Skiing Lays Foundation for Future Success

New crop of talented freshmen? Check.

New coach, a former trainer of the U.S. Ski Team? Check.

A Nordic captain with two NCAA Championship appearances under her belt? Check (2001) and check (2002).

Same old season for the Harvard men’s and women’s Nordic and alpine ski teams? With a foundation like the one they laid this season, not likely.

Bolstered by an enviable combination of experience and young talent, the Crimson more than fulfilled its expectations by compiling one of its best seasons in years and further adding to the base of a small but historic program.

The Nordic team was led by the consistently stalwart performances of junior captain Anna McLoon.

McLoon, also a Radcliffe heavyweight rower, had a race for the record books at the UVM Winter Carnival in February. Her first-place finish in the 10K Classic made her the first Harvard skier to win a cross country carnival in more than 20 years.

McLoon’s increasingly high-level finishes over the past three years are a clear accomplishment in a sport in which schools like Dartmouth, Vermont and UNH have essential monopolies on the top spots.

“Without question, the highlight of the season was her performance at UVM,” Nordic coach Peter Graves said. “She’s a remarkable, gifted athlete.”

McLoon capped the season with her third straight NCAA Championship appearance as Harvard’s lone representative. Although she struggled in the free skate, placing 27th, she rebounded in the 15K Classic to finish 19th and provide the Crimson with a 19th-place finish overall.

“Look for Anna to be a top skier in the [Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association] next season,” Graves said.

Graves, a former U.S. Nordic Ski Team coach, found his first year directing the Harvard teams to be rewarding and promising. While acknowledging the high level of competition in the EISA, he said that the team had improved by leaps and bounds over the course of the season.

“Progress is measured individually, and sometimes independently from the results,” Graves said, counting improved fitness, better technique and a growing knowledge of racing tactics among the team’s accomplishments this year.

“It has been a huge honor and a great deal of fun to be the coach here. The sky’s the limit with this team,” Graves said.

Graves added that freshmen Sarah Mitchell and Anna Bingham had both made solid progress in their rookie seasons, and hinted that a certain few incoming freshmen would help to beef up the team’s competitiveness and provide McLoon with Crimson company on the podium.

McLoon will continue her duties as women’s captain, while sophomore Ross Feller remains the men’s Nordic captain.

Up on the hill, the alpine squad benefited from the experience of veterans in captain Ryan Myers, junior Matt Perone and senior Bryan Bellmare.

In the final race of the season at the Middlebury Carnival, their combined efforts helped provide the alpine team with its highest score in four years, despite the fact that the Crimson was three skiers shy of the maximum contingent of 10.

“We skied as a tighter team this season,” Myers said.

Instead of determining who would make the team by observing the skiers on the slopes, as had been done in previous seasons, alpine coach Lisa Smyth made cuts early in the year. Doing so ensured a close-knit group of athletes, many of whom possessed previous racing experience.

“It put us all at similar levels of training,” Myers said.

He added that the opportunity for some team members to attend the first race of the season, which usually occurs during finals, was a definite factor in helping to prepare for the rest of the schedule.

Myers will hand over the captaincy to Perone.

Three members of the women’s team improved drastically as the season progressed, particularly freshman Susannah Dickerson, who could anchor the team for the next three years.

Myers said that three experienced incoming freshmen have already committed to the program, and current athletes who are looking to switch sports have also demonstrated interest. With sophomore Molly Simmons assuming the captain’s role, the women’s ski team—as well as the men’s—has the potential for significant progress in the next few years.

—Staff writer Lisa J. Kennelly can be reached at kennell@fas.harvard.edu.

SKIING

Record 11th/15 at EISA Championships, 19th/22 at NCAA Championships

Coaches Lisa Smyth (alpine), Peter Graves (Nordic)

Captains Ryan Myers (Alpine), Anna McLoon and Ross Feller (Nordic)

Highlights Junior Nordic captain Anna McLoon wins the 10K Classic at the UVM Winter Carnival. McLoon qualifies for her third consecutive NCAA Championships.