Kenney, Virkkula Lead Skiing at NCAA Championships (Day 1) - University of New Hampshire Athletics

Wednesday, March 7

Giant Slalom: Steamboat Ski Resort

11 AM (ET)

University of New Hampshire

NCAA Ski Championships

NCAA Ski Results (Day 1)

Patrick Kenney (Photo courtesy Jamie Schwaberow)

Photo by: Jamie Schwaberow

3/7/2018 5:57:00 PM | Men's Skiing, Women's Skiing

Wildcats in 11th place at NCAA Championships, hosted by University of Colorado

STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. – Patrick Kenney (Hingham, Mass.) finished 23^rd in the men's giant slalom and Sohvi Virkkula (Salla, Finland) placed 23^rd in the women's giant slalom to highlight the University of New Hampshire ski team's performance Wednesday on the opening day of the 2018 National Collegiate Skiing Championships, hosted by the University of Colorado.

Kenney, a freshman, and Virkkula, a senior, both were appearing in their first career NCAA Championship races. Former UNH All-Americans Lisa Wedsjö (Saltsjöbaden, Sweden) and Geneviève Frigon (Laval, Quebec) placed 24^th and tied for 26^th, respectively, in the women's GS at Steamboat Springs Ski Resort.

Through one day of the four-day event, UNH is in 11^th place with 27.5 points. Vermont leads the NCAAs with 134 points, followed by Colorado (130), Denver (129) and Utah (103).

NCAA Skiing Championships • March 7, 2018 • Day 1
Men's Giant Slalom • Women's Giant Slalom
Steamboat Springs Ski Resort • Steamboat Springs, Colo.
Results • NCAA Ski Championships Central

Team Top 5 (Day 1 of 4)
1. Vermont, 134
2. Colorado, 130
3. Denver, 129
4. Utah, 103
5. Dartmouth, 96.5
11. UNH, 27.5

Women's Giant Slalom - Team Top 5
1. Denver, 83
2. New Mexico, 74
3. Vermont, 71
4. Middlebury, 55
5. Colorado, 48
9. UNH, 19.5

Top Wildcats
Sohvi Virkkula, 23^rd place - 55.78 1:00.47 1:56.25 (8.0 points)
Lisa Wedsjö, 24^th place - 55.84 1:00.53 1:56.37 (7.0 points)
Geneviève Frigon, T-26^th place - 56.46 1:00.69 1:57.15 (4.5 points)

Men's Giant Slalom - Team Top 5
1.Dartmouth, 92
2. Colorado, 82
3. Vermont, 63
4. Utah, 57
5. Denver, 46
14. UNH, 8

Top Wildcats
Patrick Kenney, 23^rd place - 56.53 55.61 1:52.14 8.0 points

WHAT'S NEXT
•The NCAA Ski Championships continue Thursday, March 8, with the first day of Nordic action at Howelsen Hill. The women's 5K classic (11 a.m., ET) and men's 10K classic (12:30 p.m., ET) will take center stage. UNH senior Peter Holmes (Tahoe City, Calif.), the East's No. 1 skier in classical racing, takes aim at his first career All-American performance. Holmes earned two wins in 10K classic races this season.