Saturday, February 15, 2014

Familiar and Unfamiliar Faces Alike on Today’s Podiums with UVM Taking 13th Straight Carnival Victory

Hig Roberts of Middlebury College, skis during the second run of the men's giant slalom at Jiminy Peak on February 15, 2014 in Hancock, MA. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Dustin Satloff
HANCOCK, MA. - The University of Vermont won its fifth carnival of the season on Saturday, February 15, 2014 in Hancock, Massachusetts.  UVM amassed 249 points in the Williams Carnival giant slalom to help grow their lead over Dartmouth College to 136 points after Saturday’s events.  Vermont placed two men and two women on the podium. 

Kristina Riis-Johannessen of the University of Vermont, skis during the second run of the women's giant slalom at Jiminy Peak on February 15, 2014 in Hancock, MA. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Kate Ryley picked up her seventh individual victory and tenth podium appearance of the season in ten races.  Kristina Riis-Johannessen finished in second place thanks to the fastest second run time of the day.  Elise Tefre was once again UVM’s third point scorer, and she finished in 16th place.  Ryley, who has been training hard and growing her confidence in giant slalom has seen her work pay off.  “I treat every run [in training] like a race,” Ryley said.  What she’s doing seems to be working; she has won each of the first five giant slaloms of the EISA carnival season.

Although the individual winner was not from UVM, UVM’s men took home the team win, outscoring Middlebury 129-119.  Kevin Drury had his second straight second place finish.  Travis Dawson also had his second podium finish of the weekend, taking third once again, this time in the giant slalom.  Dom Garand was the  team’s third point scorer, finishing in sixth.

Kevin Drury of the University of Vermont, skis during the second run of the men's giant slalom at Jiminy Peak on February 15, 2014 in Hancock, MA. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)
Middlebury’s men had a strong showing, and challenged Vermont’s team score.  Hig Roberts took his second victory of the season and his fifth podium appearance.  Chris McKenna finished in fifth for Middlebury, his fifth top 5 finish of the season.  “I love this hill,” Roberts said. “I love steeps.  I stuck to the basics, calmed myself down, and it worked out.” Nick Bailey was Middlebury’s third finisher who finished in 10th place.  “We’re at the point in the year where there’s really only a couple of days of training between weeks, so keeping really focused is important,” Roberts explained.  For the women, Yina Moe-Lange was the first finisher, taking eighth place.  She has finished in the top 10 in four of the first five giant slaloms.  Elle Gilbert took 15th and Kara Shaw finished in 26th position.  Middlebury’s women sit in fifth place in scoring over the last two weekends, which is below their normal production.

Dartmouth once again finished in second, but their men struggled in the giant slalom on Saturday.  Dartmouth’s men scored 66 points, and finished in sixth place as a team.  Dartmouth’s best finisher for the men was Dylan Brooks, who finished in 18th place. Ben Morse took 22nd, and Sam Macomber finished in 34th position. Dartmouth’s women performed much better than the men, however.  Dartmouth had two women finish in the top 10.  Lizzie Kistler led the scoring, finishing in fourth place, and Abby Fucigna used a very strong second run to bring herself from 13th place back into sixth.  Maisie Ide was Dartmouth’s third point-scorer, finishing in 12th place.

Lizzie Kistler of Dartmouth College, skis during the second run of the women's giant slalom at Jiminy Peak on February 15, 2014 in Hancock, MA. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)

Colby College finished in fourth overall at the Williams Carnival, matching last week’s finish; their best carnival performance in several seasons.  Michael Boardman was Colby’s first finisher.  “I wasn't expecting a whole lot coming into this season,” Boardman explained, “so something like this is awesome.  I was super psyched with the finish.”  Boardman earned his first career top 10 finish, taking sixth place.  “[this] was the first time I’ve ever been so deep into the flip, so I was really excited to be up there with the older, faster guys,” Boardman added.  Jim Ryan was Colby’s second point-scorer, finishing in the 26th position.  Kieran Adams also scored for Colby, finishing in 31st; it was the first time he has earned team carnival points in his career.  Colby’s women once again were strong.  Jeanne Barthold led Colby’s scoring, picking up her fourth top 10 GS finish of the season with a ninth place finish.  Mardi Haskell finished in 14th, and Brittney Ziebell took 18th place.  Colby’s women finished in third as a team, 26 points behind second place Dartmouth.

Williams had their best carnival finish of the season.  At the conclusion of Saturday’s races, Williams was in fifth place, only 1 point behind fourth place Colby.  Shannon Campbell has continued to have a solid year, picking up her ninth top 10 finish in 10 races this season.  Campbell, who finished in fifth on Saturday, was Williams’ first point-scorer.  Sarah Cottrill also was able to crack the top 10 finishing in 10th place for the Ephs.  For the men, Williams was able to place two skiers in the top 20.  Carson Houle finished in 12th, the best finish of his career, and Matthew Reese Davies finished in 18th place.  Dylan Thomas was the third point-scorer for the men, finishing in 27th position.

Allison Visconti of St. Lawrence University, skis during the second run of the women's giant slalom at Jiminy Peak on February 15, 2014 in Hancock, MA. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)


Allison Visconti reached the podium for the first time this season, finishing in third for Saint Lawrence.  Saint Lawrence finished in ninth overall at the Williams Carnival.  Max Martin grabbed a fourth-place finish in the men’s giant slalom for Plymouth State.  It was the best finish of his career.  Plymouth State finished in 12th out of 15 schools overall. 

Max Martin of Plymouth State University, skis during the second run of the men's giant slalom at Jiminy Peak on February 15, 2014 in Hancock, MA. (Dustin Satloff/EISA)