Saturday, February 27, 2016

UVM Claims Middlebury Giant Slalom

While Dartmouth edged UVM in yesterday’s slalom, the Catamounts turned the tables on the Big Green today in the giant slalom, winning both men’s and women’s races to help UVM to the top of the overall team standings after strong showings in the morning’s nordic freestyle event.

Dartmouth's Kelly Moore
In the final EISA women’s giant slalom, Dartmouth’s Kelly Moore returned to the podium for the second time this weekend to win by 0.95 seconds. Colby’s duo of Sierra Leavitt and Mardi Haskell followed in second and third, leading the Mules to a second place in the women’s team standings. Middlebury’s Lexi Calcagni had her best finish of the year in fourth, only 0.06 seconds behind Haskell. Mille Graesdal led UVM in fifth as the Catamounts placed three in the top 10 to claim the team victory by only two points over Colby. Her teammate Brittany Lathrop followed in sixth after a fast second run, and Laurence St. Germain added to her win in the slalom with an eighth place. UNH’s Randa Teschner posted the second fastest second run which landed her a seventh place finish, only 0.04 seconds behind Graesdal. Bates’ Kelsey Chenoweth ended up ninth behind St. Germain, and Plymouth State’s Freydis Einarsdotter claimed the tenth position. Middlebury’s Elle Gilbert pleased the boisterous home crowd by jumping from bib 25 to finish eleventh in her senior home carnival.
UVM's Will St. Germain
On the men’s side, Will St. Germain won his first EISA giant slalom of the year to lead UVM to another victory in the GS team standings. Yesterday’s slalom winner Rob Cone followed in second, only 0.14 seconds back. St. Germain’s teammate Sandy Vietze finished third overall by only 0.26 seconds, winning the second run after starting bib 23. Saint Michael’s Guillaume Grand finished fourth, and UVM’s Bobby Farrell ended in fifth from bib 16. Many of the front runners after the first run were unable to finish a tricky set on the second run, and Farrell was one of quite a few who took advantage. Middlebury’s Riley Plant followed suit in sixth, only 0.08 seconds behind Farrell overall. Chris Steinke of UNH had his best GS result in seventh, as did Plymouth State’s Max Martin in eighth. Hunter Black led Dartmouth in ninth after starting bib 21, and Saint Lawrence’s Nicholas Stenicka vaulted from bib 44 to claim his first top 10 of the year. Just out of the top 10 by a mere 0.06 seconds came Colby-Sawyer’s Kenny Wilson for his best finish of the year in eleventh.  


As we close this chapter of the 2016 EISA alpine circuit, we much first congratulate all the seniors at all the schools for their tremendous careers. Congratulations too to all the members of the EISA first and second team members. For many, the focus now shifts to NCAA Championships in Steamboat Springs from March 9-12, where the best from EISA will compete against the western schools for the national championship trophy.