
USC Seeded No. 5 For MPSF Championships
April 27, 2011 | Women's Water Polo
April 27, 2011
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THIS WEEK
USC is lined up as the No. 5 seed into this year's MPSF Championships, hosted by San Jose State at The Aquatics Center from April 29-May 1. It's a low seed for the defending national champions, but USC's postseason paths have always run through many familiar faces. This year, the Trojans (16-5) bump up against No. 4 seed UCLA (22-5) for the first step of MPSF Tournament action. The crucial clash of crosstown rivals is set for 3 p.m. on Friday (April 29). A win on Friday would put USC in a 1:30 p.m. semifinal on Saturday (April 30). The MPSF title match is set for 3 p.m. on Sunday (May 1) just after a 1:30 p.m. third-place game.
IN THE RANKINGS
USC ranks No. 4 in the nation this week. The rest of the MPSF is also within the national top-10 aside from No. 11 ASU. No. 1 Stanford leads the way, followed by No. 2 Cal, No. 3 UCLA, No. 5 Hawai'i, No. 7 San Jose State and No. 9 San Diego State.
MPSF RUNDOWN
The MPSF Championships move to Northern California for the first time since 2005 when the tourney took place in Berkeley. San Jose State is this year's host for the conference championships. Thanks to a gnarly snarl at the No. 3 spot with three-way 4-3 finishes in the MPSF final standings, USC fell prey to a tough tiebreaker to determine the 2011 tournament seedings. Hawai'i (17-7) got the edge for the No. 3 seed ahead of No. 4 seed UCLA (22-5) and the No. 5 Trojans (16-5). Conference champ Stanford (23-0) takes the top seed, with Cal (21-4) a notch behind at No. 2. The rest of the seedinds fall with No. 6 San Jose State (20-11), No. 5 San Diego State (20-12) and No. 8 Arizona State (11-12).
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
USC entered last year's MPSF Championships as the No. 2 seed and wound up taking second in the tourney. The Trojans opened up against San Diego State and won that one 15-5 to move into the semis against Cal. USC edged out the Bears 9-7 to take a spot in the title match and go for the Trojans second straight conference tournament crown, but UCLA was on a high as the hosts with a semifinal upset of top seed Stanford. The Bruins managed an 8-7 win over the Trojans in the MPSF title match to claim UCLA's eighth straight win over USC during an MPSF Tournament [the only Trojan win over UCLA in an MPSF Tournament was in 1999]. USC senior Kami Craig and freshman Patricia Jancso were named to the 2010 MPSF All-Tournament Team. The Trojans would take a 22-3 and the No. 2 seed into the 2010 NCAA Championships, eventually winning the program's third national championship with a 10-9 victory over top-seeded Stanford.
NCAA NOTES
The 2011 NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed at 4 p.m. PT on Monday (May 2) on ncaa.com. This year's national collegiate championship field of eight marks the first appearance of a team out of the Big West Conference. The conference tournament champions from the MPSF, WWPA, CWPA and Big West will be joined by three at-large teams as well as the winner of a play-in match between the tournament champs from the SCIAC and the MAAC.
SENIORS AT THE CENTURY MARK
USC seniors Joelle Bekhazi and Kristen Dronberger joined the century club at Troy with their 100th career goals scored this season. Both are making a push to crack the all-time top-10. Bekhazi is just ahead at No. 12 in the climb, holding 123 career goals to date, with Dronberger at 116.
STAT SHEET
As a team, USC sits fourth in the conference on the offensive end and fifth in defense. Having outscored their competition 229-137 so far, the Trojans are averaging 10.9 goals per game offensively and 6.52 goals-against per game. Kristen Dronberger leads USC's scoring charge with 33 goals to date, and freshman goalie Flora Bolonyai is averaging 7.6 saves and 6.3 goals-against per game in her first year as a Trojan and boasts three MPSF Newcomer of the Week selections this season.
SPREAD THE WEALTH
With 16 different scorers this season, USC has distributed its offense among more Trojans than in any of the previous three years. Patricia Jancso and Nadia Dan have scored in 18 games apiece, Kristen Dronberger and Joelle Bekhazi each have struck in 17, and Sarah Van Norman is the next most productive with goals in 16 games for USC on the year.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Eleven of USC's 16 goal scorers in 2011 entered the year with no more than a single season of experience under their caps. But still, the Trojans' youth movement is making noise. Sophomores Patricia Jancso and Dominique Sardo were key parts of USC's run to the 2010 NCAA Championship as true freshmen. This year, Jancso is a leader in scoring again with 31 goals to date, and Sardo has bettered her first season's scoring total in tallying 17 goals to date in her second year. True freshman Madeline Rosenthal is next in line with 16 goals -- along with an MPSF Newcomer of the Week award to her name -- and a freshman-sophomore combo of Kaleigh Gilchrist and Nicolina McCall also sit in double digits with 13 and 11 goals, respectively.
LAST SEASON
In 2010, the USC women emerged with their third national championship in beating top-seeded Stanford 10-9 in the 2010 NCAA Championship game. USC finished the year with a 25-3 overall record after going 6-1 in MPSF play with a second-place finish in the MPSF Tournament. USC's last NCAA title had come in 2004, and 2010 marked the Trojans' seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Kami Craig was named the Cutino Award winner for the second straight season, and Tumua Anae was the MPSF Player of the Year. That pair also led USC's All-American count for the season, with Craig becoming just the second Trojan to be named the National Player of the Year, joining 1999 honoree Bernice Orwig. Anae and junior Joelle Bekhazi were both First Team All-Americans along with Craig. Junior Kristen Dronberger was named to the Second Team, and senior Forel Davies was on the Third Team. That led in to a trio of Trojans earning Honorable Mention: seniors Alexandra Kiss and Kally Lucas and freshman Patricia Jancso. Jovan Vavic picked up his third selection as the National Women's Coach of the Year - each of which has followed national championships for his Women of Troy (1999, 2004 and 2010).