University of Massachusets Athletics
Home Meet Up Next For Women's Cross Country
September 16, 2010 | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 16, 2010
AMHERST, Mass. - The UMass women's cross country team is set to host a five-way meet in Amherst this Saturday, Sept. 18 behind the Wysocki House. Amherst College, Boston College, Maine, and Vermont will take part in the 11:15 a.m. meet while the men's race will commence at 11:40 a.m. The Minutewomen are coming off an eighth place finish at the Boston College Invite and will look to have a good showing at the squad's only home meet of the year.
Last Time Out
The last time UMass hit the course, the Minutewomen placed eighth at the B.C. Invite where the squad's competition included five of the top 15 preseason teams in the northeast region, as ranked by the USTFCCCA. Finishing first for UMass at the meet was sophomore Courtney Baldwin who crossed at 19:03 and took 41st place. Senior Gina Perno finished close behind at 19:04 placed 42nd overall out of 121 harriers.
Division I Debuts
Last weekend's B.C. Invite saw six UMass runners make their Division I Cross Country debuts: Sarah Barrett, Christine McNaughton, Caroline Conena, Melody Lam, Caprice Cappuci, Nicole Bishop.
Last Year At Home
At last year's home meet, the Minutewomen finished fifth and did not have two of the team's top performers of 2009, Courtney Baldwin and Shiyi Zan, on the course that day. Then-sophomore Claire Pettit led the way for UMass, notching a 16th place finish with a time of 18:28. Gina Perno also had a fine day, setting a time of 18:52 while placing 25th overall.
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.
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.
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.
Fresh Faces
Freshmen Sarah Barrett, Mary Cole, Melody Lam, Katrina Martyn, and Christine McNaughton will join the team this year. Sophomore Caroline Conena and juniors Laura Houde and Rhonda Kholaric, who competed for the women's track team, will be new to the XC squad as well.