Bowling Green State University Athletics
Caty Rommeck, National Team Playing In Midwest
April 18, 2002 | Volleyball
April 18, 2002
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team kicks off its 2002 season with a series of three domestic exhibition matches against a Chinese team, Tianjin, April 18-20. Former Bowling Green State University standout Caty Rommeck is competing with the U.S. squad.
The tour begins at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Thursday (April 18) at 7:30 p.m. (EST) and then moves to Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday (April 19) at 7:30 p.m. The tour winds up at The Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit on Saturday (April 20) at 7 p.m.
Led by head coach Toshi Yoshida, the U.S. women built upon their surprising fourth-place finish at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, by reestablishing itself as a world power in 2001. The women did not lose a game in qualifying for the 2002 World Championships with sweeps over Mexico, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico. The USA then captured the gold medal at the World Grand Prix, posting wins over the top-four teams in the world -- Brazil, China, Cuba and Russia (three times) -- in the process. To prove that the Grand Prix was not a fluke, the women then beat Cuba (Olympic champions in 1992, 1996 and 2000) two more times in posting a 4-0 record en route to the NORCECA zone championship.
Overall, the U.S. finished the 2001 season with a 21-10 record and starts off the 2002 campaign ranked fifth in the world.
"I'm anxious to finally begin the 2002 season," says Yoshida, now starting his second year as head coach. "I believe this tour will be a great opportunity for me to see our young players in international competition."
With most of the established National Team players competing overseas in Italy and Japan and in the newly formed United States Professional Volleyball League (USPV), Yoshida will field his U.S. National Training Team for the April Tour. The team, which has been training together since the beginning of the year, includes 6-7 middle blocker Tayyiba Haneef, a first-team American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American last season from Long Beach State University, and 6-1 setter Lizzy Fitzgerald, a second-team AVCA All-America choice and the 2001 Big Ten Conference Player of the Year.
Tickets for the three events are available at the following outlets:
Thursday, April 18 at 7:30pm - Van Andel Arena, Grand Rapids Mich. Tickets are available at the arena box office, at Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com) or by calling 616-456-3333.
Friday, April 19 at 7:30pm - Nationwide Arena, Columbus Ohio. Tickets are available at the arena box office, at Blue Jackets Zones or Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com) or by calling 614-431-3600.
Saturday, April 20 at 7:00pm - The Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, Mich. Tickets are available at the arena box office, on the web at www.palacenet.com, at Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com) or by calling 248-645-6666.
(NOTE: This article is courtesy of Paul Soriano at USA Volleyball)
