The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Cross Country Set For Regional Meet
11/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Cross Country
Nov. 9, 2007
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. ---- The UAB cross country team will race Saturday at the 2007 NCAA South Regional Championships hosted by the University of Florida. The 6,000-meter women's race will begin at 11 a.m. ET at the Mark Bostick Golf Course in Gainesville, Fla.
The Blazers are ranked fifth heading into the regional meet meet and head coach Ray Stanfield said his team is looking to build on a fourth-place finish at the Conference USA Championship two weeks ago.
"The girls are looking forward to having the chance to redeem themselves," Stanfield said. "They were very disappointed in their results at the conference meet. All of that can easily be erased with a great performance in this meet."
Senior Elizabeth Ambrus expects to be among the top finishers in the field. Also running for the Blazers and expected to have an impact will be seniors Elizabeth Hilligoss, Whitney Mays sophomore Kristina Olsen and freshmen Lacey Wright and Stephanie Gammon.
Stanfield said he expects No. 3 Florida State, No. 25 Tennessee, No. 29 Georgia and Florida as the frontrunner, along with UAB to compete for the regional title.
"We go into this race ranked fifth in the region," Stanfield said. "We would like to win the meet but we have a goal of finishing in the top four and giving ourselves a chance at earning a berth to the national championship."
The South Regional is one of nine NCAA Division I region meets taking place this weekend. The top two teams from each region and four individuals not on qualifying teams receive automatic invitations to the NCAA National Championship on Nov. 19 in Terre Haute, Ind. An additional 13 teams and two individuals will receive at-large bids Sunday.
Saturday's race will be the second 6,000-meter race UAB has competed in this season. Last month, at the Tiger Twilight Invitational, the Blazers took the top-five in the 6K race.
More than 40 teams, from five states and 10 conferences represent the women's field that will compete on Saturday.
