On Saturday, Trojan Candy left the "Swim with Mike" event at 12:30 p.m. and walked over to the Marks Stadium where our #1 and undefeated Men's Tennis team was scheduled to play Stanford. The stands were already filling up. The scoreboard lit up with our number of national team tennis championships that we have won. Of course, there is always room for our fourth NCAA title in a row!
Our Men of Troy swept the doubles from the Cardinal. Then Trojan Candy left, along with several other Trojans, to walk to the Coliseum to see the spring football scrimmage.
Later, I found out that our men swept Stanford 7-0.
Then on Sunday, the Men's Tennis team beat the Cal Bears 6-1.
Trojan Candy captured a unique moment after that competition. Roberto Quiroz was the last Trojan to finish his singles match. As he and the rest of the triumphant Trojans walked off the court, teammate Steve Johnson doused Roberto with a large Gatorade cooler of water!
FIGHT ON, Men of Troy, to an unprecedented second four-in-a-row NCAA Men's Team Championship! (The first time was 1966-1969.)
Rain, Rain, Go Away! It did go away on Saturday. The day was filled with brilliant sunshine! The USC McDonald's Olympic Swim Stadium was filled with swimmers; sponsors; booths; "Swim with Mike" volunteers; and USC athletes, organizations, staff, alumni, and friends.
Trojan Candy just entered the gate when I saw a friend. He was busy taking pictures of two young ladies for an Orange County Register Blog. It was so nice to see USC alumnus Armando Brown. We first met on the Heritage Hall steps when Armando was taking pictures of Matt Barkley on January 23, 2009, for the Orange County Register. Matt had just enrolled at USC (check the article on my blog for that date). I had interviewed Armando right after he finished taking Matt's pictures. Turnabout's fair play! Today I took his picture, and he took mine. Turnabout's fair play! Check out the Orange County Register Blog pictures that Armando took with these two links: the "Swim with Mike" event and the USC Spring Football Scrimmage.
The entire swim stadium was electric with so much activity!
The Women of Troy Basketball Team was volunteering in the Children's Corner.
Football and Water Polo players participated in a relay race with the Song Girls.
Trojan Candy saw several other friends.
What a worthy cause!
As my husband and I walked to Heritage Hall there was a light rain. We noticed that there were no dump trucks or bulldozers at work outside of the John McKay Center because of the rain. The dirt was almost level. Scattered workers were busy. There is so much progress every week! Click on McKay Center link at the top to see my slide show of the progress.
Heritage Hall was very quiet because of the rain. There were not even any tours for at least the first two hours because of the rain. Luckily, for Trojan Candy, five new friends braved the rain and dropped by the desk for the first time.
Rachel McMillen, a Junior who will graduate in the Fall 2012, told me that she is trying out to be a student football manager. She said that eighteen students are vying for the job, but only eight will be chosen this Sunday. Rachel wrote that she is a Math and English major and that she wants to be a high school math teacher. Another future teacher! Rachel, who is from Fountain Valley, likes to run, draw, and paint. She is taking "Introduction to Guitar" also. GOOD LUCK and FIGHT ON, Rachel!
The second new friend said her name was Courtney, and I blurted out her last name, "Garcia!" (I remembered seeing her name in my Women's Soccer program.) Needless to say, Courtney was quite surprised that I knew her last name. Trojan Candy was too! Courtney, who is a Junior, plays the position of Midfielder. She has played soccer since she was four years old. Courtney is from Yorba Linda and is majoring in Economics and minoring in Business Administration. After graduation, she would like to do consulting. Her hobbies are going to the beach, looking at fashion magazines and blogs, and reading. She just finished reading the Hunger Game Trilogy. FIGHT ON, Courtney!
My third new friend is also majoring in Business Administration, just like Courtney. Freshman Jessica Musmanno, is also on the Women of Troy Soccer Team, just like Courtney. Jessica, who is from Succasunna, New Jersey, plays the Forward position. Just like Courtney, Jessica started playing soccer when she was four years old. So many parallels between the two teammates! When asked why she came to USC, Jessica said that, "California beckoned!" After graduation, Jessica wants to find a position in Sports Marketing. For hobbies, Jessica likes to read (just like Courtney) Nicholas Spark books and to shop. FIGHT ON, Jessica!
Graduate student Nassim Mirreghabie is my fourth new friend to come to the desk for the first time. Nassim, who is Persian-American, attended U.C. Berkeley as an undergrad and majored in Sociology. (She's a Trojan now!) She was a student athlete at Cal. She competed in Women's Gymnastics. Her favorite events were the Balance Beam and Uneven Bars. Nassim said that she is really looking forward to the London Olympics gymnastic events this summer (me, too!). Nassim works with football, swimming, track and tennis athletes downstairs. She loves to travel and has toured around the U.S., Spain and Mexico. For hobbies, Nassim likes to read (just like Courtney and Jessica) psycho-therapy books, spend time with her friends, hike, be outdoors, and go to the beach. FIGHT ON, Nassim!
