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NEWRY/RUMFORD, Maine – The University of Vermont ski team opened the 2015 season at the Bates Carnival on Friday and took a 21 point lead over Dartmouth after the first day of racing. The Catamounts won the women's giant slalom and 15K Classic races as a team to help UVM produce 447 points.
 
Dartmouth, which won the men's 20K Classic event, is in second with 426 points and is followed by New Hampshire in third (326 points), Middlebury, winners of the men's giant slalom, in fourth (357 points) and Colby College in fifth place (229 points).
 
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Complete Results

At Black Mountain in Rumford, Maine, the Catamounts placed three skiers in the top 10 in the women's 15K Classic race. Newcomer Alayna Sonneyson earned a spot on the podium with a third place finish and time of 49:45.2. M.K. Cirelli, a transfer from Northern Michigan, finished fifth in her first race at UVM. Sophomore Marion Woods added a seventh place finish and picked up 33 points for Vermont
 
In the men's 20K Classic, Jack Hegman (1:00:08.8) and Jorgen Grav (1:00:11.1) finished 5-6 and newcomer Tobias Trenkle was eighth overall to round out the scoring Catamounts.
 
At Sunday River, Elise Tefre picked up the first win of the season for the Catamounts, capturing first place in the women's giant slalom. She had the fastest first run of the day at 1:07.26 and finished with a combined time of 2:12.92. Teammate Elli Terwiel, who returned to the EISA Circuit after taking last year off to train and compete in the Sochi Olympic Games, was fifth with a two-run total of 2:15.44.  Newcomer Laurence St. Germain added an eighth place finish in her first collegiate race to propel UVM to the team win in the event.
 
In the men's giant slalom race, three newcomers lead the Catamounts. William St. Germain finished second overall. He was sixth after the first run, but had the fastest time down the hill in the second run (1:03.53) to post a combined time of 2:10.58. Sandy Vietze was seventh and Gaby Coulet finished ninth in their first races at Vermont.
 
The Bates Carnival continues Saturday following this schedule:
9:15 a.m. - Men's SL 1st Run at Sunday River
10:00 a.m. - Women's 5 km Freestyle at Black Mountain
10:15 a.m. - Women's SL 1st Run at Sunday River
12:00 a.m. - Men's 10 km Freestyle at Black Mountain
12:15 p.m. - Men's SL 2nd Run at Sunday River
1:15 p.m. - Women's SL 2nd Run at Sunday River