The men's and women's cross country teams traveled to Pittsburgh, PA to race conference opponents in the UAA Championships on Saturday, but quickly lost ground on the way to low finishes. The men finished last out of eight teams with a total time of 2:14:49.80, while the women placed fifth out of eight teams with a time of 1:50:50.10 in the six-kilometer meet at Carnegie Mellon University. Megan Bisceglia's '07 15th-place finish and Joel Sunshine's '08 19th led the Judges. Washington University in St. Louis won the women's championships, while Carnegie Mellon won the men's bracket.

Bisceglia turned in the best time on the women's team, finishing in 23:21. Despite falling just one place and two seconds short of All-UAA honors, Bisceglia's finish was a personal best in the UAA championships.

"I was both satisfied with my race and a little bit disappointed," Bisceglia said. "It was a good race and I passed a lot of people in the last 300 meters, which was pretty satisfying, but I felt like I could have done better."

Sarah Romain '06 finished second for the Judges and 24th overall with a time of 23:37 while Camille Stevens-Rumann '07 placed 31st overall and third for Brandeis with a 23:53 finish.

"We were very happy with the race," Romain said. "We were against some of the best teams in the nation and I thought everyone really raced the best they possibly could have."

Despite improving one spot from their 2004 finish at the UAA Championships, players said they weren't entirely satisfied with their progress.

"Our goal was to come in the top four and we came in fifth," Bisceglia said. "It's an important meet in the season and we didn't expect [Case Western Reserve University] would run as strongly as they did and they finished in fourth."

On the men's side, Sunshine led the Judges with a time of 26:18, good for 19th-place and 14 seconds short of All-UAA honors. Dan Suher '08 finished 39th overall and second for Brandeis with a time of 26:58 while Ryan Parker '06 placed third for the Judges and 40th overall with a 26:59 finish. The men finished in last place with 194 points and a total time of 2:14:49.80, 6:05 behind host and winner Carnegie Mellon.

"I think everyone on the guys' side was a little disappointed with our performance," Sunshine said. "We came in hoping to be in the middle of the pack and everyone ran good races, but we were flat early on."

Both teams close the season at the NCAA Regional Championships in Springfield, Mass on Saturday, Nov. 12.

"We're just looking to do the very best we can, that's what any race is all about," Romain said.

Added Sunshine, "Hopefully we'll just come out fresh and have a great race.