University of Tennessee Athletics
CROSS COUNTRY SEASON OPENS FRIDAY WITH TENNESSEE/ADIDAS INVITATIONAL
September 11, 2003 | Women's Cross Country
Sept. 11, 2003
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
The first meet of 2003 for the University of Tennessee women's cross country team won't resemble past openers at Lambert Acres Golf Club in Maryville. This time, No. 14 North Carolina State and No. 23 Wisconsin replace the usual in-state slate of teams making the trek to the Blount County course, providing a stiff early-season challenge for Head Coach J.J. Clark's squad Friday evening at the Tennessee/adidas Invitational.
The Lady Vols, who come off a 2002 campaign that saw them place third in the Southeastern Conference, capture the school's initial NCAA South Region title and qualify for the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1998, will compete in a 5000-meter race at 6:30 p.m. ET against a pair of teams it saw at last season's national meet in Terre Haute, Ind. N.C. State wound up 13th a year ago at NCAAs, while Wisconsin was 19th and Tennessee tied for 28th.
"This is a good place for us to start," Clark said. "There is nothing wrong with running against top-notch teams early, because it will be a good indicator of where we are now and where we need to be. I look forward to the strong competition, and really, there will be tough teams we face like this every step along the way."
UT welcomes back nine letterwinners from last year's squad, including four of its top five runners. Among that group is junior Brooke Novak (Kaukauna, Wis.), a two-time All-SEC performer and 2002 All-South Region honoree who will lead the Big Orange into battle on Friday. While sophomore Felicia Guliford (Gallup, N.M.), an all-region runner as a freshman, will sit this race out as part of her training plan, classmate Megan Cauble (Knoxville, Tenn.) should pick up the slack. In addition to Cauble, who was also named to the All-South Team in 2002, Clark expects senior Jessica Southers (Ashland, Ky.), junior Elizabeth McCalley (Knoxville, Tenn.), sophomore transfer Carly Matthews (Winston-Salem, N.C.) and sophomore Mindy Sullivan (Lubbock, Texas) to be running near the front of the pack.
Matthews joined the squad after a strong rookie season at Georgia Tech a year ago and appears to be capable of making a push toward becoming one of the top runners this season for the Orange and White. Southers and McCalley are veterans who have contributed significantly to Tennessee's fortunes during their careers. That duo will be expected to take on more responsibility in 2003 to offset the graduation loss of Sharon Dickie, the school's only four-time all-conference and all-region choice as well as NCAA Championships qualifier. Sullivan, meanwhile, enters her second campaign more capable of providing scoring punch after spending the majority of her first year training and increasing endurance and fitness levels.
Closing out the orange-clad pack for Friday are senior Kameisha Bennett (Dayton, Ohio), junior Antoinette Gorham (Glenarden, Md.) and sophomore Rachel Zamata (Henderson, Tenn.). Bennett and Gorham are 800-meter specialists who are training for the indoor track & field season yet are capable of providing depth to the squad, while the untested Zamata will be making her collegiate debut after training with the team all last season.
As part of his plan to rest selected athletes at each race during the early part of the schedule, Clark will hold out Guliford, senior Christy Baird (Knoxville, Tenn.), senior transfer from Stanford Lindsay Hyatt (Auburn, Calif.), junior Nicole Cook (Petersburg, Va.), redshirt freshman Katie Flaute (Dayton, Ohio) and true freshman Leslie Treherne (Chesapeake, Va.). All but Treherne are expected to debut at the Crimson Classic Invitational in Tuscaloosa, Ala., next Friday.
"Last year, I felt we were a little short on preparation when it came time for the key meets at the end of the season," Clark said. "We are going to rotate people, so that they are able to train more and not run in every meet. Hopefully that will translate into reversing last year's result and everyone being more healthy and ready to run when it counts the most."
Directions to Lambert Acres From University of Tennessee Campus
Take Cumberland Avenue to Alcoa Highway/129 South. Follow 129 South for 11 Miles to TN 35, which is about one mile past McGhee-Tyson Airport. Merge left onto TN 35 and travel approximately five miles before bearing left onto 321 North. Stay on 321 North for five miles until you come to Tuckaleechee Pike. Looking for landmarks, you will see an Amoco Station on the left and a Lambert Acres Golf Club sign on the right just as you approach Tuckaleechee. Make the right-hand turn onto Tuckaleechee Pike, and Lambert Acres will be a half-mile up the road on the left.
