Fun & Games

Thanks, Ski de fond Rouge et Or, for the sweet recap of Dartmouth Carnival at Trapps (+ Midd Men Carni Crush action). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoEIK8oJ1EQ&feature=youtu.be

The Middlebury Women's Nordic Team prepared quite the dance for Carni Crush weekend as well (video courtesy of Midd Ski Team Blog): http://www.youtube.com/embed/OellLB5_vsI


And the Dartmouth Women's Alpine Team filmed their annual 'Joey Run': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZPFrIgmDKk&feature=youtu.be

UVM Wins Dartmouth Carnival, Photo Finish in Women's Classic Race

Dartmouth Carnival Day 2

LYME, N.H./STOWE, Vt. - Vermont may not have broken the 1,000 point mark this weekend at the Dartmouth Carnival, but the Catamounts firmly reestablished their position atop the EISA leader board after a blowout performance, winning by a 162 point margin. Dartmouth finished second with 820 and the University of New Hampshire was third with 722 points.

The women's 15k classic mass start event at the Trapp Family Lodge came down to a photo finish and a UVM podium sweep with Lucy Garrec, Amy Glen, and Caitlin Patterson finishing in that order. On team strategy, Garrec remarked, "At the last hill into the 2.5k, Amy and I went for it and pushed the flats. It turned into a sprint... and a photo finish. We looked back and were pumped to see Caitlin right there." Dartmouth's Annie Hart and Sophie Caldwell were fourth and sixth, respectively.

UVM's Lucy Garrec edged out teammate Amy Glen by half a boot for the win.

In the men's 20k classic mass start race, Dartmouth's Eric Packer took the win, Sam Tarling finished third, and Gordon Vermeer was fourth. Middlebury's Patrick Johnson made another appearance on the podium as well this weekend in second, and his Panther teammate Benjamin Lustgarten was fifth. It was a breakout weekend for the Middlebury Men's Nordic Team who now pose a viable threat to the Dartmouth and Vermont alternations of yore.

The slalom races at the Dartmouth Skiway were contested under partly sunny skies. In the women's race, UVM's Elise Tefre won and Kate Ryley was third. Tefre, who has been close to a win all season but had yet to seal the deal, commented, "I wasn't nervous today and was able to relax. I just tried not to think about the fact that I was leading after first run. The [second run] course was open, so I had room and space to create speed." Dartmouth's Annie Rendall was second, and Williams put in a solid team effort with Laurel Carter and Geordie Lonza finishing fourth and fifth.

Race winner Elise Tefre of UVM

The men's race saw the now familiar Vermont podium sweep led by Tim Kelley and supported by Bobby Farrell in second and Jonathan Nordbotten in third. Dartmouth's Ben Morse was fifth,  New Hampshire's Coley Oliver was sixth, and Middlebury's Andrew McNealus was seventh.

Middlebury's Asst. Coach Abigail Copeland was convinced the snow sculpture at the top of the mountain was a... panther. We'll let you be the judge.

The make-up giant slalom race of the UNH Carnival will take place tomorrow (Feb. 12) at Burke Mountain in Vermont.

Team scores at the conclusion of the Dartmouth Carnival:
Vermont - 982
Dartmouth - 820
New Hampshire - 722
Middlebury - 712
Williams - 548
Bates - 519
Colby - 462
St. Lawrence - 442
Harvard - 340
St. Michael's - 290
Universite' Laval - 167
Bowdoin -153
Plymouth State - 141
Colby-Sawyer - 132
Boston College - 37

UVM Leads Dartmouth Carnival, Dartmouth & Middlebury Duke It Out For Second

Dartmouth Carnival Day 1

LYME, N.H./STOWE, Vt. - One thing is certain: don't mess with a Catamount. Vermont returned to the EISA circuit with a roster not yet at full strength and still handily commanded the opening day (Feb. 10) of the Dartmouth Carnival. UVM currently has a 118 point lead over its nearest competitor, the Big Green. Dartmouth and Middlebury sit neck and neck with 382 and 379 points, respectively.

Nordic races were relocated to the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vt. as a result of unfavorable snow conditions in Hanover, N.H. In the women's 5k freestyle event, podium regular Sophie Caldwell of Dartmouth claimed the win with UVM's Caitlin Patterson and Lucy Garrec hot on her tail in second and third. The men's 10k saw Middlebury phenom Patrick Johnson back on the top step, joined by two other Panther teammates, Ben Lustgarten and Chase Marston, in the top 10. Dartmouth's Sam Tarling took a fall when a squirrel errantly crossed his path, but he was able to recover for second place. (The squirrel, however, suffered a much worse fate.) Vermont's Alexander Howe was third. In overall scoring, a mere 4 points separated the first and third place teams in the men's race.

