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Post by FIUFan on Aug 13, 2010 11:29:45 GMT -5
Cant make any predictions because I dont know enough about the conference as a whole but I like Marshall's mix of key returners with a very talented freshman class as well.
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Post by silversurfer on Aug 13, 2010 12:21:33 GMT -5
Is Roenicke staying at Houston?
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Post by karellen on Aug 13, 2010 12:38:17 GMT -5
C-USA got rid of the poll prior to last season. Season preview was released today. Tulsa and Rice both have 3 players on pre-season all-conference team. Tulsa's Tyler Henderson is POY.
Tulane, ECU, UCF, UAB and UTEP had no one on pre-season all-conference.
Tulsa is probably team to beat (why is 1/2 the team new every year?) - I agree with assessment of team and coaching staff. Rice will be right there also. Houston could be a wild card with the return of Lucy C.
Memphis has had good talent fo rthe last couple of years, but has grossly underachieved. Maybe influx of internationals will change that?
SMU is solid, but probably will not go to next level.
Defections at Tulane will hurt.
Marshall should do well.
Interesting factor will be new schedule. East side of conference has been weaker for the last couple of years. Teams have posted good in-confernece record because they only played teams on westside once. No offense to So Miss and their conference title last year, but do they still win if they have to play Tulsa, Rice and SMU on the road and not at home?
This year is a 20-match, unbalanced schedule - Play 9 schools twice and two schools once. This might make it more challenging for schools on the eastside.
No conference tournament anymore. Reg season champ gets automatic bid to NCAAs.
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Post by endlesssummer on Aug 13, 2010 13:05:01 GMT -5
* Rice senior setter, Meredith Schamun and OH Ashleigh McCord will lead the Owls to the C-USA championship. Schamun was the 2009 C-USA Co-Setter of the Year.
* Not sure about Tulsa...they lost 2-year starting setter Rachel Vukson, who transferred to C-USA foe Central Florida. Vukson played in all 104 sets last season for the Hurricanes. She and the other incoming players will improve UCF's record significantly.
* Southern Miss will definitely "miss" Ricci Luyties after he coached them to the 2009 C-USA regular season title.
* Where did Tara Roenicke transfer?
* Memphis will stay in the bottom half of the conference standings.
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Post by karellen on Aug 21, 2010 13:32:13 GMT -5
Surprised there is not more talk about this league. This is an underrated league - maybe that explains the lack of chat. Conference ranking had the league at #4 or 5 a couple of years ago.
Also, Tulane has made a big splash with their plans for a sand program. Any other C-USA teams taking the leap into the sand?
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Post by yumyum on Aug 21, 2010 15:15:05 GMT -5
First time poster on this site...  Although I live in the heart of Pac 10 territory, my oldest will be playing for the Green Wave in 2011. I'm playing catch up on learning about the conference's schools, the large geographic distribution is pretty crazy! This year's 2010 team has 9 new players added to a team that just lost 2 starters to transfer. Essentially there won't be a lot of college experience for a majority of the team. 2 of the new girls were studs in the Central California region. A freshman middle was also a top home state product from Louisiana. Head Coach Momic believes in loading up on a tough pre-conference schedule with the hopes of accelerating development. It was a factor in my daughter making her choice. 2010 will probably start out pretty rough as they open with Stanford, Pepperdine, and tournament host New Mexico. I hope the girls gel quickly and can make some noise in CUSA. |
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Post by qc50 on Aug 22, 2010 16:41:40 GMT -5
CUSA should be a battle between Rice and Tulsa with the rest of the conference in a free-for-all for the next 10 spots. My guess:
1. Rice
2. Tulsa
3. Marshall
4. SMU
5. Southern Miss
6. UTEP
7. UCF
8. Tulane
9. Houston
10. Memphis
11. UAB
12. ECU
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Post by wearem2010 on Sept 18, 2010 18:54:25 GMT -5
Marshall finishes 2-1 at the St. Louis Invitational tournament this weekend. The beat Western Kentucky and Lipscomb and lost to host St. Louis. Great weekend heading into conference play.
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Post by vbfanvbfan on Sept 18, 2010 19:03:52 GMT -5
It looks like SMU have good team this year. Of course teams like Tulsa and Rice should be on top...
I am surprised with Memphis team. Many people predicted they will finish in bottom but it looks like they did good in preseason play. A lot of foreigners there, especially Serbians. I remember that UAB and Tulane had good years when they had those players...Maybe is now time for Memphis?
Any inside informations about them?
Marshal is doing good as well... It looks like we will have interesting season in C-USA
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Post by karellen on Sept 18, 2010 19:04:06 GMT -5
Tulsa was a disappointing 1 - 2 opening weekend at IPFW after losing to St Louis and Milwaukee. Memphis off to a good start. Rice a little disappointing, but I think they are playing a decent schedule.
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Post by OptimusPrime on Sept 19, 2010 11:23:29 GMT -5
1. Rice
2. Marshall
3. SMU
4. Tulsa
5. Southern Miss
6. UTEP
7. UCF
8,9,10 & 11 can be any order of UAB, Houston, Tulane, or Memphis
12. ECU
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Post by vbfanvbfan on Sept 19, 2010 13:45:20 GMT -5
1-2 Rice, Tulsa
3-5 SMU, Marshall, Southern Miss
6-10 Memphis, Houston, UAB, UCF, UTEP
11-12 Tulane,ECU
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Post by endlesssummer on Sept 19, 2010 15:30:32 GMT -5
With so many talented prep players in the U.S., it still amazes me that college programs like Memphis feel they need to recruit heavily outside the country to be competitive...8 of their 15 players (53%) are from foreign countries.
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Post by wearem2010 on Sept 20, 2010 18:19:33 GMT -5
Predictions for the first week of C-USA action? Any upset specials?
9/21 Rice at Houston
9/23 UCF at Marshall
9/24 UCF at Marshall
SMU at UAB
Rice at Southern Miss.
9/25 UTEP at ECU
Tulsa at Memphis
Houston at Tulane
SMU at UAB
Rice at Southern Miss.
9/26 Tulsa at Memphis
Houston at Tulane
UTEP at ECU
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Post by qc50 on Sept 21, 2010 16:08:39 GMT -5
Houston 3-0
Tulsa 2-0
SMU 2-0
UTEP 2-0
Rice 1-2
UCF 1-1
Marshall 1-1
SMiss 1-1
Memphis 0-2
ECU 0-2
UAB 0-2
Tulane 0-2
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