“What we really want is for our national caliber athletes to compete and show what we are capable of and make the finals,” head coach Leroy Burrell said. “With some of our developing athletes we want them to go out there and perform at their best because the venue and atmosphere are outstanding.”

The New Balance Invitational is the biggest collegiate-sporting event held in the New York-metropolitan area with 130 universities from 28 different states and global competitors from universities in France, Canada, Puerto Rico, and Ireland.

In its 11th year, the event hosts powerhouse teams from across the nation with an eye on both regional and national interest.

UH will be facing teams from conferences such as the SEC, Big 10, and Big 12.

“There are going to be ranked opponents, ranked teams and numerous teams,” said Burrell.

Burrell said that this will be a great opportunity for the Cougars to get exposure to a different level of competition

“We are going to be competing against many of the best track and field teams in the country,” Burrell said.

“The competition can be very stiff, but we have some athletes that can compete at that level.”

Burrell emphasized the importance of the location.

“Moving to the Big East, The Armory is the venue where our conference will be held, so it has added importance to the future of our program,” he said.

Riding a wave of momentum and exposure as a national brand, head coach Tony Levine unveiled his inaugural recruiting class Wednesday, which only added to the abundance of excitement surrounding the program.

“I would argue that there has not been a better time where there has been more publicity for the University of Houston football program than right now,” Levine said.

UH successfully addressed several areas of need, including wide receiver, where all four of last season’s starters were seniors. The Cougars signed five — and potentially six — at that position with the biggest splash coming from Deontay Greenberry, ranked as the No. 7 wide receiver nationally by Scout.com.

“He’s had a great relationship with special teams and inside receivers coach Jamie Christian from his time at Arizona State,” Levine said. “Deontay lives just west of here… in California, and is really excited to be a Cougar.”

The Cougars also signed a quarterback in Rex Dausin, who is already receiving comparisons to his record-setting predecessor Case Keenum.

“He [Case] was really a competitive player; he was good at every sport he did and I see that a lot in Rex when we were evaluating him,” offensive coordinator Mike Nesbitt said. “He did some things on his own to help his team become better.

“You see a guy who was really hungry for the opportunity to get here.”

The Cougars, ranked by some publications as the No. 1 recruiting class in Conference USA, also added a trio of offensive linemen, three running backs, four defensive linemen, four linebackers and three to four defensive backs to round out the class. Of the 24 signees, 11 earned All-State recognition, four of which were named as High School All-Americans.

“We’ve got extremely high goals and aspirations for our program and to achieve those goals, we’re going to recruit the best,” Levine said. “If you recruit the top 50 in the state of Texas and you get two or three to tell you yes, we’re going to get to where we want to be as a program.”

Greenberry surprised the college football world by choosing UH over Notre Dame on Wednesday.

The Washington Union High School-receiver originally committed to Notre Dame to join his cousin, Tee Shepard, in South Bend, Ind., but Greenberry’s visit to UH last weekend caused him to change his mind.

“For the first time during his recruiting process, he was going to make a decision that was best for him and not what other people wanted him to do,” Washington Union head coach Jeff Freitas said.

Freitas said that Greenberry fell in love with the coaching staff at UH and the city. One of the most important parts of Greenberry’s descision was the relationship he had built with recently-hired UH special teams coordinator Jamie Christian.

“Jamie Christian has a real good rapport with Deontay, and I know when he was with Arizona State that he was interested,” Freitas said. “When he moved to UH a month ago, there was some interest in UH because of him.”

With all four of the Cougars’ starting receivers graduating, Greenberry also saw and opportunity to make an immediate impact on the field.

“He saw the opportunity to play early and he considers himself one of the best and he’s not scared of a challenge and he wanted the opportunity to get the ball and go,” Christian said.

Greenberry, who was ranked as the No. 7 receiver nationally and No. 46 player overall by Scout.com, caught 109 passes as a senior for a state-record 2,165 yards and 33 touchdowns, helping Washington Union capture the California Division III State Championship.

“What intrigued me with him when we first started talking to him and when coach Christian brought him up was just his mindset that he wants to be a big-time player,” offensive coordinator Mike Nesbitt said.

“Once he got on campus and he could really see the offense and what it truly was about, then that was the thing that sold it.”