Interference? Dartmouth's Sam Tarling didn't let a squirrel keep him off the podium (photo by Brock Stonehands)

The giant slalom races were contested as originally planned at the Dartmouth Skiway. The UVM women's alpine team was still short Elli Terwiel who is scheduled to compete in tomorrow's (Feb. 11) World Cup race in Andorra and Kristina Riis-Johannessen who expects to return from injury imminently. Catamount Kate Ryley nabbed the win and teammate Elise Tefre was fifth. After her second run, Ryley commented, "I just wanted to nail the pitch and let my skis run more. I was holding back a little on the first run, so I decided to tuck as much as I could." Harvard's Rebecca Nadler finished second and Geordie Lonza of Williams was third.

The men's giant slalom podium was a full sweep for Vermont. Jonathan Nordbotten returned from the World Cup and NorAm circuits to claim the win. Rookie Bobby Farrell was back on the podium in second, and Sean Higgins was third. After his win, Norbotten remarked, "It was nice to get the experience on the higher level, especially the World Cup, though it's tough to get training when you travel a lot. It's definitely given me confidence. The course [today] was straight. It should be easy to go straight on skis, but sometimes that's hard for me because I like turns." Nordbotten is certainly a force to be reckoned with in tomorrow's slalom race.

UVM's Jonathan Nordbotten knifes the pitch (photo by Cory Ransom)

The alpine slalom and Nordic classic races of the Dartmouth Carnival will be contested tomorrow (Feb. 11).

Team scores at the conclusion of Day 1 of the Dartmouth Carnival:
Vermont - 500
Dartmouth - 382
Middlebury - 379
New Hampshire - 345
Bates - 262
Williams - 262
Colby - 229
St. Lawrence - 207
Harvard - 205
St. Michael's - 156
Colby-Sawyer - 78
Universite' Laval -75
Bowdoin - 75
Plymouth State - 58
Boston College - 17

Dartmouth Carnival Schedule - Fri.

Alpine GS contested at Dartmouth Skiway in Lyme, N.H. 1st run Women 9am, Men 10:15am 2nd run Women 12:30pm, Men 1:30pm Nordic Freestyle contested at Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vt. Women's 5k at 10am, Men's 10k at 11:15am

Skiers of the Week - UVM Carnival

Alpine

Geordie Lonza WIL - 1st SL, 3rd GS

Photo: Williams Athletics

 

Ben Morse DAR - 1st GS, 2nd SL

Photo: Dartmouth Athletics

Nordic

Amy Glen UVM - 4th 5k Classic, 5th 10k Freestyle

Photo: UVM Athletics

Franz Bernstein UVM - 3rd 10k Classic, 3rd 10k Freestyle

Photo: UVM Athletics

Dartmouth Wins UVM Carnival, Middlebury's Johnson Dominates Nordic Races

UVM Carnival Day 3

STOWE, Vt. - It was a picturesque bluebird day at the Trapp Family Lodge today (Feb. 5) where Dartmouth claimed the overall win at the UVM Carnival with 916 points. On an impressive Nordic performance, Vermont rebounded from fourth place the previous day to finish in second with 735 points. Middlebury was a scant six points behind in third.

The Middlebury Nordic Team shows some pride (photo by C.J. Feehan)

Vermont's Caitlin Patterson, whose last win came in the opening freestyle race at the Bates Carnival, grew weary of numerous second place finishes since and skated to victory in the UVM Carnival women's 10k freestyle race. "Sophie's [Caldwell] had the past three wins, so I wanted to come back with a reply. When I got here I was extremely excited just to ski, let alone race, because of the great atmosphere and our team energy." Caldwell of Dartmouth was second, her teammate Erika Flowers was third, and Catamount Lucy Garrec was fourth. The UVM women's positive energy enabled them to best the Big Green in team scoring for the race.

Patterson eyes the finish line (photo by C.J. Feehan)

Middlebury's Patrick Johnson, the story of the weekend, skated to his second win of the carnival by a noteworthy forty-two second margin over Dartmouth's Sam Tarling. Johnson noted, "Every race right now, I feel like I have a good chance to win. This course has a long uphill finish, and I was definitely really tired at that point which means I was able to put everything out there." His fellow scoring Panthers finished eighth and eleventh. Franz Bernstein of UVM was third and his teammate Alexander Howe was fourth.

