No. 1 USC just two wins away from historic six-peat
The USC men’s water polo team, following their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament title, will be heading to Palo Alto this weekend to try and win an unprecedented sixth straight national championship.
Legend · Senior driver Nikola Vavic already holds USC’s all-time scoring record (248 goals), but is still playing for his fourth career national title. – Ralf Cheung | Daily Trojan
By virtue of their MPSF tournament triumph, the Trojans were awarded the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament for a stunning ninth consecutive year, which should be a benefit for them going forward.
The Trojans finished with four losses, an unusually high number for the national powerhouse, but were able to gain some momentum in the conference tournament by sweeping three straight matches, culminating in the 10-8 championship game victory over Stanford.
Palo Alto is a fitting site for the Trojans to potentially capture their sixth straight national title, as Stanford also hosted the NCAA Tournament in 2008 when USC won its first championship and kicked off this historic run.
USC will play their first game Saturday against the winner of the play-in game between No. 4-seeded UC San Diego (14-13) and No. 5-seeded St. Francis Brooklyn (22-10).
If the Trojans avoid what would be a massive upset in the semifinals, they will likely compete in the finals against either No. 2-seeded Pacific (22-4) or No. 3-seeded Stanford (21-5), who must first dispose of No. 6-seeded Whittier (19-12) in a play-in game.
The NCAA bracket usually plays out as a series of rematches between MPSF powerhouses. But since the tournament also gives out automatic bids to the champions of less competitive conferences, there are typically a few formidable teams from the MPSF who get left out of the field.
Luckily for the Trojans, one of those teams this year is their crosstown rival UCLA (28-4), who defeated them twice. The Bruins suffered just as many losses as USC, but their defeats came at a far more crucial time. UCLA lost its last two games of the season in the MPSF tournament, each by one goal to Stanford and Pacific, dooming them to a fourth-place finish that left them just short of the NCAA field.
USC, meanwhile, will appear in the NCAA tournament for the 28th time, giving the Trojans the most NCAA appearances in the history of the sport.
Aside from being ranked tops in the NCAA tournament, USC also finds itself in the familiar position of No. 1 overall in the nation. The Trojans entered the year ranked No. 1, but lost that spot with a midseason loss to the Bruins.
Earlier this week, senior driver Nikola Vavic was named the MPSF conference player of the year for the second straight season. USC’s all-time goal leader won the award after netting 75 goals for the Trojans this season, the fifth-highest mark in the conference. Vavic enters his final weekend of collegiate play with 248 career goals.
Vavic will try to finish out his time at USC with another championship, and if he is able to do so, the head coach’s son will go down as one of the most decorated athletes in water polo history. If he records five more goals this weekend, it’ll be the second straight year Vavic will have eclipsed the 80-goal mark after totaling 83 last season. Only seven other MPSF players have ever recorded 80 goals.
If the Trojans do clinch their six straight title, it’ll break their tie with the UCLA women’s team for most consecutive championships won by any collegiate water polo team.
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