Cavaliers Seek Third-Straight ACC Title

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia men’s and women’s cross country teams will head to the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships on Saturday at the WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., to kick off the 2009-10 conference championships. The men will toe the line at 9:30 a.m., followed by the women’s race at 10:30 a.m.

Virginia’s men, the two-time defending ACC Champions, take an unblemished record into the conference meet and a No. 12 national ranking. Let by All-American Emil Heineking, the Cavaliers have won the Lou Onesty, George Mason and Panorama Farms invitiational titles this season. Heineking has claimed all three of those individual titles and broke the Panorama Farms course record with his most recent victory at the Panorama Farms Invitational.

The Cavalier women are ranked No. 11 nationally and have won the Lou Onesty and George Mason Invitationals. Senior Lauretta Dezubay claimed her second-consecutive Lou Onesty individual title to open the season, while junior Catherine White won her inaugural race as a Cavalier, the George Mason Invitational.

This season’s ACC Championship on the men’s side will feature four teams that are currently ranked in the top-30 nationally. The No. 12 Cavaliers enter the race as the highest ranked team, while Florida State is No. 21, Duke is No. 26 and host NC State is No. 30.

The women’s side will also feature four ranked schools. Defending champion Florida State brings the highest rank to the meet, checking in at No. 6. Virginia trails the Seminoles at No. 11, while Duke is No. 16 and North Carolina is No. 28.

Following the championships, Virginia will return home to host the Cavalier Open on Fri., Nov. 6