The Cougars open the spring season on Saturday, playing host to HBU and Rice at the Redstone Golf Challenge.

For third-year head coach Jonathan Dismuke, the objectives are internal.

“My main goal is monitoring our expectation level on focusing on things we have control over,” Dismuke said. “We have control over our emotions, preparations, attitude and things like that.”

The youthful Cougars – with only one senior on their roster – saw shades of brilliance in 2011, finishing tied for first at the Fighting Irish Gridiron Classic, all the while battling windy and rainy conditions throughout the tournament.

After finishing the fall with three-straight top-10 finishes, the Cougars used the break to make evaluations and rest up for the spring.

“It’s a good time of the year because we come back and we’re fresh; we want to work hard to have a good spring,” Dismuke said.

For a program that has amassed 16 national championships and produced names like Fred Couples, Steve Elkington and Jim Nantz – just to name a few – Dismuke and his young squad work diligently to fill those big shoes.

“It means a lot to our guys to come to Houston and to play at Houston and be a part of that program,” Dismuke said. “They’re very respectful of what this program has accomplished and they want to do those former players proud by representing them well.”

It all started with some clutch play against ECU to save a once double-digit lead from evaporating into another disappointing home loss. And, sensing their momentum getting new life, the Cougars turned one nail-biting victory into another. When UTEP rode into town on Saturday expecting to play the same team they put a 70-50 drubbing on in early January, they instead encountered a different Houston squad: one that doesn’t fold when the shots are not falling.

UH (11-9, 3-4 Conference USA) has by no means sealed their fate as a serious threat to the C-USA race, but when they stunned UTEP at Hofheinz Pavillion, it was clear they had turned a corner. After a pair of losses that saw head coach James Dickey describe his team’s effort as “embarrassing” and “disappointing”, UH has made strides by maintaining a consistent effort throughout an entire 40 minutes of play.

With the Cougars heading to Alabama this week for their first look of the year at UAB, the stakes will be high for the team to make good on the potential they showed in their two-game homestand, and push their winning streak to three games.

Sophomore Alandis Harris was one of two Cougars to achieve a double-double in the Cougars’ 81-76 overtime win against UTEP on Saturday. Harris tied freshman TaShawn Thomas for a team-high 12 rebounds to go with 15 points. It was Harris’ first double-double of the season. Harris is second on UH in both points (13.9) and rebounds (6.2) per game this season.

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“The last thing we talked about…was determination to win, and being disciplined enough the way we know we are capable,” Dickey said.

“We’ve got to take care of the things we can control: positive attitude, great effort and being determined. That’s all we can take care of.”

Much like UH, UAB (7-13, 2-5) has also struggled with consistency throughout the season, and claims a pair of four-game losing streaks that saw the club give up big leads, mismanage the offense and, most importantly, fail to maintain a positive attitude when facing adversity.

Though UAB sits at the bottom of the C-USA ladder in both field goal percentage and offensive production as a whole, the Cougars will do well to not ignore senior Cameron Moore. The forward has averaged 15.6 points and 10 rebounds through 20 games, and leads C-USA in blocked shots (2.6).

As a whole, the UAB offense is a strictly Moore-centric system. In order to assure their third win a row, the Cougars, again, will have to show up not only on the offensive end, but play inspired basketball when guarding against Moore’s big-numbers threat as well.

“Defense was a huge key for us in that win (UTEP),” Dickey said.

“But I’d like to see us do that for 40 minutes — defense, rebounding and getting the free throw line.”

The Cougars defeated conference adversaries Rice (212-151) and Tulane (258-111), but lost to LSU (211-161) in a quad-team meet this weekend at the CRWC.

The Cougars improve to 3-2 overall after taking seven top-three finishes on Saturday afternoon.

Head Coach Augie Busch was happy with the outcome of the meet and the performance of his team.

“They are tired, and they are racing hard,” he said. “It was good to pull out two wins in this meet. LSU is on a high level. On the whole, it went pretty well. I’m pretty excited with where we are.”

In the first event of the meet, the 400-medley relay, the Cougars finished as runner up with a time of 3:52.21. The team also ended the event with a fourth-place finish in the 200-free relay (1:37.22). Senior Kim Eeson, who swam a butterfly leg of the second-place medley relay team, also had a solid performance in the 100 freestyle with a runner-up finish with the time of 51.55.

