IRVING — UTSA has been picked to repeat as Conference USA Champions, while sophomores Dajana Boskovic and Jessica Waldrip were named to the preseason all-league team in a vote by the circuit’s head coaches, the conference office announced Thursday.
The Roadrunners received the most votes among the 13 teams and are slotted ahead of newcomer Western Kentucky, Rice, North Texas, Southern Miss and UAB. UTSA posted a 24-8 overall record and captured the C-USA regular season crown with a 13-1 mark before winning the conference tournament and advancing to the NCAA postseason for the second time in the last four years. Head coach Laura Neugebauer-Groff welcomes back 10 letterwinners and six starters from that squad for her 13th season at the helm.
Middle Tennessee, Marshall, FIU, UTEP, Florida Atlantic, Charlotte and Louisiana Tech round out the preseason poll.
Meanwhile, Boskovic and Waldrip were two of 13 players picked for the preseason all-conference team.
Boskovic earned first-team all-conference honors and was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team last season. The 6-foot-1 outside hitter from Bileca, Bosnia and Herzegovina, registered 327 kills (3.14 per set) and hit .298 in her debut season with the Roadrunners. She added 152 digs, 86 blocks and six aces and averaged 3.66 points per set.
Waldrip, a setter from New Braunfels, led UTSA with 779 assists (10.53 per set) as a true freshman in 2013. She also recorded 128 digs, 34 kills, 24 blocks and 23 aces in 27 matches.
The Roadrunners will open the 2014 campaign against Tulane at 12:30 p.m. and Iowa at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 29, on the first day of the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station. UTSA will close out the opening weekend against the host Aggies at 3 p.m. the following afternoon.