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(01/24/19 10:53am)
The Middlebury alpine ski team competed in its second carnival race of the season this past weekend at the University of New Hampshire, getting a taste of both heartbreak and sweet victory across the roster. The Panthers finished with 738 points, placing third overall behind Dartmouth (986 points) and Vermont (849 points).
Alpine races were held at Cannon Mountain and concluded on Saturday afternoon. Erik Ardvisson ’21 continued to dominate the slopes, taking home second place in the men’s slalom event and tying a career-best finish with a time of 1:45.16. Max Stamler ’19 finished second for the Panthers, securing the 19th spot in the slalom event with a time of 1:49.6, followed by Pate Campbell ’20 in 46th place with a time of 57.76.
“We are so close to putting it all together. The team just needs to stick together and build off of each other’s speed,” Ardvisson said, looking ahead to the UVM Carnival in two weeks.
With Dartmouth as the Panthers’ fiercest competitor, Ardvisson says the team’s key to success will depend on “being able to make really good turns no matter the conditions or the pressure.”
In the women’s giant slalom event, Lucia Bailey ’21 turned out the best GS results of her career. Bailey paced the Panthers on Saturday, clinching eighth place after completing the course in a two-run time of 1:54.68. It was another stellar weekend for Madison Lord ’21 on the slopes as well. Lord finished second for the Panthers with a time of 1:56.86, putting her in 14th place overall. Caroline Bartlett ’19, the final scorer on the women’s side, took the 20th spot with a time of 1:57.52.
Bailey spoke to the underrated importance of mental preparation when it comes to racing.
“I think everyone did a great job staying positive, but we need to work on our confidence on race day.”
The team will return to action in two weeks at the UVM Carnival. In the meantime, the Panthers plan to focus their training on preparing for Stowe’s tough terrain and even tougher competition. Each race has brought the team to new heights. With the consistent mental ability to build off of the inevitable lows, there is nothing that can stand in the Panthers’ way.
(01/17/19 10:52am)
The men’s and women’s alpine ski teams took to the slopes at Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, New York this past weekend to compete in their opening weekend of races at the St. Lawrence Carnival. It was a strong showing overall from the Panthers, one that included career-best results and “flashes of brilliance” across the board, according to Erik Arvidsson ’21.
Slalom races took place on Friday, while giant slalom (GS) races were moved to Saturday due to strong wind gusts and cold temperatures. On the men’s side of the slalom event, Arvidsson came out firing to lead the Panthers with a time of 1:32.41, securing a third-place finish overall. Max Stamler ’19 was Middlebury’s second racer to complete the course, skiing a career-best finish of 12th overall with a time of 1:36.43. The final scorer for the men’s team, Pate Campbell ’20, whose two-run time of 1:47.61 was affected by hikers, clinched the 32nd spot. Tim Gavett ’22 started out strong, holding the fifth spot after his first run, but was forced to hike on his second trip down the mountain, ultimately placing 43rd.
“We had some unfortunate DNF’s (Did Not Finish), which happens in ski racing. With more reps and improved consistency, the sky is the limit for this team,” Arvidsson said, reflecting on the team’s room for improvement following the weekend’s performances. Despite only a few skiers completing clean runs, Arvidsson maintains that the men’s and women’s teams’ potential coming into the season is enormous. “I am really happy with how the whole team started the carnival season. We are way ahead of where we were this time last season,” he said.
This potential made itself particularly evident on the women’s side, with first-year Samantha McClellan’s first collegiate race culminating in a 19th place finish after her run time of 1:40.84. Caroline Bartlett ’19 was Middlebury’s top finisher in the Slalom event, ending her two runs with a time of 1:38.34 and earning eighth place overall. Finishing second for the Panthers was Madison Lord ’21, whose 1:40.08 time earned her a career best 15th place overall.
Bartlett and Arvidsson continued to dominate Middlebury’s scoreboard in the giant slalom event as well. Bartlett came in with a two-run time of 2:12.20 to lead the women’s team and place fourth overall, and Arvidsson finished second for Middlebury, coming in ninth place overall in 2:13.27. Senior Lexi Calcagni finished second for the Panthers in 2:22.16 in the giant slalom to put her in 12th place, and Lord, the women’s third scorer, finished 16th in 2:23.37. In the men’s giant slalom, Gavett led the Panthers with a time of 2:11.90 to secure the fourth spot, and earning a top-20 finish in 2:14.90 was Stamler, the men’s final scorer.
With UVM and Dartmouth once again being forces to reckon with this season, the team will focus its efforts this week on “building consistency so we can bring our speed in training into races,” Bartlett said. Both the Alpine and Nordic teams will race again this weekend at the University of New Hampshire Carnival.
(10/25/18 9:55am)
Women’s tennis ended their fall season with a bang at their home invitational on the weekend of Oct. 13. Over the course of three days, Middlebury hosted the Brandeis and Williams women’s tennis teams, and the Panthers ultimately demonstrated strides in their doubles play.
Competition took place inside the Nelson Recreation Center, where the Panthers played four to five singles matches and three doubles matches against each team. The singles matches were played in the traditional best two out of three format, with a tiebreaker set for the third. The doubles matches consisted of one pro-set.
In spite of injuries and study-abroad trips plucking away at the team’s depth, the Panthers managed to come in swinging for their Friday’s evening doubles match. Sophomore Ann Martin Skelly and senior Christina Puccinelli edged the Williams duo of Chloe Henderson and Emily Zheng, 8-5.
“Historically, Williams has been quite the rival for us, but all that has done is pushed us to be better year after year,” said Puccinelli. She especially feels confident in the team’s ability to match Williams in the event they face one another in this year’s NESCAC finals.
This fall, Middlebury spent time focusing on doubles training, where they worked to attack early in on matches and to execute bigger moves at the net. The team’s hard work continued to show throughout the weekend, when they posted victories in three out of four matches on Saturday.
In Saturday’s doubles matches against Brandeis, Skelly and Puccinelli were once again a force to be reckoned with, as they defeated Olivia Leavitt and Lauren Bertsch (8-3). Nora Dahl ’22 and Emily Bian ’21, meanwhile, clinched an 8-3 win against Sophia He and Ana Hatfield. Spirits were high across the board, and the team’s unwavering positivity gave them momentum for the rest of the weekend’s matches.
“Our opponents could constantly hear us cheering on one another from across the courts,” said Bian. “Even when we were down in our respective matches, you couldn’t tell. There was always someone pumping you up.”
In Saturday’s singles matches against Williams, Puccinelli claimed a 6-3, 6-3 win over Henderson, while Emma Gorman earned a hard-fought 4-6, 6-4, 11-9 victory against Maxine Ng.
Later in the day, Gorman cruised over He (6-3, 6-1), while Skelly defeated Michele Lehat in straight sets (6-3, 6-3). Dahl dropped just three games in a 6-3, 6-0 triumph over Isabel Cepeda.
On Sunday, Middlebury competed against Brandeis in both singles and doubles. Skelly and Puccinelli picked up an 8-1 victory over Bertsch and Leavitt, while Bian and Dahl won 8-6 against Khromchenko and Lehat. In singles, Puccinelli knocked off Leavitt in straight sets (6-0, 7-6 (4)). Gorman earned her third singles win of the weekend, with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Khromchenko.
Looking confidently towards the spring, the Panthers will continue to train intensely, and await five juniors returning from study abroad.
“In the spring, it’s really going to be about coming together again as a whole team of eleven instead of the six of us we had in the fall,” said Puccinelli.
Until then, the primary focus remains on capitalizing on the growth they saw this fall. Their sights are set high; they want to clinch the team’s first national championship.