After finishing fourteenth at Division I NCAAs last year, the Williams ski team is looking forward to an even stronger 2010 campaign.
Head nordic coach Bud Fisher is optimistic about the team this year. "The 2010 edition of the Williams nordic team looks very promising," Fisher says, "We have the strongest group of returnees we have seen in a number of years."
The men's nordic team is one of the deepest and most talented in recent memory. The squad, which has graduated only one senior each of the last two years, hopes to build on its excellent 2009 season, when it finished in the top three of several carnival races. Senior Alex Taylor, who says the team will be "the strongest of my four years," is the team's captain and will be one of the fastest skiers on the circuit. Taylor, the lone senior, will be joined by juniors Caleb Lucy, Evan Dethier, Robby Cuthbert, and Keith Kantack, all of whom have been solid contributors over the past two years. These five will be strengthened by a fast sophomore class of Erik Anderson and Dimitri Luethi, who qualified for last year's NCAA championships as a freshman. First years Phil Tosteson, Casey Jones, and Ian Nesbitt will likely see lots of action in Eastern Cup races but will also be pushing to get time on the carnival circuit. The men's team is also eagerly awaiting the return of Mark Johnson, who spent the past year skiing and studying in Norway.
The women's team, led by senior captain and NCAA qualifier Alice Nelson, looks to return to the form that placed it in the top three of the 2008 carnivals. "We prepared well for the season with a lot of rollerskiing and interval work and our overall fitness and strength is better than it was last year," says Nelson, who will be pushed by juniors Maddy Wendt, Sarah Tory, and Kristen Johnson, a 2008 NCAA championship qualifier. Sophomore Holly Whitney, who skied in every carnival her freshman year, returns with classmate Hannah Hausman, who sat out last year with a broken wrist. Freshman Christina Knapp, who recently raced well at US Nationals in her hometown of Anchorage, Alaska, joins the team with classmate Blair Robinson.
The alpine team also looks primed for a great season on the slopes. "I am very excited about this coming season," says head coach Ed Grees, "we have two very good teams with NCAA qualifiers, Alex Dyroff, Emily Porter and Kelsey Levine as returning seniors."
On the men's side, Dyroff, the captain, returns after a breakout 2009 season, in which he podiumed twice. After missing most of last season, seniors Adam Carman and Taylor Goller are back from east Africa and have looked strong in early season training. Joining them will be Juniors Jeff Putnam, Alex Reeves, and transfer Sean Cummiskey- a trio with the potential for a big season. The sophomore class of Will Hadden, Whitney Mikell, and Nick Tomczyk has limited experience, but will be looked to in a greater capacity this year. Coach Grees is particularly excited about his first years, Jeff Bak and Chris Nocek, who he hopes can be contributors in their first year as Ephs.
The women's alpine team is captained by senior Kelsey Levine, who has experience skiing at NCAAs. Emily Porter, also a senior, has skied at NCAAs each of the last two years and, along with Levine, will likely be scoring the bulk of the team's points this season. Senior Liz McClure and Junior Annie Hanson will also figure to be important scorers. The upperclasswomen will be bolstered by a strong sophomore class of Hannah Mangham, Katy Kirkpatrick, Amy McLaughlin, and Laurel Carter, who Grees expects will be a particularly big contributor. Levine calls the first years "the fastest incoming freshmen class that we have seen in a while," with Annie Leiter, Marissa Thiel, Kristina Krone, Geordie Lonza, and Sarah Roseman all looking to prove themselves on the college circuit.
The team opens the regular season this weekend in Lake Placid at the St. Lawrence winter carnival.
