SPORTS BRIEFS

Author: RYAN REESE, SPORTS EDITOR

Skiers to host home Carnival

As we all know, this upcoming weekend is the 82nd annual Middlebury Winter Carnival. While most of the campus will be "Keepin' it Live in '05," the Middlebury men's and women's ski teams will be competing for the EISA Skiing Championships. Being the true reason for the carnival, the skiers will play host as the Snow Bowl and the Rikert Ski Touring Center will be the site of the various races. Friday's events will include the first and second runs of the men's and women's slalom as well as the men's 10k classic Nordic race and the 5k women's freestyle Nordic race. On Saturday, the racing will commence with the women's and men's giant slalom and will continue with the women's 15k mass start freestyle and the men's 20k version for the men. On both days, the competitors will hit the snow promptly at 9:30 a.m. Both Middlebury squads have been performing quite well this season while racking up quite a few third place finishes. The Panthers will hope to exploit the home course advantage and come out on top as the College celebrates the sport of skiing and, well, a wide variety of other things.

Track team focuses on unity

In preparation for the upcoming spring season, the track team has a new look and a new focus. While track lends itself to individualization and isolation, the Panthers will be looking to stay unified and promote a tight-knit squad throughout the outdoor season. Not only has the team decided to adopt this philosophy into their mental routine and group mindset, they have created a new workout plan to accompany these ideas of group bonding. Peter Kim, head coach of the women's soccer team, has shifted his focus for the spring and will be helping with the sprinters. This is not the only thing that Kim is bringing to the table. Everyday, the entire squad has been brought together for group abdominal workouts. Through creative exercises that promote group effort and cooperation, the Panthers are strengthening their midsections as well as the team's unity. The team will open the outdoor season in California during their annual training trip to San Diego. Middlebury's home meet will be held on April 2 and will see the Panthers taking on the NESCAC's finest and fittest.

Kenyon to host quarterfinals

Both the men's and women's hockey teams will be hosting the first round of the NESCAC tournament. In less than a fortnight, on Feb. 26, the teams will face off against rival NESCAC foes in the single elimination tournament. The women will take the ice first as they take on the Bantams of Trinity at 1 p.m. The women Panthers lost a tough contest to Elmira, the top ranked team in the nation this past weekend. In the intense overtime battle, a decisive goal for Elmira in the 3-2 Middlebury defeat wrapped up a solid regular season for the Panther side. Should the women win, they would then travel to Bowdoin for the semifinals and finals. Later on the same day, the men's team will match up against their counterparts from Hamilton. At 4 p.m., Kenyon Arena will once again be the site of postseason play. Middlebury is coming off of a strong weekend that saw them destroy two in-state rivals. The Panthers topped St. Michael's by a final tally of 4-1. Perhaps even more exciting was the result against Norwich. The Panthers skated out to an unprecedented 6-0 lead before settling for an astonishing 7-3 win. With this type of momentum, the men look tough to beat and with a win, they would skate into the Frozen Four that will be held at Trinity.