University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
Ann Shaw Savela 1953 - Skiing
What do you do when you go to college and there's no team for your favorite sport? If you're anything like Ann Shaw Savela, you start a program, earn letters and serve as captain for four years. Now a national power, the UVM women's ski team was initiated in 1950 by Shaw Savela, a 1984 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, during her freshman year.
The Stowe, Vt.-native was a skier since age five and a competitive racer in high school. In that first year, she earned a spot on the U.S. Ski Team, for competition against Canada. She won three slaloms and a giant slalom at Middlebury Winter Carnivals during her career, and in 1953 won the New York State Slalom Championships.
As a sophomore, Shaw Savela received a tryout for the 1952 Olympics in Sun Valley, Idaho, and, as a junior she placed fifth in the slalom at the nationals, held in her hometown of Stowe.
An extremely versatile athlete, Shaw Savela was an accomplished basketball player in high school, and continues to have a distinguished golf career. She played in more than a dozen Vermont State Amateur Golf Championships, finishing eighth in 1973 and 1976, and sixth in 1977. She has captured the Stowe Country Club Championship seven times, and has been a Tri-State team member for over 10 years.
As a masters skier, Shaw Savela has competed in the New Englands, Easterns, the Trans-National, and the National Seniors. Shaw Savela's nephew, Andy (UVM '86) a standout skier for the Catamounts, is also a member of the UVM Athletic Hall of Fame.
