Men’s and women’s ski teams head toward Regionals
Stevens leads way for women’s squad
By David McIntyre
With the unseasonably warm winter continuing in the Boston area, the minds of most Tufts students are probably far from snow sports and more focused on the possibility of June weather in March. But for the dozens of students on the ski team, alpine ski racing is a weekly obsession, consuming every weekend from the end of winter break until late February.
The men’s and women’s teams, which are tier II club sports, compete in the United States Collegiate Skiing Association’s Thompson division, which includes schools such as Boston University, Northeastern and Worchester Polytechnic. The top four teams of each gender from the seven team conference move on to Regionals, and both Tufts squads look poised to do just that, with the men’s and women’s teams sitting in fourth and first place, respectively.
For the women’s team, the standout performers have been sophomores Chelsea Stevens and Sara Hanneman, who have both finished in the top 10 in four out of the eight races this season. Stevens in particular has had an outstanding year, and after coming in first place in six races, she leads the division in the individual standings by 22 points, a margin that is essentially insurmountable.
“Chelsea and Sara have just been so good all year, and in the last race they finished first and second,” senior captain Annie Mendes said, referring to Sunday’s race at Sunday River in Maine.
“I think Chelsea definitely has a shot to make Nationals this year as an individual. Being consistent in ski racing is very difficult, but the fact that she’s stayed at the top against some really competitive guest teams has been amazing,” she added.
Mendes also believes that the team’s depth is crucial to its success, especially considering that seven different racers have contributed scoring finishes this season.
“We picked up a whole bunch of amazing freshmen last year, and this year the team has just continued to grow,” Mendes said. “The ski team will stay strong for years to come. But at regionals, we can only send five people, so we have less depth, which means that making Nationals as a team is kind of a longshot for us.”
The men’s team, meanwhile, sits in fourth place in the division, trailing third−place BU by just a tiebreaker based on the teams’ Individual Finish Place sum. In any event, a deep roster has also been the recipe for success for the men’s side, which boasts eight different scorers this season as it has extended its lead over fifth−place Conn. College to 25 points.
“Our depth is the strength of the team, because even though we lost quite a few good skiers from last year, we still have a lot of people capable of finishing in the top 30,” junior captain Nathan Goldsberry said. “Even if our better skiers fall because they are trying to get into the top 10, we have a lot of backups.”
Given that the Jumbos have already assured themselves a spot at Regionals, they will use the last few weekends of the regular season as more of a tune−up, knowing that their season may be over as soon as Regionals concludes.
“The season is so short, that at this point it’s all about getting the practice in to set up for Regionals,” Goldsberry said. “It doesn’t look like we’ll have a shot at Nationals, but Regionals are always a great chance to see what other teams outside our division are doing. We always ski against the same teams during the season, so we know who’s good and who’s not, but at Regionals it’s more unexpected because there are teams from all over New England.”
If the teams do not make Nationals, the season will be over in a few weeks, just about two months after it started. But being on a club sport is hardly ever just about the final result — it’s about getting to know people who share the same passion that you do.
“Ski team has been an amazing part of Tufts for me, because it’s such a great group that’s always loud and out of control, but always fun,” Mendes said. “At Tufts everyone is involved in something, but ski team is a surprisingly close group considering how big we are and how we span all levels of ability. I’m glad I was the captain and was able to give back to the team.”
Skiing places second in two weekend events
The ski team, which entered this season with high hopes on both the men’s and women’s sides, looks poised to attain their preseason goals and prove to the rest of New England that it can race with any team in the region.
At Bromley, Vt. for a two−day competition, the men’s and the women’s teams each finished in second place in Saturday’s slalom event and Sunday’s giant slalom event.
“Our goal is to make nationals, and no doubt it’ll be a tough road to achieve it,” senior captain Brian Bresee said. “We have the talent and the depth to do it, though.”
Senior captain Lindsay Rutishauser holds the same optimism for the women’s team.
