Trojan Tidbits, 3/9/20: USC splits a pair of matchups against UCLA

Our first issue of Trojan Tidbits is here — rounding up all the news from the weekend or day prior on YOUR USC Trojans.

USC was busy this weekend with multiple athletic events taking place from track and field’s season opener to the men’s basketball team clinching a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Championship. Fittingly, that’s where we start:

Men’s Basketball defeats UCLA, 54-52

Jonah Mathews hit a record for three-point shots in the game including his game-winning shot from behind the arc with just 1.0 second on the clock to defeat UCLA, 54-52. He etched his name into the USC record books and will go down in Trojan folklore after his performance against the Bruins.

Women’s Beach Volleyball beats Stanford, falls to UCLA

The No. 5 ranked USC beach volleyball team started their Saturday off on a roll, handling No. 19 Stanford, 4-1 early in the day, capping their third straight victory. That roll ended unfortunately after a hard-fought defeat at the hands of No. 2 UCLA as the Bruins needed extra-point victories to seal their win.

Women’s Beach Volleyball splits Day 2 of the Pac-12 South Invitational

After splitting their two matches on Saturday, the Women of Troy fielded similar results on Sunday against Utah and No. 11 Cal. USC defeated Utah in dominant fashion, sweeping the Utes, 5-0 before falling to the Golden Bears, 3-2 at Mapes Beach on the UCLA campus.

Pitching powers the Trojans as they defeat defending champion Vanderbilt, 2-1

Just a day after defeating No. 22 ranked TCU, 2-1, the USC baseball team capped another 2-1 victory over the No. 2 ranked Vanderbilt Commodores on the backs of a dominant pitching outing. Pitcher John Beller threw eight innings and allowed just one run, a leadoff home run on the first pitch of the game. He threw scoreless baseball after that to power the victory.

Six Trojans take home wins during final day of The Beach Opener

The final day of The Beach Opener was dotted with dominant USC performances as Trojan participants netted victories in six events. Mathew Katnik won the men’s shot put, Cassidy Palka won the women’s high jump and Omatade Ojora won the men’s 110m hurdles. Nicole Yeargin won the women’s 400m, Cameron Samuel the men’s 400m and Zach Shinnick won the men’s 200m during the Beach Opener in Long Beach.

USC women’s soccer wins 5-1 and men’s volleyball defeats non-conference Lindenwood

In early-season action for both sports, the women’s soccer team defeated Bakersfield, 5-1, in an exhibition match on Saturday. They continue their spring schedule later this month on March 29. The men’s volleyball team stayed in the win column for just their fifth win of the season and now have won three of their last five outings.

No. 8 USC lacrosse stays undefeated to start the season

The No. 8 ranked USC women’s lacrosse team cruised past Cal, 16-9 to win their sixth game of the season and second to start Pac-12 play. Attacker Izzy McMahon scored a season-high five goals during the win, also matching her career-high.

USC women’s tennis falls to Cal, 6-1

The Women of Troy are now 7-6 on the year as they were no match for the Golden Bears. USC is 0-2 in Pac-12 play but their chances against Cal were definitely thwarted by a three-hour rain delay that stifled the start of the meet.

After two straight games with just one run allowed, UCLA drops 15 on USC

The USC baseball team was fresh off two straight 2-1 victories when they took on the No. 6 ranked UCLA on Sunday. They allowed three runs in the first inning and the Bruins didn’t look back, defeating the Trojans 15-3 in dominant fashion with 19 hits while striking out seven USC hitters.

In other news ...

USC’s new football staff is aware of recent recruiting woes | OCR

A year after finishing 10th in the Pac-12 and 55th nationally in recruiting class rankings from 247Sports, new defensive line coach Vic So’oto voiced his priority No. 1 of improving recruiting in California. So’oto isn’t the only one quoted in the OCR’s latest story as they also cite new cornerbacks coach Donte Williams and new defensive coordinator Todd Orlando.

Fusaro named Pac-12 Men’s Swimming & Diving Scholar-Athlete of the Year | Pac-12

USC senior Henry Fusaro took home honors as Pac-12’s men’s swimming and diving Scholar of the Year, given annually to an athlete who stands out both academically and athletically. Fusaro is double majoring and is a two-time Scholar-All-American. He has earned 22 different regular-season dual-meet first-place finishes.

USC prepares for potential coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak | CBS LA

Schools across the state are preparing with precautionary measures and USC is no different. On Friday of last week, USC announced that they’re replacing in-person classes with online lectures for three days this week as faculty will also hold office hours online. This all leads into spring recess the week after as this week of ‘remote’ school was reiterated as just “a test” by the university.