Ski Team Announces 2020-21 Newcomers

DURHAM, N.H. – Led by 39^th-year ski program coordinator/Nordic head coach Cory Schwartz and 14^th-year alpine head coach Brian Blank, the UNH ski team welcomed 11 student-athletes to the Wildcats for the 2020-21 academic year.

"Following last year's excellent recruiting class, we again added quality skiers who will help continue the team's climb toward a Top-7 national ranking," Schwartz said. "After the COVID shutdown last March, one of our goals was to bring in skiers who could now --or in a year- make a major impact on the team. We feel we accomplished this, as both the women's and men's teams should be among the top teams in the region with the talent on both the alpine and Nordic squads to send a full team to represent the University at the NCAA Championships."

"We have another great freshman class of alpine skiers," Blank said. "I was unsure who would be joining us as the summer moved along, but we are welcoming skiers from New Hampshire, Alaska and Norway this fall. I believe they can all have a positive impact on our results this winter and possibly a couple of NCAA championship qualifiers out of the group."

Here is an introduction to the UNH skiing newcomers:

Name	Discipline	Hometown / Last Team
Sanne Cassee	Women's Alpine	Anchorage, Alaska / Burke Mountain Academy
Hayden Dahl	Men's Alpine	Plymouth, N.H. / Killington Mountain School
Georgianna Fischer	Women's Nordic	Bozeman, Mont. / Bridger Ski Foundation
Alice House	Women's Nordic	Madison, Wis. / Blackhawk Nordic Ski
Jasmine Lyons	Women's Nordic	Ottawa, Ontario / Nakkertok
Shamus McKim	Men's Alpine	Franconia, N.H. / Burke Mountain Academy
Peder Nersnæs	Men's Alpine	Oslo, Norway / Ingierkollen og Rustad slalomklubb
Everett Olson	Men's Nordic	Snowmass Village, Colo. / University of Alaska Anchorage
James Schneider	Men's Nordic	Plymouth, Minn. / Loppet Nordic Racing
Lea Stabæk Wenaas	Women's Nordic	Oslo, Norway / Røa IL
Seth Wyatt	Men's Nordic	Bozeman, Mont. / Bridger Ski Foundation

Sanne Cassee, who maintains dual citizenship in the United States and the Netherlands, most recently competed at Burke Mountain Academy in Vermont. Cassee qualified for the 2020 U.S. Junior National Championships and registered two giant slalom victories in FIS Alpine competition. Prior to missing the 2019 season with an injury, Cassee won two FIS Super-G races in the 2018 season when she ranked in the Top-15 in U.S. Nationals and Top-10 at U.S. Junior Nationals.

Hayden Dahl is a Granite Stater from Plymouth, N.H., who competed at Killington Mountain School and attended Holderness School. Dahl brings experience from Junior Nationals and Nationals to the Wildcat men's alpine ski team. He was awarded the 2018 Team Award and also played varsity soccer and baseball at Holderness.

Georgianna Fischer comes to the women's Nordic team from the Bridger Ski Foundation and UNH alumnus Andrew Morehouse in Bozeman, Mont. Fischer is a four-time Intermountain Division Junior Nationals selection (2017-20) who was named to the 2019 Regional Elite Group in addition to earning the team's "Best Performance" award that season. Fischer was also an accomplished cross country runner for three state championship teams at Bozeman High School.

Alice House hails from Madison, Wis., where she raced for the Blackhawk Nordic Ski Team and earned the team's Most Valuable Female Skier award four straight seasons (2017-20). As a member of the 2019-20 Great Lakes Region Junior National Team, House placed 13^th in the classic and recorded the second-fastest sprint qualifying time among U20 women's skiers. Other 2020 accomplishments included taking second place in the Nordic state championships and ranking fourth in the Great Lakes Region U20 division. House, a member of the 2018-19 Midwest Region Junior National Team, placed 17^th in the 5K skate and 21^st in the 10K classic at that season's Junior Nationals. She also served as captain of the cross country running team at James Madison Memorial High School.

