Nov. 13, 2003

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - UC Santa Barbara hopes to qualify for the NCAA National Cross Country Championship for the first time in the women's program history this Saturday at Portland's Blue Lake Park. The Gauchos are ranked 23rd in the nation and 4th in the region heading into the West Regional Championship. The women's championship 6k will start at 12:15pm on Saturday November 15th.

Defending West Region Champion #1 Stanford is the overwhelming favorite to repeat in 2003 while #11 Arizona State and #15 UCLA are expected to battle for the second automatic qualifying spot for the NCAA meet on November 24th in Waterloo, Iowa. The Sun Devils edged the Bruins by just one point for second place at the Pac 10 championships, behind the first place Cardinal. #23 Santa Barbara is ranked 4th in the West ahead of perennial national qualifier Washington, the 4th place finisher at Pac 10's. The top two teams at each of the nine regional championships this Saturday will claim a spot at the national meet, while 13 more teams will be chosen at-large to fill out the 31 team field based on their regional finish and regular season success.

The Gauchos have a lot of momentum coming off their dominating performance at the Big West Championship on November 1st, where sophomore Stephanie Rothstein led a UCSB sweep of the top four individual places. While Santa Barbara still remains a long shot to upset both Arizona State and UCLA for the second national qualifying spot, a third place finish ahead of either the Sun Devils or the Bruins should secure an at-large berth. Even a fourth place finish will keep the Gauchos in the hunt for an at-large selection. Assistant Coach Jeff Jacobs has unofficially calculated that the Gauchos would get the 13th and final at-large spot with a fourth place finish, if all the other regions ran to form. "The likelihood of all nine regions finishing exactly how they are ranked now is extremely thin," remarked Jacobs, "however, it is encouraging to know that we do have some valuable wins from our performances at Notre Dame and the Pre-National Meet, to help us in the at-large selection process. Knowing all of that the team is intent on racing to upset at least one of the teams ahead of us."

Rothstein along with Lauren Christman, Cosette Smith, and Desiree Leek each have a chance to qualify as individuals should the team fail to advance past the Regional. The top four individuals from non-qualifying teams who also finish among the top 25 overall will go on to the NCAA's. Katie Appenrodt was the only Gaucho ever to qualify for the national meet, with her 10th place finish at the West Regional in 2001. The women's cross country team has never qualified for nationals, while their male counterparts made it for the first time in 2001. The women finished 8th in 2002 and their highest ever finish came in 1996, when the Gauchos took 7th.

Lindsay Christman, Seanna Martin, and freshman Megan Lewis will round out the seven athletes who will represent UCSB at Portland. The Gauchos will need a strong finish from at least one of these three as the team's fifth and final scorer, if they are to stage an upset over ASU or UCLA. Martin was the fifth Gaucho across the line at Big West with a 17th place effort.

UCSB West Regional Line-up:

Lauren Christman (SO - Santa Cruz, CA)

Lindsay Christman (SO - Santa Cruz, CA)

Desiree Leek (JR - La Jolla, CA)

Megan Lewis (FR - Tracy, CA)

Seanna Martin (SO - Murphys, CA)

Stephanie Rothstein (SO - Phoenix, AZ)

Cosette Smith(Team Captain, JR - Manhattan Beach, CA)