Weekly Release #9

Upcoming Schedule
Saturday, Nov. 13 -- at NCAA Regionals (Ypsilanti, Mich.), 11:00 a.m.
Monday, Nov. 22 -- at NCAA Championships (Terre Haute, Ind.), 11:30 a.m.

This Week: At NCAA Great Lakes Regionals...
The Wolverines travel across town to compete in the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals on Saturday, Nov. 13 at Eagles Crest Golf Course in Ypsilanti at 11:30 a.m. The 6,000-meter race will feature the top teams in Ohio, Michigan and Indiana, including the Wolverines, No. 6 Notre Dame, No. 13 Michigan State, No. 27 Indiana University and Marquette, which is receiving votes.

Michigan will run seven harriers in the championship, led by junior Rebecca Walter who placed second at the Big Ten Championships and fourth in the NCAA Pre-Nationals, first among all Big Ten competitors. Joining Walter will be a combination of freshman Lisa Canty, junior/sophomore Katie Erdman, senior/junior Theresa Feldkamp, junior/sophomore Arianne Field, freshman Alyson Kohlmeier, fifth-year senior Andrea Parker and junior/sophomore Jessie Stewart. Parker was 18th at the NCAA Pre-Nationals, while Kohlmeier took 21st and Feldkamp finished 54th. Field took fourth in the NCAA Pre-Nationals open division. Kohlmeier and Parker also placed in the top-20 at the Notre Dame Invitational against nationally ranked Stanford, Notre Dame, UCLA and Michigan State. Feldkamp placed 28th and Erdman finished 33rd in South Bend as well.

The top two teams automatically advance to the NCAA Championships, joining the top two finishers in each of the eight other regions. Thirteen of the remaining squads will receive at-large bids based on rankings and performances against teams outside of the region.

Notre Dame finished second in the Big East Championships on October 29, led by the fifth-place performance of Molly Huddle and the 10th-place finish of Stephanie Madia. Huddle was second at the Notre Dame Invitational against the Wolverines, while Kerry Meagher took fifth for the Fighting Irish. Michigan State is led by Big Ten Athlete of the Year freshman Danette Doetzel who took first at the Big Ten Championships and placed sixth at the NCAA Pre-Nationals. Katie Kelly took eighth for the MSU at the Big Ten Championships for the second-place Spartans. Indiana is led by sophomore Jessica Gall who took third behind Walter at Big Tens and 15th at the pre-nats. Marquette took its fifth-straight Conference USA Championship thanks to Jodi Jakubek and Heidi Lindeman who placed second and seventh repspectively at the C-USA Championship. Marquette is set to join the Big East conference in 2005.

Big Ten Coach of the Year ...
Head coach Mike McGuire was voted the Big Ten Coach of the Year by his fellow conference coaches for leading Michigan to its third-straight Big Ten title. McGuire has earned the honor six times in his career, including the last three seasons.

Maize and Blue Earn Big Ten Championship Three-Peat ...
Michigan won its third straight Big Ten title on October 31, as five U-M harriers place in the top-16, led by junior Rebecca Walter's second-place finish (20:53). U-M finished with 45 points, 40 better than second-place Michigan State. Freshman Alyson Kohlmeier took seventh place in 21:19, while senior Andrea Parker placed ninth (21:30) and sophomore Katie Erdman took 11th (21:38). Michigan has won the last three cross country titles (2002, 2003, 2004) and the program has six Big Ten titles overall.

Fourth in the Nation ...
The Wolverines are ranked No. 4 in the nation in the FinishLynx NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Poll with 348 points. Only Stanford, Providence and Colorado are ahead of the Wolverines in the polls.

Big Ten Sportsman - Rebecca Walter ...
Rebecca Walter was honored with the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award after the Big Ten Championship for her ethical behavior and good sportsmanship during competition.

Leaders and Best in Academics ...
The 2003 Michigan women's cross country team earned the 2003-04 Leaders and Best Award, given to the team with the highest grade point average. It was the second time in a row that coach McGuire's squad received the award, a $20,000 monetary award donated by football letterman Larry Johnson. Women's cross country is only the second team to win the award more than once.

