University of Tennessee Athletics
FURMAN INVITATIONAL AWAITS LADY VOL CROSS COUNTRY TEAM
October 11, 2001 | Women's Cross Country
Oct. 11, 2001
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -
In one of the most competitive and challenging races in the country this season, the University of Tennessee women's cross country team, ranked seventh in the South region, will compete in the Furman Invitational on Saturday as a preview of the 2001 NCAA Championships. This weekend's meet will be held at the Furman Golf Course, site of the NCAA race on Nov. 19.
With a chance to preview the NCAA course, the Furman Invitational has drawn a stellar field that includes 21 of the top 25 teams in the country in addition to more than 80 other squads. With such a large field, the race organizers have divided the women's division into three races, two seeded and an open race. The Lady Vols will compete in the "Silver" 6K with a field of 38 teams, including No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 N.C. State, No. 4 Brigham Young, No. 6 Boston College and No. 12 Colorado State. Other ranked teams include Marquette (19th), Notre Dame (24th) Virginia (15th) and Washington (16th) as well as four teams that are receiving votes. The only other SEC team in the "Silver" field is Kentucky.
"This is the most competitive meet we will enter all year, and it will prepare us for the championship meets that are right around the corner," cross country coach Rodney Rothoff said. "This race will allow us to see where we are in our training, but our goal is to run our best races at the SEC, NCAA Regional and NCAA Championships."
Tennessee will feature its full lineup for the first time in 2001 after several runners have missed races due to injuries or their training schedules. Junior Sharon Dickie, an All-American in 2000, will pace the squad on the same course where she finished third at last year's Furman meet. Freshman Brooke Novak, marking only her second collegiate race, looks to bounce back from an injury that held her out of UT's last meet. The Tennessee squad is rounded out with freshman Elizabeth McCalley, sophomores Jessica Southers and Erin Anderson, and juniors Christy Baird and Amber Ayub. UT is currently ranked seventh in the NCAA South Region by a vote of the region's coaches.
Following the Furman Invitational, the Lady Vols will take a week off before heading to the 2001 SEC Championships in Auburn, Ala., on Oct. 29.
