UNIVERSITY OF NEW ORLEANS FAN ZONE

UNO Privateers News, Schedule, Pictures and Players

THIBODAUX -- Blessed with its share of good shooters, Nicholls State kept mixing and matching players until it got the right outside mix during its season opener against UNO. And when that right mix was found, Nicholls State's hot outside shooting plus 21 turnovers by UNO helped the Colonels to a 79-62 victory at Stopher Gym on Wednesday night.

Continue reading "University of New Orleans falls to Nicholls State" »

NEW ORLEANS - For the first time in school history, the University of New Orleans volleyball team placed two members of their squad on the all-Sun Belt Conference first-team, it was announced Wednesday night.

Senior outside hitter Dobrilla Kovacevic and junior outside hitter Lindsey Loyd both were given nods in a vote by conference head coaches after being the two primary hitters on a Privateers squad that ranked amongst the top offensive teams in the country. This season, head coach Jozsef Forman's squad finished 16th in the nation in hitting percentage and 30th in kills per set, which played a major factor in the team winning a school-record 13 conference matches.

Kovacevic is no stranger to all-conference honors. The Belgrade, Serbia native was a member of the All-SBC first-team in 2006 in addition to a first-team All-SBC preseason pick in 2007. This year, she ranked second in the conference in kills per set with 4.15, ranking her 26th nationally.

Continue reading "Kovacevic, Loyd Named to All-Sun Belt Volleyball First Team" »

Nicholls State has defeated UNO 79-62 in its season opener in the Stopher Gym.

Continue reading "UNO vs. Nicholls State in-game updates" »

Having not been there, UNO didn't quite know what to do when it got there, with victory in sight against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent that appeared ripe to be taken.

Continue reading "University of New Orleans basketball still settling in at Lakefront Arena" »

North Carolina State ruined UNO's return to the Lakefront Arena with a 65-59 victory on Saturday. The Wolfpack outscored UNO 34-28 in the second half.

Continue reading "UNO vs. North Carolina State, ingame updates" »

UNO goes into the season with two senior forwards Kyndall Dykes and T.J. Worley and freshman guard Charles Carmouche, who are hoping to lead the Privateers to another successful season.

UNO was picked to finish last in the Western Division of the Sun Belt Conference preseason basketball poll, but based on their work in the preseason, the Privateers believe they can prove a lot of the pundits wrong.

Privateers coach Joe Pasternack discusses the upcoming season.

UNO coach Joe Pasternack

UNO's Blue-White scrimmage at the Lakefront Arena last month has no bearing on the standings, and the statistics from the game don't count. But in a lot of ways that scrimmage means everything to UNO as its opens the season tonight at the Lakefront Arena against North Carolina State.

Continue reading "University of New Orleans basketball looking to seniors for help" »

NEW ORLEANS - University of New Orleans head women's basketball coach Amy Champion and her staff signed prep players Juanita Cochran, Talisha Bridges and Dmesha Hewitt on Wednesday and Thursday as the early signing period opened for women's basketball.

"This early signing period class is one of the best we have ever signed," said Champion. "Not only are they good people and good students, but they are ranked within their respective states according to their position and nationally ranked within a number of women's basketball scouting services. This is a wonderful class for this program."

Cochran brings a slew of accomplishments to the Lakefront from Arthur Hill HS in Saginaw, Mich. Her sophomore year of high school, she was named All-Valley and Saginaw News first-team All-Area while racking up two triple doubles in the process. In one of those triple double performances, Cochran had 31 points, 29 rebounds and 11 blocks.

Continue reading "Three Talented Prep Players Sign with Lady Privateers" »

Bridgton Academy (Maine) guard Carl Blair, UNO's first basketball commitment, signed with the Privateers on Thursday.

"Carl's basketball IQ and vision are terrific," UNO Coach Joe Pasternack said. "We're really excited to have him."

Continue reading "Highly-ranked basketball player Carl Blair signs with University of New Orleans" »

Continue reading "Renovations have University of New Orleans Privateers right at home" »

NEW ORLEANS - University of New Orleans outside hitter Lindsey Loyd was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week on Monday afternoon, becoming the first Privateer to receive conference honors since Dobrilla Kovacevic in 2006.

Loyd, a junior from Houston, Texas led UNO to its second weekend sweep in SBC action this season, averaging 4.67 kills in 3-0 victories by the Privateers over West Division rivals Denver and North Texas.

Against DU, Loyd posted 15 kills in 22 attack attempts without an error, hitting .682 for the match. The victory over the Pioneers represented the first in four matches against the squad and their first sweep against DU since Sept. 22, 2004.