Junior Moira Fraser, who swam on the medley-relay team along with Eeson, finished just behind Eeson in the 100 free in third (52.76).  Eeason and Fraser also finished in first and second in the 200 free on Friday night.

Junior diver Julia Lonnegren was the only first-place winner for UH, taking an unscored-platform event. Lonnegren also took second in the 3M.

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UH finished first place in five different events in the Houston Indoor Invitational & Multi’s on Friday and Saturday at Yeoman Fieldhouse.

Head Coach Leroy Burrell said that the Cougars have to use these meets to broaden what they are able to do.

“Considering that we won five events and we did not run a majority of our lead runners, I am really excited,” he said. “We had numerous personal bests, I am really satisfied of where we are at this point.”

Junior Megan Frausto placed first in the women indoor pentathlon. Frausto finished first in three of the five events, winning in the high jump, long jump, and 800-meter run. Frausto also set the top mark for Conference USA in the women’s pentathlon, scoring 4000 points.

“I am really excited for her because she has worked very hard and got herself in great shape, and to come out and perform at that level this early in the season is outstanding,” Burrell said.

Junior Emily Knokwan also finished first in the women’s weight throw event with a mark of 17.18 meters.

In the women’s pole vault, junior Karley King took first place, posting the top mark in C-USA.

“She is a great teammate and leader, she is the captain of our team and we are glad that we have a little more time with her this year and next,” Burrell said.

The men’s team got off to a great start in day two as UH swept the top three places of the men shot-put competition. Jacob Schultz placed first with 17.40 meters, second place was Junior John Fortune with 17.15 meters, and Darrel Hill took third with 16.88 meters.

John Cantu took first in the men 5000 meter run with a time of 16:11.65.

The men and women distance medley teams got both second places as the men finished with a time of 10:09.89 and the women with 12:17.97.

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The Cougars fell short of an impressive comeback victory this Saturday against Rice 58-50.

The Cougars showed heart in the face of a large deficit, trailing by as many as 20 points late in the second half.

Freshman Terran Alford led the second-half charge.

Alford converted on all five of her field-goal attempts, finishing with 10 points and pulling down eight rebounds

Alford also set the tone defensively in the painted area by holding Rice forward Jessica Kuster, the second leading scorer in C-USA, to 4-14 shooting from the field.

As a team, UH held Rice to 23-percent shooting from the field.

A consistent Alford provides UH with a third option of offense. She could be the weapon that allows the struggling offense to flourish.

If the Cougars can put together a sound, three-pronged offense and continue to improve on defense, they could be competition for SMU on Thursday.

The Cougars need to build on Saturday and provide another great defensive effort to corral SMU’s junior guard, Alisha Filmore, who is averaging 10.6 points per game. In order to slow Filmore, UH must play great three-point defense because she is shooting over 38 percent from the field.

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As hot and cold as the Cougars have been this season, they certainly haven’t been without their occasional flashes of brilliance.

The overtime thriller against Tulsa immediately comes to mind. And then there was that 118-70 thumping of Concordia University in the season-opening exhibition where Yates High School-product Joseph Young put on a shooting clinic from behind the three-point line.

They’ve been few and far between, but there’s also been some nail-biting comeback bids that fell just short in which the Cougars either narrowly missed closing the gap or just been plain unlucky.

For as little as an 11-9 team can boast, UH has weathered the storm quite well. Through a pair of demoralizing losing streaks and an 0-4 away record, Head Coach James Dickey has rallied his young team around the common goal of steadiness, and for the most part, he’s done relatively well.

But that being said, the Cougars 81-76 overtime win over UTEP at Hofheinz Pavilion on Saturday was a victory unlike any other they’ve claimed this season.

In a change of pace from most of UH’s wins, this one started on the defensive end.

Down the stretch, freshman TaShawn Thomas looked as inspired as he has seemed all season, clamping down against UTEP in the closing minutes of overtime when the Cougars either got a stop or went home losers.

