Richard McEvoy is perhaps the top goalie in the country.

Oct. 5, 1999

LOS ANGELES - The defending NCAA champion USC men's water polo team (8-1 overall, 2-0 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), heads up to the Northern California Tournament, hosted by Stanford, this weekend (Oct. 9-10). USC meets Santa Clara in the first round on Saturday at 10:20 a.m. Should the Trojans win, they will move into the quarterfinals and play either UC Irvine or Air Force at 3:50 p.m. on Saturday. The Trojans' next two games will take place on Sunday.

RANKINGS - USC is ranked No. 3 in the Oct. 5 U.S. Water Polo Top 20 Poll.

NOR-CAL TOURNAMENT HISTORY - The Trojans won three consecutive Nor-Cal Tournaments (1995-97) before placing fifth last year. USC beat UC Davis in the first round in 1998, but lost to Pacific in their next game to fall into the consolation bracket. The Trojans rebounded with victories over California and Pepperdine.

LAST WEEKEND - USC dominated UC Irvine, 10-1, last Saturday (Oct. 2) at the McDonald's Swim Stadium, beating the Anteaters for the 11th straight time and nearly shutting them out in an MPSF contest. Allen Basso, Peter Janov and Stever O'Rourke each scored two goals for the Trojans. Richard McEvoy made eight saves and didn't allow a goal until the game's final five seconds. The one goal allowed was USC's best defensive effort since 1995 in a 12-1 win over Pacific.

JOVAN VAVIC - After serving as co-head coach for the last four seasons, Vavic takes over as head coach in 1999. The last year has been a good one for Vavic, as he helped the USC men to the 1998 NCAA championship, then led the USC women to the 1999 national championship as their head coach. Entering this season, Vavic's record as co-head coach was 89-18 (.832).

RICHARD McEVOY - After earning All-American third team status the last two seasons, Richard McEvoy (Pembroke Pines, FL/Cooper City HS) may very well be the best goalie in the country as a 1999 senior. He has made 88 saves in 1999, 9.8 per game, and is allowing 5.6 points per game. He ranks fourth on USC's career save list with 479. McEvoy made the All-Southern California Tournament second team.

GEORGE CSASZAR - USC's leading scorer in 1998, George Csaszar is off to another good start as a 1999 junior driver. A native of Hungary, he is second on USC with 15 points this season. He made the All-Southern California Tournament first team. Last year he made the All-American second team and scored 60 points.

ALLEN BASSO - One of USC's most veteran players, senior driver Allen Basso (Lake Forest/El Toro HS) is off to a terrific start. He has scored 22 points, best on the team, and has connected on a team-high three two-pointers. He made the All-Southern California Tournament first team. He was named MPSF Player of the Week on Sept. 13 after scoring five points in the season opener against Long Beach State. Last season he made All-American honorable mention and scored 25 points.

OTHERS - In addition to McEvoy, Csaszar and Basso, the Trojans feature three other All-Americans from a year ago ... Senior 2-meter man James Castle (Hacienda Heights/Wilson HS), an All-American second teamer in 1998, was slowed by injury to start the 1999 season. He has scored six points ... Senior 2-meter man Peter Janov (Bratislava, Slovakia) is considered USC's ironman because of the amount of minutes he plays. An All-American honorable mention last season, he has scored 10 points this season ... Sophomore 2-meter man Ivan Babic (Belgrade, Yugoslavia) is another standout who also made All-American honorable mention last season. He has seven points in 1999.

LAST SEASON - The Trojans captured the 1998 NCAA championship by beating Stanford, 9-8, in overtime in the title game. USC finally won an elusive championship after finishing second six times, including four of the previous five years. Marko Pintaric, who hit the game-winning two-pointer against Stanford, was named the NCAA Player of the Year. The Trojans finished with a school-record 25-3 mark.