The last new friend for today only wanted to have his picture taken with no interview. Jeff Fucci has been the Director of Football Operations for three years. Trojan Candy was able to find out that he majored in Athletic Administration at U.C. Davis. Like Nassim, he is a Trojan now! FIGHT ON, Jeff!
Seen at the SCene:
Men's Tennis: Ray Sarmiento, who was hoping that his team could compete against California today. Rain, Rain, Go Away!
Coaches: Football: Lane Kiffin, Justin Mesa, Monte Kiffin, Frankie Telford, John Baxter, Jim Davis (Athletic Equipment Manager); Men's Water Polo: Casey Moon; Women's Golf: Andrea Gaston
Track and Field: Caroline Lutzky, Jessica Davis, Allen Williams, Jennifer Jones, Jennifer Stutland, Loudia Laarman
Women's Golf: Doris Chen
Soccer: Kristina Noriega, Mia Bruno, Erica Vangsness, Autumn Altamirano (Trojan Candy spoke with the ladies about the fifteen new Women of Troy Soccer players who will be enrolling at USC in the Fall 2012.) FIGHT ON, Women's Soccer!
Heritage Hall Friends: Dr. John Petruska, Philip Ribeiro from San Francisco, Drew Narwold, Jared Padilla (who has to report to volunteer at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday to help set up Swim with Mike!), Martin Jauregui, Ara Altounian, Jennifer Ellis (who works in the Annenberg Business Office)
Football: Khaled Holmes, Nickell Robey (who told us that the "no tackling" rule for the scrimmage tomorrow is "No Fun!"), Buck Allen, Antwaun Woods, T.J. McDonald, Morgan Breslin, Joe Houston, Peter Yobo, Christian Tupou, Tre' Madden, C.J. Gable, Curtis McNeal, De'Von Flournoy (who waited for Nassim to finish her interview)
Trojan Candy went to the final home regular season Men's Volleyball match. The Galen Center was filled with excitement this evening. The #2 ranked U.C. Irvine Men's Volleyball Team came to play our #1 ranked USC Men's Volleyball Team.
Our Trojans won the first two sets, 25-22 and 25-19 and were ready to sweep the Anteaters. Irvine fought back and won the third set 29-27. Trojan Candy knew that our Trojans would win the fourth set, and we did win by 25-18! A 3-1 Victory! We're #1!
After the match the four graduating Seniors were honored at mid-court. Congratulations to Tony Ciarelli, Steven Shandrick, Jeff Carlson and Steven Mochalski. The court was open only to the players, their families, coaches and athletic personnel. Trojan Candy was able to take pictures of Seniors Tony Ciarelli and Steven Shandrick doing their last home regular season post-game interview.
FIGHT ON, Tony, Steven, Jeff and Steven!
Good Luck to our top rated Men's Volleyball Team as they FIGHT ON to victory in the NCAA Championships!
Trojan Candy went to watch the USC baseball game on Saturday. The line was long to buy a ticket for the game versus Cal Berkeley. I sat on the third base side right behind some Cal baseball parents. The stadium was quite full, and it was warm and sunny.
We won the game in the bottom of the ninth. The winning score was 3-2.
FIGHT ON, USC Baseball Team!
My husband and I had to wait on McClintock for two dump trucks to drive out of the construction site before we could walk on to Heritage Hall. The dump trucks were carrying dirt into the site to level the ground. Notice that the Tower is being completed.
We arrived at Heritage Hall much earlier than usual because the Administrative Offices were scheduled to close at noon for Good Friday. The Earlier was NOT the Better! Heritage Hall was empty except for several tours of prospective students and their parents.
Luckily, we were able to volunteer later than noon. In the nick of time, three new friends walked up to the desk for the first time.
The first new friend looked somewhat familiar to Trojan Candy. She has walked by the Heritage Hall desk before, but never stopped, ...until today. Freshman Eglit Vosu competes on the Women of Troy Rowing Team. She is the 6-seat on the 2nd Varsity Eight. Eglit, who is from Estonia, is majoring in International Relations and History. She likes to read, sing, and listen to "house music." Eglit likes to stay active by running and doing cross-country skiing. She told me that "Rowing is more strenuous than cross-country skiing." "Why?" I asked. Eglit replied, "Rowing requires the use of every muscle in your body!" What a strenuous sport! Trojan Candy knows that Eglit will come back to the desk to see us again. How do I know? Eglit wrote that she likes to eat candy! FIGHT ON, Eglit!