With the clock dwindling, El Paso’s slippery Michael Perez cut through the lane on back-to-back to possessions, looking to create easy baskets in UH’s usually soft paint defense. As if sensing UTEP’s plan to rush the middle, Thomas stepped up and took a charge that roused the 4,358 crowd to its feet, giving his offense another chance to keep the scoreboard moving. On their next defensive opportunity, Thomas stayed home after several attempts to draw him to the perimeter and swatted a lay-up attempt.

Dickey’s season-long defensive struggle with Thomas has been frustrating for UH, to say the least. At 6 feet 8 inches, the freshman has struggled to adapt to Division I speed and size as quickly as the coaching staff hoped, and his presence on the glass has been anything but consistent.

But it’s nights like Saturday when faithful Cougars can see exactly what Dickey did when he recruited the Killeen native. Whether or not Thomas is the ideal big man of the future for the Cougars is a question yet to be answered, but through twenty games, they tend to win when he puts up numbers.

On the offensive end, Joseph Young played his most efficient game of the season. He shot 3-of-4 from the field with two treys in 27 minutes. More importantly though, Young was in control. His shot selection was smart, and with the offense growing stagnant in the second half, Young’s threat from beyond the arch spread the floor for the Cougars and allowed Jonathon Simmons and Alandise Harris the open lane they needed to make plays.

Even more, Simmons impressed with 25 points and six rebounds, shooting a solid 10-of-18 from field. Harris, struggling with his jumper, smartly got himself to the charity stripe eleven times, adding 15 points and 12 rebounds to the mix.

With four players scoring in double digits, the overtime win saw the Cougars, for the first time, coalesce their individual strengths into a team victory. This win was different.

With the Cougars hitting the road for a pair of away games this week, the pressure will be high to turn Saturday’s strong showing into a formula for winning on a consistent basis. At this point, it’s a matter of long-term execution.

In the short term, they can rest easy knowing they can pull it altogether if they so chose.

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The quest to earn a national ranking continued for the Cougars on Saturday against Colorado.

Coming off a loss to No. 6 Baylor last weekend, UH (0-2) looked to further make a statement, but fell in a 4-3 decision to the Buffaloes (2-2).

Things looked good early for the Cougars as they won the opening doubles round but unforced errors during the singles round would prove costly in the end.

“Anytime you lose 4-3 it’s going to be disappointing,” Head Coach John Severance said. “The fact that we blew so many opportunities and made unforced errors is going to haunt us. That was the deciding factor today.

“I made it clear to the team that they (Colorado) weren’t going to roll over and give it up. We have to capitalize on our overall-good play and can’t win when we commit so many errors.”

During the opening doubles round Charlotte Phillips and Maja Kazimieruk took their bout with an 8-3 decision while Giorgia Pozzan and Bryony Hunter won their match 8-6 to give UH an early lead.

During the singles round, freshman Liselot Koenen continued her strong play as she dominated her match 6-0, 6-2 to move to 2-0 in singles play this spring.

Senior Giorgia Pozzan also added another victory to her singles’ resume with a 6-3, 7-5 rout of CU’s Erin Sanders.

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The Cougars were a tenth-of-a-second away from losing another close game at the buzzer.

With 13 seconds left in regulation, and the game tied 66-66, UTEP wound the clock down and saw CJ Cooper’s last-second heave from beyond the arc, find the bottom of the net.

The bucket stunned the 4,358 in attendance at Hofheinz Pavilion on Saturday, while UTEP celebrated at midcourt.

After being reviewed by officials, the basket was waved off and the Cougars gained new life in overtime, where they prevailed 81-76.

The Cougars played from behind almost the entire game, trailing by as many as 15, but a 17-5 run with six minutes and 44 seconds to go helped give UH the lead for the first time since the first half.

“We didn’t play well after about the 12-minute mark in the first half,” Head Coach James Dickey said. “UTEP played very well. They changed their defense and they were relaxed offensively.”

However, the second half was a different story.

“We started moving the ball, looking for others and started going to the offensive boards, not settling with just missing and getting back on defense,” forward Alandise Harris said.

UH rose to the occasion and won the battle of points in the paint (34-30) where they, statistically, had trailed (6-16) in the first half.

“Coming out of the locker room, we wanted to make a concerted effort to get the ball inside,” Dickey said. “I felt like in the second half, we attacked when they allowed us to attack.”

