Friday, February 21
Irvine, Calif.
10 a.m.
USC
vs
Biola
Players Mentioned
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
Photo by: Drake Lee
No. 1 USC Women’s Water Polo Aims For Another Tourney Title On Trip To BKI
February 20, 2025 | Women's Water Polo
Trojans are the top seeds for action at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine from Feb. 21-23.
THIS WEEK
No. 1 USC shifts focus back to tournament play this week as the Trojans (11-0) head to Irvine for the Barbara Kalbus Invitational. USC opens up group play against Biola at 10 a.m. on Friday (Feb. 21) and will face either Arizona State of Long Beach State on Saturday morning (Feb. 22) in group play. Two wins would put USC in a 2:40 p.m. semifinal that afternoon. On Sunday (Feb. 23), placement games are on tap, with the BKI championship game set for 1 p.m., preceded by the 11:40 a.m. third-place game. All USC's competition is set to take place at UC Irvine's Anteater Aquatic Center.
RANKINGS
USC opened up 2025 ranked No. 3 in the national rankings. On Feb. 5, the Trojans moved up to rank No. 1 in the nation, and they stand tied in that spot in the latest national rankings (released Feb. 19) for the second straight week.
LAST ACTION
USC capitalized on a second-half surge to defeat visiting No. 9 Long Beach State 16-10 at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The Trojans outscored the Beach 10-4 in the second half to help USC get to 11-0 overall on the year. USC opened up scoring with a quick goal on the first drive from Isabel Zimmerman and a 6-on-5 conversion from Meghan McAninch. Long Beach State answered on the next possession with its own goal on the power play, but Maggie Johnson snuck in a buzzer-beater to bring the lead to 3-1. Long Beach would cut the deficit to one with three minutes remaining in the first, and the time drained out marked by a series of missed 6-on-5 opportunities for both teams. The Beach opened the second with two scores to secure its only lead of the game at 3-4, but Ava Stryker would hit her first of four goals to tie things up. Morgan Netherton and McAninch found the back of the net to try and put USC ahead further, but two Beach power play conversions brought knotted the game up at 6-6 at the half. Tilly Kearns, Emily Ausmus and Stryker would go on a 3-0 run to kick off the third, and from there the Trojans never trailed. The Beach got within one at thanks to scores on a 6-on-5 and penalty, Netherton's second and Stryker's third goal but USC up 11-8 with one frame remaining. McAninch hit her hat trick to open the fourth, and LBSU found two quick hits from 2-meters to bring it back to 12-10, but it was all USC with four minutes remaining. Two back-to-back Trojan penalty conversions from Stryker and Ausmus, along with a Gazzaniga counter and a Kearns buzzer-beater at 0:01 sealed the game at 16-10.
NOTABLE:
- With their goals today, SO Rachel Gazzaniga, SO Ava Stryker, SR Tilly Kearns and FR Emily Ausmus have all scored in every game for USC this season.
- With two goals today, Ausmus has also registered multiple-goal efforts in all 11 USC games this season.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 11 games deep into 2025, USC's balanced scoring charge is led by Emily Ausmus and Tilly Kearns with 39 and 38 goals, respectively. Next in line is Ava Stryker, with 31 to help lead a pack of seven Trojans with 10 or more goals to date. In all, 17 Trojans have scored at least one goal in 2025, including six with their first goals as Trojans. Defensively, all four USC goalies have factored into the 11-0 start — all of whom have set career highs already this year. Junior Jada Ward has started 10 games for the Trojans, and she hauled in a career-high 13 saves in USC's win over Hawai'i earlier this season. Overall, the goalie group averages 7.3 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up 9.3 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 212-102 so far, while holding teams scoreless in four different periods to date. Offensively, USC is averaging 19.3 goals per game.
