The U ski team’s third placement at the NCAA Championships may not have been the end result Ute skiers hoped for, but at least they have the consolation prize of a bevy of All-Americans.
“The fact that we had 10 All Americans is a big credit to our team this season,” said U coach Kevin Sweeney.
And a big credit to the future.
Utah’s third place at the NCAAs?it’s best placing since 1998?was done with three seniors on a U team of 25 skiers.
“I’m excited about our future, given our depth and our NCAA experience,” Sweeney said.
Nine of 10 Utah All Americans return for the 2003 ski season.
Freshman Pierre Olsson earned the honor in both the slalom and giant slalom, after placing second in each alpine event. The first-year Ute turned in nine total top-three finishes in slalom and giant slalom competition.
Two reigning NCAA slalom champions, men’s winner Jernej Bukovec and women’s champ Petra Svet, both failed to repeat as individual champs, but both earned All-American status.
Svet came oh-so-close to repeating, with a third-place finish in the slalom. Svet was on pace to do the same on the giant slalom. She was in third place after one run, but a fall on her second run relegated the Slovenian junior to 32nd.
Bukovec won All-American status for the third consecutive year by finishing seventh in the slalom and ninth in the giant slalom.
Sophomore April Mancuso finished second in the nation in giant slalom, Annik Boulva raced to sixth in the slalom and Josh Whitman placed seventh in the GS to round out the alpine All-Americans.
As for the nordic team, three men’s skiers and one women’s skier were named All Americans.
U.S. Olympian Torin Koos won All-American status in both events, as he ended fourth in the classical and sixth in the freestyle.
Junior Ryan Quinn placed seventh in the classical, and Finnish sophomore Jaana Kettunen earned the prestige with a 10th-place finish in the freestyle.
Three seniors leave the Utes, one of which earned All American status at the 2002 NCAAs. Women’s nordic skier Gretchen Domek and men’s skiers Scott Woodland and Petter Svendsen have all burnt out their eligibility.
“It’s a big hit, losing Scott and Petter especially. They have consistently been good point-getters since they got here,” Sweeney said.
With top-10 finishes in both the classical and freestyle at the NCAAs, Svendsen earned All-American honors for the third straight year.
Had Woodland not suffered a season-ending blown knee halfway through the season, he too would have been vying for his third consecutive All American title in men’s alpine.
“They have hard shoes to fill. They had experience on the collegiate circuit, and were awesome skiers,” said the coach.
Still, 22 returning skiers with NCAA experience bolsters Utah’s chances in search of its 11th National Championship.