March 11, 2007

Fayetteville, Ark. - Tulane senior Gloria Asumnu came to the NCAA national indoor championship in search of a national championship, but her quest came up short on Saturday as she crossed the finish line in fourth place with a time of 7.30 in the national finals of the women's 60-meter dash at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas.

Asmunu, a senior from Houston, Texas, gain All-America status with her finish, which was just 15-tenths of a second off Auburn's Kerron Stewart, who captured first place honors in a time of 7.15. Courtney Champion of Tennessee was second with a time of 7.19, while LSU's Kelly Ann Baptiste clocked a third place time of 7.27.

"Gloria's strength is in her start and she wasn't able to get to out to a fast start today," Tulane head coach Heather Van Norman said. "Obviously, I wish she would have had a faster time, but fourth place is great. I'll take it any time in this type of race."

Earlier in the day, Asumnu advanced to the national finals with her time of 7.22 seconds in the preliminary heat, which was the third fastest overall among the 20 entrants, and tied the school record she set last month at the Conference USA meet in Houston, Texas.

"Gloria as progressed during each year of her career at Tulane. She began the indoor season with many goals and one was to become an All-American, and she accomplished that feat today. She shocked many people on the national level during the indoor season and we are already working together on her outdoor campaign. But today, I am taking a deep breath with a smile on my face and we are both enjoying the moment. I believe Gloria still has untapped potential and I am excited to see there it will take us," Van Norman said.

RESULTS
Finals
  1 Kerron Stewart            SR Auburn                    7.15   10
  2 Courtney Champion         JR Tennessee                 7.19    8
  3 Kelly Ann Baptiste        JR LSU                       7.27    6
4 Gloria Asumnu            SR Tulane                    7.30    5 
  5 Alexandria Anderson       SO Texas                     7.32    4
  6 Chaunte Bayne             SR Texas                     7.33    3
  7 Simone Facey              JR Texas A&M                 7.34    2
  8 Sherry Fletcher           JR LSU                       7.36    1