After finishing second to the powerhouse University of Vermont in three consecutive ski carnivals, the Dartmouth ski team has been giving its all in training in hopes of capturing its first season win at this weekend's Winter Carnival ski races at the Dartmouth Skiway.
"We are gaining some extra training time on our home trails at the Skiway this week, both of which have unique terrain characteristics that we can use to our advantage," women's alpine coach Chip Knight said. "At the same time, we're trying to stay rested and working to channel the excitement of Dartmouth Carnival into great performances this weekend."
For almost three years, the Big Green has been undefeated in all Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association carnivals. At Dartmouth's first meet this year, the St. Lawrence Carnival in Lake Placid on Jan. 14-15, the University of Vermont ended Dartmouth's 15-win streak.
The Catamounts won six of the eight events, defeating Dartmouth 1,046 to 821 points.
"UVM has a great team this year, and we're motivated by the challenge of trying to beat them," Knight said. "But we compete as individuals, one at a time on the course, so we have to focus on our own skiing and on executing our own skills,"
Racing at home could give the Big Green an advantage in today's races, according to Knight.
"We've trained on our trails all year, and we know where we can push the line to gain extra speed," she said. "Also, the support of friends and family here at home will be a huge boost. It's our only home contest of the year, so we're looking forward to feeling a wave of Big Green enthusiasm."
Dartmouth women's Nordic coach Cami Thompson said that her team has been resting in preparation for today's races.
"We have been doing a lot of skiing lately, so this week we will plan to back off somewhat and work on fine tuning going into this weekend," she said.
At the St. Lawrence Carnival, Vermont's Alexander Howe finished first in the men's 15-kilometer freestyle Nordic race, followed by four Dartmouth skiers who helped the Big Green gain the most points in the event.
Sophie Caldwell '12, the top skier on Dartmouth's Nordic team, was not able to compete in St. Lawrence due to illness. Her sister, Isabel Caldwell '14, finished sixth in the six kilometer classic and Annie Hart '14 finished eighth.
In the women's downhill events, Annie Rendall '13 finished fourth in the slalom and Kelsey Roddick '11 finished seventh. In the giant slalom, the Big Green's Courtney Hammond '11 finished seventh and Erin Fucigna '12 finished eighth.
In the men's downhill event, Trevor Leafe '12 finished fifth in the slalom. Leafe was in second after the first run of the giant slalom but, due to equipment problems, he ultimately finished ninth.
The second-place finish was repeated during Dartmouth's second meet at the Colby Carnival on Jan. 21-22, as UVM once again defeated the Big Green.
Vermont finished first with 991 points, followed by Dartmouth and the University of New Hampshire with 867 and 696 points, respectively.
Both the Big Green men's and women's Nordic skiers won the 3x5 kilometer relays.
The men's cross-country squad took both first and third in the 3x5 kilometer freestyle relay. With a time of 51:34.4, Eric Packer '12, Nils Koons '11 and Sam Tarling '13 captured gold for Dartmouth in the event.
The team of Rosie Brennan '11, Stephanie Crocker '12, and Erika Flowers '12 won the women's 3x5 kilometer freestyle relays with a time of 1:08:23.6, just 0.9 seconds ahead of UNH.
On the downhill events, Dartmouth racers took fourth and fifth place in the women's slalom.
The Big Green was once again edged out by UVM at its home carnival last weekend in Stowe, Vt.
The Catamounts swept every event and scored 1,009 points to Dartmouth's 801.5 and the UNH's 783.
The women's alpine team competed in an Eastern Cup International Ski Federation Slalom race this past Sunday at Middlebury College to order to gain extra race experience and build confidence for this weekend's Dartmouth Carnival.
After a disappointing results in the slalom at UVM the day before, Annie Rendall '13 turned the tables and skied away from the field on Sunday, winning the race by over six-tenths of a second.
Courtney Hammond '11 was fourth on the second run, and Sabrina Chiasson '12 had a strong second run to finish 17th overall.
The alpine team will compete today at the Dartmouth Skiway beginning at 9 a.m.
The Nordic team will race at the Oak Hill Cross-Country center starting at 10 a.m.
