Ski Season Begins at Harvard Carnival (Jan. 17-18, ESPN+)

Friday, January 17

Alpine - SL, Waterville | Nordic - 5K/10K Craftsbury

University of New Hampshire

Harvard Carnival

STOWE, VT - MARCH 09: Athletes compete in run #1 of the Women's Slalom race during the Division I Men's and Women's Skiing Championship held at the Trapp Family Lodge on March 9, 2019 in Stowe, Vermont. (Photo by Brett Wilhelm/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Emma Woodhouse Competes at 2019 NCAA Ski Championships

Photo by: NCAA Photos via Getty Images

1/16/2020 12:09:00 PM | Men's Skiing, Women's Skiing

ESPN+ to stream alpine (Jan. 17) and Nordic (Jan. 18) races

WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. & CRAFTSBURY, Vt. – The UNH ski team embarks on its 2020 season by competing at the inaugural Harvard Carnival on Friday, Jan.17, and Saturday, Jan. 18, with Nordic races at Craftsbury Outdoor Center and alpine action at Waterville. ESPN+ is scheduled to stream Friday's alpine events and Saturday's Nordic events.

Harvard Carnival • Jan. 17-18 (Times/dates/venues subject to change)
Live Scoring: EISA.bullitttiming.com
Alpine Events: • Waterville
Jan. 17 – Women's Slalom (9 a.m.) • Men's Slalom (10:15 a.m.) • ESPN+ Live Stream
Jan. 18 – Men's Giant Slalom (9 a.m.) • Women's Giant Slalom (10 a.m.)

Nordic Events: Craftsbury Outdoor Center
Jan. 17 – Women's 5K freestyle (10 a.m.) • Men's 10K freestyle (11:30 a.m.)
Jan. 18 – Women's 15K classic (10 a.m.) • Men's 20K classic (12 p.m.) • ESPN+ Live Stream

NORDIC PREVIEW
The Nordic team, under the watch of head coach Cory Schwartz (38^thseason) and assistant coach Stephen Monsulick (12^thseason), opens the season at Craftsbury Outdoor Center, a replacement venue for Dublin School due to course conditions.

"We are excited about the enthusiasm of the team," Schwartz said this week. "We are a little unknown, so it will be interesting to see if we can push forward and become a Top-3 team."

Tentative Nordic Competitors
MEN
Will Bodewes (Durango, Colo.)
Scott Schulz (Lake Placid, N.Y.)
Bryce Hartman (Saranac Lake, N.Y.)
Casey Shannon (Bend, Ore.)
Anders Sonnesyn (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Andrew Meyer (Bozeman, Mont.)

Following a rebuilding season, the 2020 Nordic 'Cats are a deeper team on the men's side. Freshman Scott Schulz (Lake Placid, N.Y.) demonstrated his ability to compete on the EISA circuit by putting on a fine showing at the U.S. National Cross Country Championships in Houghton, Mich., earlier this month.

"Especially in skating, he can be a Top-10 skier," Schwartz said.

Schwartz added that Anders Sonnesyn (Minneapolis, Minn.), who earned third place in the men's under-20 (MU20) freestyle sprint final at U.S. Nationals, will be a leader, and that co-captains Will Bodewes (Durango, Colo.) and Bryce Hartman (Saranac Lake, N.Y.) each had strong camps.

Bodewes was the 2019 men's Nordic MVP, and the mechanical engineering major made the National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team for the third straight season. He was UNH's top finisher six times last year.

Depth in the lineup comes from returners Andrew Meyer (Bozeman, Mont.) and Casey Shannon (Bend, Ore.).

"Casey has really improved his skating," Schwartz said. "He's always been a strong classic skier, so we are excited to see he's made that jump in camp."

Schwartz marveled at the competition among the men's skiers.

"They are all very close. We feel that any of the carnival team could score for us, so we like our depth and are hoping that we can get some Top-10, Top-15 results out of these guys."

WOMEN
Kaja Sandsten (Oppdal, Norway)
Dariya Kuznetsova (Pervouralsk, Russia)
Eleonora Olsmats (Djursholm, Sweden)
Heidi Ann Booher (Anchorage, Alaska)
Elizabeth Martin (Freeport, Maine)
Lucinda Anderson (Golden Valley, Minn.)

On the women's side, the team has seen an influx of talent that overcomes a lack of collegiate experience. National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team member and engineering physics major Eleonora Olsmats (Djursholm, Sweden) earned the team MVP award last season and will be counted upon again in 2020. Olsmats scored points in 11 of 12 races in her freshman campaign.

Overall, there are 10 racers vying for six weekly lineup placements, and Schwartz indicated that the carnivals will help determine which Wildcats rise to the top.

"We are looking for Dariya and Kaja to show us they can be Top-10 skiers," Schwartz said. "Heidi, as a freshman, has also been skiing very well, and Lizzy Martin had a really good time trial the other day as our top skier."

