Coming off a victory against UMass last week, the women's cross country team traveled to the University of Rhode Island yesterday and came home a winner, outdistancing the URI thinclads, 20-39.

Despite an ankle injury that kept key runner Paula Newham out of the race, the women, now 2-0, managed to take six out of the first eight places on a relatively flat course.

Harvard's freshman speed demon, Darlene Beckford, and Johanna Foreman, a junior who spent much of last season sidelined by a foot injury, tied for first place with a time of 17:53, 27 seconds ahead of their closest opponent.

Third and fifth positions went to URI, but Anita Diaz captured fourth for the Crimson with a time of 18:32.

The Harvard harriers displayed depth when Kristin Lynsley, Leslie Voit and captain Karla Amble took sixth, seventh and eighth place respectively within a three second span.

The runners went into the race expecting a quick start, Amble said, but the pack stayed fairly close together for the first mile and a half, with no one wanting to set a fast pace.

"We handled them quite easily, because we're a pretty damn good team," said Crimson coach Robert "Pappy" Hunt. URI is an up-and-coming team and improved 100 per cent over last year.

He said that the first wave of runners, Newnham, Beckford and Foreman, can race with anyone in the country, so the gap between them and the second level is naturally big. He added that the second wave has improved greatly and is closing the gap.

This Saturday, the team will be looking for win number three when it comes up against Brown and the University of New Hampshire in a dual meet at Franklin Park in Dorchester.

The meet should have a special flavor because the leading runner on Harvard's cross country team last year, Anne Sullivan, now competes for the Bruins.

Coach Hunt said Sullivan will definitely be running in Saturday's meet, but added that the Bruin team is not a threat overall. "They just don't have all that much depth," he said.

Hunt said that UNH was surprisingly strong last year and that their team may prove to be the real challenge in the race.

"We are all pretty geared up for the upcoming race," Foreman said.