This weekend’s Dartmouth Carnival marked a solid showing for the UNH skiing team. The Wildcats placed third in the meet, though the women’s alpine squad taking first place in Saturday’s slalom event at the Dartmouth Skiway. UNH totaled 826 points in the contest, 122 of those points coming from the Women’s Alpine squad. They trailed only Vermont (888) and Dartmouth (858).
“We had a solid weekend,” alpine coach Brian Blank said. “Lisa [Wedsjo] and Randa [Teschner] had strong performances.”
Coach Blank attributed the team’s dominance in the slalom to the ‘Cats successful weekend on the slopes. The women’s slalom victory was UNH’s second win of the season.
Wedsjo and Teschner, who have been extremely consistent so far this season, finished third and fourth, respectively, in Saturday’s slalom. The duo also finished in the same places at the giant slalom on Friday. Teschner has finished in the Top-10 of all four slalom races so far this season, but her fourth place finish is a season best.
The men’s alpine and Nordic teams finished fourth out of the schools represented in both the slalom and and 20-kilometer cross-country races.
Peter Holmes had a standout performance in the 20-kilometer classic event for UNH, taking home fourth place. Eirik Fosnaes was the second Wildcat behind Holmes, placing 12th overall.
With his placement on Saturday, Holmes has three Top-5 finishes on the year in the classic races. He previously finished fifth in the 10-kilometer classic
at the University of Vermont Carnival and fourth in the classic sprint at the Bates College Carnival.
“We have a great blend between upperclassmen and freshman,” Nordic coach and ski coordinator Cory Schwartz said. “There is a great atmosphere among the team. They train well together; our team is deep.”
Last week, the ‘Cats took third in the UVM Carnival with a strong showing from all athletes. Historically, UNH has always been a top three contender in its conference, the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association. Although Vermont and Dartmouth College consistently lead the polls, the Wildcats bridged the gap a bit in their latest meeting, falling just short of the top two teams in the conference.
The Williams College Carnival lies ahead for UNH. It will begin on Feb. 19 and wrap up the following day. Alpine races are slated to be held at Jiminy Peak, while the Nordic events will be held at Prospect Mountain.