“This is the best [women's] team in a long time,” she said. “While second [place] may not seem that good, the team that always comes in first, Castleton State, is a varsity team that trains five days a week.”
On Saturday, Tufts’ women [5:17.98] finished behind Castleton [4:51.20] and ahead of Boston University (BU) [5:44.06]. The female Jumbos [4:22.59] again finished behind Castleton and ahead of BU on Sunday. During Sunday’s events, however, no Castleton racer could top the No. 1 Jumbo, freshman Chelsea Stevens, who finished with a combined individual time of 1:20.52 and became the first female Jumbo since 2008 to place first.
Stevens is the No.1 racer for the women’s team this season and despite her inexperience at the college level, Rutishauser is confident she can handle the position.
“I know it puts pressure on Chelsea to perform every single event, but she is an immensely talented, strong young woman and she just keeps coming out and giving us results,” Rutishauser said.
On the men’s side, Bresee, who placed ninth individually Saturday with a 1:29.11 time and fifth Sunday with a 1:14.98 time, led the Jumbos [4:43.14 Saturday; 3:54.01 Sunday] to second place behind Castleton State [4:26.37; 3:45.12].
“The weather was great,” Bresee said. “Sunny, chilly and beautiful blue skies. [Bromley] got dumped with snow so the conditions were a little soft. When the snow’s so soft, the course gets grooves and makes it harder to stay up and easier to fall.”
The heavy snow in the Northeast this January has forced the Jumbos to ski more cautiously.
“The conditions have been different this year from the previous few because of all of the snow,” Bresee said. “Powder’s sweet for recreation and all, but we like it a little icy.”
This past weekend’s events marked a turning point for the Jumbos as the men’s team put behind its struggles in the year’s first event at Sunday River. Not only does this second−place finish give Tufts the confidence to move forward, it also shows its perennial rivals, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and BU, that this year’s team has the talent to medal in every competition.
Neither the weather nor the long ride to practice has deterred this group of 52 students from being the largest Tufts ski team in recent memory, according to the captains. The Jumbos need to finish in the top five at regionals to qualify for nationals and they’re embracing a positive attitude to help attain that goal.
“Not everyone knows about us, but everyone on this team looks forward to this time of year,” sophomore Sammy Ross said. “It is just awesome. I love skiing, its fun, and I get to do it every week. The best part is being excited for practice because it’s just another opportunity to ski. Nothing is like spending an afternoon ripping on the slopes.”
Men’s and Women’s Team Both on Road to Regionals
Coming into the last weekend of the regular season at Cranmore Mountain in New Hampshire, both the men’s and women’s ski teams had clear goals in mind. The men, in a three−way tie for second place, hoped to pull out in front, while the women hoped to hold off WPI for the coveted fourth−place spot in the conference standings and their first trip to the Regional race in three years.
By the end of the weekend, both had earned a trip to Regionals, but in very different fashions. While the men’s team struggled throughout the weekend, the women thrived.
The women’s team has learned over the course of the season what it is like to have its back up against the wall. Finishing in seventh and sixth place in the first two events of the season, respectively, the Jumbos have been clawing their way up from the beginning.
Despite a streak of strong finishes, the team’s destiny still hinged on the two races this past weekend. Entering the race leading WPI by only seven points for the final Regionals spot in the Thompson division, one poor race could have been disastrous for Tufts.
“On the first day there were a lot of disqualifications so it was definitely a bit nerve−wracking,” senior Nicole Fontaine said.
But on both days, the Jumbos showed the consistency that has gotten them this far. On Saturday, Fontaine broke the one−minute mark in both races, finishing in 56.64 in the first and a 59.03 in the second, comfortably cruising to 12th place. A 34th−place finish for senior co−captain Lindsay Verola and a 36th−place showing by sophomore Fritzi Pieper rounded out the scoring for Tufts, who cruised to a fourth−place finishing score of 405.91, beating WPI’s 418.03.
