WATER POLO: TROJANS RELOAD WITH FRESHMEN YOUNGSTERS COULD BE KEY TO SUCCESS.

Byline: HEATHER GRIPP Staff Writer

If ever here was an incoming class capable of playing a large part in helping the USC men's water polo team win a second straight national title, this is the group.

Five of USC's freshmen spent the summer on the U.S Junior National team that won the gold medal at the Junior Pan-American Games in Montreal. Now, they are being asked to step in and help the Trojans repeat as NCAA champions for the first time in the program's history, helping compensate for the loss of last year's national player of the year and USC's all-time leading scorer, Juraj Zatovic.

``This is the best recruiting class I've had,'' said USC coach Jovan Vavic, who has guided the Trojans to three national titles in his first 11 seasons.

Others agree about USC's potential. The Trojans were voted by Mountain Pacific Sports Federation coaches as the preseason favorite to repeat as conference champions, edging fellow national powers California and UCLA.

USC opens its season Friday at home against UC Irvine.

Freshman J.W. Krumpholz leads the youth movement that should keep the Trojans a force for years to come. When the All-American out of Foothill High of Santa Ana wasn't playing for the U.S. Senior National team this summer, he starred for the junior team, scoring a tournament-high 32 goals in nine games at the Pan-Am Games. Vavic expects the two-meter player to ``step in and dominate right away.''

Freshmen Justin Rappel, Matt Sagehorn, Nico Sardo and Anthony Artukovich, as well as sophomore Arjan Ligtenberg, were also on the junior team that went undefeated in Montreal. Rappel, a former Harvard-Westlake of Studio City standout, ranked among the tournament leaders with 15 goals.

Sagehorn was last year's Southern Section Div. I Player of the Year at Long Beach Wilson High. Sardo was the San Diego Section Player of the Year the past two seasons.

The newcomers join an experienced cast that returns All-Americans in senior drivers Juan Delgadillo and Thomas Hale, junior two-meter Tommy Corcoran and junior goalie Adam Shilling. Shilling, who was the co-MVP of last year's NCAA tournament, takes over full-time in goal after sharing the job last year.

USC is coming off a season in which it set the program record for victories (26) and finished with a team-record 19-game winning streak.

``It's tough to repeat,'' Vavic said. ``I haven't been able to repeat back-to-back since I've been here. So we'll see. I think we have the talent to do it.''

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Photo:

USC's J.W. Krumpholz, Matt Sagehorn, Nico Sardo, Anthony Artukovich, Arjan Ligtenberg and Justin Rappel were part of junior national team that won gold at the Junior Pan Am Games.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer

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(2) UCLA

(3) PEPPERDINE

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(5) LMU 

(6) CLU