SAINTS LOG THREE TOP-20 FINISHES IN

SLALOM AT UVM CARNIVAL

Feb. 2: The St. Lawrence University men’s and women’s Alpine ski teams combined for three top-20 finishes on Saturday in the Slalom at the 2008 UVM Carnival. Sophomore James Andersen, fresh off his 8th place finish in the Giant Slalom on Friday, finished in 16th place ahead of teammate Doug Brown. Junior Marina Chiasson also matched her collegiate-best finish with a 20th place finish.

 

Andersen’s 16th place finish was his best collegiate finish in the Slalom event, as he earned 19.0 points towards the carnival and 15.0 towards the NCAA Championships with a time of 1:37.70. Brown, who returned to the Saints’ line-up for the first time in 2008 in yesterday’s Giant Slalom, finished two spots behind in 18th place behind a time of 1:38.40.

 

Completing the scoring for the men’s team was sophomore Graham Flinn, who raced in a time of 2:34.90 to capture 33rd place overall. The trio combined for 41.0 points to finish in 9th place as a team.

 

Also competing for the Saints in the men’s slalom were sophomores Sean Mallia (DNF), rookie Thatcher Jacques (DNF 2nd) and sophomore Michael Wallman (DNF 2nd).

 

Chiasson’s 20th place finish equaled her career best that was set in the slalom at the Dartmouth Carnival in 2007. Her time of 1:49.20 earned the Burlington, VT native 16.0 points towards the carnival and 11.0 towards a bid for the National Championships.

 

Sophomores Megan Howard and Jennifer Kish brought the women’s team’s total to 37.0 points, good enough for 8th position. Howard raced in a time of 1:54.30 and finished in 26th, while Kish was right behind in 27th place by only .3 seconds (1:54.60).

 

First year student Dana Cleason (29th, 1:54.90), junior Danielle LaCavalla (31st, 1:56.80) and rookie Heidi Robbins (32nd, 1:56.90) rounded out the team’s line-up in the women’s slalom.

 

The men’s team event was won by the University of Vermont with a total of 89.5 points, while Charles Christianson of Williams College won the individual championship with a time of 1:29.70. On the women’s side, Middlebury won the slalom event with 85.0 points, while Jilyne McDonald represented the host university, winning the individual title behind a time of 1:41.30.

 

St. Lawrence University finished in 8 th place overall in the 11-team UVM Carnival, combing both Nordic and Alpine points. Middlebury College was the winner with 628.0 points, only 3.5 ahead of the host school.

 

Both the Saints’ men’s and women’s Alpine ski teams will be in action again next Friday, February 8th at the 2008 Dartmouth Carnival.

 

 

ANDERSEN POSTS COLLEGIATE-BEST FINISH TO

LEAD SAINTS AT UVM CARNIVAL

Feb. 1: Sophomore James Andersen collected his best collegiate finish on Friday at the opening day of the 2008 UVM Carnival, as the Putnam Valley, NY native earned 8th place overall in the Men’s Giant Slalom, leading the Saints’ men’s squad to 7th place overall. Meanwhile, Junior Danielle LaCavalla used a 25th place showing to pace the women’s team in the event.

 

Andersen's showing is the Alpine ski team’s top finish of the 2008 season thus far, and came much in thanks to a fantastic second run time of 55.30 seconds, the fastest in the field of over 60 participants. Combined with his first run time of 59.62, Andersen picked up 26.0 points towards the carnival and 32.0 points towards the NCAA Championships.

 

The Saints’ men’s squad earned 7th place overall, their best finish of the season, with a total of 45.0 points. Rookie Thatcher Jacques and junior Doug Brown, who returned to competitive action for the first time this season, completed the team’s scoring with 32nd and 37th place finishes, respectively. Jacques raced in a time of 2:02.18, while Brown finished the Giant Slalom course in 2:04.01 in his first event of 2008.

 

Also competing for St. Lawrence on the men’s side were sophomores Graham Flinn (40th, 2:06.34), Sean Mallia (DNF 1st run) and Michael Wallman (DNF 2nd run).

 

"Today was truly special for Jimmy, as he jumped from nearly 60th place after the first run all the way into the top-10," said Saints head coach Jeff Pier. "Despite freezing rain and wind gusts, he gave a gutsy performance out there to be commended."

 

LaCavalla’s time of 2:08.21 landed the New City, NY native in 25th position, her best finish of the young 2008 season. Sophomore Megan Howard (34th, 2:13.53) and rookie Dana Cleason (39th, 2:16.54) rounded out the women’s team scoring, as the trio combined for 31.0 points for 9th place overall.

 

First year student Heidi Robbins (40th, 2:17.22), sophomore Jennifer Kish (43rd, 2:18.31) and junior Marina Chiasson also competed in the women’s Giant Slalom for St. Lawrence on Friday.

 

The host school, the University of Vermont, won both the men’s and women’s Giant Slaloms with totals of 93.0, respectively. Jilyne McDonald picked up an individual title for the Catamounts on the women’s side with a time of 1:59.43, while Williams College’s Charles Christianson won the men’s Giant Slalom in 1:53.38.

 

Both the Saints’ men’s and women’s Alpine ski squads will be in action again tomorrow, Saturday, February 2nd in the Slalom at Mt. Mansfield in Stowe, VT.