Ski Teams Stand Out

The Harvard Nordic and Alpine ski teams were miles apart last weekend at their respective Division II Championships.

But both squads turned in impressive results, earning several individual berths to the Division I championships this weekend at Middlebury, Vt.

In the Nordic traditional race in Putney, Vt., the Crimson women skied all over the competition, with Amber Duncan and Wendy Svatek nabbing outstanding first- and fifth-place finishes, respectively.

Harvard's women were well on their way to burying the competition in the relay race as well, but Natasha Rasmuson lost their lead--in more ways than one.

Rasmuson was pulling away from the pack when poorly marked flags along the course led her through the men's 7-kilometer route, instead of the women's 4K. The fluke misdirection dropped the Crimson trio into last, but they were invited to the championships anyway on the basis of past performances.

Men's Nordic Captain Bob Berle said the team entered the weekend with hopes for third place behind Colby and MIT. Instead, the Crimson ended up beating MIT to finish second only to Colby.

Chris Leggett led the squad in the men's traditional race, gliding into fifth place. Berle followed up with a 12th-place finish.

"We set our goals for the weekend counting on some strong performances and we did even better than we expected," Berle said.

Meanwhile, the injury-plagued Alpine squad competed 50 miles away at Mt. Snow, Vt.

In the giant slalom, Dan Sheinberg led the Crimson with a fifth-place finish in a field of 64, followed by a 13th place finish by men's Alpine Captain Gregg Cavett. Women's Captain Rana Dershowitz matched Cavett's finish in the women's GS.

The women were the highlight in the slalom, with Dershowitz carving her way to a career-high second place finish, while Valeria Scott, recovering from a deep thigh bruise suffered last week, to smack her way through the gates to crack the top 20.

Leggett, Duncan, Svatek and the women's relay team will represent the Nordic squad in Middlebury. Sheinberg and Dershowitz will represent the Crimson Alpiners.