The Dartmouth ski team began its 2008 season this week in the shadow of last season's championship run. But despite losing some of its biggest names -- perennial podium member Mike Sinnott '07 graduated last spring and Ben True '08 is taking a year off -- the ski team drew on the depth of its roster to win the carnival season opener at Bates College last weekend.
After a rough first day of competition in which Dartmouth edged out Middlebury for first place with just one point, a strong showing in Sunday's giant slalom race allowed the Big Green to outlast the Panthers 666 to 640. Over the three days of competition, Dartmouth won five of the carnival's eight different events.
Alpine women's captain Michelanne Shields '08 explained that Saturday's disappointing slalom race, in which the men finished second and the women fifth, did not go as expected.
"On any given day you'll have people not finish, hike, fall, hook a tip... Anything can happen," Shields said.
"We had three out of six [women] skiers not finish the first run, and Rusty Heise '09 got disqualified for hooking a tip in the second run."
But there were plenty of bright spots for the hard-charging Big Green. Newcomers Ida Sargent '11 and Courtney Hammond '11 made their collegiate debuts in an outstanding fashion. On the Nordic side, Sargent won the women's 5k freestyle, while on the slopes Hammond topped the podium in the giant slalom. In addition, Sargent placed 2nd in the 10k classic race.
Dakota Blackhorse-von Jess '09 led the men's team, winning the 10k freestyle race over Middlebury's Tim Reynolds by about 10 seconds.
Alpine co-captain David Chodounsky '08 also raked in points for the Big Green, winning the men's slalom and placing third in the giant slalom.
The women's Nordic squad dominated each of its races, packing five skiers into the top 10 in the freestyle and taking five of the top six in the classic race. Middlebury's Alexa Turzian, who won the race by nearly 20 seconds, was the only skier able to break the Big Green's stranglehold.
According to Nordic captain Elsa Sargent '08, the stellar performances in the Nordic races came down to guts.
"There weren't really any tactics involved," Sargent said, "besides skiing fast and making sure you left it all out there on the course."
While Dartmouth saw how this all-or-nothing mindset can be dangerous in the technical slalom races this weekend, the Big Green skiers have shown no signs of altering that mentality And it was not careful or hesitant racing that lead Dartmouth to its perfect season and NCAA championship last year. The Big Green hopes to continue its winning streak at the St. Lawrence Carnival this upcoming weekend.
