Photo by: DU Media Relations
t this season, the DU ski team won the NCAA Championship for the second consecutive year.
This win marks Denver’s sixth win in the last decade. The Pioneers also won three years in a row at the turn of the century, from 2000-2002, in 2005 and 2008.
A few weeks ago the Pioneers traveled to Bethel and Rumford, Maine, to compete against 22 teams from around the country.
“The fact that we didn’t win an invitational all season was barely noticed by our team or the coaching staff. I think we might have only won two invitational’s total in the past two seasons, but we brought home the title at the end of each,” alpine head coach Andy LeRoy said.
Leading the Pioneers by winning her second individual NCAA Championship was Nordic skier Antje Maempel who was named MVP of the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association.
“It felt much more important this year than it did last year because it was harder to achieve this year,” Maempel said. “We lost half of our men’s team last year due to graduation, and we didn’t get any new people. So it was more surprising to win NCAA this year.”
Maempel beat her CU competitor by a mere 0.5 seconds to sweep the Nordic titles. Her wins made her just the second DU women’s skier to sweep the Nordic titles. Maempel’s titles also created Pioneer history by becoming the 72 and 73 NCAA individual titles at DU.
“I know that throughout DU skiing history there were always great skiers in the team and I’m proud that I can say I was part of such a strong team,” Maempel said. “Someone told me that I’m only the second woman who ever swept both titles. This is an achievement no one can ever take away from me. It feels great.”
Annelise Bailly had a fourth place finish. Kate Dolan placed 28th, Harald Loevenskiold placed 19th and Dan Clark was 24th.
Bailly and Maempel have earned All-American honors in all four events over the past two years at the NCAA.
“We have a lot of advantages here at DU. From the quality education in our classrooms to having the Rocky Mountains in our backyard, we attract the best and brightest from all over the world,” LeRoy said. “When you add these recruits with the support shown by our athletic department, our success should come as no surprise.”
The future for the Pioneers is uncertain, but the team has continually excelled over the last ten years. Denver’s ski team is making history with each additional win. The team has the fifth most titles by any team in any sport at DU.
“I am honored and proud to be a part of the legacy,” LeRoy said. “I feel great about the future of the DU ski team. We have had some excellent recruiting classes, and I think that will show in the years to come.”
“No one really thought we could win this year and we proved them wrong,” Maempel said. “So why not do this next year again?”
