April 24, 2014

Recap

Villanova head coach Gina Procaccio...

On winning the DMR for the third straight year: It was a nice déjà vu. This is the relay that I was the most worried about because it is the most prestigious. If you had to pick one of the three distance relays this is the one I would want to win.

On the field for the DMR: The field was really loaded hits year so that worried me a little bit. Oregon scared me because they have superstars on their DMR but I just tell [the Villanova runners] that this is our turf. It doesn't matter what anybody else does. This is our turf and our girls know how to win at Penn. They have all done it before."

Emily Lipari...

On the end of the race: I was pretty relaxed with 400 meters left. My teammates ahead of me were really tough and it would be a shame if I didn't come with that same toughness. Aisling Cuffe has incredible range and she got me at cross country in the fall so I was hungry for it this time around.

On her rivalry with Stanford anchor Aisling Cuffe: We have been racing each other for five or six years and we both know each other's strong points in a race. Aisling is very threatening because she can run with the lead and does a good job of holding a pace. Racing against her for so many years has been a blessing for me because it gets you ready to run against all levels of competition.

On what point in the race she knew she had the win: It was on the final straight. I felt confident but you can't let yourself fall into the trap of assuming that you have the win in hand. Going into the final 100 meters Aisling looked really strong and I knew that I just had to go all out for it.

Stephanie Schappert...

On her mindset at the start of the race: For the leadoff leg I was just thinking that my job was to hand it off with us as close to the lead as I could to set up for the other legs of the race.

Nicky Akande...

On how she felt when she handed the baton off to Emily Lipari: I felt good when I handed it off to her. My job is to get here there with us being as close to the lead as possible. When I handed off I could see the leader and we were right there. I was confident because I know that Emily has such a great kick.

On being confident that Lipari had the win in hand: "The last 200 meters I knew that Emily had it. I know her so well and I know the way she runs. Once her arms get going like that I knew that she had it.