University of Massachusets Athletics
2002 Season Preview
January 23, 2002 | Men's Ski
Jan. 23, 2002
After failing to qualify for the 2001 USCSA Nationals, the University of Massachusetts men's skiing team is looking forward to the challenge of returning to that event this season. The Minutemen have a great deal of depth and should be a force on the slopes in 2002.
Head coach Igor Vanovac, who is beginning his first season at the helm of both programs, was the Director of Racing at Mount Snow in Vermont for the last two years. Bill MacConnell, who has been the coach for the previous forty seasons, will assist Vanovac along with Mike Leblanc to insure a smooth transition. LeBlanc, a graduate student at UMass in the School of Education, is in his second season as an assistant coach.
Due to the University's extended winter break, both programs benefit from a rigorous training program. From December 26 to January 26, Vanovac will have both squads on the slopes of Berkshire East, in Charlemont, Mass., training. Berkshire East is a steep and spacious mountain about an hour from Amherst. While other schools will be in class, UMass will have the benefit of a straight month of practice and will be in great shape and high spirits when they open up the 2002 campaign by hosting the UMass Carnival at Berkshire East, January 19-20.
The Minutemen are led by senior captain Ken Thoman. Last season, Thoman was the Minutemen's top-finisher in each regular season race. His best finish was fourth in the slalom at the UMass Carnival. The Lebanon, Ohio native has struggled in only one of his forty races at UMass, according to MacConnell.
"Ken has improved his ability tremendously in his four years at UMass,? said MacConnell. "He is an incredibly dependable skier and will make a difference for us this year."
Junior Beau Gibson, from Oakland, Md., will ski in the top four. He went through the same program at Killington (Vt.) Academy as Thoman, so they work well together. Beau is returning from a semester of domestic exchange at the University of Maryland.
"Beau is a very strong and confident skier for us," said MacConnell. "He is a tremendous athlete and therefore an asset to the lineup."
Also skiing in the top four will be Rich Granger. The senior from Princeton, Mass. had a season-best finish of 12th in the slalom against Boston College a year ago. After spending five months in Europe, he returned to school and was consistently the Minutemen's second-place finisher in 2001.
"Rich has made giant strides every year that he has been with us," said MacConnell. He is going to be pushing the guys ahead of him."
Vanovac and MacConnell have brought in a freshman who should ski in the top four. Matt Gable, a native of Liyonia, Mich., is one of three newcomers from Liyonia.
According to MacConnell, "The kids from Michigan are better in slalom skiing than in the giant slalom because Michigan lacks hills. They do, however, have a good land fill system. When the fills get high enough, you can ski down them. The giant slalom is a longer and faster course. You need good-sized hills for this."
The men's team is also looking for some top 15 finishes from Davis Pomeroy, Chris Pomeroy and Jay Robbins, who have had very strong pre-season results.
The rest of the team is comprised of mostly underclassmen. Although there are 10 skiers in a competition from each team, only the best five count. Jockeying for position will be Marshal Doughty, Jon Gray, Nate Barr, Kevin Collins, Todd Kremin, Nick Rufe and Gidon Silverstein.
Gray, who will likely race sixth, will look to keep up the family tradition as his father skied for MacConnell some thirty years ago. Doughty has low USSA points and is expected to make an immediate impact. With a solid mix of experienced leaders and talented newcomers, this should be an exciting yearfor the UMass men's ski program.
The two programs have combined for 30 Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference titles and will be a favorite once again this season. The NCAA Championship will be held March 4-9 at the Mt. Alyeska and Kincaid Park in Anchorage, Alaska, while the USCSA Championships will be March 4, at Waterville Valley.