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| UVM's Elli Terwiel takes the win (photo by C.J. Feehan) |
NEWRY, Maine - Led by a second alpine podium sweep in the men's races on Saturday (Jan. 21), the University of Vermont extended its convincing lead to take a noteworthy win at the Bates Carnival. The Catamounts once again broke the 1000-point mark, tallying 1004 total points over runner-up Dartmouth who posted 837. Middlebury was third with 699.
Two areas of weakness for the Catamounts were capitalized upon by other teams. In the men's 10k classic at Black Mountain, Eric Packer of Dartmouth timed his decisive break perfectly in the final kilometer to secure the victory. He noted that his coach's specific training plan leading into the season was beneficial, "Ruff [Patterson] frequently had us do head-to-head intervals to mimic the chaos of mass start racing, and that type of workout really paid off today in the hectic, short distance mass start." He was flanked on the podium by Vermont's Franz Bernstein in second and Middlebury standout Patrick Johnson in third.
The women's slalom race at Sunday River also presented opportunities for other schools to shine as race winner, Elli Terwiel, was the lone Catamount to ski a clean, unhindered second run. Under steady but light snowfall, Geordie Lonza (Williams) and Annie Rendall (Dartmouth) finished second and third, respectively, to jostle the team orders. Lonza's result combined with her teammate Laurel Carter's sixth led Williams to an unsuspecting team victory in the race.
The women's 10k classic leader board developed predictably with UVM and Dartmouth duking it out in alternating fashion. Vermont's Caitlin Patterson returned to her familiar spot in the winner's column while fellow Catamounts Amy Glen and Lucy Garrec finished second and fourth, respectively. Dartmouth's Sophie Caldwell snagged third and the Big Green placed its other two scoring racers, Anne Hart and Isabel Caldwell, well inside the top 10.
The icing on the cake for UVM was delivered during the men's slalom race where for the second day in a row, Catamount racers swept the podium clean. Defending NCAA champion Tim Kelley knifed his way to the win and was supported by rookie Bobby Farrell in second and veteran Sean Higgins in third. Hig Roberts of Middlebury found the top 5 for the second time in two days, finishing just off the podium in fourth.
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| UNH rookie Coley Oliver fights his way to fifth (photo by C.J. Feehan) |
EISA action continues Jan. 27-28 with the University of New Hampshire Carnival at Attitash Mountain Resort and the Jackson XC Center.
Final team scores at the conclusion of the Bates Carnival:
University of Vermont - 1004
Dartmouth College - 837
Middlebury College - 699
University of New Hampshire - 644
Colby College - 552
Williams College - 536
Bates College - 469.5
St. Lawrence University - 428.5
Harvard University - 388
St. Michael's College - 276
Colby-Sawyer College - 134
Bowdoin College - 123
Plymouth State College - 90
Boston College - 78
University of Maine Presque Isle - 70
Full breakdown of team scores available here.