ON REPEAT
In back-to-back weeks, USC claimed both MPSF awards, notching another sweep with Tilly Kearns' first MPSF Player of the Week award of the season and Emily Ausmus' second MPSF Newcomer of the Week selection on Feb. 10. The two Trojan Olympians were instrumental in top-ranked USC's 19-15 win over No. 6 UC Irvine, while also helping lift USC to a 24-7 win over Biola in the Trojans' home opener. Kearns scored five goals against the Anteaters after tallying two against the Eagles. Also against UCI, Kearns drew an exclusion and had a steal. In the win over Biola, she had three steals and an assist along with a drawn exclusion. Ausmus also scored five goals in USC's win over UC Irvine after hitting a career-high six goals vs. the Eagles. She also served up three assists and had three steals and a field block in the win over the Anteaters while going 5-of-6 shooting. Against Biola, she added two assists and two steals to her six goals on eight shots. Kearns and Ausmus have each scored in every game for USC this season, with Ausmus tallying multiple goals in all 10 games and Kearns doing so in all but one.
SWEEPS WEEK
USC landed a pair of Trojans on the MPSF's weekly honor roll for the first time this season following USC's run to the 2025 Triton Invitational championship. For their key roles in a powerful 4-0 run at the event that was topped with a title-winning victory over rival UCLA, Rachel Gazzaniga was named MPSF Player of the Week and Emily Ausmus is the MPSF Newcomer of the Week. Gazzaniga scored a career-high four goals — including a run of three straight goals during the second half — to help USC beat No. 1 UCLA 14-11 in the championship game at the Triton Invitational. She finished with nine goals at the event, having scored in all four games for the Trojans as USC also beat CMS 30-8 and No. 21 UC Davis 17-9 in group play and No. 5 Hawai'i 17-9 in the semifinals. Gazzaniga scored twice and had an assist, steal and block vs. CMS. Against UC Davis, she also scored twice and added an assist and steal along with two drawn exclusions. In the win over the Rainbow Wahine she had a goal, assist and steal. Gazzaniga also had three drawn exclusions vs. the Bruins, helping USC stay undefeated on the season at 8-0 after winning the Trojans' second Triton Invite title in the last three years. A freshman, Ausmus scored 12 goals to help USC win the Triton Invitational championship. She scored twice and had three assists in the title game against UCLA. She opened the event with five goals in a 30-8 USC win over CMS, then had a hat trick in a 17-9 win over UC Davis to wrap group play. In the semifinal vs. Hawai'i, Ausmus scored twice and had four assists and a steal to help USC to a 17-9 win over the Rainbow Wahine. Ausmus has scored multiple goals in all eight games for USC this season. Gazzaniga and Ausmus are the first Trojans to earn weekly honors from the conference this season, and this is the first set of such honors for both.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Almost half of USC's scoring was generated by just five Trojan freshmen and sophomores last year, led by All-Americans Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker with 49 goals apiece. That dynamic duo gained extra experience as teammates with Team USA in a gold-medal run at the recent Pan American Games alongside incoming freshman and 2024 Olympian Emily Ausmus. Along with Ausmus, who deferred her enrollment in 2023-24 to compete with Team USA in Paris, USC welcomes a total of five newcomers to the pool for this 2025 campaign. Also boasting international experience are true freshman Alma Yaacobi (Israel) and junior transfer Sinia Plotz (Germany). Southern California products Ava Knepper and Sofia Umeda are also tabbed as quick impact players for the Trojans in their first season ahead.
VETERAN VIPS
Two-time Olympian and 2024 silver medalist Tilly Kearns plunges back into action at USC, where she is one of a five-woman senior class setting up for their final season as Trojans. Laine Hourigan, Emma Lawson, Sally McCarthy and Isabel Zimmerman all bring veteran experience to the 2025 Trojan talent pool. Lawson and junior Maggie Johnson are USC's team captains this season, joined by Kearns, Zimmerman, junior Morgan Netherton and sophomore Gazzaniga on head coach Casey Moon's Leadership Council, which serves as a guiding force for the Trojans.
STAYING CENTERED
USC's center play is anchored by Tilly Kearns and Alma Yaacobi on the offensive end, and is balanced by the defensive savvy of Emily Ausmus and Rachel Gazzaniga as guards. Gazzaniga and Madison Haaland-Ford also add offensive options at the two-meter slot for the Trojans.