Continue reading "Loyd Honored as SBC Volleyball Player of the Week" »

NEW ORLEANS - University of New Orleans volleyball senior Jaci Bayley was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District Six second team on Thursday morning.

Bayley graduated in spring 2008 with a degree in exercise physiology, maintaining a 3.62 GPA. During the summer, she began her pursuit of a Masters in Business Administration, where she currently holds a perfect 4.0 GPA.

On the court, Bayley has been a consistent leader on the team. A captain for the third straight year, Bayley and fellow senior Dobrilla Kovacevic are one win away from being becoming the first graduating class since 1992 to never suffer a losing season during their time on the Lakefront.

Continue reading "Privateer Senior Setter Bayley Named Academic All-District" »

The University of New Orleans Athletic Department began an initiative in November 2007 in which student athletes, who perform well in their sport and in the classroom will be featured on UNOPrivateers.com as the 'Student-Athlete of the Month'. This month's student athlete is Guilherme Rebolo of the men's tennis team. It is not often that a student-athlete will be given the chance to compete for three different institutions due to NCAA regulations regarding transfers.

Yet, Guilherme Rebolo has done exactly that as the University of New Orleans became the third institution for which he has represented as a member of the men's tennis team.

Rebolo never intended on it to be this way, as the first transfer he made was from Erskine College to Charleston Southern due to a desire to play at the top level of collegiate competition.

Continue reading "Student-Athlete of the Month: Gui Rebolo, Men's Tennis" »

NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans women's basketball team is seeking the help of fans and community members to complete their move back into the Lakefront Arena.

The Lady Privateers are looking for donors to help provide financial support to cover the costs of locker room shower curtains, a sound system, a video projector with DVD player and an 84" pull down screen. These items range from approximately $300 to $1000.

For fans interested in making a more permanent donation to the women's basketball program, the team is seeking out office sponsors. The donation, which can be paid over a two-year period, is needed to assist in furnishing the team's offices. Donor recognition will be given with a plaque placed outside the office, commemorating the gift.

The following office sponsorships are available:

Continue reading "Lady Privateers Seek Community Support" »

NEW ORLEANS - For the second straight week, University of New Orleans swimmer Cristina Lay has been named the Sun Belt Conference's women's swimmer of the week.

Lay had a banner performance against Southern Illinois last Friday to begin her week. She opened up competition with a win in the 200 fly (2:09.59) and followed it with a victory in the 200 IM (2:10.42), besting three swimmers from SIU in each event. The triumphs marked her seventh and eighth individual wins in nine events on the year to that point.

The next day, the native of Peru broke the Privateers school-record in the 400 IM with a time of 4:39.99 against defending conference champion Western Kentucky. In doing so, she topped the previous record established by Lindsey Townsend of 4:50.74 in 2007.

Continue reading "UNO's Lay Repeats as Conference Swimmer of the Week" »

UNO will have a select-a-seat day on Monday at 5 p.m. in the Lakefront Arena for fans interested in purchasing season tickets to the Privateers' men's and women's basketball games this season.

Continue reading "UNO Select A Seat Day" »

NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans Athletic Department will be hosting a basketball Select-A-Seat event at 5 p.m. on Monday at Lakefront Arena.

All fans interested in purchasing UNO men's and women's basketball season tickets for the 2008-09 season are invited to attend.

Also, fans who have already purchased season tickets will be able to pick them up, along with parking passes and Privateer Athletic Foundation membership cards.

The event will include free drinks and the opportunity to select from the best seating available in Lakefront Arena.

Continue reading "UNO Basketball Hosting Select-A-Seat at Lakefront Arena" »

UNO men's basketball coach Joe Pasternack and women's basketball coach Amy Champion will be on the air tonight at 7 p.m. on WGSO 990-AM with the "UNO Basketball Hour." The show will be held live at Lafitte's Cafe on 6325 Elysian Fields Ave. The show will air weekly throughout the basketball season.

Bridgton Academy (Maine) guard Carl Blair, a nationally rated 6-foot-3 senior, committed to UNO on Thursday. Blair, who averaged 12 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, received a two-star rating from scouts.com and an 86 rating from espn.com.

Continue reading "UNO signs nationally rated guard" »

Its first game without the all-time leading scorer in school history is less than one month away, but the UNO men's basketball team has a guarded optimism about the upcoming season.

Continue reading "UNO basketball stressing team concept" »

NEW ORLEANS - University of New Orleans head baseball coach Tom Walter is looking at 17 new faces on his 2009 roster, and the fifth-year coach will get a lot of opportunities to see them play during the next week.