UVM Carnival Men's 10k Freestyle Podium (photo by C.J. Feehan)

The alpine races of the Dartmouth Carnival begin Feb. 10 at the Dartmouth Skiway while the Nordic events will return to the Trapp Family Lodge due to limiting snow conditions in Hanover, N.H.

Final team scores at the conclusion of the UVM Carnival:
Dartmouth College - 916
University of Vermont - 735
Middlebury College - 729
University of New Hampshire - 698
Bates College - 534
Williams College - 512
Colby College - 576
St. Lawrence University - 441
Harvard University - 357
St. Michael's College - 300
Plymouth State University - 213
Bowdoin College - 137.5
Boston College - 111.5
Colby-Sawyer College - 106
University of Maine Presque Isle - 72

Dartmouth Solidifies Lead at UVM Carnival

UVM Carnival Day 2

STOWE, Vt. - Dartmouth College all but locked up the overall win at the UVM Carnival today (Feb. 4) with a plethora of top-10 results across all disciplines at both Stowe Mountain Resort and the Trapp Family Lodge. The Big Green leads with 675 points, UNH is second with 558.5 and Middlebury sits third with 538. Vermont, competing with a shortened alpine roster, is fourth with 493 points, but team position changes beyond the win are expected tomorrow when the carnival concludes with the freestyle Nordic races.

In the women's 5k classic at the Trapp Family Lodge, Dartmouth's Sophie Caldwell took the win and her teammate Annie Hart was third. Caitlin Patterson of UVM squeezed between them for second. The third scoring skier for Dartmouth was Erika flowers in seventh, ensuring the team win. Middlebury Panther Patrick Johnson secured his second victory of the season today in the men's 10k classic. Dartmouth's Sam Tarling was second and UVM's Franz Bernstein was third. Big Green skiers Eric Packer and Gordon Vermeer added critical team points in fourth and fifth, respectively.

Middlebury's Patrick Johnson takes the classic win (photo by Cory Ransom)

Freshly fallen snow on a bulletproof surface proved challenging on the Main Street trail at Stowe Mountain Resort for the alpine competitors in the first run. The Williams women, who have found pace in training and were able to bring it to race day, blew the field away when Geordie Lonza and Laurel Carter finished first and second, in that order. Lonza remarked on sealing the top two podium spots with her teammate Carter, "We've both been skiing really fast in training and pushing each other, and I think we did that [today]." Bates' Avril Dunleavy was third and her teammate Emily Hayes finished fourth. Dartmouth had two skiers in the top 10 as well.

Williams Eph Geordie Lonza won the women's slalom (photo by C.J. Feehan)

Middlebury's Hig Roberts has been chomping at the bit all winter in giant slalom, but his win in slalom was slightly unexpected. He noted, "I went with the mentality that if I could ski fast like I do in training, I could make it down. But I gave it a little near the end because I knew I was having a good run. I tried to risk it all, and it paid off." Yesterday Dartmouth's Ben Morse had his first top-5 result with the win, and today he once again found the podium in second. He attributed his recent breakthrough to a disciplined training and racing schedule, "Having the regular race schedule on the weekends and training during the week has been a nice pace and a good pattern of repetition." UNH's Paul Atkinson finished third.

Ben Morse had a near flawless execution in the first run (photo by C.J. Feehan)

Alpine bibbo awards went to Marley Pawlak of Plymouth State (for the second day in a row) who started bib 68 and finished in the top 30, and both Devon Brown of Bates and Tom Sampson of Plymouth State who each moved up 45 spots to finish in the top 35.

The UVM Carnival concludes tomorrow (Feb. 5) with the men's and women's 10k skate at the Trapp Family Lodge.

Team scores at the conclusion of Day 2 of the UVM Carnival:
Dartmouth College - 675
University of New Hampshire - 558.5
Middlebury College - 538
University of Vermont - 493
Williams College - 393
Bates College - 392
Colby College - 359
St. Lawrence University - 334
St. Michael's College - 258
Harvard University - 255
Plymouth State University - 213
Boston College - 111.5
Colby-Sawyer College - 106
Universite' Laval - 82
Bowdoin College - 65
University of Maine Presque Isle - 48