Aug. 12, 2004

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Senior setter Heather Watts was named to the Conference USA Preseason All Conference team as selected by the league's coaches. Watts is the first player under head coach Carrie Yerty to receive the preseason honor. Yerty and her Tigers were tabbed for a sixth place finish. Watts is no stranger to the spotlight as she garnered several postseason awards last year. As a junior, Watts set a single-season record for assists (1,792) and ranked second in the league with 13.27 assists per game. The Sandy, Utah (Skyline HS) native was named a Third Team All-C-USA performer and earned C-USA All-Tournament honors after leading Memphis to its first-ever C-USA Championship Final. Watts earned COSIDA Academic All-America Third Team honors and was also the first Tiger ever to be named an AVCA All-Midwest Honorable Mention. She is in the program's top 10 in service aces (148) and should move into the top 10 in digs (1,025) this season. "I am really excited for Heather to see that the other coaches around the league recognize the impact she has on our team and the quality of her athleticism among our conference's elite," said Head Coach Carrie Yerty. "I am proud of her and I look forward to watching her rewrite the record books here at Memphis. This is an honor that is well deserved." The U of M was picked to finish in sixth in 2004 after becoming the lone C-USA team and just the second in league history to win 30 matches last season. The 30-6 mark was the best winning percentage in program history. The Tigers return five starters and 10 letter winners from last year's conference tournament runner-up team. "The parity in our conference is incredible," Yerty said. "You can't take any matches for granted in this league because every team has been able to compete to win a conference championship. It is great to be ranked in the top six, but it is hard to gauge how teams will do." 2003 C-USA tournament champs Louisville, who returns a trio of starters, was tabbed as the favorite to win the 2004 title. The Cardinals went 12-1 in league play en route to making its sixth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Cincinnati was picked to finish second after a 20-win campaign and its sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Bearcats were followed by Houston, who returns all six starters from 2003. Marquette returns five regulars and is the early pick to finish fourth in front of the Tigers. TCU was selected to finish seventh for the second straight season, followed by USF and DePaul in eighth and ninth place respectively. Southern Miss, Saint Louis, UAB, Charlotte and East Carolina round out the final five spots in the poll. Memphis will open its season at home in the annual University of Memphis Invitational. The Tigers will open the season on Sept. 3 against in-state foe Tennessee State at 2 p.m., before battling NCAA Tournament participant Alabama A&M at 7 p.m. Memphis will wrap up the tournament on Sept. 4 with a pair of matches at 11:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. against Delaware State and Illinois-Chicago respectively. The Preseason Poll and All-Conference Team are as follows:

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 (12-30, 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