My second new friend was Sophomore Ceilidh Meagher. Ceilidh will compete on the newly forming Women of Troy Lacrosse Team. Before Ceilidh came to the desk, Assistant Coach Hilary Bowen had come by to visit. Coach Bowen told us that twenty young ladies will enter USC and join the Lacrosse Team in the Fall 2012 semester. We talked with Ceilidh about the team formation. She is excited about their season starting in Spring 2013. Ceilidh, who is majoring in Economics, will play the position of Mid-Field. She likes to run (just like Eglit) and go to the beach. As for music, Ceilidh likes the artist Jack Johnson, and she plays classical guitar. Her favorite classical guitarist is Andre Sogovia. PLAY ON and FIGHT ON, Ceilidh!
Trojan Candy's third new friend was Sophomore Sara Proctor. Sara brought a tour group into Heritage. Her partner was friend Michael Wang. Sara only had a few minutes to write about herself in my notebook before the tour started walking out the north door. Needless to say, she wrote quickly! Sara is majoring in Industrial and Systems Engineering. From Costa Mesa, Sara has many extracurricular activities in addition to being a tour guide. She is a member of ADPI Sorority and the SC Outfitters (which is an outdoors club on campus). Sara is also a Viterbi Academy Coach that mentors Freshman engineers. When she has time, Sara likes to run on the beach (Both new friends Eglit and Ceilidh like to run also!), sail, read and bake. What diverse hobbies! As Sara ran out the door (The tour was long gone!), she said that she would come back to the desk another day to finish her interview. Trojan Candy will be glad to visit with her again! FIGHT ON, Sara!
Friend De'Von Flournoy came to the desk with his usual big smile. He asked me if I might have yesterday's Daily Trojan. Amazingly, I did have a spare copy. My sister Pat, who volunteered at the desk yesterday, always saves me copies. Trojan Candy not only gave De'Von that D.T., but I also gave him a copy of the March 5th D.T. in which Alexis Driggs wrote about yours truly. Alexis had interviewed De'Von for that article also. What a newsmaker he is! Check out De'Von's April 5 article entitled "Veteran Receiver is Finally Getting his Chance to Shine."
Kyle Negrete and Junior Pomee saw De'Von posing for a picture with his D.T. article, and they went to congratulate him.
Seen at the SCene:
Heritage Friends: Jennifer Noriega, Jill Dennis, Irene Puentes, Kathleen DeCristo, Christine Ovanesian, Luke Stephens, Fed-Ex Dave, Dr. Bryce Nelson, Jose Eskenazi, Don Ludwig, Drew Narwold, Ron Orr, Dan Avila, J.K. McKay, Martin Jaurequi
Women's Tennis: Valeria Pulido
Baseball: Brent Williams
Track and Field: Joey Hughes, Amechi Egbe
Women's Basketball: Thaddesia Southall (We spoke about Ashley Corral winning the State Farm College Women's 3-Point Championships on Thursday, March 29, in New Orleans.) Congrats, Ashley!
Men's Basketball: Dewayne Dedmon
Women's golf: Doris Chen
Coaches: Soccer: Laura Janke; Lacrosse: Hilary Bowen; Football: Scott Thompson, Justin Mesa, Ed Orgeron
Rowing: Caroline Trawick, Kajsa Olsson
Soccer: Anne Turner, Isabelle Johnson, Kristina Noriega, Mia Bruno
Football: Zack Kusnir (On our way in to Heritage Hall, we had met him walking in the other direction. Zack gave me a big hug and said that his bicycle is either missing or stolen. Hope that he finds it soon!), Jawanza Starling, Marquis Simmons, DeVante Wilson, J.R. Tavai, Nickell Robey (Nickell said that he will be able to go home to Frostproof, Florida, around July 4th to visit his grandmother.), Kevin Greene, De'Von Flournoy, Junior Pomee, Kyle Negrete, (I asked Kyle why Matt Barkley and he jumped on the Heritage Hall floor last week, floundered on the floor, and then did some push-ups. Kyle said, "We are just having a BLAST!"), Jesse Scoggins, Andre Heidari, Curtis McNeal, Isiah Wiley, T.J. McDonald, Anthony Sarao
Women's Volleyball: Alumna Kimmee Roleder came back to visit Heritage Hall with her little sister and friend Jon. Kimmee said that she is working on the east coast. Welcome back, Kimmee!
P.S.Tuesday, April 10th:
Trojan Candy volunteered at Heritage Hall today. We were stuffing invitation envelopes for the USC Hall of Fame Ceremony. Even though I was busy, I saw Tre Madden walk through the lobby. Tre, who was limping slightly, said that he will have his operation in two weeks. He was definitely disappointed that he will miss the next season. He added that it is just like he is a Freshman all over again. Things happen for a reason, Tre. Keep FIGHTING ON!
Some good news! Zack Kusnir told Trojan Candy that he found his bike at Public Safety.
