Ghent Secures Silver In Super Combined - University of Colorado Athletics

ERZURUM, Turkey - University of Colorado sophomore Erika Ghent used a second place finish in the women's Super Combined Super G race to secure a silver medal in the Super Combined here Wednesday at the 25th World University Games. The medal is just the third obtained by a CU skier at WUG and is the second of these Games.

Additionally on Thursday, three Buffs finished in the top 10 of the women's giant slalom races led by senior Carolina Nordh, who took fifth while Ghent took ninth and freshman Kirsten Cooper was 10th.

Entering the Super G portion of the Super Combined race, Ghent was in second on the strength of her runner-up performance in the slalom race on Tuesday, finishing behind Slovakia's Barbora Lukacova. This time she finished second to France's Aude Aguilaniu, who won the Super G race to edge out Ghent by three-tenths of a second for the Super Combined medal.

Ghent's silver follows in the footsteps of teammate's Katie Hartman's gold medal in the Super G race to open the alpine skiing portion of the Games. CU's Erika Hogan also medaled in 2003, earning a bronze in the slalom race in Tarvisio, Italy.

Hartman suffered a knee injury in the first attempt to run the Super Combined Super G race on Monday and that race was cancelled and re-run Wednesday. CU's Kirsten Cooper (USA), Sara Hjertman (Sweden) and Carolina Nordh (Sweden) all did not finish the Super Combined, with Hjertman and Nordh not finishing the slalom race and Cooper not starting the Super G.

On the men's side, CU's Gabriel Rivas, skiing for France, took 17th in the Super Combined after a 33rd place finish in the Super G race. Skiing for the United States, junior Taggart Spenst finished 23rd in the Super Combined.

The games are entering the final three days here through the weekend with the men's giant slalom races on Friday followed by the women's slalom on Saturday and concluding just before the Closing Ceremonies with the men's slalom races Sunday.