Rutgers Season Opener-- March 3-4, 2007
Race report by Coach Joe Cruz
Williams Cycling had a splendid showing at the season opener this weekend at Rutgers. Racing took place under conditions that varied from delightfully sunny and mild to decidedly chilly snow flurries.
The women's squad absolutely stormed the fields they raced in.
- Team captain Kate Scheider placed 1st in the individual time trial, 4th in the crit, and 5th in the road race in Women's A. She's clearly among the elite collegiate racers in the conference, and raced with intelligence and power all weekend.
- Anouk Dey, with less than a half dozen races under her belt, was just barely bumped into 2nd in the individual time trial, placed 7th in the crit, and lost by a wheel in the sprint to take 2nd in the road race in Women's B.
- Liz Spragins earned an excellent 7th place in the individual time trial, and showed unbelievable grit to come back to the front pack and finish 10th in the crit in Women's B.
- Anna Edmonds was just out of the top 20 in the individual time trial, and in the top 20 in the crit in Women's B. She looked great in the road race before she was taken down in a crash (she'll be okay, but we'll have to wait for x-rays on her elbow before we make predictions about how soon she'll be back on the bike).
- Miju Han, in her first road races ever, placed 2nd in the individual time trial, and unleashed a fierce sprint to move from far back and take 3rd in the crit in the Women's Intro to Racing field.
On the men's side, Williams was represented ably and impressively.
Tucker Sawin went head to head with some of the top racers around. Ben Grass finished just out of the top 20 in the TT in Men's C and was on track for a top finish in the crit before a mechanical set him back a bit. Constantine Mavroudis was solid in both of his Men's C races, and Brendan Fulmer and Drew Thayer showed great promise in their first races, in Men's D. Drew also came in comfortably in the top 20 in the road race.
Kudos to all. I know that they will join me in thanking you -- the whole team and friends of the team -- for the support you have shown.
photos by Joe Cruz |
