Women's XC Kicks Off 2014 With Minuteman Invitational

Sept. 11, 2014

Minuteman Invitational (5K)
Date	Saturday, September 13, 2014 - 11:30 a.m.
Location	UMass Cross Country Course (fields east of Wysocki House) \| Course Map
Teams	Amherst, Boston College, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Sacred Heart, Vermont,  Rhode Island
Parking	Lot 44, northeast of Furcolo Building (C1 on campus map)
Results	Timing by FTO, results available following the meet on UMassAthletics.com

 Notes

Who's Back
-  UMass returns 13 members of its 2013 squad that competed in at least one meet last fall. Among the Minutewomen back for 2014 are six of the team's top-seven finishers from last year's conference championship, including senior Rachel Hilliard and sophomore Christine Davis.
- Hilliard was the top finisher for UMass in six of seven meets last fall, including a 19th place finish at the Atlantic 10 Championship. She took 12th at last year's Minuteman Invitational.

New Faces
- UMass has added 10 freshmen to the roster for 2014, all hailing from the Bay State. Samantha Allen, Leila Aruri, Grace Bailly, Anna Capps, Renee Capps, Callie Hansson, Sydney May, Kacie Quinn, Meg Rodowicz and Colleen Sands join the Minutewomen this fall.

At The Helm
- Head coach Julie LaFreniere enters her 28th year at the helm of the women's cross country and track and field programs at UMass in 2014-15. LaFreniere has accumulated several coaching and team accolades during her tenure with the Minutewomen. The 1977 UMass graduate has been named the Atlantic 10 women's cross country Coach of the Year six times (1991, 1992, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999) and has led the Minutewomen to seven A-10 cross country championships.

Captains Named
- Senior Katie Powers and redshirt senior Alexandra Purdue-Smithe will lead the Minutewomen as co-captains for UMass women's cross country in 2014.
- Powers competed in all seven meets last season as a junior, scoring in four, with her top finish of the season coming at the CCSU Mini-Meet where she took second on the team and ninth overall with a time of 10:19.41 in the 3K. The native of Holbrook, Mass., is coming off an outstanding outdoor track & field season that saw her help the Minutewomen's 4x800 team to an A-10 Gold and third consecutive New England crown in the event.
- Purdue-Smithe saw action in every race for UMass in 2013, scoring in all seven, while finishing in the team's top-three five times. The Sharon, Mass., native placed third on the team and 31st overall at the Atlantic 10 Championships last fall with a time of 18:05.5. She holds the fourth-fastest 10,000 meter time in the program's track and field record book, 37:23.57. 

Preseason Predictions
UMass was tabbed sixth out of 14 teams in the 2014 Atlantic 10 preseason poll, coming off a fifth-place finish at the 2013 Atlantic 10 Championship. The Minutewomen trailed only Duquesne, Richmond, La Salle, Saint Louis and Dayton on the list.
- The 2014 Atlantic 10 Championship will be held on Nov. 1, at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Next Up
- UMass will have 13 days to rest up and prepare for its next meet. Following the Minutemen Invitational, The Minutewomen will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 26, at the Coast to Coast Battle in Beantown, which will take place in Franklin Park in Boston, Mass.

Scoreboard

Players Mentioned

Samantha Allen

Anna Capps

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics