After impressive 2005 NCAA finishes, the men's and women's teams are ready to face the same challenges.
"We just did a time trial and everyone improved so much from last season," sophomore Megan O'Leary said. "It shows that the whole team trained a lot over the summer and are ready to fill the gaps of the seniors we lost."
The Lions are focused on becoming another top contender at the Nationals competition this season.
"Our big focus ... is to beat Ithaca. Every race, we would get closer and closer to them," O'Leary said.
The Lions will have to work hard in filling the gaps the seniors held.
"A lot of our girls have come back focused, in shape and ready to compete this season," senior captain Christine Nystrom explained. "The time trial was a strong indicator of how deep we're going to be this year."
Last season the men's team posted a third place finish at the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference match and a 12th place finish at the NCAA National Championships.
"If we're going to repeat as regional champs, we'll have to have a tight back from 1-7," senior captain Marc Altenu said.
The Lions have had eight top 20 finishes in the last nine NCAA Championships. With the Lions working hard and prepared to fight, they are hoping for another strong season.
