This Saturday, No. 3 USC hosts No. 5 Cal at Uytengsu Aquatics Center at 10:30 a.m. for the men's water polo regular season finale. First, the Trojans will honor their four graduating seniors Rex Butler, Kostas Genidounias, Max Hurst-Mendoza and Marc Vonderweidt with a Senior Day ceremony fit for champions.
Unique in the world of college athletics, this senior class knows nothing but winning. The quartet has played in a combined eight NCAA Tournaments in the past three seasons and three of the four - Butler, Genidounias and Vonderweit - have experience from USC's 2012 and 2013 championship matches. As the Trojans seek out their seventh consecutive national title this season, it is the senior class that has set the tone and continued to establish the team's championship culture.
Leading the charge for USC is senior Kostas Genidounias who tops the team with 67 goals. The three-time All-American has steadily climbed the USC scoring ranks in his four-year tenure. His current mark of 246 goals puts him at second all-time and just eight goals back from Nikola Vavic's No. 1 record. Genidounias, who plays for the Greek National Team in the offseason, has been an integral part of the Trojans' last three national championships, scoring three goals in his first-ever NCAA Tournament in 2011, the game-winner in the 2012 NCAA Championship and two goals in last year's 12-11 overtime victory over Pacific.
Rex Butler packs a potent punch on the other side of the pool and is second in scoring on the team with 39 goals. He has also joined prestigious company in the USC record books this season, earning his place in the Century Club with 108 career goals and counting. As a redshirt senior, Butler owns four national championship rings and has been a key playmaker for the Trojans the past two seasons.
As USC begins yet another historic postseason pursuit, it can get a great boost in the MPSF standings and the postseason race with a win against Cal to close out the regular season. The Pac-12 Networks will be broadcasting the game live on Saturday, so tune in or come out to Uytengsu at 10:30 a.m.
Here is the dynamic senior duo on Trojans Live in September...
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