Women of Troy top conference poll

Fresh off of their second national title in four years, the USC women’s water polo team topped the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s preseason poll. Four times since Jovan Vavic became the head coach of the men’s and women’s water polo teams at USC, he’s been able to coach both teams to a national championship in the same school year (1998-99, 2003-04, 2009-2010 and 2012-13).

 

The poll predicts that Vavic is likely to accomplish the feat for a fifth time. After winning the national title with the men’s team this past December, the MPSF preseason poll narrowly predicted USC women’s team to finish first in the conference that has won every national championship since water polo became sanctioned as a varsity sport by the NCAA in 2001.

Much like last year’s national championship game, the team finished just a hair ahead of second-place Stanford. The Women of Troy beat Stanford 10-9 in overtime in last year’s national title bout and received four out of seven first place votes in the poll, with Stanford receiving the other three.

UCLA finished third in the poll, indicating that little has changed in the national landscape of women’s water polo in the last two decades. USC, UCLA and Stanford have combined to win all 13 of the national titles in the sport’s history, and the runner-up has also come from the trio 11 of those times.

Two years ago, it was Stanford that squeaked past USC in the 2012 title bout with a 6-4 win. But USC had the upper hand against the Cardinal in the 2010 final, which the Women of Troy also won 10-9.

Junior driver and last year’s MPSF player of the year Monica Vavic, daughter of the head coach, returns from last year’s team along with senior All-Americans Flora Bolonyai, Kaleigh Gilchrist, Madeline Rosenthal and Kelly Mendoza.

The Women of Troy open competition at the Triton Invitational in San Diego on Feb. 8. The team will also unveil the new Uytengsu Aquatics Center on March 7 against CSU Bakersfield.