What to watch during finals
Tomorrow, the last edition of the Daily Trojan will come out for the semester, but spring sports are just getting into the thick of their seasons. Even with study days and finals on the horizon, here are all the big things you can watch from USC’s sports as a way to take a break from your work.
Lacrosse: Pac-12 Championships May 3 – May 6
The lacrosse team sits alone at the top of the Pac-12 standings with an 8-1 record. They’ve beaten every team in their conference and will lock up the regular season title with a win this weekend against Arizona State. They will be looking to get the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by winning their conference tournament.
The Trojans have been near perfect since the middle of March, going 9-1 since beating Hofstra. Their defense has been near lights out. The 8.31 goals per game USC allows is good for the sixth-best average in the entire country. They’ve been rewarded for this by claiming seven of the 10 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week honors this year, a new conference record. You’ll have to tune in to see if they can maintain their hot streak into the conference tournament.
Beach Volleyball: NCAA Championships May 5 – May 7
One. For. The. Thumb. No. 3 beach volleyball is amping up its quest to win its fifth national championship and its third championship in a row. They finished the season with 26 wins and three losses, with two coming at the hands of No. 1 UCLA. The Trojans will first have to battle through the Pac-12 Championship, which is starting Wednesday.
USC has won four of the six Pac-12 Championships for beach volleyball. If they win this one, they will secure an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament but will likely qualify regardless, boasting the third-best record in collegiate beach volleyball. The quest for another national title is still in the midst of beach volleyball and will continue in the middle of finals.
Men’s Tennis: Pac-12 Championships April 26 – April 29
Men’s tennis finished their regular season with a perfect 9-0 at home. They also clinched a share of the regular season Pac-12 title for the first time since 2015, thanks to their most recent win against Utah. The No. 10 Trojans want to bring home their fourth straight Pac-12 tournament trophy. They’ve also made it to the NCAA tournament for the past 15 years and will aim to add to that by securing the automatic bid from the conference tournament.
With the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament, the Trojans will await to see who their first opponent is. They will play either ASU or Oregon, both of whom they’ve beaten already this season. The championship match will be this Saturday, and men’s tennis will hope to be punching their ticket to the tournament later that day.
Baseball: Oregon home series May 5 – May 7
USC baseball has had quite the turnaround of a season so far. They’re fresh off a walk-off and series-clinching win against UCLA and are two games off of first place in the Pac-12. After finishing with an 8-22 conference record and dead last in the Pac-12 last season, new Head Coach Andy Stankiewicz has helped rebuild the program.
A lot will change between now and by the time their series kicks off against Oregon. By then, they could very well be playing to take sole possession of first in the conference. They’ll also look to cement a winning conference record for the first time since 2015. This home series against Oregon, the second to last of the regular season, will be important for the Trojans’ postseason aspirations.
Women’s Water Polo: Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament April 29 – April 30
Water polo has had another dominant season, as they wrapped up an undefeated record in the MPSF on Saturday with a win at UCLA. The No. 1 team in the country had just one loss on the year to Stanford. But they already avenged it by beating the Cardinal on April 8, scoring a whopping 17 goals, the most Stanford’s allowed in its program’s history.
They have the No. 1 overall seed in the conference tournament and have a first-round bye because of it. By winning the MPSF tournament this weekend, they would lock up an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, so there’s still much to play for. After losing in the conference tournament finals last year, the Trojans will look to reassert their dominance in the pool.
Women’s Tennis: Pac-12 Championships April 26 – April 29
At the same time as the men’s conference tournament, the women’s tennis team will also be looking to make some noise in the Pac-12 conference tournament. They finished the season in sixth in the conference and have a first-round matchup against Washington State. USC played them already in early March and took care of business, defeating them 6-1.
Freshman Maddy Sieg will try to help push the Trojans closer to their first ever Pac-12 Championship. Sieg, currently ranked No. 11 in the country, has only lost one singles dual match so far and has played every match on center court for USC. If Sieg and the Trojans can get hot at the right time, they could rally all the way to the NCAA tournament for the third straight season.
Those are just a few of the highlights that USC sports have to offer during the stressful time that is finals week. From championships to marquee games, each program will strive to make a final postseason push before their seasons are over.