Sunday was more of the same for a unit that came out extremely focused. Fontaine continued to put up strong results, and though her 59.10 time in the second race of the day kept her out of contention for the top spots, she comfortably skied to a ninth−place finish with a combined 1:59.10. Sophomore Jessica Levine, who had struggled on Saturday, surged up the ranks on Sunday, and with two almost identical runs locked up 24th place.
The third−place team finish was more than enough to end WPI’s hopes of a Regionals spot, giving the Jumbos their own coveted slot as Tufts ended the season six points behind Northeastern and 13 ahead of WPI.
“It meant a lot to us as a team,” Fontaine said. “It also meant a lot to me personally. We qualified my freshman year and hadn’t qualified since. It was great for me to go out on a winning note. All of the girls are really excited.”
However, things did not go nearly as well for the men’s team, as it was faced with a series of disastrously bad breaks. Senior captain Brian Bresee, who entered the weekend in fourth place individually, did not finish his first run on either Saturday or Sunday, and junior Thomas Valentin, usually the team’s second−best skier, could not race due to a last minute injury.
“I think it was just a series of unlucky events,” junior Arlin Ladue said. “Tom tweaked his knee and Brian took a couple of nasty crashes. Sometimes that is just how ski races go.”
Senior Pat Tonelli did his best to keep Tufts’ dreams afloat, with a 23rd−place finish on Saturday and a 20th−place finish on Sunday, and Ladue chipped in a season−best 13th−place performance on Saturday, but it was not nearly enough. The men finished in fourth on both days, dropping them into fourth for the year, far behind second and third place teams WPI and Northeastern. Still, the slot for the Regional race remained intact for the Jumbos.
The weekend also brought some individual positives for both the men’s and women’s teams. Bresee and Valentin were selected to the men’s All−Thompson Division Team, while Fontaine was selected to the women’s team.
“It was a little bit unexpected; because I took last year off I wasn’t expecting to do that well,” Fontaine said. “But it was nice to go out on a winning note and be recognized for the hard work I put in.”
Both teams had seasons full of ups and downs, but as Regionals approach, their slates will once again be cleared. But each side understands the type of competition they will be up against.
“It’s going to be fun to have both the men’s and women’s teams there this year,” Ladue said. “Anytime we go into Regionals we are optimistic, but at the same point we are aware of what we are getting ourselves into.”
By Ethan Sturm, from The Tufts Daily on February 11, 2010
Club squad to participate in two early races in 2010
Though the season has yet to begin, the Tufts ski team is raring to go. And over winter break, it will get a chance to test its mettle in the first races of the 2010 season.
The team will have its first races on Jan. 9 and 10 at Sunday River in Newry, Maine. Afterward, the Jumbos will go to New Hampshire’s Waterville Valley for about a week to train and work with coaches there before another race, to be held at a currently undetermined location, the next weekend.
“This year is weird in that in general we go to Waterville and go straight into our first race weekend,” junior co-captain Brian Bresee said. “This year we are actually having two races earlier than usual.”
The Jumbos will be looking to improve upon last year’s season, in which they came just short of reaching nationals despite a strong showing. The team is hoping to reach that goal this season.
“Last year we had a pretty young team, with three of our top skiers as sophomores,” Bresee said. “At Regionals we were qualified for Nationals on the first day but got knocked out on the second day. What we are hoping to do this year is take this team and develop a little bit more and send a team to nationals.”
Tufts will be relying on those three now-juniors, Bresee, Tom Valentin and Arlin Ladue, who is also the Executive New Media editor of the Daily, to help get it over the hump and into Nationals. Seniors Pat Tonelli, who was abroad during last season, and Greg Hering should also be key contributors this year. These five should be the Jumbos’ top finishers this season.
Team members have been preparing for their season throughout the semester, running two dry land practices a week in which they work on conditioning. And with the winter weather coming, the Jumbos are ready to roll on down the hill in just a few weeks.
Bresee, Tufts upset Castleton State, secure Regionals bid
On Feb. 2, to the chagrin of many New Englanders, Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. But for a Jumbo skiing team a late-season tear, nothing could be better than six more weeks of winter. (more…)
