Post by USAFAN on Apr 9, 2004 1:54:33 GMT -5
It looks like the first cut may have happened with the 2004 team for Athens. The roster for the Yeltsin Cup has been released and Greichaly Cepero- Febres was not named to it.
USA Women Begin 2004 Season in Russia April 20
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The USA women's national volleyball team departs Saturday, April 17, for a long trip to Nizhniy Tagil, Russia, and the Yeltsin Cup tournament April 20-25.
For Team USA, which earned a bronze medal at the 2003 World Cup to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games, the tournament will be the first competition of a busy 2004 season.
It will also serve as a crucial evaluation tool for fourth-year head coach Toshi Yoshida, who must cut "two or three" players from the roster when the team returns at the end of April.
"It is very important for the athletes to play well to stay alive," admits Yoshida. "This tournament will allow me to evaluate the players on a different level and will help me make my decisions."
The eight-team field is broken into two pools. The United States, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, will be a member of "Pool B," and play a round-robin schedule in Nizhniy Tagil against No. 24 Croatia, No. 39 Azerbaijan and three-time defending Olympic gold medalist Cuba, ranked No. 6 in the world to start the season. "Pool A" consists of No. 5 Russia, No. 12 Turkey, No. 14 Dominican Republic and No. 16 Thailand. The teams in Pool A will play in Ekaterinburg.
The tournament begins for the United States on Tuesday, April 20 with a match against Croatia. On Wednesday, April 21 the Americans face Azerbaijan in a rematch of last year's Yeltsin Cup bronze-medal match, won by Azerbaijan in five sets. Team USA then wraps up pool play against long-time NORCECA rival Cuba on Thursday, April 22.
Following a travel day on Friday, April 23, the top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinal round in Ekaterinburg on Saturday, April 24, with the championship round scheduled for Sunday, April 25.
"Our goal is to finish in the top two of our pool so we can advance to the semifinals," said Yoshida. "I want to play Russia. I want to see what our players can do against a team like Russia, which is working so hard to get qualified for the Olympics."
The USA team traveling to Russia features a lineup that includes three-time Olympian Tara Cross-Battle (Houston, Texas), 2000 Olympians Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Sarah Noriega (Ulysses, Kan.), two-year starter Tayyiba Haneef (Laguna Hills, Calif.), collegiate All-Americans Jennifer Joines (Milpitas, Calif.) and Ogonna Nnamani (Normal, Ill.) and 17-year-old high school star Cynthia Barboza (Long Beach, Calif.).
"The young ones (Barboza, Joines and Nnamani) have all been training so hard; they are getting used to our gym culture," said Yoshida. "I am looking forward to seeing how they perform."
The remainder of the national team is currently playing professionally overseas. Heather Bown (Volley Modena), Nancy Metcalf (Despar Perugia), Danielle Scott (Pallavolo Chieri), Stacy Sykora (Volley Modena) and Logan Tom (Monte Schiavo Jesi) are all playing in Italy, while Keba Phipps is playing for MRV/Minas in Brazil.
USA Yeltsin Cup Travel Roster
Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (S)
Wiz Bachman (MB)
Cynthia Barboza (OH)
Lindsey Berg (S)
Tara Cross-Battle (OH)
Sarah Drury (L)
Tayyiba Haneef (OPP)
Brittany Hochevar (OH)
Jennifer Joines (MB)
Ogonna Nnamani (OH)
Sarah Noriega (OPP)
Tracy Stalls (MB)
Elisha Thomas (MB)
USA Women Begin 2004 Season in Russia April 20
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The USA women's national volleyball team departs Saturday, April 17, for a long trip to Nizhniy Tagil, Russia, and the Yeltsin Cup tournament April 20-25.
For Team USA, which earned a bronze medal at the 2003 World Cup to qualify for the 2004 Olympic Games, the tournament will be the first competition of a busy 2004 season.
It will also serve as a crucial evaluation tool for fourth-year head coach Toshi Yoshida, who must cut "two or three" players from the roster when the team returns at the end of April.
"It is very important for the athletes to play well to stay alive," admits Yoshida. "This tournament will allow me to evaluate the players on a different level and will help me make my decisions."
The eight-team field is broken into two pools. The United States, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, will be a member of "Pool B," and play a round-robin schedule in Nizhniy Tagil against No. 24 Croatia, No. 39 Azerbaijan and three-time defending Olympic gold medalist Cuba, ranked No. 6 in the world to start the season. "Pool A" consists of No. 5 Russia, No. 12 Turkey, No. 14 Dominican Republic and No. 16 Thailand. The teams in Pool A will play in Ekaterinburg.
The tournament begins for the United States on Tuesday, April 20 with a match against Croatia. On Wednesday, April 21 the Americans face Azerbaijan in a rematch of last year's Yeltsin Cup bronze-medal match, won by Azerbaijan in five sets. Team USA then wraps up pool play against long-time NORCECA rival Cuba on Thursday, April 22.
Following a travel day on Friday, April 23, the top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinal round in Ekaterinburg on Saturday, April 24, with the championship round scheduled for Sunday, April 25.
"Our goal is to finish in the top two of our pool so we can advance to the semifinals," said Yoshida. "I want to play Russia. I want to see what our players can do against a team like Russia, which is working so hard to get qualified for the Olympics."
The USA team traveling to Russia features a lineup that includes three-time Olympian Tara Cross-Battle (Houston, Texas), 2000 Olympians Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (Honolulu, Hawaii) and Sarah Noriega (Ulysses, Kan.), two-year starter Tayyiba Haneef (Laguna Hills, Calif.), collegiate All-Americans Jennifer Joines (Milpitas, Calif.) and Ogonna Nnamani (Normal, Ill.) and 17-year-old high school star Cynthia Barboza (Long Beach, Calif.).
"The young ones (Barboza, Joines and Nnamani) have all been training so hard; they are getting used to our gym culture," said Yoshida. "I am looking forward to seeing how they perform."
The remainder of the national team is currently playing professionally overseas. Heather Bown (Volley Modena), Nancy Metcalf (Despar Perugia), Danielle Scott (Pallavolo Chieri), Stacy Sykora (Volley Modena) and Logan Tom (Monte Schiavo Jesi) are all playing in Italy, while Keba Phipps is playing for MRV/Minas in Brazil.
USA Yeltsin Cup Travel Roster
Robyn Ah Mow-Santos (S)
Wiz Bachman (MB)
Cynthia Barboza (OH)
Lindsey Berg (S)
Tara Cross-Battle (OH)
Sarah Drury (L)
Tayyiba Haneef (OPP)
Brittany Hochevar (OH)
Jennifer Joines (MB)
Ogonna Nnamani (OH)
Sarah Noriega (OPP)
Tracy Stalls (MB)
Elisha Thomas (MB)