University Southern California Trojans
No. 2 USC Holds Home Opener Saturday vs. LMU
February 10, 2010 | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 10, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
THIS WEEK
The No. 2 USC women's water polo team sets up for its home opener this weekend as No. 7 Loyola Marymount comes across the 405 for a visit to McDonald's Swim Stadium. The Trojans bring a 4-1 record into their first home game of the year, which puts USC up against the Lions (4-0) at 12 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 13).
IN THE RANKINGS
USC picked up the No. 2 ranking in the national preseason poll and remains there for the third straight week. LMU is ranked No. 7 this week.
LAST WEEK
USC got out of the gates with a 4-1 record after opening the season with a 13-3 win over Long Beach State. The Trojans then headed to the Stanford Invitational. Bracketed with top-ranked Stanford in group play, USC started with a 13-6 win over San Jose State before coming up short of No. 1 Stanford in a 10-7 loss. The next day, USC topped Michigan 14-6 to earn a spot in the third-place game against UCLA. There, the Trojans posted their biggest win over rival UCLA since 1999 in a 13-3 victory over the Bruins. Forel Davies emerged as USC's top scorer in their opening stretch with eight goals total -- including six during the Stanford Invite. Davies was also near perfect on opening sprints in the tournament. Kami Craig and Joelle Bekhazi each added six goals at the tourney for USC. Tumua Anae was the force in the cage for the Trojans, compiling 36 saves in USC's first five contests, while allowing just 4.8 goals per game.
SCOUTING LMU
The Lions are 4-0 on the year after opening the season with a run to the Triton Invitational championship last weekend. LMU beat Sonoma State 18-3 and UC Davis 16-8 before an 11-5 semifinal win over UC Irvine a 12-7 win over Hartwick in the final. In their first season under head coach Kyle Witt, the Lions open the season scoring 57 goals, the most in program history through four games, with Kimberly Benedetti scoring eight on the first day and Anne Scott with five on the second day of competition. USC is 17-0 all-time against the Lions, including a 14-9 win at LMU last season.
NOT A TYPO
It's been over a decade since the Trojans so decisively dominated their crosstown rival UCLA as they did last week at the Stanford Invitational. After streaking ahead of the Bruins 8-0 in the game, USC pinned up a 13-3 victory over UCLA in the third-place game at the tourney. The Trojans and Bruins played out one-goal games last season in three meetings, and UCLA had won 10 straight games until USC snapped the streak with an 8-7 win in their first clash last year. In 1999, USC beat UCLA 11-1.
WORLDLY ALL-AMERICANS
USC returns a fistful of All-Americans to the roster for 2009, and the group also hauls in added experience from international action during the offseason. 2008 U.S. Olympic silver-medalist and 2009 Cutino Award winner Kami Craig was joined by fellow Trojan All-Americans Tumua Anae, Forel Davies and Kristen Dronberger for U.S. National Team training. Anae, Davies and Dronberger all competed for Team USA at the Canada Cup in December, paying a visit to another USC All-American, Joelle Bekhazi, who is a member of the Canadian National Team. It was a Trojan All-American reunion again at the 2009 Holiday Cup as well, with Bekhazi again on the Canada roster and Craig and Davies capping up for the USA.
LAST SEASON
USC had a powerful 2009 season, racking up a 26-2 overall record that included a regular-season overtime loss to Stanford and a 5-4 loss to UCLA in the NCAA championship game. The Trojans made their third appearance in the national title match in four years and had beaten UCLA twice in one-goal games prior to the championship bout. The Women of Troy had beaten Stanford 5-4 in the MSP tournament title match to clinch the automatic seed to the NCAA Tournament with USC's first MPSF Championship since 2004 and second all-time. Kami Craig went on to win the Peter J. Cutino Award, and was one of six Trojans to be named an All-American.
