Nov. 4, 2003

UNC cross country coach Michael Whittlesey was named Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Cross Country Coach of the Year after leading the team to the ACC Title. Whittlesey led the Tar Heels to the championship by defeating defending ACC Champions and higher ranked NC State by four points.

"It is an honor to recieve this award from the vote of my peers, but this is really a tribute to how well the women ran and their commitment to each other," said Whittlesey.

Three of Whittlesey's runners finished in the top ten of the ACC Championship race and were named All-Conference: senior Shalane Flanagan placed first for the fourth consecutive year, sophomore Carol Henry third and sophomore Jessica Perry tenth.

The award wraps up an amazing week for Whittlesey, as his wife Carol gave birth to their first child, Samantha Paige, on Wednesday, Oct. 29 and then the women's team won the ACC Championship three days later. Whittlesey earns this award for the second time in his coaching career, the previous being in 1999 when his women's squad won the ACC Championship and the school's first ever NCAA Region III Championship.