Jan. 5, 2011
LOBO SKI TEAM SEASON PREVIEW
The Lobo ski team opens Alpine competition for the 2011 season Jan. 8-9 at Park City, Utah going against Alaska Anchorage, Montana State, Colorado, Denver, Utah and Westminster in the Utah Invitational. The Lobo Nordic season begins Jan. 21-22 at the Utah Invitational in Midway, Utah.
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
To say Lobo coach Fredrik Landstedt’s goal on the snow for 2011 is to reach the podium at NCAA nationals is really to cut this exceptional program short. The podium is more an expectation; a fiber of this programs’ winning fabric. Lobo skiing is that good, that proven.
The real and more challenging goal is to avoid the bumps, bruises, coughs and moguls of a long season to become national champions.
It happened to the Lobos in 2004. It almost happened a few other times. A tumble and a sore back might have cost the Lobos, ranked No. 1 much of the season, a national title in 2010. A few years back, if two Lobo alpine skiers had simply finished their runs, the Lobos probably would have been NCAA champions again.
Such is skiing. In 2004, the national title came to UNM when three Denver skiers took falls. “Our goal is always to win the national championship,” said Landstedt. “But it’s a sport where so many things can happen and make a difference where you finish. A sub-goal is to bring a trophy home to UNM.”
The Lobos enter the 2011 ski season minus a lot of points and talent from their No. 3 NCAA team of 2010. Gone are Polina Ermoshina, a seven-time Nordic All-American, Malin Hemmingsson, a three-time NCAA national slalom champion, and Thomas Schwab, a 2010 All-American in the men’s giant slalom.
But Landstedt also returns a lot of points and talent, plus some newfound depth. The Lobos welcome back eight All-Americans, including Petter Brenna, UNM’s all-time winningest Alpine skier, and Martin Kaas, a 2010 national runner-up by 1.2 seconds in the Nordic 20-kilometer freestyle.
So, how does this 2011 Lobo team stack up with last year’s team that finished in the No. 3 spot and was ranked No. 1 much of the season? “I think overall, as a team, we are a better team than the last two years,” said Landstedt.
The Lobos finished No. 3 in the NCAA finals in 2010 and 2009. Landstedt said his Lobos are good enough to challenge for the national crown in 2011 and, “as a coach, that’s exactly what you want.”
The Lobos also defended their Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association title with Kaas being named the league’s Nordic MVP and Brenna the Alpine MVP. Here is a breakdown of the University of New Mexico ski team going into the 2011 season:
Lobo Men’s Nordic
It’s always nice to have a stud and the Lobos have a proven point-getter in senior Martin Kaas. His runner-up finish at the 2010 nationals makes him one of the NCAA favorites in the 20-kilometer freestyle. He won five races in 2010 which has him tied for the all-time career wins at UNM. The Lobos lost Simon Reissmann, but return Pierre Niess, a 2010 All-American, who recorded six top-10 finishes during the 2010 regular season.
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2011 Lobo Ski Roster |
The Lobos return Eivind Solberg and Christian Otto.
“Tor-Hakon looks stronger than last year and he should have his best year yet,” said Landstedt. “We should be at least as good as last year, but there is potential to be even better.”
Lobo Women’s Nordic
You lose a seven-time All-American like Ermoshina and you would think this squad would take a major slide backward. But although the Lobos might not have the same first-place potential without Ermoshina, Landstedt finally has the Nordic depth he has been missing the past two seasons.
“We might not win as many races without Polina,” said Landstedt. “But we have three or four skiers with the potential to finish in the Top Ten in races. I think overall we’ll have a stronger team because of that depth.” That depth will help the Lobos at nationals. A team can bring three qualifiers in each discipline and UNM had only two Nordic women in 2010 and only one Lobo in 2009.
Newcomer Linn Klaesson, who joined the squad a year ago in January of 2010. Landstedt’s much-needed depth will be provided by Terese Anderson, Ingrid Leask, Sofie Jonsson and Christina Loevald-Hellberg. “There will be tough internal competition which is great,” said Landstedt.
Lobo Men’s Alpine
Petter Brenna, the program’s all-time winningest downhill racer, returns which gives the Lobos an instant shot on the scoreboard, much like having Kaas on the cross country unit. Brenna came to UNM as one of UNM’s top recruits ever – in any sport. He has lived up to expectations, but is still chasing that elusive NCAA title. He did have a No. 2 finish in 2009.
“The men’s Alpine looks stronger,” said Landstedt. That should bode well for the Lobos all season. The UNM alpine team went through the 2010 regular season undefeated, including the Rocky Mountain league title. The Lobos lost Schwab and that hurts, but the Lobos return Juho Pekka Penttinnen and Gary Beresford.
Lobo Women’s Alpine
It might be impossible to replace a three-time NCAA champion like Malin Hemmingsson, one of only two women skiers to win three NCAA slalom titles. But the Lobos return NCAA skiers Anne Cecilie Brusletto and Kate Williams, both NCAA All-Americans.
A big addition in 2011 is Stefanie Demetz, who was an NCAA All-American in 2009 in the giant slalom, but had to sit out last season with a knee injury. “She has been looking very good,” said Landstedt.
If the Lobos have a problem in this discipline, it’s depth. “We only have three skiers, but they are three strong skiers,” said Landstedt. “We couldn’t find anybody close to their class to push them and we didn’t want to bring in somebody just to have somebody.”
Brusletto goes into the season looking to improve on a breakthrough rookie year at UNM in which she won four races. She joined Hemmingsson (1st) on the podium in the NCAA slalom with a fourth-place finish and was named to the Rocky Mountain’s league first team. “She is one of the top women skiers in the nation,” said Landstedt.