The Privateers will kick off the 2009 UNO Fall World Series on Saturday and will mix in a Sunday game with in-state rival Nicholls State as part of a busy weekend at Maestri Field.

The World Series, which sees UNO split its roster between the Blue and Black squads, will play the first game at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday. The Privateers will follow with a noon game against Nicholls State on Sunday. Admission to both games is free.

The Privateers, coming off back-to-back NCAA Regional appearances, will replace 12 letter winners from the 2008 squad. But a quality recruiting class, combined with returning starters Nick Schwaner and Ryan Eden, has Walter very positive about 2009.

Continue reading "Walter, Fans Get Chance to See New-Look Privateers" »

NEW ORLEANS - Three divers and one swimmer from the University of New Orleans swimming and diving teams garnered Sun Belt Conference honors, it was announced on Wednesday afternoon.

The awards, which represent all competition held through this past weekend went to Cristina Lay, Kelly Swartzbaugh, Johnny DeMaine and Jonathan Field.

Lay, named the women's swimmer of the week, became just the second Privateer swimmer to earn the honor in school history, following Sarah Gros who received the distinction twice during the 2005-06 season.

On the season, the native of Peru is an unblemished 6-0 in individual events. In the season opener against Incarnate Word on Oct. 10, Lay picked up wins in the 100 fly (59.84), 200 fly (2:09.37) and 200 IM (2:11.77). She also added a win in the 400 medley relay (4:01.25) to go undefeated in the dual against UIW.

Continue reading "Four Privateers Recieve Conference Swimming and Diving Honors" »

NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans men's basketball team is inviting fans to get their first look at the 2008-09 Privateers next week, as the team will hold a Blue-White scrimmage at 7 p.m. on Oct. 28 at the newly renovated Lakefront Arena.

Admission for the event is free.

Fans will be able to purchase UNO merchandise, concessions as well as season tickets.

Continue reading "Privateers Hosting Hoops Scrimmage" »

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NEW ORLEANS - Shortly after 3 p.m on Tuesday afternoon, Brittany Helm and Cookie Johnson made their way on to the main floor at the Lakefront Arena.

The floor, which was not available for the beginning of the season's opening practice last Friday due to the University of New Orleans 50th Anniversary Celebration Kickoff, was now available and these two Lady Privateers were the first to take advantage of their new home court.

As time inched closer to the start of 3:30 p.m practice, more Lady Privateers took to the court as head coach Amy Champion's squad became the first to take to the main floor at the Lakefront Arena since pre-Katrina

Continue reading "Lady Privateers Christen Lakefront Arena Floor" »

NEW ORLEANS -- Basketball coaches around the country have been looking forward to Oct. 17 for quite some time. And Joe Pasternack is no exception.

The Privateer basketball team officially started practice on Friday, as the new-look squad took part in a spirited workout at the Lakefront Arena auxiliary gym.

UNO, which will debut 11 new players in 2008, is less than one month away from its season opener, which takes place at 7 p.m. on Nov. 15 against North Carolina State at the newly renovated Lakefront Arena.

Continue reading "Basketball Practice Officially Underway" »

NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans women's basketball team will participate in their annual team kickoff event with family before starting their regular practice schedule at 11:30 a.m on Saturday as the team prepares for the 2008-09 season.

Head coach Amy Champion and her squad took another step in the right direction last season as a consistent winning program is built on the Lakefront. With four starters returning and the added motivation that comes from playing at the re-opened Lakefront Arena, the Lady Privateers are ready to take the program to the next level.

Led by Brittany Helm, the Sun Belt Conference and LSWA Newcomer of the Year, the Lady Privateers return the critical core from last year's lineup as they continue to push the envelope of expectations that their coaches and the UNO fan base has for them.

Continue reading "Lady Privateers Open Practice This Weekend" »

University of New Orleans Coach Joe Pasternack and Privateers fans knew this day was coming. Bo McCalebb, who Pasternack said was the heart and soul of his team, is no longer with the Privateers. He's in Turkey playing professional basketball after completing his eligibility at UNO last spring.

Replacing McCalebb, UNO's and the Sun Belt's all-time leading scorer, will be difficult. The task, as practice begins today at the newly renovated Lakefront Arena for the 2008-09 season for the Privateers, is to come up with a new identity.

Continue reading "UNO preparing for life without Bo McCalebb" »

NEW ORLEANS - A first year program complete with an all-freshman roster will look to make an impact as the University of New Orleans men's swimming and diving program hits the pool in 2008 for the first time since 1992.

Randy Horner, no stranger to working with men's programs after nine years involved with the men's team at Missouri State for nine years prior to arriving on the Lakefront in 2007 will held the team.

