Vermont Captures Dartmouth Carnival

The University of Vermont men's ski team continued its tradition as ungracious guests by capturing its fifth consecutive Dartmouth Winter Carnival this weekend, piling up 319 points and leaving the Harvard squad dead last with 67 points.

"It was one of those weekends you have nightmares about," Crimson alpine captain Tim Hofer said last night. It began Friday morning when the team's van broke down in the sub-zero weather at its training site in Henniker, N.H., and included two flat tires, a dead battery and lack of lodging. The team arrived by various methods only ten minutes before the start of the slalom at the Dartmouth Skiway.

The Crimson managed an overall sixth in the slalom race with Eric Klaussen leading the way in 14th place, and an eighth in the cross-country as Andy DeMars finished a strong 20th. But the giant slalom and the jumping events did Harvard in, despite David Rand's jumping performance that brought him a second-place finish in the nordic combined scoring system.

Harvard's women skiers had a more successful weekend, finishing eighth, far behind Middlebury and Dartmouth, but most importantly, besting Plymouth State by 27 points to avoid slipping back into Division II.

The women garnered most of their points in the giant slalom on Friday as the team finished sixth in that event, led by Kris Hodgkins who schussed in 10th. Hodgkins was also the first Harvard finisher in the slalom, capturing 20th place. Vera Fajtova followed close behind her in both events with a 20th in the G.S. and a 24th in the slalom.