The Carnival circuit pulls into town this weekend, and there are plenty of thrills and spills for everyone, as the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association makes its annual February stop at Dartmouth.
The Big Green have taken second place at each of the three Winter Carnival ski competitions already held this year, and all three times, the Catamounts of UVM have taken first place in the team standings. However, UVM, the perennial powerhouse of snow sports, has found a shrinking margin of victory with each successive competition.
Dartmouth gave its best challenge to UVM in recent years just two weeks ago at UVM's own carnival. At the Dartmouth Carnival this Friday and Saturday, Dartmouth skiers and coaches hope that the home team advantage will give them the momentum they need to finally catapult themselves past the Catamounts. The task will be not be easy.
UVM's Thorrod Bakken has won every men's cross-country race so far, and he won the first race of the season by a full two minutes. While one Dartmouth skier acknowledged the near impossibility of dethroning Bakken, the men's team feels that it can keep up with UVM in the cross-country relay if all members of the relay team perform to the level at which they are capable.
According to men's coach Ruff Patterson, the men are greatly exceeding expectations, considering that two of his top skiers have been missing from the carnival scene. Stephen Donahue '99 has shown significant success with finishes of ninth, fourth, and most recently second. Scott McArt '01 has mirrored his teammate's success, with sixth, seventh, and fifth place finishes being the most notable.
The members of the team feel that this weekend's Oak Hill course requires technical skiing, which is in their favor. They feel that if they can stay near each other in the 15K classic race, they will succeed. Strong as a team, and able to pick up for each other and motivate each other, the men will have to look out for Justin Freeman of Bates College, Sindre Brurok of UVM, and Chris Wolski of UNH, amongst others.
The women's cross-country team has also had its share of top finishes, and led the cross-country team scoring at the UVM carnival.
Chris Shaner '99 and Abi Holt '99 have finished every race in the top ten, with their best finishes being fifth and third, respectively. At UVM, Jessica Smith '99 beat Tessa Benoit, Bakken's female counterpart, in both the 5K and 10K races. Barb Jones '99 has also been a consistent finisher, and took third in the 15K at UVM.
Holt explained that the team is on a "tremendous high" and "unity and momentum [are] getting stronger with each carnival. "The women will have to contend with Tessa Benoit of UVM, who won the individual races at SLU and Colby, and finished second to Smith in the two races at UVM. Coreen Woodbury of UNH has had several top finishes, and Annette Nilssen of UVM will be another skier to watch. "We're ready to show UVM they've met their match," said Smith, who added that "optimism and unity" are their weapons.
Several weeks ago, women's Alpine coach Bruce Lingelbach said, "We've got to get [Jen Collins '99] to the finish line. "Last Sunday, the former United States Ski Team member and carnival circuit champ rediscovered first place, by claiming victory in the St. Lawrence giant slalom race. Gold in this wekend's slalom races will be difficult to come by though, as Collins is nursing a sore wrist. Teammate Gusty Swift '01 had a third place finish in her first carnival race which showed that she is top performer. She has finished in the top ten of all but one race, and is already highly regarded on the team.
Depth in the team continues with Andrea Korber '98, Jennifer Viele '00, Laura Turner '98, and Kristin Luckenbill '01, who have all consistently scored points for the women's team. Coach Lingelbach believes that they will continue to improve and he expects some big things from them this weekend.
Challenging for the top spots will be Erica McConnell of UVM, who has won or taken second in the three giant slalom races, and her teammate Taylor Watts, who won the two slalom races held so far. Megan Brown and Wendy Scipione of UVM are two other accomplished Catamounts, and Marie-Michel Tasse of Williams is a strong giant slalom skier.
The men's alpine squad will be concentrating on speed this weekend, for Coach Peter Dodge is confident in the technical skills his skiers have developed. David Viele '98 hopes to derail St. Lawrence's international star Thomas Vonn, who has held Viele to second place in all three GS races so far. Viele has one slalom victory and a second place to go with it, but he will face stiff competition from Brandon Dyksterhouse and Christian Chedel, both of UVM.
Viele will look to his teammates Andrew Pennock '99, Jamieson Reigle '99 and Jeremy Joseph '00 to show their potential in front of the home crowds this weekend. Pennock finished third in the slalom at the UVM Carnival, and Reigle aims to better the eighth place he achieved in the slalom at Colby. Joseph has a pair of top ten giant slalom finishes this season. If the team members can all ski to their potential, then they may garner enough points to challenge UVM. Joseph said, "We want to put on a great show for the spectators this weekend."
The weather forecast predicts rain or mixed precipitation for Thursday, and cold temperatures and sun for Friday and Saturday. According to the coaches, the existing conditions would make for decent racing, but rain could lead to icy and difficult racing conditions. Nevertheless, they remain confident that familiarity with the race courses and the support from Big Green spectators can give the teams what they need to steal the Carnival from the competition, specifically Vermont. Patrick Cote '98, who transferred to Dartmouth from UVM, knows that UVM will compete with a vengeance, for victory at Dartmouth means as much as victory at home to the Cats, whose team goal is to win the NCAA's.
Dartmouth Ski Team Captains Dave Viele '98, Laura Turner '98, Pat Cote '98, Paul Stone '98, Jessica Smith '99, and Abi Holt '99 will assist in the opening ceremonies of Winter Carnival by leading the Ski Team to the Green under torch light Thursday at 5 p.m.. The races begin with the first run of the GS discipline at 9:30 a.m. Friday, at the Dartmouth Skiway in Lyme. At 10:00 a.m., the Men's and Women's Classic cross-country Race begins at Oak Hill Ski Center, in Hanover, NH. The second run of the giant slalom is scheduled for 1 p.m. On Saturday, the first run of the slalom race is staged for 9:30 a.m. At 10:00 a.m., the cross-country skiers will begin the freestyle relay, which Cote proclaimed could be "the most exciting stuff to hit Hanover this winter."
