Colorado University Athletics
Skiers Open 2009 Season In Alaska This Week
January 04, 2009 | Skiing
The University of Colorado ski team enters the 2009 season with its sights set on another NCAA Championship, a feat that they accomplished as recent as three years ago and a total of 17 times in program history.
The Buffaloes will feature a new-look roster as coach Richard Rokos welcomes 10 newcomers, each of whom could make an immediate impact on the already accomplished team. The Buffs are also without 10 skiers from last year's squad, four in alpine and six in nordic.
The men's alpine team returns five veterans, who all have high expectations this season after a disappointing finish last year.
"Last year was a rude awakening," Rokos said. "After the season we did a lot of analyzing and talked about the things that were underestimated, like consistency and commitment. Sometimes people feel that coming in with a good background is enough to carry them into the collegiate level, but the competition is such that you have to commit consistently at this level to be able to achieve your goals."
Rokos believes that his squad is excited and more motivated than last year. Senior Drew Roberts has been skiing confidently and solid during the preseason and Pat Duran appears to be fully rehabbed after a 2006 injury. Tony Cesolini, Stefan Hughes and Arman Serebrakian all return with a new mentality this season and each will continue to fight for starting spots this season.
"I plan for them to build on their qualities and achieve great success as a result," Rokos said.
Newcomers Taggart Spenst and Eric Davis have a certain mentality and experience that Rokos believes will be beneficial this year, as they both are looking to succeed at the collegiate level with the hopes of eventually making the national team. Both come from the same prestigious program at the Winter Sports School and Rokos expects both to be contenders at NCAA's. Newcomer Gabriel Rivas is a carbon copy of former skier Jean-Francois Ferreira in terms of personality and excitement about skiing. He comes from an extensive ski background in Europe and saw time on the French national team. Rokos expects him to be an immediate scorer and qualifier, as well.
In women's alpine action, the Buffs return all but two letterwinners, but one of the losses is two-time 2008 NCAA Champion Lucie Zikova. Rokos believes that his women's team deserves a good year and after losing a lot of experience in Zikova and Rachel Roosevelt, he is hopeful about rebuilding the women's team in 2009.
"I feel very confident right now about the strength of the women's team," Rokos said. "I was even more confident after seeing them in preseason competition with the rest of the RMISA schools."
Rokos enters the 2009 season with a deep roster and a very solid group. Senior Lisa Perricone, the team captain, is a three-time first team All-American and despite dealing with an injury at NCAA's last season, she still managed a 10th place finish in the slalom.
"After two years of struggling with injuries, (Perricone) finally fits in her boots and I'm excited to see what she will accomplish this season," said Rokos.
Sophomore Katie Hartman is already a veteran on the squad and along with freshman Jenny Allen, both much like the newcomers on the men's side, are skiing with the national team on their mind and having that goal in front of them gives them good motivation to achieve great things in four years.
"It's always an honor to put your skiers on the national team," Rokos said. "When that time comes it will be exciting, but I look forward to what they will be able to accomplish during their collegiate careers."
On the nordic side, coach Bruce Cranmer looks forward to a solid overall team performance this season that should be as strong as last year, if not stronger. Cranmer welcomes back all but one men's skier, but his women's squad will feature a new-look lineup featuring two newcomers and five less women than last year.
For the men's half, the Buffs lose two-time All-American Kit Richmond to graduation, but Cranmer expects sophomore Jesper Ostensen to be able to pick up where he left off last season in 2009. Ostensen has proven himself so far in the pre-season, finishing second in West Yellowstone, Mont., behind a top World Cup skier. Along with Ostensen, junior Matt Gelso will also look to set the pace for the Buffaloes this season. Gelso returns as a top contender after battling through being sick most of last year.
Seniors Karl Nygren and Josh Smith will look to capitalize on their veteran experience and close out their senior campaigns on high notes. Nygren is in great shape this year, finishing third behind Ostensen in the pre-season race in Yellowstone and then taking first the following week in Breckenridge. Smith has also had a solid start to the season and Cranmer expects the senior pair to challenge the rest of the CU men for a top-three spot.
Junior Patrick Neel, who was forced to sit out a year last season after transferring from Western State, is ready to get back on the collegiate circuit and make a difference for the Buffs this season. Also competing for Colorado for the first time this year are newcomers Reid Pletcher and Vegard Kjoelhamar. Cranmer expects both to be top skiers and solid contenders to score for the team and potentially represent CU at the NCAA Championships.
On the women's side, 2008 Freestyle and Classical NCAA Champion and four-time first team All-American Maria Grevsgaard will look to lead the Buffs again in her final year of competition.
"We have lost a large part of last year's team," Cranmer said. "But what we have lost in quantity, we will make up in quality."
Grevsgaard returns from an almost perfect season last year as the most dominant skier on the collegiate circuit, winning 11 of 12 races, including the coveted NCAA sweep, and she will continue to be one of the top women to beat this season. Senior Megan Wilder is also back and Cranmer expects Wilder to step up for the Buffs as a regular scorer in her final season of competition.
Two new additions to the women's squad will help wrap up the nordic roster in Alexa Turzian and Katie Stege. Turzian is a transfer from Middlebury, and despite undergoing hip surgery in August, seems to be progressing well and Cranmer hopes that she will be in top form by March. Stege is a local athlete who has spent time as a member of the Rocky Mountain Junior National Ski Team and Cranmer hopes that her experience will help her succeed at the collegiate level in 2008.
"My goal has always been to build one team with the ability to win," Rokos said. "Obviously it is composed of four components (men's and women's alpine and men's and women's nordic), but this year I feel that the overall strength is far more balanced than last year and I am excited to see what this team will accomplish this season."
The Buffs will get a fast look at how that balance will play out in 2009, as the team is in Alaska ready for the first two meets of the year, which comprise half of the regular season. The Alaska Invitational will take place Jan. 5-10 and the Seawolf Invitational will officially take place Jan. 9-11. The alpine portions of the meet will take place in Gridwood, Alaska, while the nordic squads will compete in Anchorage.
