UVM: Not the Smoothest Road to a National Title

UVM: Not the Smoothest Road to a National Title

by David Donaldson
Former Catamount and future member of the Middlebury Ski Team

UVM claims its first national championship in 18 years (photo by C.J. Feehan)

             For the first time since 1994, the University of Vermont has won a team National Championship. The 6^th in the school’s history, UVM Skiing asserted unbelievable dominance across all the events. Every team that made up the Catamount machine this season picked up a podium result. Not only were there two individual national titles but also four runner-ups.

After the overwhelmingly tremendous flop last season on their home turf of Stowe, Vermont, this win proves all the more powerful for Catamount Nation. The season was marked with enormous success on the hill. Two NCAA competitors (Jonathan Nordbotten and Elli Terwiel) also picked up World Cup points this season. Sean Higgins, left off the championship roster in favor of freshman Bobby Farrell, won his first carnival race as a junior and finished no worse than 6^thin all but two collegiate races. The Nordic team especially can breathe a sigh of satisfaction and relief as they will be graduating seven seniors this season.

 Despite all the success on the hill, the road to this title has not been a smooth one. Travis Dawson, who was forced to sit out last season with a blown ACL and MCL, traveled and missed the UVM Carnival to compete at the Nor-Am Cup series in Vail only to shatter his wrist. Kristina Riis-Johanneseen and Elli Terwiel both suffered concussions during the season. Kate Ryley turned her thumb into something one might expect to see on an episode of AMC’s series The Walking Dead. And the beginning of the season was marred by Hurricane Irene, which washed away men’s captain Colton Hardy’s home in Jamaica, Vermont. Who better to shake the hand of President Barack Obama on behalf of his native Vermont and Catamount Nation?

In addition to the already emotionally charged atmosphere, long time friend of Kate Ryley and Johnny Davidson (as well at Paul Atkinson of UNH and Mackenzie Irwin of St. Lawrence) and member of the Canadian National Ski Cross team tragically lost his life in Switzerland competing in a World Cup race just hours before the first run of the NCAA championship slalom. Nik Zoricic hit the last jump in the World Cup race and missed the landing, striking fencing and a wall of snow, an impact which proved to be fatal. Family and friends within the tightly-knit community that is Ontario Ski Racing will feel bitter sweet victory as Kate Ryley is crowned National Slalom Champion and Johnny Davidson wins a National Championship he has pursued with all his heart as both an athlete and coach with the program. Congratulations on the culmination of many years of hard work and dedication to UVM and its incredible list of alumni. And condolences to the family of Nik Zoricic, who everyone in the world of skiing is thinking of right now.

2012 NCAA Skiing Championships webcast.

Watch the 2012 NCAA Skiing Championships live here.

EISA All-East Teams & Awards Announcement

The Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) has announced its All-East First and Second Team honors as well as individual discipline points leaders, Rookie of the Year, and Coach of the Year awards for the 2012 season:


EISA All-East First Team Alpine
Geordie Lonza, Williams
Rebecca Nadler, Harvard
Kristina Riis-Johannessen, Vermont
Kate Ryley, Vermont
Elli Terwiel, Vermont
Bobby Farrell, Vermont
Sean Higgins, Vermont
Tim Kelley, Vermont
Ben Morse, Dartmouth
Jonathan Nordbotten, Vermont

EISA All-East First Team Nordic
Sophie Caldwell, Dartmouth
Lucy Garrec, Vermont
Amy Glen, Vermont
Annie Hart, Dartmouth
Caitlin Patterson, Vermont
Franz Bernstein, Vermont
Patrick Johnson, Middlebury
Eric Packer, Dartmouth
Sam Tarling, Dartmouth
Gordon Vermeer, Dartmouth

EISA All-East Second Team Alpine
Laurel Carter, Williams
Ashley-Kate Durham, St. Lawrence
Marie-Elaine Lepine, New Hampshire
Annie Rendall, Dartmouth
Elise Tefre, Vermont
Paul Atkinson, New Hampshire
Kevin Drury, Vermont
Andrew McNealus, Middlebury
Hig Roberts, Middlebury
Fredrik Sandell, St. Michael's

