University of Massachusets Athletics
Women Finish Eighth At New England Championships
October 18, 1999 | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 18, 1999
THE WEEK AHEAD: UMass takes a week off before attempting to win an unprecedented fifth Atlantic 10 title on Oct. 30 in Philadelphia, Pa.
NEW ENGLAND CHAMPIONSHIPS: The Minutewomen ran to an eighth place finish in the 42 team event last Friday at Franklin Park in Boston. Senior Nicole Way (Marstons Mills, Mass.) paced the Minutewomen for the second consecutive meet, finishing 28th overall in 18:19. Providence won the event with 39 points, ten ahead of Boston College, while Dartmouth rounded out the top three. UMass finished with 251 points despite an ankle injury to senior Sally Hirsch (Brookline, Mass.), who could not finish the race. SHOWING THE WAY: Senior Nicole Way once again led the Minutewomen in the New England Championships. Consistency has been Way?s strength, having been among UMass? top seven finishers in every meet over the last two seasons. The 1997 All-Atlantic 10 selection ran her best time of the season on Friday in 18:19.
HEAD COACH JULIE LaFRENIERE: Julie LaFreniere is in her 13th season at the helm of Minutewomen cross country/track & field teams. She has led the team to six out of the last eight Atlantic 10 cross country titles. While an undergraduate at UMass, LaFreniere led her team to a New England Championship and a ninth-place finish at the first women?s National Championship. The 1977 UMass graduate has been named A-10 Coach of the Year five times, in 1991, 1992, 1995, 1996 and 1997.