Trojans playing tourney for experience instead of victory

After splitting its first two matches of the season, the USC men's volleyball team heads north to take part in the 35th Annual Santa Barbara Collegiate Invitational today and Saturday at UC Santa Barbara.

USC has won the tournament three times since 1982, but Trojan Head Coach Pat Powers admitted that experience, not winning the tournament, is the goal for the team.

"This weekend is kind of a chance to see where we stand," Powers said. "Strangely enough, this really isn't a tournament you want to win."

Although Powers said a top-four finish would be nice, it would also mean two extra matches which can often wear a team down.

"The idea is you want to get in a good pool the second day and play two or three good matches and pack your bags," Powers said. "But I think we're going to get a good chance this weekend to see a lot of players on our team."

USC comes into the tournament seeded fourth, and will play La Verne, Pacific, UC Santa Cruz and Fresno State in the opening-day pool.

More importantly the Trojans will take on their first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opponent, the UC San Diego Tritons, at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the North Gym.

Coming into this weekend's action, USC was ranked No. 14 in the nation by Volleyball Magazine. The coaches' poll has yet to be released.

- David Cisneros

Swim teams travel to Santa Barbara

In the first of five road dual-meets of the new year, the USC men's and women's swim teams will attempt to maintain their unblemished dual-meet record against the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos at 11 a.m. Saturday.

The USC women's team is fresh off of a win against UC Irvine, while the men also beat Irvine and Michigan. Santa Barbara's last competition was in late December at the Rebel Invitational in Las Vegas.

Senior Carl Larsen is one of the Gauchos' top swimmers. He holds the school record in the 1,000-meter and 1,650 freestyle with times of 9:09.10 and 15:10.47, respectively.

For USC, senior Bela Szabados is keeping up his strong performances in the 200 and 500 freestyle races. He placed first in both events with marks of 1:07.71 and 4:26.80 against Irvine and Michigan, and is undefeated in the 200 freestyle so far this season.

"Bela also continues to provide us with lots of leadership," USC Head Swimming Coach Mark Schubert said.

The Women of Troy trounced Santa Barbara last season 250-45, and is 19-1 against them all-time.

The women's team will take on the University of San Diego at 2 p.m. today in Santa Barbara.

- Ying Le

Women of Troy take on Pac-10

The USC women's tennis team will travel to Seattle this weekend to take part in the Pacific 10 Conference Indoor Championships, which will open the 1999 season for the Women of Troy.

USC finished No. 20 nationally, starting a solid 1998 season with a record of 13-11, including 3-5 in Pac-10 play (sixth place).

With a solid nucleus of five veterans, augmented by three newcomers, the expectations are very high for the Women of Troy this year. Based on the national rankings, there are three members on the team who are ranked among the top 100 players in the country, including USC's No. 1 player, senior Ditta Huber, who is currently ranked No. 13 in the nation.

Juniors Kara Warkentin and Jacqui Boyd are tied for 48th and 83rd, respectively. In addition, Boyd had the best record on the team last season, posting a mark of 23-12. Boyd was also the only player to make it to the second round of the NCAA Championships.