also expanded their home win streak to 38 straight games with their fifth consecutive undefeated season at McDonald's Swim Stadium.
LET THE BALANCE BEGIN
In the previous three seasons, the Trojans have tallied18 different scorers each year. In game one of 2008, USC made a big early dent in that mark with 10 Women of Troy scoring against Hartwick on Feb. 2, hinting at another widespread scoring attack from the Trojans in the season to come.
WHO'S BACK
Leading the Trojans into the 2008 season are a set of four experienced seniors ¬-- Veronika Bartunkova, Miranda Nichols, Alison Riddle and Julie Spataru -- as well as 2006 All-American goalie Whitney Morgan and 2007 MPSF All-Freshman picks Forel Davies and Alexandra Kiss. Also entering another year of action at Troy are juniors Jordan Anae and Michelle Stein and sophomores Tumua Anae and Kally Lucas.
WHO'S NEW
USC has added a stack of new talent to its 2008 roster, including a set of last year's redshirt players. The Trojans' redshirt freshman are Tekla Beckmann, Shauna Letvin and Rebecca McCall. And splashing down for their first seasons at Troy as true freshmen are Kristen Dronberger, Katie Indvik, Jessica Kutcher, Stephanie Lavayen, Courtney Ray, Lindsey Urquhart and Sarah Van Norman.
PUTTING THE "USC" IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
As the 2008 Olympic Games draw near, so does the promise of Olympic dreams for several Trojans. USC athletes comprise almost a third of the current U.S. women's national team roster, as Team USA preps for Beijing. USC junior Kami Craig is taking time off from the pool at Troy this year in order to work toward the games alongside five former Trojans: Patty Cardenas, Erika Figge, Brittany Hayes, Moriah Van Norman and Lauren Wenger. Team USA also boasts 1996 USC grad and 2000 Olympian Bernice Orwig as an assistant coach. Over the summer, USC sophomore Forel Davies joined Craig as a member of the U.S. Junior National Team at the 2007 Junior World Championships in Portugal. To keep up with the Women of Troy in their pursuit of Olympic gold, check back to usctrojans.com and also at usawaterpolo.org.