Freshman guard Joseph Young, provided a second-half spark off of the bench.

In a night where bench points were hard to come by, Young provided UH with eight timely points that helped jump start UH’s second-half surge.

“This was big from Joe, especially since Joe has not been feeling well lately,” junior Jonathon Simmons said.

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Even though UH’s season is over, Chris Thompson and Bryce Beall continue winning football games.

The pair played as a part of the inaugural NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, helping the National team earn a 20-14 win over the American team.

Beall carried the ball five times for 23 yards.

The players practiced under the tutelage of Super Bowl-winning head coach Dick Vermeil, and former-NFL players Priest Holmes and Will Shields.

Thompson described the three days of practice as a “lifetime of memories,” and cherished the opportunity to work under such an accomplished lineman like Shields.

“He’s a great guy, great coach and a great, even better player,” Thompson said. “Really, I got a lot from the game and from the coach Shields.”

The practices leading up to the game only lasted three days, but Thompson said that he soaked up so much knowledge and experience that it felt like an entire mini-camp.

“Mainly, I took a lot of it as this is another little step towards the NFL,” Thompson said. “It is that much closer to what I can expect.

“Coming from Houston’s style of offense, I was able to learn more about the pro-style offense.”

Thompson started three years as guard for the Cougars and started center as a senior. At the next level though, Thompson joked that he would play any position even fullback if it meant making the 53-man roster.

“I’ll play wherever they put me,” he said.

Leading up to UH’s Pro Day later this spring and the NFL Draft, Thompson will try to finalize his professional representation, continue training and also looks forward to graduating in May with a degree in sociology.

After digging themselves into a hole at the bottom of the Conference USA standings thanks to a four-game losing streak, the Cougars will continue the climb back up on Saturday against UTEP after beating East Carolina last weekend.

“They’re all important now,” head coach James Dickey said. “We’ve put ourselves in a bind by the four losses and not playing as well as we could.

“For us, every game is important. We’re not putting any more value on any one but the next one, the next game. The next game happens to be UTEP and that’s what we’re getting ready for.”

The Cougars’ entire starting frontline — TaShawn Thomas, Alandise Harris and Jonathan Simmons — had big games against the Pirates, but Thomas’ resurgence was most encouraging.

After opening the season strong, averaging 10 points and 8.7 rebounds during UH’s opening three-game win streak, Thomas had slumped during C-USA play. During the Cougars’ four-game losing streak, he pulled down just 3.5 boards per game.

His 17-point, 12-rebound night against the Pirates has Dickey believing that he is back on track though.

“I talked to TaShawn about being more active,” Dickey said. “I thought that since Conference play had started he wasn’t as active offensively or defensively on the boards.

“One of the things that’s happened, and we knew it would, is they were going to come at him with physicality. I thought he played much more physically and tougher, and this will be even more so with the big guys that UTEP has.”

Thomas will be tasked with taking on 6-10 UTEP big-man John Bohannon. Bohannon is coming off of a 13-point, eight-rebound game against Tulane.

Senior guard Darian Thibodeaux believes that it just a matter of having a certain competitive mindset coming into each game and that Thomas will be strong for the rest of the season.

The Cougars will need Thomas, a freshman, to be consistent for the rest of the season to win games.

“I’ve told our guys, ‘You’re a freshman in that first semester. Once you get to conference, you have to play like a sophomore,’” Dickey said. “You can’t be up and down. You have to be consistent. He knows what’s expected of him. He’s started. You just have to go play and get ready every game.”

Quick question, where do you find the Cougars’ leading scorer, Roxana Button, after a grueling day of practice?

If you guessed running extra laps around Hofheinz Pavilion and taking the extra free throw attempts necessary to become a great college basketball player, you would be correct.

Button is averaging 18.7 points per game.

The Cougars have battled injuries all season. Two starters have already been lost for the year, including fellow senior Porsche Landry.

Landry was expected to pair with Button in the backcourt and guide a freshman-laden Cougar squad.

As a junior, she scored 14.8 points per game, helping the Cougars win the Conference USA regular-season title.

Couple the loss of Landry with losing six seniors from last season and the Cougars certainly have a situation to contend with.

