BY: Gwen Ambler
March 5, 2008

The team's closest game was 13-9 as it fought its way through the competition at the Stanford Qualifier this past weekend. With a bevy of coaches, a B-team, and now a spot at the prestigious Stanford Invite, USC's Hellions of Troy (HoT) has established themselves as a legitimate program. Not too bad for a team that was first started in 2003.

Co-captain Mary Kate "Uzi" Hogan summarizes her team by stating, "as a young team, we are looking to learn a lot and show what we've learned by performing well in tournaments...We want to bring our team to the next level as we continue to improve." Hogan and the Southwest's Freshman of the Year last season, Lindsey Cross, both cite the team's coaches as being the biggest factor in USC's success. Hogan goes as far as to say that "we could never have done any of this without the dedication and commitment of our coaches." The USC coaching staff includes Frankie and Tracy Rho, Karen Chu, and USC alumni Sam Reigner, Sarah Bullock and Jess Rosenblatt. Frankie Rho currently plays for the L.A. club team Monster and is the team's main strategist.

Seven on the line during February 2007 -photo courtest of Hellions of Troy website

Team chemistry is another important aspect of HoT's game. "We have a group of girls that absolute love to play and be around each other," says Cross. Hogan elaborates by saying, "something just clicks between all of us that gives us the ability to work together to improve almost daily while still maintaing a level of fun that many of us have never seen in a sport before." The level of USC's teamwork was evident in the finals of the Qualifier. Facing fatigue after a long weekend and windy conditions, the Hellions had to dig deep and "grind through some long points with a steady attitude" (according to Hogan).

Pacific Lutheran (PLU) faced off against the Hellions in the finals and scored 8 to USC's 13. PLU's coach, Jaime "Idaho" Arambula, cited USC's defense as a major factor in the finals. He explained that "USC had a tight four person cup they've obviously worked on" and that PLU hadn't spent enough time working on its zone offense to be prepared for such a "highly aggressive" cup. PLU only had 13 players at the tournament, and Arambula stated, "I was super happy that our girls scored 8 points on sheer athleticism" in the finals. PLU is lead by handler, Eden Marsicek, who gained valuable experience playing with Seattle women's club team Viva! last season. Arambula called Marsicek "one of the most dominant players out there this weekend." He also recognized the play of USC's Cross, saying PLU didn't have an answer for her speed as a receiver and that "she killed us. She killed every team." Although Cross went to a high school that won the Colorado state competition in ultimate, she didn't start playing ultimate until intramurals during her freshman year at USC. Juniors ultimate is growing rapidly around the country, but USC has not yet benefitted from any high school experience.

Instead, the Hellions have shown a steep learning curve once they start playing in college, and one of the team's best players is a junior--co-captain Anne "Bambi" Ohliger. Hogan extolls Ohlinger's impact on the field, saying that "she is fast, smart, and a threat both offensively and defensively which makes her almost impossible to stop no matter where she is on the field." The team returned a large group of veteran players from 2007, most of whom are sophomores and juniors. The team currently has only four seniors, spelling good things for the team in the coming years as well.

Looking ahead to the Stanford Invite this weekend, USC will be in a pool with some of its regional competition: UCLA and Colorado. Rather than being intimidated, USC will just take it one game at a time. Hogan explains, "we are focusing on playing our game and playing that game to the best of our ability. Yes, we want to win games. And yes, we are still pumped from winning the Qualifier. That passion will carry us into our first game and through the whole weekend. We are focusing on what we always do -- offense, defense, and just playing our game." This weekend will be a great test for the team to see if it can improve on its 7th place finish at Regionals last season.