Weekend hodgepodge

USC heads in 3 different directions

The USC track and field teams will split up again, this time sending 38 athletes to Stanford on Saturday for a meet that features 28 teams from across the country.
The Stanford Invitational, one of the largest meets in the nation, will have a "tremendous emphasis on distance running," said Ron Allice, director of track and field.
"It'll give us a picture of where our program stands in distance running," Allice said.
Allice will focus on the women distance runners. He rested them last week to prepare them for the Stanford races.
Meanwhile, the throwers will compete at UC San Diego in an effort to produce NCAA national meet qualifying distances.
"The prevailing breeze off the ocean enhances performance, especially on the disc," Allice said.
Wind-aided throws do count toward qualifying standards, Allice said.
The rest of the USC track teams will head to Claremont this weekend. The Stanford meet, which includes six teams from the Pacific 10 Conference, will continue until Sunday.
--Daniel Pasquini
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The USC women's tennis team should be rested for this weekend's match against Kansas on Saturday, since its Wednesday afternoon match was canceled due to rain.
No. 18 USC (8-6 overall) has had great success so far this spring against non-conference foes, going 7-1 against the usually overmatched teams.
After this weekend, the seven remaining matches for USC are against Pacific 10 Conference opponents.
--Jeff Kothe
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It is down to the final three Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matches of the season for the No. 6 women's water polo team, and two of these will be played this weekend.
The Women of Troy, 12-9 overall and 2-4 MPSF, travel to Northern California today and Saturday to compete against No. 3-ranked California and No. 11 Pacific.
This will be the first time USC will compete against Cal in conference play, but it is not the first time these two teams have met this season.
In two previous tournaments, the UC Santa Barbara Invitational and the UC San Diego Invitational, USC has been overpowered by a strong and experienced Cal team.
The Women of Troy have not yet met Pacific this season. A win would improve their overall record against Pacific to 4-0.
--Cynthia Corpuz