2001 Preview: Foresters Looking for the Right Mix in 2001

LAKE FOREST, IL - While the men's and women's cross country teams are in different situations, both will be counting on new memebers to achieve success in 2001.  Both teams have a solid group of runners who on any given day could be the number one runner for the team.  Head Coach Tina McDonie will also be looking for contributions from some new faces.  "Our first-year runners should fit right in with the pack to form our 'critical mass'.  As teammates they will challenge each other to reach new levels on an individual basis and as a team."

On the women's side, the graduation of last season's top two runners is an obvious cause for concern for McDonie, but the return of senior Jen McGuire from a semester overseas and continued improvement from junior Erin Motzer and junior co-captains Melissa Brown and Molly Sutherland give her reasons to be optimistic.  "It will take a team effort in every race this year, but the runners are up to the challenge and eager to prove themselves."

With the entire men's team returning from last year, the 2001 season is filled with promise.  Senior co-captain Charles Evans is coming off a breakout season in 2000, fellow co-captain and senior Joe Zemaitis is coming back from injury, and juniors Eric Crawley and Rob Bahde are both healthy and ready to run.  Senior Naresh Kuvuri and junior Brandon Johnson also showed tremendous improvement last year and will continue to close the gap between the #1 and #5 runners.  McDonie feels that, "with a few additions to this squad, we have the potential to surprise some teams this year."