The loss of Landry, a C-USA First Team selection, has left a cavern in the backcourt and thrust  a larger role on Button.

Obviously, her performance on the court has drastically increased but out of the public eye, Button has grown into her role as a leader.

In fact, Button believes her leadership and work ethic are her best qualities and have facilitated success on the court.

“I’ve embraced it and take it day-by-day,” Button said. “I just want to do whatever it takes to win.”

Button attributes last season’s NCAA tournament run for helping her grow into being a better leader.

“It helped me gain experience on the intensity it takes to be a leader, which is especially necessary with such a young team this season.

“In the NCAA tournament, the intensity increases immensely — so do the amount of outside distractions. There is no place better to pick up morsels of leadership from those with experience doing so in such a stressful environment.”

Head coach Todd Buchanan agrees.

“It’s her mindset,” he said.

“Everything she does, she gives 100 percent. She never stops.”

Even though results have not matched last season’s, the Cougars’ goals remain the same.

Her attitude and mindset are why Buchanan trusts Button with the keys to his offense. Her job is to make her teammates better and guide a young team through the minor bumps in the season. The entire offense is run through Button according to Buchanan.

As for life after her senior season, Button is an aspiring medical doctor. Button has not yet decided on a medical school destination or a specialty, but has the dedication necessary for the profession.

“I have a passion for helping people and a love for the human body,” she said. “You put those two together and you have a doctor.”

Button can usually be found on the team bus after road games with her nose stuck in an MCAT book.

Soon Button will trade in her sneakers for a white medical coat, and Buchanan doesn’t want to contemplate the thought of Button leaving campus. In life though, as it always does, the future calls and there is no ignore button.

UH was voted No. 20 by USA Today and No. 22 by ESPN.

The Cougars last opened a season ranked in 2009 when they began the season as No. 13/18.

The ranking comes after advancing to the NCAA Super Regional and winning a share of the Conference USA regular season title finishing 44-18 last season.

The Cougars have lost their two pitchers with the most impact, Amanda Crabtree (21-9, 0.96 ERA, 196 ⅔ IP, 334 SO) and Donna Borgeois (17-6, 1.67 ERA), but return with sophomore pitcher Diedre Outon (6-3, 1.73 ERA) and six regular position players, including Conference USA Player of the Year Melissa Gregson (.334, 16 HR, 47 RBI).

Last season, the Cougars went 17-8 against ranked teams.

This season’s schedule features games against five ranked teams: No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 16 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Texas, No. 20 Nebraska and No. 24 Louisiana-Lafayette.

The Cougars open their spring schedule against North Texas at 3 p.m. on Feb. 12 at Cougar Softball Stadium.

LaGrone, a high two-star recruit according to both Rivals and ESPN, decommitted from Baylor in November. LaGrone told ESPN.com’s Damon Sayles in November that he decided to leave Baylor because they planned on using him as just a nickel back and he preferred a larger role playing both linebacker and safety.

LaGrone (6-2, 193 pounds) has good size for both positions and runs a 4.5 40-time. He could be an asset as a linebacker in coverage situations.

LaGrone attended Allen High School and helped them advance to the area round of the state playoffs.

LaGrone also received offers from Michigan State, Iowa State, Navy and Nevada.

Before initially committing to Baylor, LaGrone was also pursued by Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Iowa and TCU.

Talent triumphed over youth for the Cougars at the Nebraska Invitational as the women’s team took second place at the meet.

Freshmen Sade-Mariah Greenidge and Alicia Perkins took first and second in the 60-meter hurdles.

The women’s team also swept the 60-meter dash with Whitney Harris, Grecia Bolton, Tai’shea Reese and Kiersten Brewer claiming the top four spots.

The men finished third in a field that included host-school Nebraska, Iowa, Witchita State and Air Force.

Senior Isaiah Sweeney took first in the 60-meter dash.

Junior and college transfer Mark’quis Frazier took first in the 200-meter dash and third in the 60-meter.

This weekend the Cougars will host the Houston Indoor Invitational & Multis.

More schools than UH will be at the meet. HBU, North Texas, Prairie View A&M, Rice, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Southern Baton Rougue, Texas Women’s, Texas State, Texas Southern, UTSA and Grambling State will be featured.

