A pair of Loyola water polo alums—Marko Vavic '17 and Jack Plaga '10—helped USC claim the 2018 NCAA Men's Water Polo National Championship on Sunday (Dec. 2) in Palo Alto, Calif.
The second-seeded Trojans took down top-seeded host Stanford, 14-12, in the title match at Avery Aquatic Center. Vavic was named to the NCAA All-Tournament First Team, scoring a goal in the final, while Plaga helped guide the Trojans to victory in his first year as assistant coach.
USC won its tenth national championship on the men's side under the direction of head coach Jovan Vavic, who is a Loyola parent. All three Vavic sons have or currently attend Loyola, with Nikola '10, Marko '17 and current senior Stefan '19. Stefan is also headed to USC in the fall. Coincidentally, Jovan Vavic also coached current head water polo coach Erik Healy at USC from 2000-03, winning the school's second NCAA championship in Healy's senior year.
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