The University of Vermont ski team came from behind in the final alpine events of the Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) Championships Saturday, using its strength in the Giant Slalom to overcome the deficit and win its 28th consecutive EISA title.
The streak is the longest conference championship winning streak of any sport in the nation, according to the NCAA, and comes in Director of Skiing Chip LaCasse’s 34th and final year at Vermont. The Catamounts finished with 859.5 points, 14.5 better than runner-up Middlebury.
Vermont held a slim 13.5 point lead after the first day, and then saw that lead evaporate after the Nordic races. Vermont’s Ethan Foster won the men’s 20-K classical and Lowell Bailey was second, but the UVM women finished sixth as a team in the 15-K freestyle, giving Dartmouth a 12-point advantage heading into the second run of the GS at the Middlebury Snow Bowl.
As it has all year, Vermont’s alpine team was dominant, leading the Catamounts to the win. In the women’s GS, Jamie Kingsbury solidified her top seed in the East with a huge win, with teammate Hilary McCloyu second and senior captain Gillian McFetridge sixth.
On the men’s side, sophomore sensation Jimmy Cochran (Keene, N.H.), like Kingsbury the top-rated alpine skier in the East, added a second EISA title to his resume with a overwhelming victory in the GS. Vermont’s Scott Kennison was third and Matt Knittle was seventh.
The Catamounts will now enter the NCAA Championships as the East’s top team. The NCAA’s are being hosted by Dartmouth College on March 5-8, 2003.
-SportsInfo
