USC
Air Force
Day One Down For Rolling No. 1 Trojans
September 05, 2009 | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 5, 2009
LA JOLLA, CALIF. - The top-ranked USC men's water polo team opened up the 2009 season with a winning day at the Triton Invitational. Coming off a 29-0 year last season, the Trojans got out to a 2-0 start with today's wins over Pomona-Pitzer and Air Force. Tomorrow, USC wraps up group play at the tournament with a morning game against LMU at 10:40 a.m. to earn the right to play for the championship that afternoon. Games are being held at La Jolla High School's Coggan Family Aquatic Center.
USC's first look at a 2009 opponent was a dominating one. The Trojans delivered a barrage of scoring against Pomona-Pitzer while the USC defense clamped down hard on the Sagehens' offense. With Joel Dennerley opening up in the cage and Brett Giery taking the helm the rest of the way, Pomona-Pitzer would be held scoreless until late in the game on the way to USC's 16-2 win.
USC's next takedown of 2009 came later in the day in a 16-5 win over Air Force. Dennerley and Will Simon shared time in the cage for this one, as the Trojans pinned up another dominating performance. The two wins put USC in good position for a shot at the title match, with tomorrow's match against LMU as the decider to finish group play at the top and move into the final.
Complete Triton Invitational scores and schedule are available at TOURNAMENT CENTRAL.
GROUP PLAY - Sept. 5
GAME ONE
#1 USC 16, Pomona-Pitzer 2
USC 6 - 2 - 5 - 3 = 16
P-P 0 - 0 - 0 - 2 = 2
SCORING:
USC - Justin Rappel 3, Peter Kurzeka 3, Shea Buckner 2, Devon Borisoff 2, Forest Monroe 2, Matt Sagehorn, Kyle Sterling, J.W. Krumpholz, Michael Rosenthal.
P-P - Baliklan 2.
GAME TWO
#1 USC 16, #19 Air Force 5
USC 3 - 3 - 5 - 5 = 16
AF 1 - 2 - 2 - 0 = 5
SCORING:
USC - Jordan Thompson 3, J.W. Krumpholz 2, Anthony Artukovich 2, Matt Sagehorn 2, Brian Boswell 2, Justin Rappel, Peter Kurzeka, Kyle Sterling, Nico Sardo, Zayne Belal.
Air Force - Shields 2, Smithson, Geiger, Versage.
Players Mentioned
