TicketsBearcat Volleyball Picked Second In C-USA
Julie DuPont named preseason player of the year
Contact: Shawn Sell
8/12/2004
Julie DuPont was named Conference USA Preseason Player of the Year. |
IRVING, Texas ? The University of Cincinnati volleyball team, coming off a fifth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and a share of the Conference USA Championship in 2003, have been picked to finish second in the league this season by a poll of the C-USA coaches.
Senior Julie DuPont (Muskego, Wis./Muskego), the reigning C-USA Player of the Year and UC?s first-ever volleyball All-American, has also been named the conference?s preseason player of the year.
?The team to beat is Louisville and we are going to give it our best shot,? stated Bearcat head coach Reed Sunahara. ?We are dedicating this season to Steph (Rosfeld) and we just have to go out and make good things happen.?
Louisville, who shared the crown with UC last season, has been picked to take the top spot this fall, with Houston, Tulane and Marquette rounding out the top five.
The Bearcats have also earned a mention in the preseason USA Today/College Sports Television poll this week, released by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. UC is ranked just outside the top-25 in the initial poll, earning a No. 27 ranking. The Bearcats enter the fall trailing No. 25 Notre Dame by just 26 points.
DuPont earned C-USA Player of the Year and a third team AVCA All-American selection in 2003 by leading the Bearcats to a 27-6 record and averaging a league-best 5.43 kills per game. She has been named to the all-conference team two years in a row, while also twice earning CoSIDA Academic All-American recognition.
Cincinnati, which welcomes back eight letterwinners, opens practice on Friday, Aug. 13. Following the annual Red/Black Scrimmage on Aug. 28, UC officially opens 2004 hosting the Bearcat Invitational Sept. 3-4 in Fifth Third Arena at Shoemaker Center. The Bearcats first match of the year, a contest against Bradley, will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 3.
2004 CONFERENCE USA PRESEASON POLL
1. Louisville (25-6, 12-1 in 2003)
2. Cincinnati (27-6, 12-1)
3. Houston (12-20, 6-7)
4. Tulane (25-7, 9-4)
5. Marquette (14-16, 8-5)
6. Memphis (30-6, 9-4)
7. TCU (20-16, 3-10)
8. USF (12-20, 6-7)
9. DePaul (11-20, 3-10)
10. Southern Miss (27-6, 11-2)
11. Saint Louis (9-22, 2-11)
12. UAB (14-20, 6-7)
13. Charlotte (8-24, 1-12)
14. East Carolina (10-21, 1-12)
ALL-LEAGUE TEAM
Theresa Coughlin, Marquette
Julie DuPont, Cincinnati*
Deva Fowler, Tulane
Lena Ustymenko, Louisville
Bing Sun, Louisville
Heather Watts, Memphis
* Preseason Player of the Year