University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Head to BIG EAST Championship This Weekend
10/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 29, 2009
STORRS, Conn. - The University of Connecticut women's cross country team will head to Milwaukee, Wisc. this weekend for the 2009 BIG EAST Championship at the Wayne E. Dannehl National XC Course, which will be hosted by Marquette University.
The 6K race for the women's competition is set to begin at 12:50 Eastern time on Saturday afternoon.
This season has been very productive and successful for the Huskies as they have grown and built upon the success that they have had in recent seasons.
At the New England Championship on Oct. 10, the Huskies finished 11 spots higher than a year ago, despite the youth of the current program. Led by senior captain Sara Leslie, the Huskies tied for the 14th place finish as Leslie finished in 43rd, making her the fastest UConn finisher.
A week later, UConn had a great run at the Penn State National as the Huskies were challenged and took risks on the course and pushed to the very end. UConn finished ninth out of 18 teams, while in 2008, the Huskies were 18th out of 22. A new leader emerged from the pack for UConn as sophomore Christine Vogel ran a personal best to be the first UConn finisher.
The Huskies are geared up for the weekend and are both mentally and physically prepared for the BIG EAST Championship race.
"The team looked the best it has all season in workouts last week," said distance coach Andrea Grove-McDonough. "All of the women are starting to run their best right when we need them to. Coaches and teams always talk about the importance of running their best at the Championship meets, and although it remains to be seen, I like what I'm seeing right now."
The BIG EAST Championship boasts six teams that are ranked in the top-30 Nationally, including Villanova and West Virginia, two programs in which are ranked second and fourth, respectively. Georgetown (9), Syracuse (10), Providence (24) and Notre Dame (30) are all part of that nationally-ranked group. UConn is currently ranked 11th in the Northeast Regional as the Huskies were ranked as high as 10th earlier this season. Syracuse and Providence are the top-two teams in the Northeast and will also be competing this weekend against the Huskies.
"The thing about this group is that they are really a team, in the true sense of the word," said McDonough. "We know that we cannot rely on a big front runner who is capable of getting into the top-20. I've told them in the results you won't see any individual name next to our place, it will simply say University of Connecticut. If we continue to focus on team success over individual glory, then we will be fine."
Players Mentioned