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The Cougars took on No. 6 Baylor on Saturday and lost 6-1 in their spring-season opener.

“I thought we competed very well,” head coach John Severance said. “We had opportunities to win more singles points against the sixth-ranked team in the country.

“We showed a lot of people there today that we’re a competitive bunch and it’s only a matter of time until we’re nationally ranked.”

Last week he cited the importance of being able to beat the nation’s top teams and next week the goal remains the same as UH takes on Colorado at 1 p.m. Saturday at the John E. Hoff courts.

The Buffaloes (1-1) plays in one the toughest tennis conferences in the nation — the Pac-12 — and UH hopes that a win will strengthen its argument for a national ranking.

Severance wasn’t happy about the loss to Baylor, but hoped it showed that they are capable of competing with high-level teams.

“I don’t  like losing, even to the number-six program in the nation,” Severance said. “We have to play well 100 percent of the time, playing well 90 percent of the time wont cut it.

“The team wasn’t upbeat about losing and I don’t want them to be, but they now know that can compete with the best.”

Senior Giorgia Pozzan took on  Baylor’s Diana Nakic, the 14th-ranked player in the nation, and lost a close 7-5, 7-5 singles match .

“She showed how much she wants to compete and win,” Severance said.

Freshmen Charlotte Phillips and Liselot Koenen also had strong performances against the Bears, but are not finished products.

“They have to keep improving and gaining experience,” Severance said.

The Cougars have goals for the season and they know how to achieve them.

“We want to be nationally ranked,” Severance said. “And have to now win against those good teams.”

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Defense has been a problem for UH this season.

The Cougars are the worst scoring defense in Conference USA, giving up 72.8 points per game.

A myriad of injuries have made defense a tough proposition for UH, and have forced the Cougars to shift to a 2-3 zone.

The Cougars spent Tuesday’s entire practice working on improving their defensive execution by putting all of their repetitions into their new defensive style.

Assistant coach Wade Scott and head coach Todd Buchanan encouraged the Cougars to communicate better on the defensive end of the floor in preparation for their upcoming schedule.

Rice visits Hofheinz Pavilion this Saturday.

The Cougars face a unique challenge with the size that Rice presents in the front court.  Forwards  Jessica Kuster (6-2) and Brianna Hypolite (6-1) are both legitimate scoring threats.

Freshman forward Amanda Lawson will be tasked with banging with them inside. Lawson followed up a 15-point performance against Tulsa by going for eight points and seven rebounds in the Cougars’ last game.

The battle to be C-USA’s leading scorer seems like it will go through Houston this year.

Kuster (17points, 11 rebounds per game) is C-USA’s second leading scorer behind UH guard Roxana Button.

Kuster and Button’s individual scoring prowess could provide interesting fireworks on offense.

The Cougars showing in the painted area could be an indicator of how the game will play out.

The Cougars will need to focus on limiting Kuster near the basket if they want to win the rebounding battle.

The Cougars took a heavy loss on the glass in their most recent contest against UTEP on Sunday and it led to one of their biggest defeats of the season.

In that game, the Cougars shot just 26 percent from the field and went 0-4 on three-point attempts.

The Cougars also were only able to record one assist against the Miners.

Better ball movement and shooting will be key against the Owls.

Against the Owls, Button hopes to rebound from a 5-19 shooting performance. She was still able to score 20 points, draining 10-13 from the free-throw line.

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The Cougars narrowly lost 155-143 against conference-rival SMU on Saturday at the CRWC, falling in the final event.

The meet was decided by the winner of the 200-free relay in which the Cougars lost 1:28.35-1:32.76.

The Cougars finished first in seven events in the dual meet.

The swimmers started off strong, taking the first five events with Heather Winn as the first-UH winner after finishing in 17:18.23 in the 1,650 free. Winn also went on to finish as the runner-up in the 500 free (5:04.25) with Lizzie Justice taking third in both events.

In the second-to-last event of the day, the 400-yard IM, Reka Kovacs (4:32.86) and Natalie Newcomb (4:40.35) took first and second, further tightening the score with SMU.

The Cougar divers also made a splash with Julia Lonnegren sweeping the 1M (294.38) and 3M (303.90) for the third time this season.

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