I don't know how to deal with the interview stress. When I was interviewed by NYU three days ago, I was too nervous to think straight the whole time. This was surprising given that I taught for so many years and presented my work in front of a lot of audience, that the three professors who interviewed me were really nice and that I rehearsed almost all the questions before the interview (I never rehearse when I was giving a conference presentation).
But I have some experience in dealing with the jet leg. I used to fly across continents and give a presentation the next day, it would be better if you could switch your time to the destination time before your departure.
Due to their financial problem, the only Californian school I applied to was USC.
Maryland is unnecessarily a good fit for syntacticians. They take a very strong biolinguistic/Minimalist perspective, but it seems to me that they don't have clear-defined research topics other than developing Minimalism. I feel that I would have been through a hard time in writing my SOP if I applied to Maryland, as I don't have much to say except that I think MP is a promising enterprise.
I've got a lot of friends applied to Maryland before. The dept is best known for their long run of interviews and short notice of the acceptance. They even interview people in March and admit people off wait-list on April 15. It is possible that you'll be interviewed more than once by different professors. More importantly, do not expect them to give you an answer right after the interview. You just have to wait.