Good Morning! Former Trojan men’s tennis player Learner Tien made quick work of his opponent, recording the fastest win ever on the ATP Challenger Tour.

What else can you find in today's edition of The Three Torches?

⚽️ Soccer stays unbeaten in Big Ten play
🏊 USC swimming opens the season victorious
⚔️ And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Keep On Rolling. The No. 19-ranked Trojans closed out their road trip 2-0 to stay unbeaten in the Big Ten and maintain their spot atop the standings after taking down Northwestern 2-1 on Sunday afternoon. Maria Alagoa got USC on the board in the first half to take an early lead, and then in the 59th minute, Ines Derrien scored from the penalty spot to secure the lead for good. With a 10-1-2 record, the Trojans get ready to host Ohio State at BMO Stadium on Thursday for The B1G Match.

🔼 Back Where We Left Off. USC men's and women's swimming opened the 2024-25 season victorious as the Trojans powered past Hawaii on Saturday. USC's Olympians fared well during the first weekend of fall competition, claiming a combined nine events. Polish Olympian Michal Chmielewski won the 100y back (48.64), 100y butterfly (47.65) and the 1650y free (15:17.32) while Hungarian Olympian Minna Abraham won three individual events (200y IM – 1:59.76, 400y IM – 4:09.36 and 200y back – 1:56.92) and helped the Women of Troy to five relay wins (400y medley, 200y free, 200y medley and 400y free). 

📚️ Read more about the Trojans’ many wins in the pool over the weekend

🔼 Our City. In a back-and-forth match in the Battle of LA, USC women’s volleyball came out on top with a five-set win over UCLA to improve to 12-4. Ally Battenhorst and Leah Ford each finished with double-digit kills on the night while Mia Tuaniga led the Trojans with 40 assists on a .444 hitting percentage. Now at 4-2 in the Big Ten, the Women of Troy will look to climb the conference standings on Friday in a match against Maryland on the road.

🔼 Double The Fun. The No. 3 USC men's water polo served up a double dose of defensive stands to drum up two wins in Westchester, beating Westcliff 25-7 before a 13-3 win over host No. 16 LMU. The Trojans pinned up their biggest scoring effort of the season and then followed that up with its stingiest defensive effort of the year in back-to-back wins that improved their record to 14-2 overall. The first game saw 13 different Trojans find the back of the net while in the second game against LMU, goalie Bernardo Herzer checked in to give up a season-low three goals behind a humming USC offense.

🔼 Battle To The End. The Trojans found the lead early in the first half against No. 4-ranked Penn State, but failed to hang on for the win, falling in overtime, 33-30. The loss takes USC to 3-3 on the season with six games left to play. Running back Quinten Joyner found the endzone twice, once on the ground and once through the air while Easton Mascarenas-Arnold and Kamari Ramsey combined for 23 total tackles, filling in nicely for the injured Eric Gentry and Jacobe Covington. The Trojans will look to bounce back with a trip to Maryland next weekend.

📝 Postgame notes and quotes
🎥 Watch the full game highlights

🤝 TEAM UP WITH A WINNER

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Today’s Top Tier Performance presented by ARCO goes to Trojan men’s golfer Jack Buchanan. The freshman earned the Big Ten Men’s Golfer of the Week award after finishing in a tie for individual runner-up at the Trinity Forest Invitational, Oct. 6-8. In his first career start, Buchanan carded rounds of 64-69-71 (204, -12), marking the lowest by a USC freshman since 2007. Buchanan's runner-up finish was also the top finish by a Trojan freshman since 2020. 

Today’s trivia question is brought to you by USC Credit Union, the Trojans’ credit union of choice. Now all residents of Los Angeles and Orange counties can join USC Credit Union and enjoy full banking services with better rates on deposits and loans, access to the largest shared banking network nationwide, and 24/7 mobile banking. Huddle up for better banking with USC Credit Union, the Official Credit Union of USC Athletics!

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Pro-jans. USC is known for producing NFL talent, and in every position on the football field. Sunday proved just that as many former Trojans found the endzone, contributing big moments to their pro teams during Week Six of the NFL.

Our question today: how many former Trojans scored a touchdown in the NFL on Sunday?

Think you got it? Scroll down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

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📅 THE WEEK AHEAD

*All times Pacific

Monday, October 14
No scheduled events

Tuesday, October 15
🏀 Men’s Basketball vs. UTSA @ 7 p.m. in Los Angeles, CA | Tickets | BIG+ | Listen

Wednesday, October 16
🤽‍♂️ Men’s Water Polo vs. Pepperdine @ 5 p.m. in Los Angeles, CA | Watch

⚔️ Click here to view the full USC Trojan Athletics Calendar

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: Three!

Wide receivers Amon Ra St. Brown, Michael Pittman Jr. and Drake London each scored a touchdown on Sunday while Caleb Williams threw for four touchdowns in London.

⚔️ Have a great Monday, everyone!