How USC sports fared during finals
USC sports are more than familiar with participating in NCAA tournaments. As a whole, the Trojans have won 112 NCAA championships, the third most of any school.
Whether in a sport that deals with bumping, setting, spiking, treading water or hitting a fuzzy ball over a net with a racket, the Trojans have proven they can compete at the top level. Take a look at how these Trojan teams competed in their respective NCAA tournaments over the last two weeks:
Beach volleyball
2021 champions. 2022 champions. And now 2023 champions. USC beach volleyball secured its third straight championship, beating cross-town rival UCLA 3-2 at Gulf Beach Place in Gulf Shores, Alabama May 7. The third-seeded Trojans knocked off the first-seeded Bruins to hoist their fifth overall championship. USC has the most NCAA titles in beach volleyball, with the next closest team, UCLA, having just two. This was the fifth time this season that USC and UCLA faced off against each other, with the Trojans winning only two matches — but they won the most important one.
USC got off to a hot start, taking the first two points of the dual. Graduate students Jenna Johnson and Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope knocked UCLA’s duo to take the first point of the dual at the fourth court. On court two, graduate student Madison Shields and freshman Madison White gave the Trojans a two-point lead in their three-set victory. All-American juniors Megan Kraft and Delaynie Maple did not have their best day on the beach, losing in two sets at the top court.
After dropping another game at court five, all the attention was on court three, with senior twins Audrey and Nicole Nourse looking to secure their national championship. The Nourse twins captured their 91st victory as a pair to earn USC another national title.
Water polo
Unlike beach volleyball, USC water polo fell just short in its NCAA national championship game on May 14 against fellow Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponent Stanford. This was only the Trojans’ third loss of the season, with all three coming against the Cardinal.
USC or Stanford has won every national championship since 2010. This game marked the eighth time the Trojans and Cardinal have faced off in the NCAA national title game. The Trojans came back to only be behind one goal in the fourth quarter but ended up losing the match 11-9.
The game was back and forth throughout, with USC deleting a three-goal deficit in the second quarter to tie the game up at halftime. Stanford eventually went on to take the lead 10-6 heading into the fourth quarter. The Trojans went on another three-goal run to get the game to 10-9 with 1:11 left to go in the game. The Cardinal found a way to get the ball in the back of the net again, scoring an insurance goal to take down the Trojans 11-9.
Many of USC’s graduating seniors put their names in the record books, with driver Paige Hauschild, driver Grace Tehaney, utility Bayley Weber and 2-meter Mireia Guiral all scoring in this title game. Weber finished her career No. 6 all-time in goals at USC with 214 career goals, scoring 71 of them this season.
Men’s tennis
No. 10 men’s tennis fell short in its national title hopes in a 4-3 loss to No. 7 Michigan in the super regionals May 12. In the Trojans’ NCAA tournament run, they defeated the University of Idaho in the first round and the University of San Diego in the round of 32. This was the 15th consecutive year that the Trojans have advanced to the round of 16.
The Wolverines got ahead early, securing the doubles point with USC losing both of the doubles matches 6-1. USC then tied the game up with junior Lodewijk Weststrate getting the Trojans on the board with their first point. Then, freshman Learner Tien defeated Michigan’s fifth-year Patrick Maloney for the Trojans to take the lead 2-1.
The matches were back and forth the whole day, with game point being on center court between Michigan’s No. 8 senior Ondrej Styler and USC’s No. 25 senior Stefan Dostanic. Dostanic eventually fell in three sets, with the final one being a close 7-6 loss. Although the team as a whole is finished with their season, Dostanic, sophomore Peter Makk and graduate student Bradley Frye will compete in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships May 22 to 27.
Women’s tennis
No. 24 women’s tennis fell in the second round of the NCAA tournament May 6 to No. 9 Pepperdine 4-1. The loss brings the Trojans’ final record to 20-10. This is the second time the Trojans lost to the Waves this season, losing 4-3 in early March.
After defeating University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the first round of the NCAA tournament, the second round started off poorly for the Trojans when they dropped the lone doubles point of the game — already digging themselves into a hole with a 1-0 deficit. Things only got worse for USC after UNLV’s No. 16 sophomore Savannah Broadus defeated USC redshirt sophomore Snow Han on court two, then UNLV’s graduate student Anna Camapana defeated USC sophomore Grace Piper on court six, forcing the Trojans into a 3-0 unescapable hole.
The Trojans’ lone win on the day was freshman Emma Charney defeating graduate student Bunyawi Thamchaiwat in two sets on court four.
The Trojans will have two players competing in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships: senior Eryn Cayetano and freshman Maddy Sieg.
Lacrosse
No. 18 lacrosse fell in the opening round of the NCAA tournament May 12 to undefeated No. 5 Denver 10-7. After winning the Pac-12 tournament title and going a stellar 9-1 in conference play, the Trojans ended the season on a disappointing note.
Sophomore midfielder Christina Gagnon led the way for the Trojans with her second hat trick of the season. Redshirt sophomore attacker Isabelle Vitale also helped USC fight all the way throughout the game, scoring one goal and having two assists in the game. USC concluded its season with an overall record of 16-4, its most wins in a season since 2019.
Baseball, track and field and men’s and women’s golf will all have a chance to compete in their national tournaments later this month.