UCI Eighth in Women’s Cross-Country

UC Irvine is tied for eighth in the season’s first National Collegiate Athletic Assn. women’s cross-country poll.

Irvine, which is tied with North Carolina State, is the highest-ranked team in the Western Region. It also is the highest ranking ever for the Irvine women. In 1987, Irvine was ranked 10th and finished eighth in the NCAA championships.

Villanova is the nation’s top-ranked team, followed by Kentucky, Providence, Nebraska, Indiana, Wake Forest and Iowa.