EISA All-East Second Team Nordic
Caroline Carpenter, St. Lawrence
Erika Flowers, Dartmouth
Anja Gruber, Vermont
Elizabeth Guiney, New Hampshire
Beth Taylor, Bates
Dylan Grald, Vermont
Alex Howe, Vermont
Ben Lustgarten, Middlebury
Dimitri Luthi, Williams
David Sinclair, Dartmouth

Alpine Giant Slalom Points Leader
Kate Ryley, Vermont
Bobby Farrell, Vermont

Alpine Slalom Points Leader
Geordie Lonza, Williams
Tim Kelley, Vermont

Alpine Rookie of the Year
Elli Terwiel, Vermont
Bobby Farrell, Vermont

Nordic Freestyle Points Leader
Caitlin Patterson, Vermont
Patrick Johnson, Middlebury

Nordic Classic Points Leader
Lucy Garrec, Vermont
Patrick Johnson, Middlebury

Nordic Rookie of the Year
Annie Pokorny, Middlebury
Will Wicherski, Williams

Coaches of the Year
Ed Grees, Williams
Andrew Gardner, Middlebury
Ruff Patterson, Dartmouth

Championship selections revealed - NCAA.com

Championship selections revealed - NCAA.com:

Skiers of the Week—Middlebury Carnival/EISA Championships

Alpine

Kate Ryley UVM - 1st SL, 1st GS

Photo: UVM Athletics

 
Jonathan Nordbotten UVM - 1st SL, 3rd GS

Photo: UVM Athletics

Nordic

Lucy Garrec UVM - 1st 15k Classic, 2nd 5k Freestyle

Photo: UVM Athletics

Patrick Johnson MID - 1st 10k Freestyle, 1st 20k Classic

Photo: Middlebury Athletics

EISA Championships Day Two Recap

EISA Championships/Middlebury Carnival Day Two Recap

The Middlebury Panther lays down a solid forerun

HANCOCK/STOWE, Vt. — Under steady snowfall and gusting winds, the University of Vermont claimed its second consecutive and 32nd EISA Championship in the program's history on Saturday (Feb. 25) with alpine victories by its two Toronto natives and a win in the women's Nordic race. Vermont led the charge totaling 955 points followed by Dartmouth with 848 points. Middlebury and New Hampshire, who have battled all season long for the coveted third place result at carnivals, tied with 724.5 points. 

2012 EISA Champions UVM Skiing

Vermont's Kevin Drury of Toronto, Canada charged into the lead in the men's giant slalom after the first run and held onto the victory with a steady performance in the second. It was his first win of the season and second straight EISA giant slalom title. Drury remarked, "In training this week, I started focusing on the basics again to get some constancy down. On the bottom of the course, I knew it was bumpy from watching the girls, so I was trying to be really smooth and let my skis run. The last couple races, I've lost my ski, so I just wanted to be smooth over those bumps." Graham Scott of St. Lawrence whose previous best result had been a ninth place finish barrel rolled from the 20th starting position into second overall. He won the second run, punching his ticket to NCAA Championships, and turned out the best performance from a St. Lawrence male alpine athlete in over a decade. Vermont's Jonathan Nordbotten was third.

Holy crow, Graham Scott, welcome to the podium!

Kate Ryley, also of UVM and born and bred in Toronto, won her second race of the weekend in the women's giant slalom. She overtook first run winner and her teammate, Kristina Riis-Johannessen, who finished second overall. New Hampshire's Jenna Kantor has been knocking on the door of the giant slalom podium all season, and she finally secured her much earned third place result after winning the second run.

The classic races at the Trapp Family Lodge were downright brutal for all competitors with heavy snowfall and wind plaguing best efforts. On the challenging conditions, Vermont's Caitlin Patterson noted, "It was snowing an inch per hour throughout both Nordic races, with serious wind blowing snow into the tracks and in the stadium, and the times were some of the slowest I've ever seen for a 15k and 20k. I heard that the temperature dropped just as the women were starting, so there was no time to adjust wax even if we had realized the change. While a few people managed to have pretty good skis, many of us out there had problems with icing on the uphills and dragging skis on the downhills."

