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 Senior Angus MacDonald: Leads a veteran men's squad |
Aug. 31, 2010
The UMass Lowell men's and women's cross country teams, fresh off a magnificent seasons in 2009, were selected Nos. 1 and 2 in the Northeast-10 Conference preseason coaches' polls, released Tuesday.
The polls are the latest evidence of high expectation for UMass Lowell, which received similar plaudits in the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national and regional preseason polls last week. The River Hawk men were tabbed No. 13 in the NCAA Division II poll and No. 1 in the East Region poll while the women were selected No. 3 in the East Region poll.
On the men's side, UMass Lowell, the defending New England and NCAA East Region champion, received seven first place votes and scored 188 points to slightly edge Stonehill College (seven first place votes, 185 points) for the top spot.
American International (157 points), which received one first place vote, took third and was followed by No. 4 Southern Connecticut (154), No. 5 Adelphi (145), No. 6 Bentley (135) and No. 7 Saint Rose (122). New Haven (102), Assumption (82) and Le Moyne (80) completed the top 10.
In the women's poll, Stonehill, the defending NE-10 and NCAA East Region champion, took the top spot with 14 first place votes and 224 points while UMass Lowell received one first place vote and 206 points.
Adelphi (190 points) and Southern Connecticut (190, one vote) shared third place were followed by No. 5 Saint Rose (159), No. 6 Bentley (147) and No. 7 AIC (128). New Haven (127), Merrimack (125) and Le Moyne (115) rounded out the top 10.
"We're pleased that our programs have garnered this recognition from the NE-10 coaches and the USTFCCCA," said Head Coach Gary Gardner, entering his ninth season. "But as I said last week, we are more concerned about where we are in November and December. Health permitting, we think this could be a great year."
The UMass Lowell men return five of their top seven runners, including All-American senior Angus MacDonald (Methuen, Mass.), who finished 37th overall (26th among scoring runners) at the 2009 NCAA Championship.
Also back are All-Region standouts Eric McDonald (Groveland, Mass.) and Danny Wang (Haverhill, Mass.) both juniors, along with junior Jeff Veiga (Lowell, Mass.) and senior Sean Gelinas (Northwood, N.H.).
Two of the top five women's runners from 2009 are back: senior Sarah Bonomo (Tewksbury, Mass.) and sophomore Kelly Walton (Nahant, Mass.), each of whom earned All-Region honors. Also returning after sitting out 2009 due to an injury is junior Patricia Brice (Chelmsford, Mass.).
The UMass Lowell women and men open the season Saturday, Sept. 4 at the Keene State Alumni Invitational.
Other key dates include the New England Championship at Franklin Park on Oct. 9, the Northeast-10 Conference Championship Nov. 6, the NCAA East Region Championship Nov. 21 at Franklin Park (hosted by UMass Lowell) and the NCAA Championship Dec. 4 in Louisville, Ky.
