Utes Open With Fourth At NCAAs

Wednesday, March 9

Stowe, Vt.

4th

University of Utah

NCAA Championships (GS)

3/9/2005 12:00 AM | Skiing

March 9, 2005

Photo Gallery

STOWE, Vt. -- After battling a rugged day of wind and ice, the University of Utah alpine team rallied to a fourth-place finish after day one of the NCAAs. Utah ended the day finishing five of the six skiers in the men's and women's giant slalom events, with two top-10 All-American honors.

"This was perhaps one of the most challenging days of alpine competition I have witnessed and this team did fantastic," said Head Coach Kevin Sweeney. "It was bitter cold, high winds and a very hard surface. We skied well and found a good balance for an excellent team score. I am super proud of this group. Results were all over the place, but we came out solid."

"I'm very proud of this team," added Head Alpine Coach Aaron Atkins. "The weather was nasty, but we skied the best we could. We had a solid team performance and the team is in a great mood. We have our best event upcoming (slalom) and we are in a great set up to make a run at the title."

Vermont made the best of the home terrain, winning both the men's and women's GS events placing them in first. Colby skied to second, while the Denver Pioneers raced to third. Utah placed fourth and Dartmouth notched fifth rounding out the top-five overall team scores.

"Vermont skied outstanding on their home hill and that is hard to fight with, but we are in there," remarked Sweeney. "The alpine did a great job kicking off this week. There's a lot of nerves, jitters, expectations and then add the weather, makes for a tough environment to ski."

All-American Ben Thornhill

The men's alpine squad finished all three skiers and placed fourth in the event. Two-time GS champion Ben Thornhill was dethroned by Vermont's Greg Hardy as the junior made a run for his third consecutive title. The Whistler, British Columbia, native becomes a three-time All-American with his ninth-place finish in 1:46.59. Senior Mark Heinrich-Wallace was a few hundreths of a second out of contention for All-American honors, claiming 13th with a two-run time of 1:47.36. Junior Will McDonald continues to ski great, this time finishing 18th in 1:48.78.

Due to bad luck, the women's alpine team was only able to place two of the three skiers in the GS, finishing fifth overall. The downhill squad was led by senior and now three-time All-American April Mancuso. The Lake Tahoe, Calif., native skied through the harsh conditions and posted a fifth-place finish with a blazing two-run time of 1:58.00. Senior Rowena Hyldahl just missed the cut for the top-15, but placed 16th with a time of 2:02.48. Senior All-American Lina Johansson lost a ski and was unable to finish the race.

"April has a great race today," remarked Atkins. "I was very pleased with our women's team today and I know they are excited for the slalom."

"It was a great team effort, unfortunate Lina's ski came off in a hard rut, which cost us some points but that is out of our control," added Sweeney. "The staff is doing a great job with preparation. The athletes are on top of their game. "We hope to close in on Vermont and move up the ranks with cross country tomorrow. It will be tough and cold, but were gunning. Our balanced squad should help us out, that's our card for this championships".

Tomorrow, March 10, Utah will compete in the second day of the NCAAs held in Stowe, Vt. The cross country team will take the scene by competing in the 10/5-km classical races. Events will be held all day.

For complete individual and team results log on to: http://www.uvm.edu/~sportspr/ncaa_ski/?Page=results.html.

NCAA Team Scores:
1. Vermont 216;
2. Colby 186;
3. Denver 173;
4. Utah 154;
5. Dartmouth;
6. Middlebury 150;
7. Williams 117;
8. New Mexico 111;
9. Colorado 86;
10. Nevada 85;
11. New Hampshire 84;
12. Montana State 45;
13. Boise State 44;
14. Alaska-Anchorage 39;
15. Western State 29.