The Michigan women's cross country team, coming off a disappointing second-place finish last Friday, faces its toughest competition thus far on Sunday in its lone home meet of the season, the Michigan Interregional Invitational.
After Michigan unexpectedly finished second at the Michigan Intercollegiate Invitational, the Wolverines may have something to prove Sunday.
That task will not be easy, however, as nationally-ranked Georgetown as well as strong teams from Bowling Green and North Carolina State will compete in the Interregional.
The Wolverines know that defeating the Hoyas may be too much to ask, but they are hoping to keep the race close.
"We definitely want to win, but Georgetown is very good," said freshman Elizabeth Kampfe, who finished sixth overall and first for the Wolverines last Friday. "We want to run with them. If we get second behind them but all run good races, I think we will be happy."
Michigan head coach Mike McGuire agrees that the Wolverines need to focus on teams other than the Hoyas.
"Georgetown is definitely the favorite going in," McGuire said. "N.C. State is the team we're looking to beat."
On Sunday, the Wolverines will have the home course advantage over the competition. They have been practicing on the race course, the Michigan Golf Course, all week.
McGuire says that knowing this particular course well is important.
"The (Michigan) course is one of the toughest in the nation," McGuire said. "The kids are familiar with it, so we hope we can utilize the advantage."
Kampfe is particularly looking forward to running in front of a non-hostile crowd for the first time.
"It will be good to have support from the hometown crowd," she said. "I think that we will have a good number of fans out there. That's definitely a bit of an advantage."
To please the friendly crowd, the Wolverines must race the way they did before the Michigan Intercollegiate, which was the first invitational meet of the season that they did not win.
Despite the pressure of racing at home and trying to rebound from disappointment, Kampfe says this week's practice, for her, has been no different than any other.
"I am focusing and preparing the same way for this race as before," she said.
While Michigan may have had a poor race last week, the situation on Sunday may be right for a good showing.
McGuire sees his team improving and believes that the Wolverines will get an added boost by being at home.
"We are making progress," he said. "Even though we were disappointed we lost (on Friday), we did some good things in that meet. A lot of runners have family or friends coming to see them on Sunday. I think the kids are going to be excited."