W. Track faces nation's best at Virginia Tech

After setting three school records last week, the women's track team looks to improve again this weekend as it travels to Blacksburg, Va. for the Virginia Tech Invitational. Last weekend at the Delaware Invitational, juniors Luana Botelho, Mandy Bennett and Jessica Mitchell set new school records in the shotput, weight throw, and 800 meter run, respectively. Bennett and Mitchell also qualified for the Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships. The weekend not only managed to set school records, but it also brought up the team's confidence. "The last meet gave us a lot of confidence," senior captain Jen Roy said. "I think that this meet will allow us to take our confidence and push us to personal records and personal bests." The Virginia Tech Invitational is one of the biggest meets this season for the Quakers. Some of the top Division I scholarship-giving schools, including North Carolina and Florida, will be participating. "The competition at Virginia Tech is going to be a lot more difficult, but we're really looking forward to it," junior Mandy Bennett said. "When you have tougher competition, you tend to step it up yourself." Not only should the competitive level help to post better times, but the indoor facility at Virginia Tech is considered to be one of the best in the country. Penn hopes to use the facility's features to its advantage. The track is banked, providing smoother turns for the runners. The easier turns helps the athletes to bring down their times. "For the events on the track, we'll see a lot more times on the track go down because of the bank," Roy said. "For the 200 [meter] and 400 [meter] we should see improvement." "You want to keep up the momentum," she added. "You do well one week and you hope to continue to do well. You want to go out there and continue your momentum, continue your enthusiasm for your performances, maximize the environment, and maximize the competition." The trip to Virginia is a grueling one -- almost eight hours long. The team hopes that the long journey will not detract from the energy it needs to compete in the meet. Penn left last night, hoping to minimize the impact of the trip on the athletes.