ATTACK MODE
USC's perimeter attack features a number of Trojan sharpshooters. Along with the more veteran talent of Morgan Netherton and Isabel Zimmerman, sophomores Rachel Gazzaniga, Ava Stryker and Meghan McAninch have proven their worth on the perimeter, with further reinforcements coming in from newcomers Sinia Plotz, Ausmus and Kearns. Additional depth from the bench comes from Hannah Carver and Jelena Sarac, who scored their first goals as Trojans last season, along with another redshirt sophomore in Caitlin Cohen.
CAGE FIGHTERS
On the defensive end of the pool, USC also boasts a connected unit of goalies. Laine Hourigan and Jada Ward both have logged time in the cage the last two seasons. They're joined by two other Trojan goalies in redshirt freshmen Anna Reed and Lauren Schneider as USC's goalkeeping corps for 2025.
LAST SEASON
In 2024, USC went 18-9 overall in a season that saw the Trojans make a 20th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in Casey Moon's first season as full-time head coach for the Trojans. USC tied for second in MPSF regular-season play at 4-2 and finished fourth at the MPSF Tournament. At the NCAA tourney, the Trojans fell in the quarterfinals to Stanford. USC's 2024 team was led in scoring by freshmen Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker with 49 goals apiece. Both earned All-America honors along with seniors Alejandra Aznar and Julua Janov.
THE PLACE TO BE.
The University of Southern California is the undeniable, unequaled and unquestioned top destination for student-athletes. USC is both home to 136 national team championships and one of the top-ranked private research institutions in the world. Located in the heart of the thriving Los Angeles metropolitan area, it is situated in one of the most diverse and visible media markets in the world. USC's campus is driving distance from the beautiful beaches of Southern California, the majestic mountains range of the Sierra Nevada, the sprawling splendor of the Redwood and Sequoia national forests, and the mysterious Mojave Desert. •
No. 1 USC shifts focus back to tournament play this week as the Trojans (11-0) head to Irvine for the Barbara Kalbus Invitational. USC opens up group play against Biola at 10 a.m. on Friday (Feb. 21) and will face either Arizona State of Long Beach State on Saturday morning (Feb. 22) in group play. Two wins would put USC in a 2:40 p.m. semifinal that afternoon. On Sunday (Feb. 23), placement games are on tap, with the BKI championship game set for 1 p.m., preceded by the 11:40 a.m. third-place game. All USC's competition is set to take place at UC Irvine's Anteater Aquatic Center.
RANKINGS
USC opened up 2025 ranked No. 3 in the national rankings. On Feb. 5, the Trojans moved up to rank No. 1 in the nation, and they stand tied in that spot in the latest national rankings (released Feb. 19) for the second straight week.
LAST ACTION
USC capitalized on a second-half surge to defeat visiting No. 9 Long Beach State 16-10 at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The Trojans outscored the Beach 10-4 in the second half to help USC get to 11-0 overall on the year. USC opened up scoring with a quick goal on the first drive from Isabel Zimmerman and a 6-on-5 conversion from Meghan McAninch. Long Beach State answered on the next possession with its own goal on the power play, but Maggie Johnson snuck in a buzzer-beater to bring the lead to 3-1. Long Beach would cut the deficit to one with three minutes remaining in the first, and the time drained out marked by a series of missed 6-on-5 opportunities for both teams. The Beach opened the second with two scores to secure its only lead of the game at 3-4, but Ava Stryker would hit her first of four goals to tie things up. Morgan Netherton and McAninch found the back of the net to try and put USC ahead further, but two Beach power play conversions brought knotted the game up at 6-6 at the half. Tilly Kearns, Emily Ausmus and Stryker would go on a 3-0 run to kick off the third, and from there the Trojans never trailed. The Beach got within one at thanks to scores on a 6-on-5 and penalty, Netherton's second and Stryker's third goal but USC up 11-8 with one frame remaining. McAninch hit her hat trick to open the fourth, and LBSU found two quick hits from 2-meters to bring it back to 12-10, but it was all USC with four minutes remaining. Two back-to-back Trojan penalty conversions from Stryker and Ausmus, along with a Gazzaniga counter and a Kearns buzzer-beater at 0:01 sealed the game at 16-10.
