University of Massachusets Athletics
Women's Cross Ready For The Country's Best
September 26, 2013 | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 26, 2013
BOSTON, Mass. - At 3:00 P.M. Friday UMass will race against four nationally ranked teams and six ranked teams in the region. The Minutewomen will find themselves in a field of 15 teams competing in Boston for in the Coast-to-Coast Battle in Beantown. Featured in the race will be #1 Providence College, #3 University of Oregon, #10 Cornell University and the host #25 Boston College. Regionally ranked teams include #1 Providence, #2 Cornell, #3 Boston College, #4 Stony Brook, #9 Yale University and #14 University of New Hampshire.
Two weeks ago in the season opener UMass ran against regional powerhouses Boston College, University of Connecticut and University of Vermont. The women fell to fourth in the meet, however they surprised their opponents by running side-by-side to the very end of the race. Junior harrier Rachel Hilliard led the way with freshmen Natalie Mako and Christine Davis right behind her. Alexandra Purdue-Smithe also played a factor in the race rounding out the top four.
Coach LaFreniere is excited to see how her team stacks up against the best in the country however, she does plan to rest some of her top runners if needed to make sure they are ready for the big day in November when the team expects to turn some heads at the Atlantic 10 Championship.