Sept. 8, 2004

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Providence College women's cross country team is ranked second in the FinishLynx Division I Women's Cross Country National Preseason Poll, which was released on Wednesday, September 8. Providence received 372 points, including three first-place votes.

Stanford is No. 1 in the poll with 386 points and 10 first-place votes. Brigham Young (371 points), Notre Dame (342 points) and North Carolina State (329 points) round out the top five.

In 2003, Providence finished third at the NCAA Championships in Waterloo, Iowa. Seniors Kim Smith (Auckland, New Zealand) and Mary Cullen (Sligo, Ireland) earned All-America honors as they finished second and fifth, respectively. PC was the only team to have two runners finish in the top five. The third-place finish was the team's best since the 1995 season, when the squad captured the national title. It also marked the 14th time in 15 years that the Friars have placed in the top 10 at the NCAA Championship.

The Friars, guided by Ray Treacy who is in his 21st season, began the 2004 season on Friday, September 3 as they captured the Providence College Invitational at Goddard Park in Warwick, R.I. The Friars (18 points) had five runners finish among the top six as they finished ahead of New Hampshire (44 points). Junior Fiona Crombie (Christchurch, New Zealand) captured the event in a time of 17:18, while Cullen (17:22) placed second. Junior Jane Nalder (18:30) of Wellington, New Zealand, senior Katie Twarog (18:38) of Albany, N.Y. and senior Roisin Quinn (18:49) of Waterford, Ireland finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively for Providence.

Providence returns to action on Saturday, September 11 at the Fordham Invitational at Van Cortlandt Park in New York, N.Y.

FinishLynx NCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S NCAA CROSS COUNTRY POLL
September 8, 2004
Rank	Team (First place votes)        Points
1	Stanford (10)                   386
2	PROVIDENCE (3)                  372
3	Brigham Young                   371
4	Notre Dame                      342
5	North Carolina State            329
6	Colorado                        322
7	Michigan                        316
8	Princeton                       288
	UCLA                            288
10	Villanova                       265
11	Wake Forest                     248
12	Missouri                        235
13	Columbia                        231
14	North Carolina                  221
15	Northern Arizona                189
16	Georgetown                      184
	Washington                      184
18	Arkansas                        165
19	Arizona State                   158
20	Duke                            155
21	Marquette                       145
22	Tennessee                       119
23	Penn State                      109
24	Michigan State                  95
25	Baylor                          73
26	Colorado State                  69
27	Indiana                         44
28	Yale                            36
29	Minnesota                       27
30	West Virginia                   20