Despite the weather, Vermont managed to claim two podium slots in the women's 15k classic with Lucy Garrec's win and Amy Glen's third place finish. Dartmouth's Sophie Caldwell was second. In the men's 20k, Patrick Johnson of Middlebury secured his second EISA title of the weekend with the victory. Dartmouth's Gordon Vermeer and David Sinclair finished second and third, respectively.

Middlebury Alpine Men waiting it out for awards

Coaches at several programs, including Vermont, Middlebury, and the University of New Hampshire, now face the tough call of selecting three of their qualified skiers to compete in each event at the NCAA Skiing Championships in Bozeman, Mont. to be held March 7-10. Official team rosters nationwide will be confirmed by Monday (Feb. 27).

Team scores at the conclusion of the EISA Championships/Middlebury Carnival:
Vermont - 955
Dartmouth - 848
Middlebury - 724.5
New Hampshire - 724.5
Williams - 539.5
St. Lawrence -518.5
Colby - 502
Bates - 488
Harvard - 313.5
St. Michael's - 295.5
Bowdoin - 183
Maine Presque Isle - 131
Plymouth State - 128
Boston College - 111
Colby-Sawyer - 70
Clarkson - 19

UVM Women's Alpine strikes a pose

EISA Championships Day One Recap

EISA Championships/Middlebury Carnival Day One Recap

HANCOCK/STOWE, Vt. — The University of Vermont assumed its familiar position atop the rankings after the first day of the joint EISA Championships and Middlebury Carnival today (Feb. 24), contested under the threat of severe snowfall that failed to materialize in any challenging capacity. On the strength of its Nordic team victories and individual alpine podiums, Vermont is currently in the lead with 473 points followed by Dartmouth with 429 points and Middlebury with 366 points.

The Nordic races were held over an hour away from Middlebury at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, a venue that has served as home to the EISA for three weekends of racing during this low snow winter. Middlebury's Patrick Johnson claimed a convincing win in the men's 10k freestyle followed by Vermont's Franz Bernstein in second and Dartmouth's Sam Tarling in third. The Big Green's Eric Packer is still in Turkey at the U23 World Championships, and his absence certainly factored into Vermont's ability to take the team win for the day. Caitlin Patterson found her jets in the 5k freestyle—a shorter race than her preferred distance—to claim the win for Vermont. Catamount teammate Lucy Garrec was second, and Dartmouth's Sophie Caldwell was third. Vermont also claimed the team win for the women's Nordic race.

Race winner Caitlin Patterson of UVM

The alpine races were plagued by chairlift failures which forced several athletes to hike the hill for their runs, reminiscent of the slalom days of yore. In the men's race, Vermont's Jonathan Nordbotten finally scored his much anticipated slalom victory on the EISA circuit. He commented, "I've had really good training the past few days and last week, so this is just pay back for that." Nordbotten was followed by Tim Kelley of UVM in second and New Hampshire's Taylor Vest-Burton. Vest-Burton was supported by his Wildcat teammates Coley Oliver in fourth and Paul Atkinson in fifth.

Vermont's Jonathan Nordbotten takes the slalom win

Vermont's Kate Ryley claimed another win in the women's slalom utilizing an uncharacteristic number of "old school" inside hand clears on her way to the finish line. She remarked, "My old schooling three gates in the middle of the course was probably from my hand injury [earlier in the season], but I almost never shin gates. I'm working on creating pressure above and that's given me too much room, so maybe I can tighten it up more and go faster." Despite this unorthodox technique on the collegiate circuit, her tactical line proved to be over a second faster than Dartmouth's Annie Rendall who finished second. New Hampshire's Catherine Blanchard was third.

Dartmouth's Annie Rendall slaying into second

The EISA Championships conclude tomorrow (Feb. 25) with the giant slalom races at the Middlebury Snow Bowl in Hancock and the women's 15k and men's 20k classic mass start events at the Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe.

Team scores at the conclusion of the first day of EISA Championships/Middlebury Carnival:
Vermont - 473
Dartmouth - 429
Middlebury - 366
New Hampshire - 362
Williams - 283.5
Colby - 255
St. Lawrence - 246.5
Bates - 244
Harvard - 152
St. Michael's - 149
Bowdoin - 91
Plymouth State - 75
Maine Presque Isle - 59
Boston College - 57
Colby-Sawyer - 28