A conference that has improved greatly over the last several years awaits the Privateer men, who coach Horner believes has the talent necessary to compete with any of the schools on the road ahead.

Continue reading "UNO Men Look to Make Instant Impact In Return to the Pool" »

Over the last three years, Sarah Gros has developed into a school-record setting performer for the University of New Orleans women's swimming and diving team.

Entering the 2008-09 season, the senior from Lafayette, La. has her name at the top of seven school records which includes four individual events.

The success in the pool extends beyond UNO as Gros during the 2005-06 season was twice named Sun Belt Conference Swimmer of the Week, the only member of the Privateer squad to achieve such honor once let alone, twice.

In addition to her high marks in the pool, Gros has achieved the same high marks in the classroom, where she has earned conference Commissioner Honor Roll accolades for the last two years.

Continue reading "UNO Student-Athlete of the Month: Sarah Gros, Women's Swimming and Diving" »

NEW ORLEANS - Despite their setback this past weekend to UALR after defeating Arkansas State, the University of New Orleans volleyball head coach Jozsef Forman has pushed the bar higher for the program in his short time on the Lakefront.

Through this weekend's matches, RichKern.com has ranked the Privateers at No. 74, the highest in-season national ranking ever for the UNO program. The highest end of season ranking occurred in 1998 when the team finished at 110. The only other squad to finish amongst the top 125 in this respected ranking system was the 1997 squad, which finished 115.

Continuing their rise on the national level, Forman's team has ranked amongst the national leaders in several categories. Entering play this past weekend, UNO ranked 12th in kills per set (14.30), 22nd in assists per set (12.86) and 26th in hitting percentage (.270). Additionally, Dobrilla Kovacevic ranked 23rd in kills per set with a 4.19 average..

Continue reading "Forman, UNO Volleyball Continue to Raise the Bar" »

NEW ORLEANS - University of New Orleans head swimming and diving coach Randy Horner will be making an appearance Tuesday on The Morning Swim Show, an internet-based show that airs 24 hours a day on the SwimmingWorldMagazine.com web site.

Horner, who recorded the interview via phone on Monday afternoon, serves as the featured interview as part of a weekly college swimming and diving segment that appears during each Tuesday's broadcast.

During his appearance on the show, the second-year head coach discussed the reinstatement of the men's swimming and diving program, particularly his team's opening dual against Stanford that took place in early September.

"It's a rare thing to have a men's swimming and diving team come back after it's been dismantled, and even rarer to have it return 16 years later," said Jeff Commings, associate producer of The Morning Swim Show. "To come back after so long and take on a team that was third at NCAAs last season is a story that definitely warranted a place on our show."

Continue reading "Privateer Men's Swimming and Diving Featured on The Morning Swim Show" »

NEW ORLEANS - Former Chinese national team player and United States national team coach Tieming "James" Li was announced as the assistant for the University of New Orleans volleyball team on Thursday morning.

Li comes to UNO after being a part of the silver-medal-winning U.S. Olympic team in Beijing, China last month. The China native was a defensive and passing coach and helped the U.S. to its best finish since 1984.

"I am glad to have James Li on my staff," said UNO head coach Jozsef Forman. "He is an outstanding coach and a very good teacher while bringing a very strong technical and tactical knowledge of the game to our team.

Continue reading "2008 Olympic Medal Winning Assistant Joins UNO Volleyball Staff" »

NEW ORLEANS - Looking to improve on their sixth place finish of a year ago in the Sun Belt Conference, the University of New Orleans women's swimming and diving team has made great strides this offseason with an eye on moving up..

The conference has also continued its steady improvement and head coach Randy Horner looks forward to seeing how his growing squad's improvement stacks up against the rest of the conference.

With several additions recruited to the team to fill areas of need, the Privateers return a strong cast of returning student-athletes who are expected to be main contributors to a squad that has an eye on moving up.

Continue reading "UNO Women's Swimming Looking to Make Move Upward in 2008-09" »

NEW ORLEANS - The University of New Orleans volleyball program will team up with Zeta Tau Alpha to "Dig for the Cure" at 7 p.m on Oct 17 when the Privateers host UALR in a Sun Belt Conference contest.

Members of the volleyball team and ZTA are in the process of acquiring pledges for each dig the Privateers rack up against the Trojans. All donations will go to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.

Dig for the Cure was started in 2003 by Charlotte head volleyball coach Lisa Marston whose mother is a breast cancer survivor. Marston's goal was to combine her volleyball program's community service project with a group that helped her mother and others like her to survive.

Continue reading "UNO Volleyball Set to Dig for Cure" »