NOTABLE:
- With their goals today, SO Rachel Gazzaniga, SO Ava Stryker, SR Tilly Kearns and FR Emily Ausmus have all scored in every game for USC this season.
- With two goals today, Ausmus has also registered multiple-goal efforts in all 11 USC games this season.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 11 games deep into 2025, USC's balanced scoring charge is led by Emily Ausmus and Tilly Kearns with 39 and 38 goals, respectively. Next in line is Ava Stryker, with 31 to help lead a pack of seven Trojans with 10 or more goals to date. In all, 17 Trojans have scored at least one goal in 2025, including six with their first goals as Trojans. Defensively, all four USC goalies have factored into the 11-0 start — all of whom have set career highs already this year. Junior Jada Ward has started 10 games for the Trojans, and she hauled in a career-high 13 saves in USC's win over Hawai'i earlier this season. Overall, the goalie group averages 7.3 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up 9.3 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 212-102 so far, while holding teams scoreless in four different periods to date. Offensively, USC is averaging 19.3 goals per game.
ON REPEAT
In back-to-back weeks, USC claimed both MPSF awards, notching another sweep with Tilly Kearns' first MPSF Player of the Week award of the season and Emily Ausmus' second MPSF Newcomer of the Week selection on Feb. 10. The two Trojan Olympians were instrumental in top-ranked USC's 19-15 win over No. 6 UC Irvine, while also helping lift USC to a 24-7 win over Biola in the Trojans' home opener. Kearns scored five goals against the Anteaters after tallying two against the Eagles. Also against UCI, Kearns drew an exclusion and had a steal. In the win over Biola, she had three steals and an assist along with a drawn exclusion. Ausmus also scored five goals in USC's win over UC Irvine after hitting a career-high six goals vs. the Eagles. She also served up three assists and had three steals and a field block in the win over the Anteaters while going 5-of-6 shooting. Against Biola, she added two assists and two steals to her six goals on eight shots. Kearns and Ausmus have each scored in every game for USC this season, with Ausmus tallying multiple goals in all 10 games and Kearns doing so in all but one.
SWEEPS WEEK
USC landed a pair of Trojans on the MPSF's weekly honor roll for the first time this season following USC's run to the 2025 Triton Invitational championship. For their key roles in a powerful 4-0 run at the event that was topped with a title-winning victory over rival UCLA, Rachel Gazzaniga was named MPSF Player of the Week and Emily Ausmus is the MPSF Newcomer of the Week. Gazzaniga scored a career-high four goals — including a run of three straight goals during the second half — to help USC beat No. 1 UCLA 14-11 in the championship game at the Triton Invitational. She finished with nine goals at the event, having scored in all four games for the Trojans as USC also beat CMS 30-8 and No. 21 UC Davis 17-9 in group play and No. 5 Hawai'i 17-9 in the semifinals. Gazzaniga scored twice and had an assist, steal and block vs. CMS. Against UC Davis, she also scored twice and added an assist and steal along with two drawn exclusions. In the win over the Rainbow Wahine she had a goal, assist and steal. Gazzaniga also had three drawn exclusions vs. the Bruins, helping USC stay undefeated on the season at 8-0 after winning the Trojans' second Triton Invite title in the last three years. A freshman, Ausmus scored 12 goals to help USC win the Triton Invitational championship. She scored twice and had three assists in the title game against UCLA. She opened the event with five goals in a 30-8 USC win over CMS, then had a hat trick in a 17-9 win over UC Davis to wrap group play. In the semifinal vs. Hawai'i, Ausmus scored twice and had four assists and a steal to help USC to a 17-9 win over the Rainbow Wahine. Ausmus has scored multiple goals in all eight games for USC this season. Gazzaniga and Ausmus are the first Trojans to earn weekly honors from the conference this season, and this is the first set of such honors for both.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Almost half of USC's scoring was generated by just five Trojan freshmen and sophomores last year, led by All-Americans Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker with 49 goals apiece. That dynamic duo gained extra experience as teammates with Team USA in a gold-medal run at the recent Pan American Games alongside incoming freshman and 2024 Olympian Emily Ausmus. Along with Ausmus, who deferred her enrollment in 2023-24 to compete with Team USA in Paris, USC welcomes a total of five newcomers to the pool for this 2025 campaign. Also boasting international experience are true freshman Alma Yaacobi (Israel) and junior transfer Sinia Plotz (Germany). Southern California products Ava Knepper and Sofia Umeda are also tabbed as quick impact players for the Trojans in their first season ahead.
