 |
| Kate Ryley of the University of Vermont, skis during the second run of the women's slalom at the Dartmouth Carnival at Dartmouth Skiway on February 8, 2014 in Lyme, NH. (Dustin Satloff/EISA) |
Dustin Satloff
LYME, NH. - If Friday’s story was about the University of Vermont men’s
team being totally absent from the podium while the women excelled, Saturday’s
conclusion to that story was its complete opposite. UVM’s men bounced back from a poor showing on
Friday and swept the four top spots of the Dartmouth Carnival slalom on
Saturday, February 8, 2014, while on this day it was the women who seemed to struggle.
Returning to their dominant form, UVM’s men, for the second time this season, took the top four spots. Jonathan Nordbotten, competing in his first carnival of the season after racing on the World Cup circuit, nabbed his first individual victory. Dom Garand took second, in his return to the podium; it was his seventh podium finish in eight races. Travis Dawson took third and, although he didn't score for his team, Taylor Wunsch finished in fourth place. Additionally Kevin Drury, who was Vermont’s fifth finisher, took seventh. “We weren’t ready for [yesterday’s hill],” Garand said. “We are definitely a strong slalom team. It doesn't really matter what type of hill. We are happy to bounce back, because [yesterday] was pretty rough for us.”
 |
| Jonathan Nordbotten of the University of Vermont, skis during the second run of the men's slalom at the Dartmouth Carnival at Dartmouth Skiway on February 8, 2014 in Lyme, NH. (Dustin Satloff/EISA) |
Returning to their dominant form, UVM’s men, for the second time this season, took the top four spots. Jonathan Nordbotten, competing in his first carnival of the season after racing on the World Cup circuit, nabbed his first individual victory. Dom Garand took second, in his return to the podium; it was his seventh podium finish in eight races. Travis Dawson took third and, although he didn't score for his team, Taylor Wunsch finished in fourth place. Additionally Kevin Drury, who was Vermont’s fifth finisher, took seventh. “We weren’t ready for [yesterday’s hill],” Garand said. “We are definitely a strong slalom team. It doesn't really matter what type of hill. We are happy to bounce back, because [yesterday] was pretty rough for us.”
 |
| Travis Dawson of the University of Vermont, skis during the second run of the men's slalom at the Dartmouth Carnival at Dartmouth Skiway on February 8, 2014 in Lyme, NH. (Dustin Satloff/EISA) |
The top 10 positions in the men’s slalom were so crowded
with UVM skiers, that few other schools could manage much representation. Dartmouth, in their home carnival, managed to
place only one skier in the men’s top 10.
Mathieu Bertrand finished in ninth place, and was Dartmouth’s highest
point scorer. Dylan Brooks and Dylan
Fisher McCarney finished in 12th and 13th places respectively
to round out Dartmouth’s scoring.
Dartmouth’s men finished in fourth as a team, but Dartmouth’s women were
a different story, finishing first.
The UVM women, led by Kate Ryley, who won her sixth
individual race and her second slalom win of the season, took third in team
scoring in the slalom. Saturday was the
first event this season in which Vermont’s women failed to score 100
points. Brittany Lathrop and Celine Rytz
both scored for UVM, taking 15th and 24th places
respectively. Today’s slalom represents
the first time since the Colby Carnival giant slalom that both Elise Tefre and
Kristina Riis-Johannessen did not finish.
Ryley, with six wins on the season, has not only finished each of the
season’s eight races, but has been on the podium for every event.
 |
| Meg Currie of Dartmouth College, skis during the second run of the women's slalom at the Dartmouth Carnival at Dartmouth Skiway on February 8, 2014 in Lyme, NH. (Dustin Satloff/EISA) |
Meg Currie had her career best finish, taking second in
Saturday’s slalom. “I was confident
skiing on my home hill,” Currie said. “I
knew I just had to go hard and leave it all on the hill. After first run I was in a solid position. I knew I could definitely step things up,
start going as fast as I could and skiing like I know I can.” Maisie Ide also cracked the top 10 in slalom
for the third time this season, finishing in ninth place. Anne Strong finished in the top 10 for the
first time in her carnival career, and was Dartmouth’s third point scorer.
UNH had a solid day on both the men’s and women’s sides. The men finished tied for second with
Middlebury, and the women concluded in second place behind Dartmouth and ahead
of Vermont. Coley Oliver and Sam Coffey
both cracked the top 10. Sam Coffey had
been struggling this season, without a top 10 finish prior to Saturday’s slalom. His eighth place finish on Saturday represents
his season-best. Oliver, who has
struggled as well, was able to take two top 10 finishes at the Dartmouth
Carnival (5th GS 6th SL).
UNH’s women finished in second place, 3 points in front of
UVM and 9 points behind Dartmouth. Randa
Teschner had her first podium finish of the season. Teschner had placed fourth in each of the
three previous slaloms this season, but finally cracked the top three on Saturday. Katie Farrow and Celine Guilmineau finished
in 13th and 14th places respectively to round out the
scoring for New Hampshire.
Middlebury’s men powered their team, with a weak performance
from the women’s side. Hig Roberts, who
has stood on the podium in each of the last four carnival races, had the lead
after the first run but finished in fifth place. Colin Hayes finished in 11th and
Christopher McKenna finished in 14th. Middlebury’s men finished the slalom tied for
second with UNH, 41 points behind Vermont’s max-score of 141. Middlebury’s women, however, didn't have a
single skier crack the top 20.
Middlebury’s top finisher was Katelyn Barclay, who took 21st
place. Yina Moe-Lange finished in the 26th
position and Lisa Schroer finished in 28th place.
 |
| Mardene Haskell of Colby College, skis during the second run of the women's slalom at the Dartmouth Carnival at Dartmouth Skiway on February 8, 2014 in Lyme, NH. (Dustin Satloff/EISA) |
Only 19 points separated the top four teams in the women’s
slalom, with skiers from eight different schools in the top 10. No
team aside from Dartmouth had multiple skiers finish in the top 10. Mardene Haskell finished in fourth for Colby,
boasting her career-best finish. Allison
Visconti, from Saint Lawrence University, finished in fifth, with the best
carnival slalom finish of her career.
Shannon Campbell finished in the top 10 for the seventh time in eight
races this season. Sandrine David
finished in seventh, and Emily Hayes from Bates finished in eighth.
After what appears to have been a mere speed bump for the
men in the UVM team’s race toward victory this year, they seem to be back on
track, while the team’s women still have some work to do. With the Williams Carnival next on the
schedule, both sides of the UVM squad are likely to attack the races with
renewed energy. Whether other teams will
be able to muster even greater energy, and change the story’s likely ending,
remains to be seen. What was shown in
today’s carnival is that no good story’s ending can be fully predicted from its
start.
