USC Water Polo Wins NorCal Tournament
The No. 1 USC men's water polo team made waves this weekend as they captured the NorCal Tournament title for the second year in a row. The Trojans beat No. 3 UCLA in Sunday's final with help from a record-breaking defensive game by USC goalie Joel Dennerley and an unmatched offensive attack by freshman driver Kosta Genidounias.
Dennerley made history with 19 saves against the Bruins, far surpassing the three he needed to take his place as the USC all-time career saves leader. He takes the title with 692 career saves from 24-year titleholder Kevin Stringer.
The Trojans tore apart a 2-2 tie in the first quarter of the game with back-to-back goals by Genidounias and a third consecutve score by sophomore driver Nikola Vavic, giving them a commanding 5-2 lead in the second quarter. The Bruins rallied, though, and cut USC's lead to 7-6 with a minute left in the third quarter.
USC senior driver Peter Kurzeka's goal with nine seconds left in the third gave the Trojans some wiggle room heading into the fourth quarter. Two more goals by Genidounias and a tireless defense helped the Trojans take the title with a score of 10-8.
Earlier Sunday, USC defeated No. 4 Stanford 12-5 in the semifinals of the tournament. On Saturday, the Trojans beat No. 6 UC Irvine 11-4 and unranked West Valley JC 20-3.
USC, now 6-0 on the season, returns to action Saturday against UC Irvine at McDonald's Swim Stadium at 1 p.m.
