Women's Water Polo
    Trojans Take First Step Toward London 2012
    USC water polo has six players heading to the Pan American Games for Olympic qualification competition.
    USC's 2010 top scorer Joelle Bekhazi caps up for Canada at the Pan American Games this month.
    USC's 2010 top scorer Joelle Bekhazi caps up for Canada at the Pan American Games this month.

    Oct. 11, 2011

    USC water polo has another contingent of competitors lined up to vie for a spot at the Olympic Games with this year's qualifying action at the Pan American Games in Mexico coming fast. On the men's side, J.W. Krumpholz is playing for Team USA once again. The women's bracket, meanwhile, is peppered with Women of Troy, with three on the United States roster and two more playing for Canada. The Pan American Games are scheduled to run October 23-29 in Guadalajara, Mexico.

    Krumpholz, a back-to-back NCAA champ and Peter J. Cutino Award winner at USC, settles back in with the United States men for this month's Pan American Games competition. His national team experience is lengthy and decorated, as Krumpholz was a member of the USA's Olympic silver medal squad in 2008.

    Two more Team USA veterans -- Kami Craig and Lauren Wenger -- reside on the women's roster, along with relative newcomer Tumua Anae. Anae is making her first trip to the Pan American Games and has an eye on becoming a first-time Olympian if the United States can push through the Pan American Games victoriously. Craig and Wenger were both on the U.S. squad four years ago en route to winning Olympic silver medals with Team USA in 2008. Anae and Craig were both seniors on USC's 2010 NCAA Championship team, and Wenger was a national champ with the Trojan as a sophomore in 2004.

    The USA Trojans will have to square off against a pair of Canadian Trojans during the action in Guadalajara, however. Team Canada boasts two more experienced Women of Troy in Joelle Bekhazi and Rosanna Tomiuk. Bekhazi was USC's top scorer in 2010 when the Trojans won the national championship, and Tomiuk played for one season in 2009 as a graduate student at USC.

     

     

    Keep track of the Trojans on their international journeys by visiting the Pan American Games web site.