Rebecca Walter Profiled by the Big Ten ...
Junior Rebecca Walter is featured on the Big Ten web site (bigten.org) on the women's cross country page this season. A Q&A with the defending Big Ten champion touches on her remarkable 2003 season, her thoughts on the sport and her interests other than running.

Walter - Can't Stop Her ...
Junior Rebecca Walter has been U-M's top finisher in 13 scoring meets in her career so far, leading the two-time Big Ten champions in four events in 2002, five events in 2003 and four events so far this season. In Walter's career, she has competed in 18 scoring events for U-M, leading all U-M harriers in 72 percent of them.

The Killer Ps ...
Seniors Sarah Pizzo and Andrea Parker have helped Michigan become one of the most consistent cross country teams in the country this season. Pizzo has posted a top-5 and a top-20 finish each in scoring meets this season, while Parker has a top-5 and three top-20 finishes this year. Pizzo has been the second Wolverine across the finish in two scoring meets this season, taking third at the Indiana State Invite and 15th at the Notre Dame Invite, while Parker has been the third U-M harrier across the line, taking 4th at Indiana State, 9th at the Big Ten Championships, 18th at the NCAA Pre-Nationals and 19th at Notre Dame. Pizzo and Parker showed their mettle in the 2003 postseason, finishing among Michigan's top five harriers in the Big Ten Championships and the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. At the NCAA Championships, Pizzo was Michigan's third harrier across the line, while Parker was the sixth fastest.

Conquering Champions ...
The Wolverines return 16 letterwinners from last year's roster, including Big Ten individual champion and NCAA All-American Rebecca Walter, All-Big Ten first teamer Sarah Pizzo and All-Big Ten second teamer Katie Erdman.

Walter Walks on Water ...
2003 Big Ten individual champion and NCAA All-American Rebecca Walter led the Maize and Blue to the finish line in four meets last season, including all three postseason races. Walter placed first at the Big Ten Championhsips, third at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and 18th at the NCAA Championships. The 2002 Big Ten Freshman of Year, Walter led the Wolverines to the finish line in each of U-M's final three races in 2002, including a 51st-place showing at the NCAA Championships. At the 2002 Big Ten Championships, Walter helped the Wolverines to the conference crown as she crossed the line in fifth place, earning All-Big Ten first team honors.

2004 Team Captains Named ...
Head coach Mike McGuire has named junior Rebecca Walter and junior/sophomore Katie Erdman team captains for the 2004 season. Erdman earned All-Big Ten second team honors with a 14th-place finish at the Big Ten Championships, while placing 24th at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and 120th at the NCAA Championships.

Preseason Number Seven ...
Michigan ranked seventh in the FinishLynx NCAA Division I Women's Cross Country Poll with 316 points. Stanford is No. 1 with ten first place votes, while Providence ranks No. 2 with three first place votes. Brigham Young, Notre Dame, North Carolina State and Colorado round out the top six.

The Mike McGuire File ...
Mike McGuire is in his 13th season as a head coach for the Michigan women's cross country team. McGuire led the Wolverines to their fifth Big Ten Conference team title in 2003 while earning his fifth Big Ten Coach of the Year award. In his first four seasons, McGuire won three consecutive Big Ten and NCAA District IV team championships, and the Wolverines finished as high as second (1994) at the NCAA Championships. McGuire's Michigan teams have 11 top-two finishes in 12 seasons at the Big Ten Championships and nine top-two finishes at the regional championships, winning the regional meet in 1993, '94 and '95. His teams have finished among the nation's top 10 six times at the NCAA Championships. McGuire has helped 49 cross country and track athletes earn All-American honors and has coached five Big Ten individual champions and five Big Ten freshmen of the year.

Michigan Cross Country Olympian ...
Former Wolverine cross country standout Courtney Babcock (1992, '94, '96) represented Canada in the 5,000- and 1,500-meter runs at the 2004 Athens Olympics. Babcock was a seven-time All-American in track and cross country at Michigan and was a member of U-M's 1994 NCAA champion distance medley relay team. She still holds the U-M school record for the indoor mile (4:39.31) set in 1994.

Who's Next ...
The Wolverines look to advance to the NCAA Championships in Terre Haute, Ind. on Monday, Nov. 22. Michigan has already competed in Terre Haute twice this season - at the Indiana State Invitational and at the NCAA Pre-Nationals.

Contact: Richard Retyi (734) 763-4423