USC 2015: The year in athletics
One in a series showcasing a year of university highlights
From the field to the court to the pool to the sand, it was another banner year for USC Athletics. Roll the highlights:
Champs on the beach
Women’s Sand Volleyball, Trojans were National Champs. (USC Photo/Bobby McDuffie)
The No. 1-ranked USC sand volleyball team capped a perfect 28-0 season with a 3-0 victory over No. 6 Long Beach State to claim the national title at the 2015 AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championships. Head coach Anna Collier and the Women of Troy hoisted the trophy to represent USC’s 123rd all-time team national championship.
Classic wins
(USC Photo/John McGillen)
There’s nothing quite like a win over your rival. Here Mason Perryman jumps after the Trojans defeated UCLA 9-6 at Dodger Stadium to complete an unprecedented weekend at the Dodger Stadium College Baseball Classic, where the Trojans knocked off three Top 10-ranked opponents.
Spirited performance
(USC Photo/John McGillen)
Alice Pizzasegola shows some spirit as the women’s volleyball team takes on UCLA. The squad made it to the final eight teams in the NCAA Championships.
Running to victory
(USC Photo/Kirby Lee)
NCAA title-winning sprinter Andre De Grasse came out of virtually nowhere in the last couple of years and is now among the favorites to medal at the 2016 Olympics in the 100 and 200 meters.
Courting victory
(USC Photo/John McGillen)
Ranked No. 1 in the nation, the Women of Troy reached the NCAA tennis semifinals. USC was the top seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1985.
Wet and wild
(USC Photo/John McGillen)
The Trojans fought back to an 11th straight trip to the NCAA water polo title match, falling to top-seeded host UCLA. USC came into the game with 14 Trojans with no more than one year under their belts and yet still heaped tremendous pressure on the top-seeded Bruins.
Pre-dive smile
(USC Photo/Walt Middleton)
Haley Ishimatsu, one of the NCAA’s top divers and a former Olympian, completed her USC career as a two-time NCAA champion, a four-time All-American first teamer and a four-time Pac-12 individual champion. Ishimatsu, who scored in seven career NCAA events, was a three-time Pac-12 champion on platform and won once on 3-meter.
Coming from behind
(USC Photo/Walt Middleton)
Senior Cristian Quintero celebrates after a USC win in the 400-yard freestyle relay on the final night of the 2015 NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Iowa City, Iowa. USC closed the meet in dramatic fashion, as the quartet of Quintero, sophomore Santo Condorelli, freshman Ralf Tribuntsov and sophomore Dylan Carter won in a school record 2:47.06, 0.08 ahead of second place North Carolina State.
Shadow and success
(USC Photo/Paul Goldberg)
Annie Park, seen here at the 2015 NCAA Championships, turned pro in June and immediately started chalking up wins on the Symmetry Tour, the LPGA Tour’s development tour. (Photo/Paul Goldberg)
Running away with it
(Photo/Percy Anderson)
The Song Girls can hardly contain themselves as freshman Cameron Smith returns an interception for a touchdown as USC topped then-No. 3 Utah 42-24 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
Winning look
(USC Photo/John McGillen)
The expression says it all: Men’s volleyball standout Micah Christenson celebrates a shot. Christenson was named to the American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American team for the second consecutive year, while senior middle blocker Robert Feathers and sophomore middle blocker Andy Benesh made 2015 AVCA All-American honorable mention.
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