University of Virginia Library

Ski Team Captures Southern Title

After two years of intercollegiate
competition, the University
Ski Team has not only remained
undefeated, but recently earned the
distinction of being the best in the
South.

Last Saturday, the second annual
University of Virginia Invitational
Ski Meet was held at the
Homestead in Hot Springs. Over
thirty-five racers from six colleges
competed for the Jubilation T.
Cornpone trophy, won last year by
Virginia's John Mowinckel.

The meet consisted of a
twenty-six gate giant slalom course
which was set up by former
Austrian Olympic teams coach, Sepp
Kober.

First-year student Chris Galvin
won the race with a time of 1:06.1,
more than three seconds faster than
second place winner Doug Miller of
Roanoke College. John Mowinckel
and co-captain Dick Moore placed
fourth and sixth for Virginia to
contribute to the winning combined
time of 3:29.8. Roanoke
College placed second with 3:31.8,
and VMI finished third.

Co-captain Brew Moseley, last
year's silver medalist, fell in the
middle of the course and was
disqualified.

In the women's division, Dee
Dee D'orsi, a Homestead instructor
and student at Lynchburg College,
finished first with a time of 1:15.6.
Nancy Hotter of VPI placed second
with a time of 1:40.6.

Following the Homestead meet,
the team traveled to Banner Elk,
N.C., for the Southern Conference
Intercollegiate Ski Championships.
Hosted by Lees-McRae College, the
meet was held at Beech Mountain
and consisted of a giant slalom on
Monday and a downhill race on
Tuesday Fifty racers representing
thirteen southern colleges competed
in the meet. A combined
time for the two events determined
each racer's individual standing, and
the times of the two top racers
from each team decided the overall
team standing.

The giant slalom was an extremely
steep and difficult
twenty-gate course which consisted
of several hairpin turns and moguls
off which the racers were airborne
for as much as fifteen feet.
Throughout the day a dense fog
covered the mountain and visibility
was as low as fifty feet. Since none
of the gates were visible from the
start, the course had to be carefully
memorized by each racer.

Brew Moseley led the team with
a third place time of 1:21.8. Dick
Moore skied an extremely smooth
and well-planned race to finish
second within the team and in the
top ten overall.

Following a fast start, John
Mowinckel missed a gate and was
disqualified. Team racing director
Rick Miller fell on the "nose-dive,"
the steepest part of the race, but
managed to finish with a commendable
time of 2:08.6.

In Tuesday's race, skiers were
hampered by winds up to fifty
miles per hour and poor visibility
again due to fog. Because of injuries
sustained in the giant slalom the
day before, only forty-five racers
competed in the downhill event.

With a time of 56.4, Moseley
won the race and Downhill Championship,
while Dick Moore
finished fourth with a fast time of
58.6. Mowinckel fell mid-way down
the course, but went on the finish
in spite of a broken ski.

Rick Miller, skiing in his first
downhill race, ran aggressively
down the course for a time of
1:00.3, placing high in the top ten.

Virginia received the first place
team trophy, upsetting heavily
favored Appalachian State University
to win the Southern Conference
Championship. Moseley
won second place individual honors
with a combined time of 1:78.2 in
the two events.

Appalachian State placed send
in the men's team standings and
first in the women's division.
Southern Missionary University
placed third.

The team is planning an invitational
meet at Bryce Mountain for
late February or early March, and
hopes to continue its winning
streak in at least three more meets
this season.