Sept. 5, 1999

LOS ANGELES - At long last, USC enters a season as the defending NCAA men's water polo champions. Now that the first one is out of the way, will more follow?

USC Coach Jovan Vavic believes so.

"We can be better than last year," said Vavic, who takes over the head coaching reins from John Williams (he retired this summer after 26 years in the position). "If we stay healthy and are 100 percent going into the postseason, we are going to be very tough to beat. There is a lot of great competition out there, but I feel we can be the best team again."

After taking second place six times in previous NCAA competitions, the Trojans broke through in the 1998 championship game by beating Stanford, 9-8, in overtime. It was a joyous occasion and the effects are still being felt.

"It still feels special," said Vavic, who also guided the Women of Troy to the 1999 national title as their head coach. "We waited for so many years to win the championship and now that we have done it, everyone has a little different attitude. It's a very nice atmosphere, thanks to the championship."

It's an atmosphere conducive to winning more championships, already evidenced by USC's victory this summer at the Summer Nationals club tournament.

"These players have a great drive," said Vavic, who has a record of 89-18 in the past four seasons as the men's co-head coach. "The reason we won last year was because we had a special group of people. We still do. Winning the Summer Nationals proved that."

USC lost only a few key players from last year's team that finished 25-3, most notably Marko Pintaric. He was the NCAA Player of the Year and hit the game-winning two-pointer in overtime in the NCAA championship game.

However, the Trojans return six players who earned All-American status in 1998. And, USC is ranked No. 1 in the preseason national poll.

Highlighting the list of returners is senior goalie Richard McEvoy, a two-time All-American third teamer who keys an outstanding Trojan defense that gave up just 6.3 points per game in 1998 (the school's best mark since 1980). McEvoy is backed up by fellow senior Darin Smith.

The offense also returns several standouts. Junior driver George Csaszar led the Trojans in scoring last year with 60 points and was an All-American second teamer. Senior 2-meter man James Castle added 37 points and also made the All-American second team.

Three returning Trojans earned 1998 All-American honorable mention acclaim: sophomore 2- meter man Ivan Babic (37 points), senior 2-meter man Peter Janov (34 points) and senior driver Allen Basso (25 points).

On top of that, two other starters return. Junior driver Stever O'Rourke scored 16 points last season. Sophomore 2-meter man Bjorn Nordstrom started as a 1996 redshirt freshman but missed the last two seasons while serving on a Mormon mission.

Further depth is provided by two more returning letterwinners in sophomore 2-meter man Adam Guerrero (six points) and senior driver Johnathon Hewko (six points).

As usual, USC has brought in an outstanding recruiting class, with several players who could help immediately, including sophomore drivers Greg Feldman and Jordan Hewko, both of whom transferred from Pepperdine, sophomore utility Daniel Lontay of Hungary, freshman driver Filippe Pinciroli of Brazil, and freshman utility Jeff Larson from Marina High in Huntington Beach, Calif.

"I really like the depth on this team," said Vavic, who is assisted by Marko Zagar, Sasha Bucur, Hrvoje Cizmic and Bernice Orwig. "I think we added to it greatly with some of our new players.

"The defense really will be the strength of this team again. Rich McEvoy is realistically the best goalie in the country and we have very strong hole guards in Peter Janov, Ivan Babic and Bjorn Nordstrom."

It could be enough for USC to win back-to-back championships.

"As the defending champion, all of our competitors are going to be extra motivated to face us," Vavic said. "We have to be ready, and I'm sure we will."

USC begins the 1999 season on Friday (Sept. 10) at Long Beach State at 3 p.m. The Trojans will host the Southern California Tournament on Sept. 18-19.