Closer to Normal: 'A Really, Really Good Day'

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FRANCONIA – It was game on Wednesday at the 2021 NCAA Skiing championships at sun-splashed and warm Cannon Mountain.

The athletes were just loving it.

"It's been really good, it's really fun to be back," said junior Fanny Sanderberg, who turned in an 18^th-place finish to lead the University of New Hampshire ski team in the women's giant slalom. "The conditions were perfect. It's such a beautiful day. I think this is the best day we've had in all my three years at UNH. The weather, the feeling, the conditions. It's been a really, really good day. It seems normal again, so that's really nice."

The feeling. Normal. At least partly normal. Much to be said for that.

Everyone had to cover their faces with masks and there was testing to be done and no spectators are allowed at the event . . . But the NCAAs were under way.

UNH finished tied for seventh in total score after the day's two events, the women's and men's giant slalom. The women were eighth and the men, led by junior Crowley Gentile's 12^th-place result, were fifth.

The Wildcats will look to climb up and improve a few notches as the NCAAs move on to Jackson XC for the classical races on Thursday, come back to Cannon/Mittersill for slalom on Friday and then close out at Jackson for the freestyle cross country on Saturday. All the races will be livestreamed at www.ncaa.com, available through www.unwildcats.com.

Just being back at the NCAAs was a major plus. Last year's championships were abruptly called off after the first two days and everyone was sent home from Bridger Bowl in Montana.

This season started with so many question marks.

"I think everyone's just really excited that we were able to pull off an NCAA Championship," said junior Lisa Olsson, who was 22^ndin the GS. "We were coming into the season not knowing how it was going to be, if we were going to have races at all. Now we have a championship and we're really proud of the school for pulling it off and having all these schools here."

Olsson stressed the proud part, a thankful part.

UNH and its administration stepped up in the last few months when Middlebury College, which was originally scheduled to host this year, was unable to due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

UNH did it on such short notice," Olsson said. "We're so thankful to be here. And that's the whole circuit, not just UNH skiing. Every ski team in the country is really thankful that we're having it. Without UNH, we wouldn't have a ski championship this year."

For senior Rachel Nawrocki, who finished 22^nd in the giant slalom in her first time racing in the NCAAs, having the event in northern New Hampshire is an added bonus. She's from New Castle, N.H.

"It was really iffy what was going to happen," she said. "We were all hoping for it. It was kind of living day to day: Is it going to happen? I'm a senior, I'm from New Hampshire and I went to school in New Hampshire and now I'm ending it with a home race. Cannon is known to be cloudy a lot and the other day it was very windy. Today we have a bright blue day and the sun's been out all day. It's pretty cool."

WATCH THE 'SHIP

All events at the championships will be livestreamed at www.ncaa.com
Streaming and more information is available through the NCAA Championship page at www.unhwildacts.com

THIS AND THAT

Montana State and Westminster College are tied for the team lead after the first day with 137 points.
The University of Colorado is third with 119 points and Utah is fourth with 108.
The University of Denver is fifth with 97 and Vermont is sixth with 94.
UNH and Plymouth State are tied for seventh with 77 points.
Colorado's Cassidy Gray won the women's race with a two-run time of 2 minutes, 7.18 seconds to edge teammate Stef Fleckenstein's 2:07.66.
CU won the women's giant slalom.
Utah won the men's giant slalom.
Westminster's Mikkel Solbakken won the individual title in the men's giant slalom in 2:01.57.
He's the younger brother of UNH's Marius Solbakken, who was the second Wildcat finisher in 17^th place.
Both are sophomores.
Will Bruneau-Bouchard finished 19^th for the Wildcats.
Utah is looking to defend its 2019 championship and has won two of the last three NCAA titles.
There was no team championship awarded last year.
Westminster competes in alpine skiing, but not Nordic and is in Division II in most sports.
UNH also hosted the 2017 NCAA Skiing Championships at Cannon/Mittersill and Jackson XC.

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Will Bruneau-Bouchard

Crowley Gentile

Rachel Nawrocki

Lisa Olsson

Fanny Sanderberg

Marius Solbakken

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