The club ski team suffered from some key falls this weekend at the 11-team Bromley slalom races, leaving both the men and women struggling to field competitive times.
On Sunday, the men's team raced to a second-place finish, suffering only one critical fall. Senior captain Andrew Benson took first place overall in the race, while freshman Brian Bresee came up with a third-place finish. Unfortunately for the Jumbos, sophomore Pat Tonelli, usually the third Jumbo to clock in, fell on his second run after posting a very impressive time on his first.
"Tonelli was skiing really well," Bresee said. "It was a shame that he hooked a gate on the second run, but [sophomore] Greg Hering skied incredibly well on Sunday to allow us to finish second. Benson talked to us after Saturday and was telling us that we needed to be mentally into it. That helped us get focused again for Sunday."
Benson and Bresee both impressed the field as they finished just over two seconds apart and took two of the top three spots for Tufts. Despite their efforts, the Jumbos narrowly missed out on first place by just three tenths of a second - even without their usual No. 3 racer.
"The team skied really well," Tonelli said. "I skied well on my first run, but after I fell, other guys were able to step up, pull their weight and put us in a position to win. Unfortunately we just came up a little short."
"We had a great day Sunday," Bresee added. "Everybody stepped it up and skied well. After Saturday I was not happy about having to hike on my first run, and I wanted to ski well. Luckily, it worked out."
The women's team experienced disappointment on Sunday as poor course conditions led to a fall by the team's No. 1 racer, sophomore captain Nicole Fontaine.
"The course was really rutted," senior Lauren Vasey said. "Nicole hit a rut and her ski popped off. Conditions were definitely a big factor. You have to give Nicole credit because that was only her first [unfinished race] all season. She is usually very consistent."
Without the support of Fontaine as its top skier, the team slipped to a seventh-place finish overall.
On Saturday, the women had more success, recording consistent and competitive times from their top-three racers and taking a third-place team finish.
Fontaine took third overall and first for the team, while Vasey and freshman Lindsay Rutishauser followed her up with 21st and 26th-place finishes, respectively.
"I was happy that we came in third," Vasey said, "but I don't know if it was more because we skied well or because the other teams didn't. No one had a bad time, and Lindsay skied really well, but I don't think it was the best we have skied."
The men were less fortunate on Saturday, as the vast majority of the team either fell or were disqualified on the way to a fourth-place finish.
Benson had a less than perfect day for his usual standards, coming in fourth overall behind three racers from Castleton, the team that captured first place on both days.
Behind him, only one of the other top five racers finished without a fall or DNF. Hering raced to a respectable 12th place, but Tufts' next best finisher was freshman Arlin Ladue, who came in 37th overall.
"We were a little disappointed that we were not able to support Benson," Tonelli said. "We just need to look to improve and stay focused in practice."
"Most of our guys fell or had to hike," Bresee added. "I think it was tough snow, a tough course and everyone wasn't really mentally into the race."
Indeed, the team attributed its lack of the usual dominance on Saturday to a lack of focus, and it is apparent that the team's future success will depend on its ability to have its top racers finish the course.
"We are having some trouble finishing runs - especially our top guys," Tonelli said. "We need to practice staying focused throughout the entire race. You can lose focus towards the end of the run and that's what gets you in trouble."
After this past weekend of mixed results, Tufts looks ahead to a weekend of Giant Slalom races at Dartmouth on Saturday and Sunday.