Jasmine Lyons joins the women's Nordic team after competing for Nakkertok in Canada. The native of Ottawa, Ontario, capture two gold medals in the 2020 Eastern Canadian Championships and four golds at the Provincial Championships. At the U20 World Trials, Lyons posted three Top-10s (seventh, seventh, eighth). In 2019, she claimed bronze at the Canadian National Championships and earned a gold and two bronze finishes at the Eastern Canadian Championships to go along with three golds at the Provincials. Lyons' 2018 season included a gold and a silver at the Ontario Winter Games and a bronze at the Provincials.

Shamus McKim stays in the Granite State for his collegiate alpine skiing career. The Franconia, N.H., native raced for Franconia Ski Club, Green Mountain Valley School and Burke Mountain Academy. McKim also served as team captain for the 2017 Profile High School boys' soccer team that won the NHIAA Division IV state championship.

Peder Nersnæs, a native of Oslo, Norway, is primed to start his Wildcat alpine career after racing for Ingierkollen og Rustad slalomklubb (IRS) in his homeland. Nersnæs earned one podium finish in the Norwegian FIS tour last season and posted several Top-10 finishes in the National Fryenbo Cup. He claimed a victory in FIS ENL during the 2019 competitive campaign.

Everett Olson, a native of Snowmass Village, Colo., joins the Wildcat Nordic program as a transfer from the University of Alaska Anchorage. Olson competed at Junior Nationals three straight years (2018-20) and placed 12^th in the 10K skate in 2020. As a high school senior, he finished first in the 5K skate and second in 5K classic at the state championships, and his Aspen High School squad placed first overall.

James Schneider joins the men's Nordic team by way of Plymouth, Minn. Schneider raced for Loppet Nordic Racing (LNR) and earned All-American in sprint at 2020 Junior Nationals. He previously finished in the Top-15 in the U20 division at 2019 Senior Nationals and was a 2017 Junior National All-American. His older sister, Nicole Schneider, was an NCAA All-American skier at Northern Michigan University.

Lea Stabæk Wenaas comes to UNH from Oslo, Norway, where she competed in the U19/20 for Røa IL last season. Wenaas placed 21^st in the Norwegian Cup at Holmenkollen and 30^th in the senior Norwegian Championship relay with a team consisting of only juniors. In 2019, Wenaas notched five Top-20 results in Norwegian Cup competition, highlighted by a ninth- and a 10^th-place result.

Seth Wyatt heads East after a successful run for Bridger Ski Foundation in Bozeman, Mont. Wyatt finished 15^th in the 10K classic and 12^th in the skate sprint at 2020 Junior Nationals. He qualified for the National Nordic Foundation's Regional Elite Training Group camp in 2019 and 2020. In 2019, Wyatt earned a Top-30 ranking in Junior Nationals. Also an accomplished cross country runner at Bozeman High School, Wyatt was a key member of a program that won a state-record 12^th consecutive championship in 2019. He earned the school's Tough as Nails award in XC for, among other reasons, finishing one race with only one shoe halfway through the course.

ABOUT UNH SKIING
The 2020-21 UNH ski team will be led by two-time NCAA All-American and reigning alpine team MVP Patrick Kenney (Hingham, Mass.) to go along with Nordic MVPs and 2020 NCAA Championship skiers Lucinda Anderson (Golden Valley, Minn.) and Scott Schulz (Lake Placid, N.Y.). The Wildcats placed ninth at NCAAs last March to mark the 27^th Top-10 placement in ski coordinator Cory Schwartz's 38 seasons leading the program.

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Luci Anderson

Sanne Cassee

Hayden Dahl

Georgianna Fischer

Alice House

Patrick Kenney

Jasmine Lyons

Shamus McKim

Everett Olson

James Schneider

Scott Schulz

Seth Wyatt

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