BURLINGTON, Vt. – The University of Vermont Ski Team will send a full compliment of athletes to the 2016 NCAA Championships next week. The championships are scheduled for March 9-12 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado and will be hosted by the University of Colorado.
RELATED LINKS
NCAA Championship Central Page
UVM Ski Team NCAA Notes (.pdf)The Catamounts are one of eight teams of the 21 schools competing field a full 12-skier squad. Vermont won its sixth straight EISA Championship, the 36th in program history, on Febraury 28 in Middlebury, Vermont.
UVM, which is making its 50th NCAA appearance, has won the NCAA Championship six times. Vermont's last national championship title was in 2012 in Bozeman, Montana. The Catamounts finished fourth last season in Lake Placid, New York.
VERMONT'S NCAA TEAMMen's AlpineBobby Farrell (Sr., Stowe, Vt.) – 2nd NCAA appearance, member of the 2012 National Championship Team
Dom Garand (Sr., Ottawa, Ontario) – 2015 NCAA Slalom Champion
Will St. Germain (So., Saint-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Quebec) – 2nd NCAA appearance
Bobby Farrell is the only member of UVM's NCAA squad that remains from the team that won the 2012 National Championship. The EISA slalom leader this season, he posted seven top-10 finishes and won the slalom at the season-opening Bates Carnival. Farrell was also the runner-up in the slalom at the EISA Championships. Farrell, who is making his second NCAA appearance, earned All-America Second Team honors in 2012 in the giant slalom.
Dom Garand, the reigning NCAA Slalom Champion, finished on the podium in every EISA race he completed this season. He picked up three wins and was the runner-up three in three other races. Garand finished the season as the EISA giant slalom leader. He earned All-America First Team honors in both the giant slalom and slalom last season at the NCAA Championships.
Will St. Germain, last year's EISA Men's Alpine Rookie of the Year, earned top-10 finishes in seven of the eight races he completed. He won the giant slalom race at the EISA Championships last weekend and enters the NCAA Championships having finished in the top-five in the last three races. St. Germain earned All-America Second Team honors at the 2015 NCAA Championships.
Women's AlpineLaurence St. Germain (So., Saint-Ferreol-les-Neiges, Quebec) – 2nd NCAA appearance
Brittany Lathrop (Jr., South Londonderry, N.H.) – NCAA debut
Mille Graesdal (Fr., Oslo, Norway) – NCAA debut
Laurence St. Germain spent the first four weeks of the EISA season training with the Canadian National Team and competing in World Cup races in Europe. When she returned to the EISA Circuit she promptly won four of the six races she competed in, sweeping the slalom and giant slalom at the Dartmouth Carnival, her first EISA races of the year, and also winning the slalom at the EISA Championships. St. Germain earned All-America Second Team honors in the slalom last season.
Brittany Lathrop earns a spot on UVM's NCAA team for the first time in her career. Lathrop posted five top-10 finishes on the year and reached the podium twice. She was the runner-up in the slalom at the season-opening Bates Carnival and also took second place in the giant slalom at the UVM Carnival.
Mille Graesdal, a newcomer from Norway, registered six top-10 finishes in her first season on the EISA Circuit. She had a season-best finish of fourth in the giant slalom at the Williams Carnival and a pair of fifth place finishes in giant slalom races at the UVM Carnival and EISA Championships.
Men's NordicJorgen Grav (Sr., Oslo, Norway) – 4th NCAA appearance
Jack Hegman (Sr., Huntington, Vt.) – 2nd NCAA appearance
Cole Morgan (Sr., Bozeman, Mont.) – NCAA debut
Jorgen Grav makes his fourth straight NCAA appearance. He won five times on the EISA Circuit, including the skate race at the EISA Championships and was on the podium in 10 of the 11 races this season. Grav earned All-America Second Team honors in the classic discipline at last year's NCAA Championships. He has finished in the top-10 in every EISA race dating back to the first race of 2014.
