Feb. 22, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The University of New Mexico ski team heads off to Truckee, Calif., this weekend for the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association Championships hosted by the University of Nevada. The Lobos are currently in fourth place with 1,762 points after four events. New Mexico will be hard-pressed to catch third place Utah who has amassed 1,966 points. Denver (2,215) and Colorado (2,151) will spend the weekend fighting for the RMISA championship.
The Alpine teams will make their runs at the Sugar Bowl Resort, beginning with the giant slalom races on Friday, Feb. 23. The slalom races will be held on Saturday, Feb. 24. The Nordic teams hit the trails at the Auburn Ski Club. Teams will ski 15/20K freestyle races on Friday and 15/20K classic races on Saturday.
The Lobos will be using this opportunity to try to qualify a full compliment of skiers for the NCAA Championships in Jackson, N.H., on March 7-10. The Lobos can take up to 12 skiers to the NCAAs, three from each individual team. The women’s Alpine and men’s Nordic team both need to ski well at the RMISA Championships to ensure that a full group of Lobos will make the trip to the NCAA Championships
Brooks’ Last Stand
Head coach George Brooks has announced that the 2007 season will be his last at the helm of the Lobo ski team. He is currently in his 37th year at UNM, the longest tenure of any current member of the Lobo athletics department.
NCAA Runner-Up in 2006
After winning the school’s first NCAA title in any sport in 2004, the Lobo ski team placed second in 2006. It is just the third second place finish for any Lobo team in any NCAA sport in school history. The ski team was second in 1992 and the men’s soccer team made it to the NCAA finals in 2005.
Men’s Alpine Leading the Way
The Lobo men’s Alpine team has taken over the top spot in the RMISA behind strong finishes from senior Lars Loeseth. Loeseth won the giant slalom and placed sixth in the slalom last weekend at New Mexico. He is currently No.1 in the giant slalom and seventh in the slalom in the RMISA. Sophomore Tor Fodnesbergene won New Mexico’s slalom and is sitting in fourth place in the slalom and fifth in the giant slalom while senior Alex Mach is seventh in the slalom.
ALPINE TEAM NOTES
Overall, the Alpine team is currently in third place in the RMISA with 1,020 points, 90 points behind second place Colorado. Denver leads with 1,129 points. The men are in first place while the women are fourth. The women are ranked fifth in the giant slalom and the slalom in the RMISA. The men’s team is first in the slalom and second in the giant slalom.
ALPINE INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Lars Loeseth (Sr.) – Won the Denver GS…Won the New Mexico GS…ranked No. 1 in the GS and No. 7 in the slalom in the RMISA…trying to become just the second four-year Alpine All-American (4th overall) at UNM…Six career Alpine wins is tied for the most all-time at UNM Alex Mach (Sr.) – Top-ranked slalom skier in the RMISA last season…three top-5s in 2007 and currently ranks seventh in the RMISA slalom Peter Roering (Sr.) – All-American in 2004 coming off a broken leg he suffered in training last season…Fell in all three of his races this season….injury will keep him off skis the rest of the season Tor Fodnesbergene (So.) – Won the New Mexico slalom…Four top-5s in 2007…Five career Alpine wins is third all-time at UNM…Ranked No. 4 in the RMISA slalom and fifth in the GS Gary Beresford (Fr.) – 25th in the slalom at New Mexico Olivier Lacaille (Fr.) – Currently ranked No. 28 in the RMISA slalom Jon Masdal (Fr.) – Ranked 7th giant slalom in the RMISA Amy Beresford (Jr.) – 9th at the New Mexico slalom is best result in 2007 Lene Kaasa (Jr.) – 18th in Denver GS is the best result this season Karin Ohlin (So.) – 5th in the MSU slalom for her best showing in 2007 Jessica Dakers (Fr.) – Solid 17th place time in the Denver giant slalom Malin Hemmingson (Fr.) – Won the New Mexico slalom…Ranks 4th in the slalom and 8th in the giant slalom in the RMISA
NORDIC TEAM NOTES
The Nordic squad is in seventh place overall in the RMISA with 742 points, 15 points behind sixth place Nevada. The women are ranked fifth and the men ranked eighth after four races. The women are fourth in the freestyle and classic events after winning the 5K classic at New Mexico in their last meet. The men are eighth in both the classic and freestyle events. With 461 points, the Nordic women are just 16 points out of third place behind Denver (477) and Utah (466). Montana State leads the women’s Nordic standings with 573 points.
Freshman Polina Ermoshina is ranked second in the women’s classic in the RMISA. |
NORDIC INDIVIDUAL NOTES
Jedd Young (Sr.) – Finished 16th in the New Mexico freestyle for his best showing of the season Casey Dyck (So.) – 13th in the freestyle at New Mexico for his top mark of the season…is currently 22nd in the RMISA freestyle. Rick Grahn (So.) – Best finish this season is 42nd in the Utah freestyle Erlend Saetre (Fr.) – 12th place finish in the MSU classic is the top finish for any of the Lobo men in 2007…currently ranks 19th in the classic after three events. Vsevolod Soloviev (Fr.) – Best finish is 20th in the Utah classic Tiffany Callahan (Jr.) – 22nd in the New Mexico freestyle is best mark in 2007 Laura Van Alst (Jr.) – All-American in 2006…5th in the freestyle at Denver for her top mark in 2007…rankes 12th in the RMISA freestyle Crystin Jaques (So.) – 7th in the freestyle at Denver tied her career best finish…currently ranks 13th in the classic and 14th in the freestyle Melanie Zemp (So.) – Has been very consistent to start the season with eight top-20 showings…8th in the New Mexico classic is her best finish…currently 11th in the classic Polina Ermoshina (Fr.) – Top skier for the Lobo women…Ranked 2nd in the classic and 10th in the freestyle in the RMISA…Five top-10s on the year…2nd in the classic at Denver and New Mexico are her best finishes