January 5, 2007

Castleton women finish 2nd out of 7 teams, men 2nd out of 8 at UMF Open

Sugarloaf, ME-In the season opener for both the Castleton men's and women's alpine skiing teams the Spartans began where they left off in 2006 as both teams posted impressive runs in the giant slalom competition. The women's team posted a second place finish out seven teams competing. Five Spartan competitors made their collegiate debut, and gave eventual winner UMass-Amherst a push for the win. On the men's side Castleton raced with a pair of teams, with the "A" team finishing second out of eight teams and the "B" squad finishing fifth. UMass-Amherst won the men's race, giving them the afternoon sweep.

Women: Castleton was led by senior transfer, Nicole Kondziela led the Spartans with a fourth place finish. Sophomore, Emma Harvey battled back after a 10th fastest first run to finish sixth on the afternoon. UMass-Amherst won the overall, after finishing sixth in the country in 2006.

Men: Justin Schwartz led the Spartans with a fifth place finish, battling back from a sub-par first run to salvage the top-five finish. Freshman, Greg Towle was second quickest for Castleton, finishing his first collegiate race in eighth position. UMass-Amherst also won the men's race, one year removed from placing fifth in the country.

###Spartans###