Hegman, the EISA classic and freestyle leader in 2016, won six times on the EISA Circuit, his first career wins as a Catamount. He finished in the top-10 in every race and swept the Nordic races at the Williams Carnival. Hegman earned All-America Second Team honors in the freestyle at last year's NCAA Championships.
Grav and Hegman teamed up to finish first or second in all 11 EISA races this season.
Cole Morgan makes his NCAA debut in 2016. Morgan earned his first career victory in the classic race at the UVM Carnival. He earned top-10 finishes in 10 of the 11 races this season and closed out the season finishing in the top-five in the final four races of the EISA season.
Women's NordicMK Cirelli (Sr., Rutland, Vt.) – 4th NCAA appearance, 2nd at UVM
Iris Pessey (Le Grand-Brornand, In Haute-Savoie, France) – NCAA debut; 2016 EISA Women's Nordic Rookie of the Year
Alayna Sonnesyn (So., Plymouth, Minn.) – 2nd NCAA appearance
MK Cirelli is making her fourth straight NCAA appearance and second as a Catamount. Cirelli earned six podium appearances in 2016 and was runner-up four times. Cirelli wrapped up the EISA season with four straight top-five finishes and was the runner-up in the classic race at the EISA Championships. Cirelli was a second team All-American in the classic at the 2015 NCAA Championships.
Iris Pessey, a newcomer at UVM, is making her NCAA debut. The 2016 EISA Women's Nordic Rookie of the Year, she earned her first EISA win in the classic race, the final race of the EISA Championships. Pessey was on the podium three times in 2016 and finished in the top-10 in each of the final four races of the season.
Alayna Sonnesyn, the 2015 EISA Women's Nordic Rookie of the Year, makes her second trip to the NCAA Championships. She finished in the top-10 in every EISA race she completed this season. She won the classic race at the UVM Carnival for her first career victory and followed up with a win in the freestyle race at Williams. Sonnesyn was on the podium for her final five races.
The NCAA Championships return to Steamboat Springs for the first time since 2010 and the fifth time overall. UVM finished third in 1979 and was the national runner-up in 1993 when the races were held in Steamboat Springs.
The alpine races will be held at Steamboat Ski Resort and Howelsen Hill and will feature night races for the slalom. The Nordic races will take place at Howelsen Hill.
All races are scheduled to be streamed online at
NCAA.com. Links will be posted on the UVM Ski Schedule at UVMathletics.com and posted on social media when they become available.
2016 NCAA Ski Championship Schedule (subject to change) - ALL TIMES EASTERNWednesday, March 911 a.m. - Men's GS First Run (Steamboat Ski Resort)
11:45 a.m. - Women's GS First Run (Steamboat Ski Resort)
1:30 a.m. - Men's GS Second Run (Steamboat Ski Resort)
1:15 p.m. - Women's GS Second Run (Steamboat Ski Resort)
Thursday, March 1011 a.m. - Women's 5K Individual Freestyle (Howelsen Hill)
12:30 a.m. - Men's 10K Individual Freestyle (Howelsen Hill)
Friday, March 118:30 p.m. – Women's Slalom, first run (Howelsen Hill)
9:15 p.m. – Men's Slalom, first run (Howelsen Hill)
10:00 p.m. – Women's Slalom, second run (Howelsen Hill)
10:30 p.m. – Men's Slalom, second run (Howelsen Hill)
Saturday, March 1211 a.m. – Men's 20K Mass Start Classic (Howelsen Hill)
1 p.m. – Women's 15K Mass Start Classic (Howelsen Hill)
4 p.m. – Team Awards Ceremony (Howelsen Hill)
ALL EAST AWARDSThe Catamounts were well represented among the EISA All-East Awards …
EISA Rookie of the YearMax Roeisland – Men's Alpine
Iris Pessey – Women's Nordic
First Team HonoreesMK CirelliDom GarandLaurence St. GermainWill St. GermainJorgen GravJack HegmanCole MorganIris PesseyMax RoeislandAlayna Sonnesyn Second Team HonoreesBobby FarrellStephanie KirkBrittany Lathrop
