The 1994 NCAA carnival skiing season is turning out to be quite an adventure for the Dartmouth women. As they head into Winter Carnival, the women are set to make some improvements and push their way into the top three overall.
The Nordics jumped in and out of the top three places in the first half of the season while the injury-plagued alpine squad has struggled to hold onto top-five status for the women in the Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association narrowly scoring enough points to earn the women's team fourth place overall in each of the first three carnivals.
Nordic co-captain Liza Kiesler '94 is the most consistent performer for the women. Kiesler earned a fourth-place finish in the first carnival, a sixth-place finish in the second carnival and a fifth-place finish last week at the University of Vermont carnival in Stowe, VT.
Coach Cami Thompson said he was pleased with Kiesler's more consistent performance this year and hoped that she will continue to improve.
"Liza still has a chance to pop into the top three, but it's nice to see her skiing so consistently up there," Thompson said.
Other Nordic skiers who might enter the top 10 finishers at Oak Hill include Heather Eliassen '95, Wendy Osterling '95 and co-captain Jane Eckels '94. Elliassen finished in the top fifteen in two races this year while Eckels and Osterling have entered the top twenty in more than half their races.
On Saturday, the team will ski in two groups for the 5 km freestyle relay. If the Nordics ski their best, they should finish a solid third in the relay and overall, Thompson said.
"For the first time since I've been here, skiing at home could make a real difference," Thompson said. "It's a tough course, it's pretty technical with quite a bit of climb towards the end. I think it's going to be to our advantage to know where the top is."
Thompson said she hopes the Nordic team will finish in third place right behind the University of Vermont and Middlebury.
Jesse James '95 has had no trouble adjusting to her new role as alpine captain. James proved that when she finishes a solid run in slalom, she is tough to beat, when she won the first run at the Sugarloaf carnival.
A disappointing second-run error cost James the race, but her first-run performance gave a promising indication of what she can do.
James knows what she has to do to earn strong results on Friday and Saturday.
"I have to think about skiing my race, and the good placings will come," she said.
James could also challenge the leader board in giant slalom. She scored the best giant slalom results of her career this season with a fifth in St. Lawrence University's carnival in that event.
If James puts together two good races, and her alpine teammates do the same, they could lift the women to a season-best third place overall. "If everyone skis well, we're definitely top three," James said.
One key addition to the alpine team this week is Nora Stowell '96, who injured her knee two weeks ago, but should return to the slopes this week to add some much-needed depth to the women, who lost Julie Kanarowski '95 to a knee injury earlier this season.
The injuries to Stowell and Kanarowski forced Pam Finnerty '97 and Kate Buhrmaster '97 to carry the brunt of the responsibility for scoring points in the first half of their freshmen season.
