Alpine
side carries Nevada at ski championships
By Stu McCann, Outpost staff
The University of Nevada ski team has been winning
downhill battles all season and continued that trend at the
NCAA Skiing Championships last month.
Nevada spent most of the championships stuck in the middle but the Wolf Pack did have its high points. The University of Denver won the championships but Nevada was able to prove that it is among the nation's elite at the four-day tournament held in Logan, Utah.
The championships did not start smoothly for the Wolf Pack. Jennifer Collins began her final championships by competing in the giant slalom. The senior alpine skier was in third after the first run of the two-run competition and was in position to make a run at the championship.
A championship was not in the cards for Collins though as her ski came off on the second run. Collins showed heart by completing the course but a 28th place finish is all that she had to show for it.
"It would have been an easy top three finish and a possible victory, but there's nothing we can do about that," said Nevada alpine coach Tom Arnstein.
Nevada did have its highlights on the opening day of competition. Alpiner Reuben Kuruvila finished the men's giant slalom in 2:26.56 that put him in 14th place.
Anne-Marie St. Arnaud also had a strong start to the championships as well, finishing 20th in the women's giant slalom with a time of 2:34.42.
"Anne-Marie did real well in the giant slalom," Arnstein said. "That was a good high point as was Reuben Kuruvila."
Kuruvila and St. Arnaud helped the Wolf Pack to 10th after the first day. The men were 8th in giant slalom scoring and the women were sitting in 10th place.
Anne-Marie St.
Arnaud is one of many Nevada skiers that shone
during last months NCAA Skiing
Championships
Photo courtesy
of Sports Information
Department
Day Two, March 9
The second day of competition saw the introduction of nordic events and Nevada fall into 12th place.
Ian Skinner paced the men's nordic team into a 13th place finish, as his run in the 10,000-meter competition put him in 27th.
On the women's side, Davina Webb finished in 37th in the 5,000-meter freestyle event and the women's team finished the day in 15th place.
"It was not really what I had hoped for," said Nevada's nordic coach Jeff Schloss about the performance of his skiers. "They skied about how they have been skiing all year. There was no huge breakthrough, which is what you would like to have happen at the championships. All in all, I had hoped for better."
Nevada jumped back into the top 10 behind two All-American performances by its alpine skiers.
Once again it was Collins and Kuruvila making headlines for the ski team. Collins finished fourth in the women's slalom and Kuruvila took sixth on the men's course to help Nevada move into ninth place.
All-American status is earned by finishing in the top 10 of a competition at the championships.
An impressive second run down the slalom course clinched All-American status for Collins. After finishing the first run in 52.57, Collins blazed through her second run in 49.98. It was the only run of the day under 50 seconds.
Kuruvila's first run was the strong one for him as the alpine skier clocked in at 50.18 on his first shot at the hill before a 52.14 time in the second run.
St. Arnaud finished behind Collins in 17th in the slalom and Tejs Brobert took 28th for the men.
"I was really proud of the way all the athletes stepped up in the slalom portion of the NCAA's," Arnstein said.
The NCAA Skiing Championships finished up with the classic skiing event on its final day of competition.
The bright spot on the day for the Wolf Pack was nordic skier Kari Todd. Todd, competing on the women's 15K course, ran what Arnstein called a tremendous race that put her in 16th place at the conclusion of the competition.
"(Todd) was excellent," Arnstein said. "She was one of the last seeds in the west (regional side of competition) and finishing 16th at the championships was excellent. I was very proud of her and her work ethic on that day."
Schloss agreed with Arnstein's sentiment, saying that he was impressed with how Todd and Webb stepped up their output during the season and at the championships.
"(Todd and Webb) had never reached the championships, so they reached a huge goal in just getting there," he said. "And then Kari had just an awesome race there."
Although Todd's run helped Nevada's bid to stay among the top ten in the final point standings for the tournament, the Wolf Pack's nordic squad was just not strong enough. Nevada finished in 11th place, one point out of 10th.
According to Arnstein, the Wolf Pack's display at the championships will give the team confidence heading into next season.
"(Alpine) stepped up and performed and now they know that they can compete with the big schools like (Colorado) and (Vermont)," he said. "They definitely have that confidence going for them.
"The work that the nordic team puts forth, it's a year round work ethic that those guys have to have. They are probably the hardest working team on this campus. They know what it takes and they will come back solid as well."
University
of Nevada, Official Ski Site
University
of Nevada Ski Team Website
1. Denver
720 (points)
2. Colorado
621
3. Vermont
592
4. Utah
555
5. New Mexico
551
6. Middlebury
500
7. Dartmouth
439
8. New Hampshire
391
9. Northern Michigan
312
10. Alaska Anchorage
273
11. Nevada
272
12. Williams
230
13. St. Lawrence
110
14. Wisconsin Green Bay
106
15. Western State
105
16. Bates
91
17. Montana State
54
18. Colby
35
19. St. Michaels
28
20. St. Olaf
17
NCAA Ski Championships:
Final Team Results
Posted
March 31, 2000
Copyright 2000
Nevada Outpost
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