The Dartmouth ski team is now three for three on the season. Continuing its sweep of the Eastern Carnival circuit, the Big Green captured its third consecutive victory of the year at the University of Vermont this weekend.
For the third carnival in a row, Dartmouth took first, UVM was second and Middlebury College third. This week, the margin of victory was much thinner. The Big Green led UVM by just three points, compared to last week's 80-point domination of the Catamounts.
Still, Dartmouth remains undefeated in the East and now even the national media is taking notice.
On Friday, the Boston Globe ran a story speculating about Dartmouth's shot at the NCAA championship, traditionally dominated by Western skiing dynasties like the University of Colorado.
According to the Globe, "there's really only one question: who can catch Dartmouth?"
The Big Green has not captured the NCAA title since 1976, and an Eastern school has not won the NCAA championship since UVM took home the title in 1994. Still, this week's results lend credence to the thoughts that Dartmouth can break the West's stranglehold.
In the men's 20k classic race, the Big Green put all six of their skiers in the top eleven and swept the top four spots.
Captain Mike Sinnott '07 led the charge, breaking the one-hour mark with a time of 58:46. Sinnott has come out on top of every men's nordic race on the carnival circuit he's participated in this season, both individually and as part of Dartmouth's relay squads.
Ben True '08 was just three seconds behind Sinnott, while Ben Koons '08 and Glenn Randall '09 were third and fourth.
Sinnott and True teamed up with Zach Hall '06 (eleventh in the classic) to win the men's three-by-six freestyle relay. Randall and Koons combined with Pat O'Brien '10 (tenth in the classic) to take third in the relay.
On the women's side, Dartmouth took three of the top four spots in the 15k classic. Captain Sara Studebaker '07 was first in 52:14 but Susan Dunklee '08 was just three-hundredths of a second behind. Hannah Dreissigacker '09 took fourth for the Big Green. Studebaker, Dunklee and Dreissigacker also combined for a third place finish in the three-by-six freestyle relay.
Dartmouth's greatest asset is the strength and depth of its nordic teams. Downhill skiing is a less reliable sport, as even the fastest athletes can crash or run off course as often as they win races. On the carnival tour, where the scores of both nordic and alpine teams are combined, it is essential to be able to count on the points from the nordic squad. Dartmouth certainly can.
That's not to say that the alpine squad is not racking up the points. In Saturday's giant slalom, Evan Weiss '06 took first for the Big Green while Rusty Heise '09 placed tenth. Co-captain Sasha Acher '06 took third in the women's race and Michelanne Shields '08 was tenth.
In Friday's giant slalom, Acher and Shields flip-flopped; Shields took second while Acher finished thirteenth. Co-captain Alex Fucigna '07 also snagged 18th. On the men's side, Frank Fortin-Houle '10 of Repentigny, Quebec, captured third place for Dartmouth. Alex Felix '08 grabbed 13th and Heise was 14th to round out the scoring for the Big Green.
Dartmouth returns to competition at home this weekend for the Dartmouth Carnival from Friday, Feb. 9 to Saturday, Feb. 10. The Dartmouth Carnival marks the halfway point in the season. From now on, it will be harder and harder to ignore the championships, and the expectations, looming on the horizon.
Alpine events will be held at the Dartmouth Skiway while the nordic races will be contested on the trails of the Dartmouth Cross Country Ski Center. While the home field advantage will certainly be a factor, the competition has been heating up all season and the Big Green will be hard pressed to remain undefeated.
