No. 12 Arkansas women win NCAA Regional
Razorback men take second, earn bid to nationals
Matt Watson
Issue date: 11/17/08 Section: Sports
The Razorback women edged defending champion No. 22 Rice on Saturday in Waco, Texas, to win their third South Central Regional title in four years.
Sophomore Catherine White finished fourth overall with a 6K time of 20:49. She has been the top Arkansas finisher in every race this season and won three individual titles in six meets this year.
Arkansas won its 15th regional in school history since 1982 by placing runners 4-7-10-14-16. The Hogs beat out Rice and No. 18 Baylor, who tied for second with 61 points each.
Seniors Denise Bargiachi and Christine Kalmer finished inside the top 10 for the second straight race, and Jillian Rosen and Dacia Perkins rounded out the scoring five within 25 seconds of White.
"We had to be tactically smart this race and especially intelligent with our effort," head coach Lance Harter said. "The NCAA Championships are only eight days away and we didn't want to give it all we had today and have nothing left for NCAAs.
"That's where our focus is. We wanted to get the win without over extending ourselves," Harter said.
The win guaranteed the Razorbacks a trip to nationals next week, where they will attempt to win the first team national title in Arkansas women's history.
The NCAA Championships take place November 24 in Terre Haute, Ind.
Razorbacks finish runner-up
Arkansas' regional dominance of almost two decades ended Saturday, as the Hogs finished runner-up to No. 22 Texas A&M at the NCAA South Central Regionals hosted by Baylor University.
The Aggies scored 39 points to narrowly defeat the Razorbacks, who scored 44 points and failed to win the regional for just the second time since 1978.
But the top-two finish guaranteed Arkansas a spot at the NCAA National Championships a week from today.
"This was our best team performance of year, and that is encouraging. Our main objective was to finish in the top two and we got that accomplished," head coach Chris Bucknam said. "I think we are definitely on an upswing."
Sophomore Catherine White finished fourth overall with a 6K time of 20:49. She has been the top Arkansas finisher in every race this season and won three individual titles in six meets this year.
Arkansas won its 15th regional in school history since 1982 by placing runners 4-7-10-14-16. The Hogs beat out Rice and No. 18 Baylor, who tied for second with 61 points each.
Seniors Denise Bargiachi and Christine Kalmer finished inside the top 10 for the second straight race, and Jillian Rosen and Dacia Perkins rounded out the scoring five within 25 seconds of White.
"We had to be tactically smart this race and especially intelligent with our effort," head coach Lance Harter said. "The NCAA Championships are only eight days away and we didn't want to give it all we had today and have nothing left for NCAAs.
"That's where our focus is. We wanted to get the win without over extending ourselves," Harter said.
The win guaranteed the Razorbacks a trip to nationals next week, where they will attempt to win the first team national title in Arkansas women's history.
The NCAA Championships take place November 24 in Terre Haute, Ind.
Razorbacks finish runner-up
Arkansas' regional dominance of almost two decades ended Saturday, as the Hogs finished runner-up to No. 22 Texas A&M at the NCAA South Central Regionals hosted by Baylor University.
The Aggies scored 39 points to narrowly defeat the Razorbacks, who scored 44 points and failed to win the regional for just the second time since 1978.
But the top-two finish guaranteed Arkansas a spot at the NCAA National Championships a week from today.
"This was our best team performance of year, and that is encouraging. Our main objective was to finish in the top two and we got that accomplished," head coach Chris Bucknam said. "I think we are definitely on an upswing."
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