Father-daughter team aims to bring USC a national title in water polo Jovan Vavic, the monstrously intense USC men's and women's water polo head coach, waves his arms to get the attention of a swimmer who has not done his bidding. When she doesn't see the waving arms, sharp words follow. It might be in Serbian but it is always attention-getting. Vavic, who has coached the USC men's team to five straight NCAA titles, including last year when the Trojans were undefeated, is aiming for title No. 4 with the women this weekend. On Monday a Times photographer wanted Jovan and his daughter Monica, a USC sophomore who has scored 71 goals this season, to leave the pool and go over to the USC cinema building for some portrait photos. "No, here," Jovan said on the pool deck as Monica tapped her foot. Jovan Vavic doesn't lose many arguments but he capitulated when it was explained it would be a better picture because the pool was surrounded by construction. But Jovan had a parting shot to his 19-year-old daughter. "You'll swim extra afterwards," Jovan said. Even if she scowled at that "punishment," one suspects Monica Vavic will always swim extra. Top-ranked USC (24-1) opens NCAA Championship play Friday at Harvard against eighth-seeded Pomona-Pitzer. There is a distinct West Coast flavor to the tournament. Stanford, the only team to have beaten the Trojans, is seeded second; UCLA is third, Hawaii fourth and UC San Diego fifth. None has a player as aggressively smooth as Vavic. She began seriously taking lessons the day she turned 7. You had to be 7 to take lessons at the pool near the Vavic home in Rancho Palos Verdes. Monica's older brother Nikola holds several USC men's records in water polo. Monica said there was never any doubt she would play college water polo for her father. "When I was in seventh grade," she said, "I watched my dad give a speech after USC lost to UCLA in the NCAA finals. I don't remember the words, but that was a year the seniors left the program without having a national championship ring. My dad was truly apologetic to those girls for not helping them get a ring. They fought so hard and had done so much, and the way my dad spoke was so passionate, you could see how truly sad he was not to get those girls the national championship. In only her second collegiate season Vavic leads the nation in goals with an average of 2.84 a game, scoring in every game this season. This year she was Mountain Pacific Sports Federation player of the year. Last year she was the conference freshman of the year. Not surprisingly, her father was the MPSF coach of the year this season. Jovan said Monica struggled a bit as a freshman because she didn't play her senior high school season while aiming to graduate early. "She wasn't in great shape," Jovan said. She had a lot of catching up to do to get physically stronger. She has the talent. Few people in water polo have the great mind and the ability to see the court and play more than one part of the game. Those special athletes play every position and can be pretty good in more than one area. That's Monica. Now you might say, "Of course a father would think that." But Jovan is not a sentimental man when it comes to water polo. The man who was born in difficult circumstances in Serbia takes water polo as his second religion. Monica said that when he's at home, Jovan is poring over game plans and tape. What may seem boring - a bunch of girls or guys tread water, sometimes swimming and occasionally throwing a yellow ball into the net - is much more than that. "You have to be strong, yes," Monica says, "but you have to study. There are angles to learn and passing plays and ... there's just a lot to it. Monica doesn't have an NCAA ring yet. She looks at her fingers with the perfect manicure and two decorative rings and you see her mind at work. She has plenty of fingers and three more chances to win the NCAA jewelry. She does not want her father to give her the speech. The apology speech. NCAA Women's Water Polo Championships Where: Harvard's Blodgett pool When: Friday through Sunday Schedule: Friday, second-seeded Stanford vs. seventh-seeded Iona, 10:45 a.m. PT; third-seeded UCLA vs. sixth-seeded Princeton, 12:30 p.m. PT; top-seeded USC vs. eighth-seeded Pomona-Pitzer, 2:15 p.m PT.; fourth-seeded Hawaii vs. fifth-seeded UC San Diego, 4 p.m. Saturday, Games 1 and 2 losers, 10:45 a.m. PT; Games 3 and 4 losers, 12:30 p.m. PT; Games 3 and 4 winners, 2:15 p.m., PT; Games 1 & 2 winners, 4 p.m. Sunday, seventh-place game, 9 a.m. Pt.; fifth-place game 10:45 a.m. PT; third-place game, 12:30 p.m. PT; championship, 2:15 p.m.