Sept. 11, 2009

• Directions to USNA Cross Country Course

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy women's cross country team will host its lone home meet of the year, the Salty Dog Open, this Saturday at 9:45 a.m. on the USNA Cross Country Course.

There is no admission charge for the event and directions to the USNA Cross Country Course can be found at www.NavySports.com(.)

All-Time in the Salty Dog Open/Invitational
• Navy is hosting the Salty Dog Open/Invitational for the eighth-straight year. Prior to the Salty Dog Invitational, the Midshipmen played host to the Navy Invitational six times.
• The Salty Dog Open/Invitational has been scored as an invitational five times (2002, '04, '06, '07, '08) and a multi-team dual twice (2003 and '05).
• Navy has won the Salty Dog Open/Invitational three times (2002, '04 and '05) and finished second on three other occasions (2003, '06, '08).
• Last year, the Midshipmen finished second out of the 15-team field. Richmond won the team title with a score of 42 points, just below Navy's 55 points and better than third-place Maryland's 75 points.
• The Midshipmen have enjoyed significant success on their home course all-time. In dual-scored meets, Navy owns a 92-11 (.893) record in Annapolis.

The Field at this Year's Salty Dog Open
• There are a total of eight teams and 137 runners competing in this year's Salty Dog Open. In addition to the Midshipmen, the following squads have entered for Saturday's competition:
• American - The Eagles were picked to finish seventh in the Patriot League, according to the league's preseason poll. American went 3-2 at the Mount St. Mary's 5k Duals last week, as Octavia Rinehardt paced the field of 66 runners and teammate Greta Wicklund placed fifth overall.
• Georgetown - The Hoyas finished third at last year's Big East Championship and fourth at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Championship. Georgetown will be making its 2009 season debut in Annapolis on Saturday.
• George Washington - The Colonials were picked to finish 10th in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference preseason poll. George Washington went 2-3 at the Mount St. Mary's 5k Duals last week, as Heather Stevens led the team with a 20th-place finish.
• Johns Hopkins - The Blue Jays, a member of the Centennial Conference, were tabbed as the fifth-best team in the nation at the Division III level going into the 2009 slate by the USTFCCCA. Johns Hopkins opened the year by winning the Baltimore Metro Invitational, as Laura Paulsen claimed the individual title for the fourth-straight year.
• Loyola - The Greyhounds produced a fourth-place finish at the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Championship and 17th at the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region Championship last fall. Competing with mostly freshmen and sophomores last week, Loyola finished fourth at the Baltimore Metro Invitational.
• Mount St. Mary's - The Mountaineers were picked to finish eighth in the Northeast Conference preseason poll. Last week in its home Mount St. Mary's 5k Duals, the Mountaineers went 1-4 with Megan Kinsella boasting the team's best time for 12th-place overall.
• UMBC - The Retrievers were tabbed to finish eighth in the America East Conference preseason poll. UMBC posted a solid 4-1 record to open the year at the Mount St. Mary's 5k Duals, as Sara Parkinson placed second overall and Gabriel Suzanne landed in fourth place.

Last Week at the Mount St. Mary's 5k Duals
• Led by Amy Watson (Sr./Hampstead, Md.) and solid packing right behind her, the Navy women's cross country team opened up the year with a perfect 5-0 record at the Mount St. Mary's 5k Duals last Friday.
• With six schools competing against each other in a dual-scored fashion, Navy defeated American and UMBC each by a score of 24-37. The Midshipmen posted a clean sweep score of 15-50 against George Washington, Mount St. Mary's and Saint Francis (Pa.). The Midshipmen have boasted a perfect record at the Mount St. Mary's 5k Duals in each of their three times at the event.
• On a warm day with some tough footing, Watson placed third overall out of 66 runners with a time of 18:59.58. After a UMBC and an American runner followed Watson across the finish line, each of the next-six runners donned the Navy blue and gold - separated by only 12.11 seconds. Anna Bernal (Sr./Bonaire, Ga.) placed sixth with a time of 19:11.79, followed by Lexa Gass's (Sr./Crescent, Pa.) seventh-place clocking of 19:13.90 and Erica Ziel's (Sr./Saginaw, Mich.) 19:16.49 showing for eighth place. Brigid Byrne (Fr./Vienna, Va.) rounded out the scoring five with an ninth-place time of 19:17.08, just ahead of teammates Annie Barry (Fr./Crestwood, Ky.) and Mollie Hebda's (So./Pittsburgh, Pa.) 10th- and 11th-place times of 19:17.75 and 19:23.90, respectively.

Brigid Byrne: Patriot League Rookie of the Week
• For her efforts in rounding out the Navy women's cross country team's scoring five in winning the Mount St. Mary's 5k Duals last Friday, Brigid Byrne (Fr./Vienna, Va.) was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week, it was announced by the league office on Wednesday afternoon.
• In her first-collegiate race, Byrne covered the course in 19:16.49 to place ninth overall out of 66 runners. Her performance also completed Navy's scoring contingent, which helped the Mids secure a perfect 5-0 record in the multiple dual-scored meet.
• With Byrne's recognition by the Patriot League on Wednesday, a Navy runner has been named the league's runner or rookie of the week in each of the last-seven regular season races it has competed in, dating back to the start of the 2008 campaign.

Navy Picked to Win 2009 Patriot League Championship
• Navy is predicted to win the Patriot League Championship for the third-straight year according to the league's preseason poll. The poll was voted on by each of the league's coaches and sports information contacts.
• Last season, the Midshipmen rolled past the Patriot League Championship field with a first-place score of 23 points - the lowest team total since the league expanded to eight teams.
• Navy claimed 13 of the 16 first-place votes to lead the way in this year's preseason poll with 97 points. Bucknell claimed the other three first-place ballots to accumulate 87 points, 20 points ahead of third-place Lehigh. Service academy foe Army was picked fourth with 58 points, followed by Colgate's 41 points, Holy Cross's 40 points, American's 38 points and Lafayette's 18 points.
• The 2009 Patriot League Championship will be held at Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y., on Saturday, Oct. 31, beginning at 11 a.m.

Following Saturday's Action...
• The Midshipmen will head up to Hamilton, N.Y., to compete in the Colgate Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 19. Race time is scheduled for 11 a.m.