Volleyball players going to Austrailia

[JoeCougar79]

Cougars to Be Represented on National Volleyball Team



Three members of the College of Charleston volleyball team and head coach Sherry Dunbar will travel to Darwin, Australia to take part in the Australian 2005 Arafura Games.



Rising seniors Kaycie Carr, Amanda Timmers and Rebecca Wieters will join Team America and Coach Dunbar as they compete against teams from around the world. Team America is associated with USA Athletes International, a non-profit organization dedicated to giving amateur athletes and coaches the opportunity to participate in International Olympic style sporting events around the world.



"Obviously I'm very excited for the opportunity to travel to Australia and coach in international competition but even more excited to experience all of this with my three players,” said Dunbar, head coach of Team America. “I'm looking forward to seeing the sites and experiencing all that we can while we are there."



The team will be in Australia from May 12-22 with the opening ceremony taking place on May 14 at Marrara Oval in Darwin. The ceremony, much like that of an Olympic ceremony, will include an athlete march past, lighting of the cauldron and a fully choreographed and costumed production with a cast of more than 1500 performers.



Rebecca Wieters, a Goose Creek, S.C. native, looks forward to the competition as well as the opportunity to learn about another culture at the same time.



“This is a really exciting opportunity to get to play against international competition,” said Wieters. “I think it is going to be a great experience and to be able to compete in a different part of the world makes it that much more exciting.”



The trip will also serve as a cultural experience for the team, which is composed of student-athletes from six schools. The team will have the opportunity to tour many different sites, including Litchfield Waterfalls, Kakadu National Park, Jumping Crocodile Cruise and Crocodylus Park. The team will also spend two on the Gold Coast prior to the games starting.



“This is a once in a lifetime experience,” said Carr. “It is an honor to be able to go and represent our country on an international stage. We are thankful to the people who have helped to make this possible through our fundraising”



Carr, Timmers and Wieters were All-SoCon selections for the Cougars last season. Carr and Wieters earned first team honors while Timmers was a second team selection and was also named the Most Valuable Player of the Southern Conference Tournament.



“It is going to be exciting to compete against other countries and a great chance to learn about another culture at the same time,” said Timmers. “I am honored to have been chosen to participate in this event.”



The competition will begin on Sunday, May 15th with Team America slated to play its opening match against Papa New Guinea at 9:00am Australian North Territory time.



Team America Schedule (All Times Australian North Territory Times)

May 15, 9:00am – vs. Papa New Guinea

May 16, 1:30pm – vs. Defense Force AUS

May 16, 7:00pm – vs. Queensland

May 18, 5:30pm – vs. Singapore

May 19, 10:30pm – vs. Macau

May 19, 4:30pm – vs. South Australia



Top Four Seeds Advance to Bracket Play

May 20, 8:00am – Game 1 - #1 seed vs. #4 seed

May 20, 12:00pm – Game 2 - #2 seed vs. #3 seed

May 20, 3:30pm – Bronze Medal Game – Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2

May 21, 9:00am – Gold Medal Game – Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2



NOTE: Check back to CofCsports.com for daily journal entries from Amanda, Kaycie and Rebecca starting May 13th

[swampcougar1]

Will those 3 be back next year. Shows how good this team really was if 3 of them made the natonal team. If they are all back next year the Cougars will be rated very high next year nationally. Maybe they can even host a regional

[VolleyBallCoug]

Yes, they will be back next year. CofC would have had 4 players representing them, but middle blocker Tiffany Blum had shoulder surgery and won't be able to make the trip.

There are no official rankings for volleyball that I can find past the top 30. There are unofficial ones that put the college around 62nd in the country at the end of the 2004 season. Check at http://www.richkern.com

If the new recruits coming in can contribute right away this is going to be a very tough team to beat. They will be a very fast defensive team that will have to work a little, I mean just a little more, on there blocking and hitting to compete with some of the bigger teams. I highly recommend catching some of the matches next season, you will get hooked.