VETERAN VIPS
Two-time Olympian and 2024 silver medalist Tilly Kearns plunges back into action at USC, where she is one of a five-woman senior class setting up for their final season as Trojans. Laine Hourigan, Emma Lawson, Sally McCarthy and Isabel Zimmerman all bring veteran experience to the 2025 Trojan talent pool. Lawson and junior Maggie Johnson are USC's team captains this season, joined by Kearns, Zimmerman, junior Morgan Netherton and sophomore Gazzaniga on head coach Casey Moon's Leadership Council, which serves as a guiding force for the Trojans.
STAYING CENTERED
USC's center play is anchored by Tilly Kearns and Alma Yaacobi on the offensive end, and is balanced by the defensive savvy of Emily Ausmus and Rachel Gazzaniga as guards. Gazzaniga and Madison Haaland-Ford also add offensive options at the two-meter slot for the Trojans.
ATTACK MODE
USC's perimeter attack features a number of Trojan sharpshooters. Along with the more veteran talent of Morgan Netherton and Isabel Zimmerman, sophomores Rachel Gazzaniga, Ava Stryker and Meghan McAninch have proven their worth on the perimeter, with further reinforcements coming in from newcomers Sinia Plotz, Ausmus and Kearns. Additional depth from the bench comes from Hannah Carver and Jelena Sarac, who scored their first goals as Trojans last season, along with another redshirt sophomore in Caitlin Cohen.
CAGE FIGHTERS
On the defensive end of the pool, USC also boasts a connected unit of goalies. Laine Hourigan and Jada Ward both have logged time in the cage the last two seasons. They're joined by two other Trojan goalies in redshirt freshmen Anna Reed and Lauren Schneider as USC's goalkeeping corps for 2025.
LAST SEASON
In 2024, USC went 18-9 overall in a season that saw the Trojans make a 20th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in Casey Moon's first season as full-time head coach for the Trojans. USC tied for second in MPSF regular-season play at 4-2 and finished fourth at the MPSF Tournament. At the NCAA tourney, the Trojans fell in the quarterfinals to Stanford. USC's 2024 team was led in scoring by freshmen Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker with 49 goals apiece. Both earned All-America honors along with seniors Alejandra Aznar and Julua Janov.
THE PLACE TO BE.
The University of Southern California is the undeniable, unequaled and unquestioned top destination for student-athletes. USC is both home to 136 national team championships and one of the top-ranked private research institutions in the world. Located in the heart of the thriving Los Angeles metropolitan area, it is situated in one of the most diverse and visible media markets in the world. USC's campus is driving distance from the beautiful beaches of Southern California, the majestic mountains range of the Sierra Nevada, the sprawling splendor of the Redwood and Sequoia national forests, and the mysterious Mojave Desert. •
USC Water Polo's Emily Ausmus | Trojans Live 3.24.25
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Women's Water Polo - Stanford 8, USC 3: Highlights (5/10/24)
Friday, May 10
Julia Janov - 2024 NCAA Women's Water Polo Banquet speech
Thursday, May 09
Women's Water Polo - Stanford 12, USC 11: Highlights (4/28/24)
Sunday, April 28
