Jan. 30, 2008

NEW ORLEANS, La. - - University of Memphis women's track and field program enters the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Association (USTFCCA) Division I rankings as No. 12, in the first regular-season poll of 2008. This is the first time in school history that the women's program has ever been ranked.

The women's track and field program has started off the 2008 indoor season remarkably well. After being ranked preseason No.89, the Lady Tigers climbed to No. 12, by the time the first poll of the season came out.

"To my knowledge this is the first time the women's team has been ranked," said Head Coach Kevin Robinson. "So, to debut at No. 12, definitely shows that we're on the right track. With Susan (King), Sivan (Aballi) and Charlotte (Abrahamsen) all being in the Top 10, it's a good solid core group of elite athletes. I still do not think that they have reached their potential for the season. I expect bigger and better performances from all three and I hope that they will be joined by a few others."

Susan King has an NCAA automatic qualifying mark o 17.13 meters in the shot put, where she is currently ranked No. 1 in the nation. Sivan Aballi has an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 15.79 meters in the shot put where she sits in the No. 9 spot. Charlotte Abrahamsen has a NCAA provisional qualifying point total of 3858 in the pentathlon, where she is ranked No. 4.

Memphis has never had three female track and field athletes ranked in the nation at the same time. They are the only Conference USA team ranked in the Top 25.

The 2008 USTFCCCA Division I Rankings are compiled strictly from the NCAA descending order lists. The USTFCCCA indoor rankings are based on the descending order lists of the 2008 season.

The 2008 NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held March 14-15 in Fayetteville, Ark.

USTFCCCA Division I Women's Indoor Track and Field Rankings
Jan. 30, 2008

Rank, School
1 LSU
2 Tennessee
3 Texas A&M
4 Arkansas
5 Michigan
6 Virginia Tech
7 Mississippi
8 Minnesota
9 Penn State
10 South Carolina
11 Florida
12 Memphis
13 Baylor
14 Southern Illinois
15 Purdue
16 Texas
17 Georgia Tech
18 Kansas
19 Kansas State
20 Arizona
21 Arizona State
22 Indiana
23 Oregon
24 Florida State
25 Texas Tech