Depth could put women's XC near top of ECAC

With its top runners resting on the sidelines, the women's cross country team will have to rely on its depth at the ECAC championship tomorrow afternoon at its home Grafton course. The top seven Jumbos will be saving their legs for next weekend's Div. III national qualifier, leaving Tufts' eighth through 14th runners at the helm of the brown and blue charge across the 5K Farm Course.

Tufts will host teams from across New England and the Mid-Atlantic, and Coach Kristen Morwick expects that most, if not all squads will be resting their top seven runners for the upcoming qualifiers. This is a big advantage for the Jumbos, Morwick suggested, because Tufts' "second seven" is far stronger than that of many other teams.

The Tufts contingent competing this weekend will be composed of seniors co-captain Katie Higley and Katie Mason, junior Liz Bloomhardt, and freshmen Angie Lee, Julia Goldberg, Jenny Torpey, and Caroline Chow.

"We have a great group running and this is their last race on our home course this season," Morwick said. "They should be ready to compete."

While the Jumbos may have placed seventh at the NESCAC Championship last weekend, Morwick expects that at ECACs, her squad could beat several of the schools that they trailed last weekend.

"Many teams ahead of us in the New England rankings drop off after seven, and oftentimes five [runners]," Morwick said.

She predicted that NESCAC champions Middlebury and defending national champions Williams, who both have a wealth of strong runners beyond their top seven, "should be vying for the 1-2 spots."

Otherwise, according to Morwick, Tufts should be near the top of Saturday's results, assuming that all teams run their second sevens. In the past, some non-New England teams have raced top runners in order to win ECACs, Morwick said.

"The only thing that could stand in our way of the top three is if a team races varsity runners," Morwick said.

Higley and Lee should be among the top Tufts finishers this weekend. In the regular season, Lee placed seventh or eighth on the team in many races, making her a likely alternate for the remainder of the season.

Next weekend, the top seven Jumbos - senior tri-captains Lauren Caputo and Lauren Dunn, juniors Emily Pfeil and Katie Sheedy, sophomore Becca Ades, and freshmen Sarah Crispin and Sam Moland-will race at the Div. III New England meet in Cumberland, Maine. A fifth place team finish or better there would send Tufts to nationals.

According to Morwick, the squad "responds well to rest," which is why the fastest seven Jumbos will sit out this weekend's competition.

"This is the time of season when you don't need to be pounding races off," Morwick said.

Morwick expressed optimism that Tufts could post strong performances and place well both this weekend and next. The 'home team advantage' of a short commute and a familiar course will not be the only factors that will work in Tufts' favor at ECACs, though. It is the team's depth that has the potential to set them apart from other squads.