With an especially skilled field of competitors this year, the Dartmouth Ski Team turns to its home race courses hoping that spectator support will help drive a successful campaign against the University of Vermont and Middlebury.
The Darmouth Carnival starts the run for the NCAA championships, as three Carnival competitions have passed and two more remain. Last week at Stowe, the Big Green finished second to UVM.
Women's alpine
Gusty Swift '01 has yet to miss the top four in a Carnival race this season, and her top competitors have USST and Olympic training experience. Swift began with three consecutive victories, and the circuit considers her a formidable threat on both the GS and slalom courses.
Teammates Jeannie Eisberg '01, Alison Keller '02 and Jenny Viele '00 have pushed for the top 10, and hope that the crowds will get them there this weekend.
Keller's best result was a ninth place finish, and Eisberg's is 13th.
Men's alpine
Jeremy Joseph '00 has led the team with a third place in the GS at UNH and has finished no lower than seventh in the races thus far. Backing him up are G.W. Watts '02, Dawson Brown '02 and Maciej Zwiejski '00, all of whom have scored in the top-10.Brown's best finish is seventh place, Watts' and Zwiejski's eighth and Eric Reinhardt '02 13th.
Women's cross-country
Kate Pearson '02 carried a lot of pressure on her shoulders coming into this season, and team support is developing quickly. Her best finish is third in the freestyle at St. Lawrence University.
The big news is sophomore Erin Quinn-Hurst's foray into the medal spots with a second place finish at last weekend's freestyle in Stowe.
"We hope to come out and step our racing up a level for Dartmouth carnival. We are looking to have three in the top 10, and all six in the top 20." Pearson said.
Pearson's best finish is third place and sophomore Sara Donahue's is 16th place.
Men's nordic
A healthy and athletic squad is already contributing major points to the Big Green totals, most recently with a 4-5-6 finish in Vermont.
Scott McArt '01 and Nils Arvold '00 have penetrated the top five against a stacked UVM group, while Stephen Donahue '00 and Hans Hanson '00 have followed suit with top 10 races.
Coach Ruff Patterson feels that "this group is better than people realize, and they're capable of all finishing in the top 20, even the top 15."
McArt's and Arvold's best result is fourth place, Donahue's is sixth, senior Frederick Hansen's is seventh, freshman Brayton Osgood's is 12th and sophomore Matthew Cleveland's is 13th.
Venues
Alpine races will be held at the Dartmouth Skiway in Lyme, N.H. On Friday, Worden's Schuss will host the GS races, with the first run starting at 10:00 a.m.
Slalom races will be held Saturday on the Winslow side of the Skiway, with racing commencing at 10:00 a.m. once again.
Nordic races will be held at Oak Hill, off Reservoir Rd. The freestyle race (15k for men and 10k for women) will start Friday at 10:00 a.m. Saturday, teams will compete in the 3x5k classical relay, starting at 10:00 a.m. as well.
