MIDDLEBURY, VT--The Williams ski team headed to Middlebury Friday for the first day of the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association Championships. A second-place finish from the women's alpine team spurred the Ephs into 5th place halfway through the competition.
The Middlebury Snow Bowl played host to the men's and women's slalom on Friday.
In the women's race, Kate Ryley of the University of Vermont took top honors in 1:37:51. Geordie Lonza was the top Williams finisher. The junior was 3rd after the first run and finished in 1:39:35, good for 4th overall.
Laurel Carter was next to finish in 9th, continuing a season that has seen she and Lonza near the top almost every race. Carter, a senior, skied to a two-run time of 1:40.73.
Sarah Cottrill continued her strong skiing of late. The first-year had a top-five second run to finish in 1:40.90 and 12th place to round out the scoring for the Ephs.
Shannon Campbell (1:42.75) was 23rd, and Annie Leiter (1:44.00) was 28th to put the Williams depth on display.
Dartmouth was the top women's team Friday with 109 team points, led by runner-up Annie Rendall (1:38.60). Williams was second, though, with 99.5.
The men's team had one of its best performances of the year to date. Junior Chris Nocek led the squad with a strong second run to finish in 26th place in 1:39.08.
Senior captain Sean Cummiskey was next in 32nd. Cummiskey had a steady two runs that left him with a combined time of 1:40.05.
Nicolas Tomczyk was 40th in 1:42.82 to round out the scoring for the Ephs. Victor Major had a strong first run but was unable to finish a clean second run, and finished in 53rd.
The men finished in 8th place with 49 points for the day. Men's alpine powerhouse UVM was first with 128 points, taking first and second.
The nordic races were held at Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe, Vermont. The men skied a 10-kilometer freestyle race, while the women skied 5k.
Patrick Johnson of Middlebury won the men's race going away in a time of 24 minutes, 36 seconds. Dimitri Luthi, coming off a podium finish last weekend, led the Williams men with a 12th-place finish. Luthi navigated the course in 26:05.
Sophomore Isaac Hoenig had one of his best races of the year for the Ephs. Hoenig skied his race in 26:37, which was good for 19th. Vanya Rybkin rounded out the scoring from 24th place in 26:49.
The men's efforts were good for 5th place in the event with 76 total points. UVM won with 119, including 3 finishers in the top 10.
The Williams women were 7th on the day, with a deep performance that included 4 skiers in the top 40. Christina Knapp was 27th in 15:33. The junior has stepped up of late to lead the team, and Friday's 5-kilometer skate race was no exception.
Her teammates weren't far behind, though. First-year Hannah Smith was 33rd in a time of 15:45, and Holly Whitney rounded out the scoring in 35th (15:49).
Elena Luthi was 37th in 15:53, while Becca Bell (46th) and Kristen Halvorsen (50th) also cracked the top 50 for the Ephs.
UVM won the women's event with 134 points, and took the team lead in the overall competition with 473. Dartmouth was second with 429, while Williams was 5th with 283.
Complete results can be found at: http://www.barttiming.com/eisa/Results12/mc12.htm
