University of Massachusets Athletics
Women's XC Ready For A-10 Championships
October 27, 2010 | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 27, 2010
AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass women's cross country team is set to travel to Pittsburgh, Pa. for the Atlantic 10 Championships on Saturday, Oct. 30 at 9:00 a.m. The Minutewomen notched a third place finish out of the 14 teams in attendance last season, and will be ready for another successful day.
Last Time Out

The last time UMass hit the course was two weeks ago, when the squad competed in the Rothenberg Race hosted by Brown University. The Minutewomen placed fourth with 119 points and were led by sophomore Courtney Baldwin.
Baldwin finished the 5k in 18:29 and notched a 16th place finish. Senior Gina Perno was right on her heels at 18:30, and was able to take 18th place out of the 92 total runners. Elizabeth Fisk was right with that pack as well, crossing at 18:34 and finishing in 21st place.
Freshman Mary Cole and Sarah Barrett rounded out the team's top five finishers. Cole scored the first points of her UMass career, taking 31st place with a time of 19:03 while Barrett had a time of 19:09, good for 33rd place overall.
'09 A-10's
At last year's Atlantic 10 Championships, the Minutewomen posted their best finish since 2000. UMass took third, and trailed the first place Dayton by just 37 points. Courtney Baldwin was the team's top performer and captured the A-10 Rookie of the Year award for her performance. The then-freshman also received all-conference honors by taking ninth place overall with a time of 20:09. Baldwin joined Kristen Cisowski as the only other UMass A-10 Rookie of the Year.
Shiyi Zan (20:36, 17th place), Karen Roa (20:40, 19th place), Claire Pettit (20:48, 26th place), and Danielle Allocco (21:09, 38th) also added outstanding performances that helped push UMass to the third place finish.
Coaches Poll Results
According to the final Atlantic 10 Women's Cross Country Coaches Poll released on Tuesday, October 26, (which can be accessed here) UMass sits in ninth out of the 14 teams in the conference.
First Points

Freshman Mary Cole became the second Minutewomen to score the first points of her career. Cole placed fourth on the team with a time of 19:03 at the Rothenberg Race held on Oct. 15 in Rhode Island.
At the UMass Home Meet, freshman Sarah Barrett scored the first points in her UMass career by placing in the team's top five finishers. Barrett crossed at 18:54 which slotted her at 28th overall and fifth on the team.
Home Meet

UMass played host to four teams (Maine, Boston College, Vermont, Amherst) a month ago at the UMass Home Meet (9/18) with the Minutewomen taking fourth place with 78 points. Courtney Baldwin headlined the finishers for the second straight week, taking fifth place overall with a time of 17:58.
Senior Gina Perno grabbed a 12th place finish (18:18) while junior Karen Roa was close behind in 15th place at 18:24. Elizabeth Fisk (18:37) and Sarah Barrett (18:54) rounded out the top five finishers for UMass with respective 19th and 28th place finishes.
Division I Debuts
At the B.C. Invite on Sept. 11, six UMass runners made their Division I Cross Country debuts: Sarah Barrett, Christine McNaughton, Caroline Conena, Melody Lam, Caprice Cappuci, Nicole Bishop.
Captains
Seniors Kristin Darling and Lauren Stocker will captain this year's XC team. Darling did not see any cross country action in 2009 but competed throughout the indoor and outdoor track seasons. Stocker was a UMass top-five finisher in five out of six meets and also added a 49th place finish at the A-10 Championships by crossing at 21:24.
Baldwin's Back
As a freshman, Courtney Baldwin made an instant impact on the team's success in 2009. At the New England Championships on Oct. 10 Baldwin ran in the first cross country meet of her life, placing first on the team and 16th overall with a time of 18:22. She proceeded to place first on the team over the course of the final three meets and by season's end had racked up A-10 All-Conference honors, the A-10 Rookie of the Year award, a ninth place finish at the A-10 Championships, three A-10 Rookie Performer of the Week awards (Oct. 12-31), and one A-10 Performer of the Week award (Oct. 12).
Stellar Seniors

The Minutewomen currently boast two strong seniors that should provide the squad with consistency for the 2010 campaign. Redshirt senior Shiyi Zan finished inside the team's top-five finishers in all five meets she competed in and was the team's second place finisher in the last four meets of the 2009 season. The Ottawa, Ontario, native received 2009 A-10 Academic All-Conference Honors and was also named the 2009 UMass Women's Fall Scholar Athlete. Gina Perno will also return in 2010, and was a model of consistency throughout the 2009 season. Perno ran in all seven of the team's meets and placed inside the squad's top-five finishers in six of them.
Dynamic Duo

Experienced juniors Karen Roa and Claire Pettit found success last year and will look to continue the trend. At the A-10 Championships on Oct. 31, Roa placed third on the team and 19th overall with a time of 20:40. Pettit posted a time of 20:47 at the meet and finished fourth on the team and 26th overall. The duo combined to place in the squad's top-five finishers on 11 occasions, and will look to improve upon this number for the coming season.