Sept. 7, 2005

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THIS WEEK: The Trojans kick off their 2005 season with a trip to UC Irvine on Saturday (Sept. 10) at 12 p.m.

RANKINGS: USC is ranked No. 3 in the most recent national poll, and UC Irvine (3-1) is ranked No. 8.

ON UC IRVINE: The Anteaters are coming off a 3-1 effort at last weekend's Triton Invitational at UC San Diego. There, UC Irvine beat UC Davis 10-6 and UC Santa Cruz 9-2 before falling in the semifinal game to UC San Diego 8-7 in overtime. UCI finished third in the tournament after beating Loyola Marymount 5-4. Dreason Barry led the Anteaters with 11 goals in the tournament. Marc Hunt is in his first season as head coach of the Anteaters. Former head coach Ted Newland remains involved with the program as Coach Emeritus after 39 years at the helm at UCI.

TROJAN-ANTEATER RIVALRY: USC is 49-25 all-time against UC Irvine. The Trojans went 2-1 against the Anteaters last season, last beating them 7-4 at the MPSF Championships.

VAVIC ON DECK: Head coach Jovan Vavic, one of the top water polo coaches in the country, serves a dual role as the head coach of both the USC men's and women's teams and has led both to national championships twice in the same school year (the men in 1998 and 2003 and the women in 1999 and 2004). As he begins his 11th season at the helm of the men's program, Vavic has a 213-51 (.807) record on the men's side after leading the 2004 Trojan squad to a third-place finish in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and a 22-5 overall mark. He also boasts a winning record against all opponents on the men's side of the game. Vavic pulled a coaching double sweep when he was named 2003 National Coach of the Year and MPSF Coach of the Year for the men and 2004 National Coach of the Year and MPSF Coach of the Year for the women. The 2004 women's team became the first team in NCAA Championship history to go undefeated (29-0) during the regular season.

BACK ON THE ATTACK: Four of USC's top seven 2004 scorers are back in the lineup for 2005 -- having accounted to 124 goals amongst them last season. That attack is led by leading scorer senior Juraj Zatovic, who was an All-American and All-MPSF selection last season, leading USC with 46 goals to put him at 152 career goals. Add to that the wiley left-handed arm of junior Thomas Hale, junior Juan Delgadillo and sophomore Tommy Corcoran, and the Trojans bring back a balanced set of offensive options.

CAGE FIGHTERS: The Trojans return their reliable tandem in the goal with junior Don Ricci and sophomore Adam Shilling back and capped up in red for 2005. Also slotted in the No. 1 cap are junior Justin McCain and redshirt freshmen Ronnie Giery and Benjamin Weil.

SENIOR STRENGTH: In addition to true senior Juraj Zatovic's unquestioned leadership in the water, fellow seniors Nick Healy and Ted Zepfel add another depth charge to the leading role. CENTER RING: In addition to sophomore Tommy Corcoran, the Trojans boast some sizeable talent at the two-meter position. Battling for inside water for USC in 2005 will be sophomore Brandon Child as well as versatile newcomers Arjan Ligtenberg and Jovan Vranes.

OUTSIDE WATER: On the perimeter attack sit a number of ferocious offensive guns for the Trojans. In addition to returning leading scorers Zatovic, Hale, Delgadillo and Corcoran, USC has added a potent threat in junior transfer Pavol Valovic while also enlisting the left-handed efforts of redshirt freshman Stephen Meinen.

DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS: Even with Ricci and Shilling guarding the cage, Vavic has constructed a 2005 roster packed with players who also boast staunch defensive skills in the field. Corcoran and Zepfel already have proven themselves as reliable two-meter defenders. The addition of Vranes, Ligtenberg and fellow freshman Matt Aksel is just a further clamp to place on opposing sets. And key players such as sophomore Matt Norris and redshirt freshman Joe Cosentino along with Healy, Delgadillo and Valovic have the speed to stay with opposing drivers and feed into USC's forceful counterattack.

INTERNATIONAL WATERS: Vavic's recruiting class bumps the Trojans to an impressive grand total of 12 USC players with national team experience. Aksel left his Oregon home to spent the summer training with the U.S. Junior National Team, while Ligtenberg also prepped for his Trojan career in international waters with the U.S. Youth National Team. Also fresh to the USC deck comes Valovic, who spent time in the Slovakian national team system before joining the ranks at Golden West College.

HOME POOL ADVANTAGE: After battling through regular-season competition, USC will play host to the crucial MPSF tournament (Nov. 25-27), where conference teams will vie for the championship title and an automatic bid into the eight-team NCAA Tournament. All the action is set to go down at McDonald's Swim Stadium.