Lady Vols ready to reboot after placing 10th at NCAAs

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Tennessee coach J.J. Clark spoke of picking up and moving on after the Lady Vols' finish at the Outdoors Championship.

Tennessee scored 21 points to finish in a tie for 10th at the NCAA meet Saturday at Arkansas' John McDonnell Field. The Vols had no competitors during the final day and finished the meet with 5 points and in a tie for 48th in coach Bill Webb's last meet as UT's coach.

The Lady Vols won the indoor national championship in March and had hoped to be a surprise darkhorse at outdoors. Mistakes from unlikely sources kept that from being a possibility, although the Lady Vols did post their highest outdoor finish since taking fourth in 2005.

"We were coming here to get a trophy," Clark said, referring to a top-four finish. "We fell short, but it's not the end of the world. We can reboot."

On Saturday, junior Phoebe Wright, who had the top time in the country in the 800-meter run, faded down the stretch for a fifth-place finish in the final.

"When it sets in, I will be disappointed," Wright said.

Wright was second in the 800 indoors and was sixth a year ago outdoors.

"It was just one of those things," Clark said. "Phoebe had her first bad race all year. She can do better, and she knows that."

While Wright's performance could be chalked up as a bad race, Sarah Bowman's 1,500 finish was an old-fashioned blunder. Bowman held the lead for most of the race before falling back on the last lap.

With second place seemingly in her hands, Bowman eased up during the last 40 meters and was stunned when two racers surged past her. Bowman finished fourth and then bent over at the finish line and held her face in her hands.

"I should have never have done that," said Bowman, a senior who was the indoor mile champion. "That was stupid. It was just a stupid freshman mistake."

Bowman had tried to go with race winner Susan Kujiken of Florida State but it was obvious with 100 meters remaining that Kujiken wasn't going to be caught. Bowman looked over her left shoulder twice down the stretch but didn't see two runners closing on her right.

"I should have just kept going," a clearly displeased Bowman said.

Clark agreed but said that Bowman's lapse was forgivable as the points she gave away would have only moved the Lady Vols into a tie for eighth.

Bowman had a standout career at Tennessee that included three national titles, 10 All-America awards and 12 conference championships.

"Sarah didn't have the fairy-tale ending to her career," Clark said. "It wasn't a catastrophe."

Celreice Law was much happier about her performance. Law, a senior with the 10th-best time, finished fifth in the 100 hurdles.

"I'm definitely going to be happy, just being an All-American," Law said.

"Leaving everything on the track was a huge success for me."

Marty Cook is a freelance contributor.

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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