Ski team has a great time both on and off the slopes

The Tufts ski team's season came to a close last weekend with the women's team finishing eighth out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference Championships regional competition. The men's team failed to qualify for regionals, but finished sixth out of ten in the Thompson division.

Both the men's "Bob" and women's "Betty" teams have been training and racing since early January. Both teams took a training trip to Waterville, New Hampshire before the start of the spring semester to either learn or fine tune their alpine racing skills.

"We don't require any racing experience," senior captain Anne Marie Braun said. "[Ski team] is a club sport and is open to everybody. We get a mix of people who have been racing their whole lives and people who have never raced before."

With a total of about 60 racers on the roster and 35-40 skiers regularly competing, the ski team boasts a variety of talent both young and old.

Three strong freshmen helped boost the women's team from a fifth seed in the Thompson division at the start of the season to a third place final position. Lael Nelson, Eliza Appert and Chloe Snider all finished ranked amongst the top twenty individual racers in the division as well.

Appert's season was shortened due to a pre-season foot injury, but she still managed to place sixth in her first collegiate slalom race and end up ranked 13th overall. Her performance along with those of 12th ranked Nelson, 14th ranked fifth year Jordana Fish, and 16th ranked Snider enhanced the team's standing and helped filled the void left by two prominent junior skiers who are abroad this semester.

"This season we had a lot of new freshmen," Braun said. "There are only two senior [women] on the team so the freshmen came in and helped us get to regionals."

Although the men's season did not culminate with an appearance at regionals, the team enjoyed its season and looks forward to a promising future.

In much the same way as the women's team, the men's squad featured freshmen in high places.

First year Andrew Tonelli had the best overall ranking of any Tufts man finishing 17th overall in the Thompson division. Fellow freshman Max Felker-Kantor ended the season ranked 32nd after never having raced competitively before coming to college.

"I had never raced before," Felker-Kantor said. "But after Waterville and practicing twice a week, it was an easy transition from free skiing to racing."

Not to be overshadowed by the rookies, senior Michael Coughlin also had a solid season finishing with a 28th divisional ranking.

Although individual racing is a very important part of being on the ski team, members love being around each other off the slopes as well.

"It's been a great team dynamic this year," Braun said. "Everyone gets along... we are a really close team because we spend so much time together. You make a lot of close friends that want to have a good time. There's great camaraderie."

The team takes weekend trips to races six times over the course of the season. Members pack up their cars on Friday night, race all day Saturday and Sunday, and then return Sunday evening. With a substantial amount of time spent in hotels together, the team has more than enough time to connect.

"Even though I missed out on the first part of the season because of my broken foot, the team was really welcoming when I came back," Appert said. "Everyone is really laid back and we have a lot of fun."

When asked what the best parts of being on the ski team were, Felker-Kantor broke into a laughing grin.

"Those would have to be going away to ski every weekend, being with the team, Redrose, and seeing all the hot girls in their tight GS suits," Felker-Kantor said.