As many of you know, this time of year is torturous for us bloggers. The lack of news combined with the anticipation of a new season makes for a long summer. I've spent a good amount of this time reflecting on the past year in USF athletics and ranking them in order of how well they performed. You can check out what I thought of our 15 sports teams this season after the jump.
15. Men's Basketball (10-23)
We all know that our basketball team wasn't good this year. But it's the preseason expectations that makes the 10-23 record that much more painful. After the first 20-win season in years led by Dominique Jones, hopes were high that the Bulls would at least be able to scratch together a respectable win total. USF didn't even get their annual signature upset until the Big East tournament, eliminating Villanova to finally reach the double-digit win mark.
14. Men's Golf
The Men's golf team wasn't very good, but our expectations weren't very high for them. Their best finish was 2nd, but that seemed like an anomaly compared to the rest of their year. They finished in last place in a tournament that they hosted here in Tampa, and finished 4th in the Big East tournament at Innissbrook. Golf has never really been USF's strong suit, so not many people were upset by the poor performances.
13. Cross Country
Not really a popular team, the Cross Country group went pretty much undetected all season long. In their 7 events, the best finish for the team was 3rd out of 7 (Men) and 3rd of 14 (Women). The men finished 13th out of 14 teams in the Big East championships, while the women finished 13th out of 16. There weren't many successes this season for XC, except for the fact that the whole team was named to the 2010 Division 1-A All-Academic team.
12. Women's Basketball (12-19)
In the midst of basketball season, we usually realize that the Men's team is going to struggle all season, so we turn to the Women's team to guide us through the winter. Unfortunately, they underperformed this year too, so all we had to look forward to was baseball season. USF highlighted their season with a season-ending victory over Georgetown, but then was eliminated in the first round of the Big East tournament by Pittsburgh.
11. Volleyball (10-18)
Volleyball maybe should be a little lower, but I can't stay mad at those girls. The season was up and down, with USF hovering around .500 for much of the year. The major disappointment was the fact that the ladies ended the season on a 7-match losing streak, going 3-21 collectively in those matches. There aren't really ever high expectations for volleyball, but we always like to see them succeed.
10. Women's Tennis (11-12)
The Women's tennis team played relatively well this year, remaining in the top 50 for most of the season. Their record didn't reflect outstanding play, but it was good enough to get into the NCAA tournament, where the team lost to Texas.
9. Track
The track and field's season didn't shock too many people, as USF didn't dominate a ton of events. They did, however, place several competitors in the NCAA championships, where they competed with some of the best athletes in the country. In addition to the NCAAs, select members of the team also attended the United States championship as well. As a team, the track and field squad isn't great, but the individual efforts in particular events like the long jump and the pole vault garner respect from track fans across the nation.
8. Men's Tennis (15-8)
The men's team had a better record than the women's team, but the competition in the men's circuit was much more intense, and therefore their 15 wins weren't sufficient to make the NCAAs. They did, however, post a respectable 2-1 in the Big East tournament, and, like the women's team, received votes in the top 50 polls all year long.
7. Baseball (25-29)
The baseball team opened a brand new stadium this year, and we all hoped that they would make it a season to remember. Instead, Lelo Prado led us to a second consecutive losing season and USF missed the Big East tournament by half a game (Seton Hall beat us out for it, and they ended up winning the championship). The highlight of the season was that 9th inning in the season finale against Pittsburgh, where USF put up three runs, including the walk-off hit that temporarily had Bulls fans on top of the world. Minutes later, the fans had learned that all possible scenarios that could allow USF to extend their season were all closed, and this would be the last game we'd see this year.
6. Women's Golf
This women's golf team wasn't exactly the successful squad that would win many tournaments. In fact, they didn't win any tournaments. But expectations were low, and they did have a star that garnered some attention for the group. Shena Yang led USF to a 3rd place finish in the Big East tournament on her way to making an appearance at the NCAA championships. Yang is the sole reason that this women's golf team isn't closer to the bottom, and hopefully she'll be able to help this team improve through next year.
5. Men's Soccer (9-6-4)
After three years of outstanding goalkeeping by Jeff Attinella, it was only appropriate to think that USF would have a great season ahead of them. Their preseason victory over #1 Akron only fueled that drive, but this team just didn't look the same as they had in years past. Immediately following their upset of Akron, USF was let down by a loss to Florida Gulf Coast, and the season dragged along from there. The offense didn't produce the way they should, and the defense just got so exhausted from being on their toes all game. The season ended in Orlando, when UCF shut out the Bulls 3-0 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
4. Softball (33-21)
At some points in the season, the softball team looked to be USF's best of 2010. The girls opened their brand new stadium in winning fashion, beginning the season 4-1 under coach Ken Ericksen. Throughout the season, USF led the Big East standings until a doubleheader sweep by Notre Dame and a bizarre turn of events at DePaul slid the Bulls down the rankings. They ended up failing to score in the first game of the Big East tournament, and fell a few wins short of being invited to the NCAA tournament. Individually, Sara Nevins was amazing in her freshman season and combined her starting efforts and her closing skill to become one of the most dangerous pitchers in the country.
3. Football (8-5)
Expectations weren't all that high for USF football, as new coach Skip Holtz had cleaned out the house and brought in an all new staff. That's why were were surprised and delighted to see USF post 7 regular season wins, including one over in-state rival Miami for the first time in school history. USF capped a great season with their first-ever bowl win over a BCS team when they beat Clemson in the Meineke Car Care Bowl. Hopes are even higher for the Bulls this year, as Holtz's team has a lot of potential for the future.
2. Women's Soccer (14-6-3)
The soccer scene at USF is usually highlighted by the men's team. But, as the men had a down year, the women's team had a chance to shine, and they produced. The season opened with a loss to UCF, but South Florida pulled together to win their next seven games, including one over Florida and another over Miami (exhibition). Conference play was highlighted by thrillers , and Bulls fans were rarely disappointed. The girls made it all the way to the final of the Big East championship, but lost to West Virginia by a score of 1-0. They did, however, get an invitation to the NCAA tournament, where they beat Auburn to advance to the second round, where the #25 ranked Bulls' season finally ended with a loss to Florida State.
1. Sailing
The sailing team wasn't one you would go out and watch very often, since very few of their competitions took place in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. Many people don't even know we have a sailing team, let alone that it's one of our best. The main reason that USF Sailing is at the top of this list is because it spent the entire season ranked in the top 15 nationally, and is one of the only non-preppy rich kid schools that boasts a successful sailing team (All the Ivy League schools, Stanford, and more of the northeast compiled the rest of the rankings). The team doesn't get as much publicity as it should because the sport isn't really that popular down here, but USF Sailing is definitely something to be proud of with all the success they had this year.
I want to know what you guys think! Tell me what the best program of the year was in the comments.
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