"We think we could be a better classic team on the women's side. I wouldn't be surprised on a good day that we are Top-3 in classic, but in skating we might be a Top-5."

Among newcomers, Lucinda Anderson (Golden Valley, Minn.) had a strong showing at nationals that foreshadows the potential of Top-10 to Top-15 finishes in her first season. Anderson represented the U.S. Ski Team at the Regional Elite Group Camp in October in Park City, Utah.

Emily Nottonson (Addison, Vt.) and Ale Legate (Anchorage, Alaska) are likely to miss the season due to injury.

ALPINE PREVIEW

Alpine head coach Brian Blank is in his 13^thseason at the helm, and he is joined by former teammate Hayden Barile as a first-year assistant for a UNH alpine unit that is brimming with talent and expectations on the heels of a season in which the Wildcats claimed four All-American finishes at the NCAA Championships.

"Three men, three women at NCAAs is our goal," Blank said. "That was the first thing we said at the first practice of the fall. That's our goal and that's what we have our sights on, getting a full team at the championships and putting ourselves in a good position to do something when we get there."

The 2020 NCAA Championships will be hosted by Montana State University on March 11-14 with alpine races at Bridger Bowl. First up, though, is the EISA Carnival season, which consists of six weekends of slalom and giant slalom racing around New England.

Tentative Alpine Competitors
WOMEN
Emma Woodhouse (Collingwood, Ontario)
Emma Kearing (Carrabassett Valley, Maine)
Rachel Nawrocki (New Castle, N.H.)
Fanny Sanderberg (Oslo, Norway)
Lisa Olsson (Stockholm, Sweden)
Heidi Roussin (Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec)

"Unfortunately we only have six healthy women's skiers at the moment, so there were no hard decisions for the carnival team," Blank said. "Six good skiers, which is what we need, but none to spare right now."

Emma Woodhouse (Collingwood, Ontario) cleaned up in 2019 with All-American Second Team finishes in slalom and giant slalom at NCAAs. The All-East First Team skier won the team MVP award, and Blank expects more of the same from his senior captain.

"She's skiing well right now and has had some good results in early-season races and NorAms. We just had an Eastern Cup race last weekend at Waterville --where we are racing this weekend-- and she skied well, so we are definitely hopeful she can follow up on last year's success."

Lisa Olsson (Stockholm, Sweden) was last year's breakout star as a freshman. Her seventh-place giant slalom finish at NCAAs netted her All-American Second Team accolades, and her work in the classroom (business administration major) resulted in a berth on the National Collegiate All-Academic Ski Team.

"Lisa is skiing well, especially in GS, which was her strong event last year," Blank said. "Both she and Emma are healthy, skiing well and looking forward to this weekend, for sure."

Even though Brianna Macdonald (Toronto, Ontario) will miss opening weekend due to injury, Blank expects the freshman to make an instant impact upon her return, which could come as soon as next weekend's Vermont Carnival (Jan. 24-25).

"One hundred percent, she is right now our fastest GS skier. She is beating Olsson and Woodhouse in GS, so we are eager to get her into the lineup."

MEN
Patrick Kenney (Hingham, Mass.)
Will Bruneau-Bouchard (Quebec City, Quebec)
Corey McConville (London, Ontario)
Jordan Phillips (Montreal, Quebec)
Marius Solbakken (Bekkestua, Norway)
Crowley Gentile (Greenland, N.H.)

Patrick Kenney (Hingham, Mass.), who earned All-American Second Team in giant slalom last season, was the only Wildcat men's alpine skier to reach NCAAs in 2019, but Blank feels he has the team capable of qualifying a full allotment to this year's championships.

"He's kind of our leader on the hill. He's a little banged up, but he is skiing fast and should be ready to go and race hard this weekend. If he skis like he has been this year, he should be Top-10, if not Top-5, in GS. Even slalom, he could surprise people there."

Will Bruneau-Bouchard (Quebec City, Quebec) was the Wildcat men's alpine MVP in 2019, and the junior captain should remain a consistent force in '20.

"Slalom is his better event right now, and he's skiing fast there, so Top-10, Top-5 is not out of the question."

Blank said that Corey McConville (London, Ontario) has shown improvement this preseason, particularly in slalom, which is his best event, and newcomer Marius Solbakken (Bekkestua, Norway) could produce results in GS.

LOOKING AHEAD
•Week 2 of the EISA season is slated for Jan. 24-25 at the UVM Carnival. Alpine races will take place at Stowe, and Nordic skiers will compete at Craftsbury for the second week in a row.

FOLLOW THE WILDCATS
Facebook: UNH Skiing          Facebook: UNH Wildcats
Twitter: @UNHSkiing           Twitter: @UNHWildcats
Instagram: @UNHSkiing       Instagram: @UNHWildcats
Get UNH Skiing Emails         Get UNH Athletics Emails