USC Trojans

Tennis Takes on the Field

By Jordan Moore on May 1, 2013 11:23 AM | No Comments

USC men's and women's tennis are ready to make another NCAA run after supporting each other through last year's respective national championship and Final Four successes. Going into the 2013 NCAA tournament, the men will carry the No. 4 overall seed, while the Women of Troy are No. 5.

Click here for the full story.

Trying to win a fifth consecutive NCAA team title, USC men's tennis finished the regular season 23-4 with three losses to No. 1 UCLA and the other defeat coming against No. 2 Virginia. The Trojans are on a course to meet the Bruins in the Final Four, and could potentially face Virginia in the national championship match for the third consecutive season.

Click here for the full men's bracket.

The Women of Troy closed the season winning 13 consecutive matches en route to a Pac-12 team title. They lost just twice this year (No. 2 North Carolina and No. 8 Cal), but they will face more immediate challenges from No. 4 Georgia and No. 1 Florida on their half of the bracket.

Click here for the full women's bracket.

Both teams will open up NCAA play hosting the first and second rounds at Marks Stadium (May 10-12). Coincidentally, they both battle Sacramento State in the opening match.

The University of Illinois is hosting the Sweet 16 through the NCAA title match (May 16-21) as well as the singles and doubles tournaments which will follow the team competition.

Lendrum Rewarded by NCAA

By Jordan Moore on May 1, 2013 11:07 AM | No Comments

Senior All-American swimmer Alex Lendrum was awarded an NCAA post-graduate scholarship ($7,500) for his combined excellence in academics and athletics. The two-year captain was a two-time All-American in the pool and a three-time Pac-12 All-Academic first team selection as well as the 2013 Pac-12 Swimming Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Click here for the full story.

Lendrum is USC's 52nd NCAA postgraduate scholarship winner and its second in the last three years (men's tennis player Jaak Poldma won it in 2011). USC is in the top 10 nationally in awardees and Lendrum is USC's eighth men's swimming recipient and the first since Dave Wharton in 1991.

Walk Your Bike!

By Jordan Moore on April 30, 2013 4:31 PM | No Comments

As part of the 2013 Tommy Awards, each team submitted a funny video to be voted on by all the student-athletes. The best original work was done by USC women's volleyball.

Click here for the 2013 Tommy Award winners and photos.

2013 Tommy Awards

By Jordan Moore on April 30, 2013 4:13 PM | No Comments

USC student-athletes gathered last night for the annual Tommy Awards to celebrate each other and the previous year in Trojan athletics.

What are the Tommy Awards? This video explains it (sort of).

Here is the list of 2013 winners which honors 2012 accomplishments:

Team of the Year - Men's Water Polo

Male Athlete of the Year - Steve Johnson, Men's Tennis

Female Athlete of the Year - Natalie Hagglund, Women's Volleyball

Male Trojan of the Year - Kevin Swick, Baseball

Female Trojan of the Year - Katie Fuller, Women's Volleyball

Best Single Competition Performance - Marqise Lee vs. Arizona

Record-Breaking Performance - Katinka Hosszu, Women's Swimming

Male Rising Star - Kostas Genidounias, Men's Water Polo

Female Rising Star - Cassie Harberts, Women's Basketball

Male Rookie of the Year - Micah Christenson, Men's Volleyball

Female Rookie of the Year - Sabrina Santamaria, Women's Tennis

Head Coach of the Year - Jovan Vavic, Water Polo

Assistant Coach of the Year - Jeremy Kipp, Men's Swimming

Staff Member of the Year - Whitney Rotrock, Stevens Academic Center

Here are the photos from the night courtesy of Jenn Kassar:

Racing to the Next Challenge

By Jordan Moore on April 30, 2013 4:02 PM | No Comments

USC All-American junior swimmer Vladimir Morozov announced that he is turning pro after winning a trio of NCAA titles this season to go along with his bronze medal from London 2012. Morozov made the announcement via his Twitter account.

This time I'm returning to the grind as a professional swimmer. Will definitely miss collegiate swimming and racing with my boys. Fight on!
-- Vladimir Morozov (@v1addy) April 30, 2013

Morozov made waves at the NCAA Championships this spring by winning both the 50y and 100y sprint titles as well as anchoring the champion 4x100y relay team. He also posted a record split in the 4x50y relay.

"We are proud that Vlad can continue his dream as a professional swimmer," said USC swimming head coach Dave Salo. "He has made an unrivaled impact on our program, and we will continue to work with him to impact the world of swimming. We will miss his athletic contributions to the Trojans, but his impact will continue."

Bryshon Beasting

By Jordan Moore on April 30, 2013 3:40 PM | No Comments

USC senior sprinter Bryshon Nellum was named the Pac-12 Track Athlete of the Week for winning the 200 meter, 400 meter and 4x400 meter relay at the Dual Meet last weekend.

Click here for the full story.

While Nellum owns a silver medal from London 2012 for his prowess in the 400, he opened up eyes in the track world with his blistering 20.37 in the 200. The time was a personal best for Nellum, but also this year's best collegiate time and fourth best in the world, and fourth on the all-time USC list.

Nellum will be a favorite in all three races at the Pac-12 Championships at USC coming up May 11 and 12. Click here for tickets.

Galen Center Making Noise

By Jordan Moore on April 30, 2013 2:32 PM | No Comments

While USC athletic events will still take top priority, Galen Center could be the new hot spot for big Los Angeles concerts after signing a partnership with Nederlander Concerts. Galen could fill the void left by the closing of the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal City.

Click here for the full story in the LA Times.

"This gives us an indoor place for those shows that need to be indoors, and for winter months it gives us the opportunity to replace some of the shows that would be at Gibson on a 12-month basis," said Nederlander Concerts Chief Executive Alex Hodges.

Championship Season

By Jordan Moore on April 30, 2013 11:35 AM | No Comments

With six active programs in the top 5 nationally, USC is eying a spring of hardware led by women's water polo and women's golf, which both earned NCAA Tournament No. 1 seeds this week.

After women's water polo took home the MPSF crown, the Women of Troy were rewarded with the overall top seed and a first round date with Pomona-Pitzer (May 10 at Harvard). No. 2 Stanford and No. 3 UCLA are on the other half of the eight-team bracket (pictured below).

Click here for the full story on women's water polo.

As for women's golf, the Trojans won five tournament titles this season to rightfully earn the top spot in the NCAA Tournament West Regional. If the Women of Troy finish in the top eight of their 24-team regional, they advance to the NCAA Championship in Athens, GA (May 21-24).

Click here for the full story on women's golf.

Coaches Tour Dates

By Jordan Moore on April 30, 2013 11:11 AM | No Comments

The annual USC Athletics road show will hit seven California cities this May and June. The Coaches Tour program features a Q&A with Lane Kiffin and new men's basketball head coach Andy Enfield plus special guest student-athletes, performances by the Trojan Marching Band and a silent auction.

Click here for more.

Legendary head coach John Robinson will serve as the emcee as the USC Coaches Tour stops in Newport Beach (May 20), Manhattan Beach (May 21), Pasadena (May 23), La Jolla (May 28), Indian Wells (May 31), San Francisco (June 5) and Atherton (June 6).

To RSVP, click here to email or click here to reserve online.

(Photo by John McGillen)

Student-Athlete Graduation

By Jordan Moore on April 30, 2013 10:44 AM | No Comments

The Trojan Family is invited to celebrate the culmination of another year in USC Athletics at the annual Student-Athlete Graduation at Galen Center on Thursday, May 16. The ceremony begins at 2 p.m. with a reception to follow.

Click here to RSVP and get more info.