May 18, 2006

Notes:
USC is now 20-3, with two of its losses coming against Stanford ... Senior Carine Vermeulen is 3-0 this season in NCAA competition and 10-0 in her career (4-0 last year, 3-0 in 2004) ... VCU suffered its first loss of the season after 29 straight wins ... The only undefeated team in the nation is Stanford at 26-0 ... USC was VCU's first top-10 opponent this season ... USC reached the quarterfinals last season and six of the last eight ... Its last trip to the semifinals was 1988.

Quotes:
USC Head Coach Richard Gallien
Opening Statement: "It was a bloodbath for sure. Although we're the No. 3 seed, it's very daunting to play a team that's 29-0. I'm well aware of how good their players are, so we knew that they were going to be very tough. To do it without our No. 2 player, who is ill today, was a courageous effort on our team's part."

On status of Amanda Fink: "She's over in the doctor's office right now with a stomach virus. We have some time until tomorrow's match, so we'll see. Hopefully we can get her back out there."

On Carine Vermeulen's play: "She did a very good job after a slow start. All of the VCU players are strong; they're long and lean and they hit hard. As a team we had to kind-of suck it up out there and she did just that."

On facing Northwestern in the quarterfinals: "We know them real well and they know us. Their coach is terific and their team is always well prepared. It will be a tough match, and it wouldn't surprise me if someone won the match 4-3. It was a very good win for them over an excellent Georgia Tech team, so have to play well and fight hard."

VCU Head Coach Paul Kostin
Opening Statement: "We lost to a very good team, and it was a good experience for us. None of my players have ever been in this setting, but they played very well and I'm proud of them. USC is ranked No. 2 in the country and they were just too good for us today."

On VCU's 29-match winning streak this season: "We've been taking it one match at a time. It's not that we've beaten any top-10 schools, but we play a very good schedule and we've won a few close matches. It's been just a dream season, and I hate to see it end."

On the team's youth: "Our players have not been around for these types of matches, so it's going to help us to have this experience down the road. With everyone coming back, we'll get one year older and a little more experience so we're looking forward to next season."