Alpine team has big weekend at St. Michael’s Winter Carnival

Posted by: Andy Walter on January 20, 2007

Megan Papineau ’09

Leo Menard ’08

SMUGGLERS NOTCH, Vt. — On the second day of the season-opening St. Michael’s College Winter Carnival, the Bates College alpine ski teams posted solid fifth-place showings in the slalom to follow up on an excellent first day.

The Bates ski teams finished the Carnival in fifth place overall out of 12 teams with 512 points, beating out rivals Williams (486), St. Lawrence (427) and Colby (387) and trailing only Dartmouth, Vermont, Middlebury and New Hampshire.

The first day was highlighted by sophomore Megan Papineau’s third-place performance in the women’s giant slalom. Papineau (Keene, N.Y.) had runs of 56.73 and 58.91 seconds for a total time of 1:55.64, behind only competitors from Dartmouth and Vermont. Bates head alpine coach Rogan Connell said he believes Papineau’s performance is the first time a Bates skier has stood on the podium since 2001. Sophomore Liz Thompson (Rangeley, Maine), junior Whitney Fahy (Carrabassett Valley, Maine) and first-year Allison Martini (Fair Haven, N.J.) also ranked among the top 22, helping the women’s giant slalom contingent to claim third place in the event.

On the men’s side, junior Leo Menard (Portland, Maine) had runs of 55.14 and 55.73 seconds earning him sixth place out of 59 competitors in the giant slalom. Junior Dan Loman (Killington, Vt.) and junior Matthew Brockman (Sudbury, Mass.) placed 11th and 26th, respectively, leading Bates’ men’s alpine team to a fourth-place showing.

In the slalom on Saturday, it was Loman in 12th place and Menard in 13th leading the way for the Bates men, separated by a mere hundredth of a second with cumulative times of 1:30.31 and 1:30.32, respectively. Senior Carter Casner (North Kingstown, R.I.) placed 19th, Brockman came in 24th and junior Kevin Berry (Portsmouth, N.H.) was 28th.

Thompson paced the Bobcats in the women’s slalom, with an aggregate time of 1:38.89 placing her at 11th out of 51 competitors. Papineau came in 16th, while sophomore Perry Kleeman (Litchfield, Conn.) finished 19th and Martini placed 29th.

Bates competes at the UNH carnival this weekend at Attitash.

Click here for Carnival results.