Eight 'Cats Will Compete at 2017 NCAA Championships

Thursday, March 9

Jackson Ski Touring Center (5/10K Classic)

Day 2 of 4

University of New Hampshire

NCAA Ski Championships

3/1/2017 12:49:00 PM | Men's Skiing, Women's Skiing

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UNH Hosts NCAAs March 8-11 at Cannon Mountain & Jackson Touring Center

DURHAM, N.H. – A total of eight University of New Hampshire skiers will compete at the 2017 NCAA Skiing Championships that will be held March 8-11 at UNH's home venues of Cannon Mountain and Jackson Ski Touring Center.

UNH is led by 30^th-year ski coordinator Cory Schwartz, who has been with the Wildcats' Nordic program for 35 years, and Brian Blank, UNH's 10^th-year alpine coach. The four alpine skiers will be competing at Cannon Mountain on March 8 & 10 and the four Nordic skiers race at Jackson Ski Touring Center on March 9 & 11.

"UNH is excited to once again bring the national championships to the state of New Hampshire," Schwartz said. "This is the fifth time the University of New Hampshire has hosted the NCAAs, and this will be the first premier event at Mittersill, the new world-class facility at Cannon Mountain. And Jackson Touring Center has a world-class course that the Nordic competitors and spectators will enjoy.

"As a team, we are looking to race at our best level for the University," Schwartz added. "Though our group is smaller than recent NCAA Championships, we know that the Wildcat student-athletes who will be competing can achieve a Top-10 national result."

Senior Lizzie Gill (Bozeman, Mont.) – an All-East First Team honoree with eight individual top-10 performances, including four in the top 5 – leads a full contingent of UNH women's Nordic skiers as the fourth-ranked women's Nordic skier out of the East region. She is the top-ranked Eastern skier in the classic discipline on the strength of wins in back-to-back weeks at Vermont and Dartmouth; she is the only Eastern women's Nordic skier to record two individual first-place finishes in one discipline. In the freestyle, Gill recorded her top efforts of fourth place at both the EISA Championships and Middlebury Carnival. In two relay races during the EISA carnival season, she helped the Wildcats to first place at Dartmouth (free) and third at Middlebury (sprint). This is the second consecutive year Gill advances to the NCAAs. She had two strong days of competition at Jackson Ski Touring Center this season with eighth place in the classic and ninth in the free.

Freshman Silje Wilson (Hamar, Norway) is 13^th in the women's Eastern Nordic rankings – she is seventh in the classical discipline and 21^st in the free technique – with a total of five top-10 efforts, including three in the top 5. Wilson won the freestyle race at the UVM Carnival and was part of the Wildcats' winning free relay team at Dartmouth. She raced to fourth place in the classic races at both Dartmouth and UVM, and also recorded top-10 efforts in classic at St. Lawrence (eighth) and UNH (10^th). Also of note, Wilson was part of UNH's fifth-place Classic relay team at Middlebury.

Senior Katrin Larusson (Truckee, Calif.) will be competing at the NCAAs for the fourth consecutive year; she placed 19^th in the free and 22^nd in the classic last year. Larusson, the East's 15^th seed, recorded eight top-20 performances during the EISA carnival season, and that included three top-10 efforts. She ranked eighth in the classical discipline with top efforts of third place at UVM and ninth at both St. Lawrence and Dartmouth. At the EISA Championships, Larusson skied to 13^th place in the freestyle and 15^th in the classic. At UNH, she skied to 14^th place in the classic race. And in the relays, she was part of the winning free team at Dartmouth and third-place classic unit at Middlebury.

Junior Peter Holmes (Tahoe City, Calif.) will be representing the UNH men's Nordic squad at the NCAA Championships for the second consecutive year; last year, he finished 14^th in the classic race. Holmes earned 2017 All-East Second Team recognition by virtue of his No. 9 ranking. He excelled in the classic races, where he ranked fourth in the East highlighted by second place at UVM and third at both Dartmouth and St. Lawrence; he also placed fifth at UNH. Holmes' top effort in the freestyle discipline came at UVM, where he finished fifth. Overall, Holmes had 10 top-20 efforts with five in the top 5.

New Hampshire also has a full contingent of women's alpine skiers who will be skiing the trails at Cannon Mountain for the NCAA Championships. Junior Lisa Wedsjö (Saltsjöbaden, Sweden), who missed All-East recognition by one spot, is the top 'Cat as the 12^th-ranked NCAA qualifier in the region. In five giant slalom races in the EISA season, she placed as high as third (at St. Lawrence) and no lower than 13^th (at Dartmouth). Wedsjö amassed a total of eight top-20 efforts and that included 12^th in the giant slalom and 13^th in the slalom at UNH. She also placed 11^th in the slalom at both Dartmouth Middlebury, and capped the EISA season with seventh place in the giant slalom at the EISA Championships. Competing at the NCAAs is nothing new for Wedsjö, who earned All-America Second Team by virtue of a sixth-place finish in the giant slalom at the 2015 national championships; at the '16 NCAAs, she raced to 14^th place in the SL and 18^th in the GS.

Sophomore Genevieve Frigon (Laval, Quebec) is competing at the NCAAs for the second time in as many years as a collegian. She is directly behind Wedsjö as the 13^th-ranked Eastern skier. Frigon recorded four top-10 finishes – all in the slalom – highlighted by third place at the EISA Championships and sixth at the UNH Carnival; she also took 10^th place in the slalom at St. Lawrence and Middlebury. Frigon's top effort in the giant slalom was 16^th place at Vermont.

Freshman Emma Woodhouse (Collingwood, Ontario) recorded the 19^th-best top-two combined score in slalom and giant slalom and is the East's 22^nd seed at the NCAAs. Woodhouse finished the 2017 EISA season with 10 top-20 finishes that included three top-10 efforts. All of her top efforts were in the giant slalom – sevenh place at UVM, ninth at Middlebury and 10^th at St. Lawrence. Woodhouse capped the Eastern circuit with 13^th in the GS and 18^th in the SL at the EISAs. At UNH's home carnival, she placed 16^th in both disciplines.

Junior Chris Steinke (Ottawa, Ontario) will be New Hampshire's lone representative competing in men's alpine; he is advancing to the NCAAs for the second consecutive year. Steinke is the 12^th overall seed out of the East and he had a particularly strong season in the slalom by tallying six top-15 finishes that was highlighted by third place at Vermont. He also placed seventh at Dartmouth and skied to 11^th place in consecutive carnivals at St. Lawrence and UNH. Steinke's top effort in the giant slalom was 12^th place at UNH, which could bode well for him at the NCAAs.

The UNH ski team earned 10^th place at last year's NCAA Championships to improve on the 11^th-place finish in 2015. The Wildcats have recorded 25 top-10 finishes in Schwartz's tenure as ski coordinator.