March 8, 2008 (Bozeman, Mont.) – Senior Lucie Zikova won her third career NCAA title, capturing the slalom for a second time, but it wasn’t enough as the University of Colorado ski team couldn’t maintain a precarious third day lead in finishing second in the 55th Annual NCAA Championships here Saturday.

Denver had the “man advantage” last and used it to turn a 17.5-point deficit into a 30.5 win, as the Pioneers won with 649.5 points. Colorado finished second with 619 points, as both teams performed one skier short of the maximum 12 here this week. DU was short one woman in Nordic, CU one male in alpine. Even though CU’s cross country teams sizzled here and scored a meet-best 387 points, the cushion wasn’t enough to counter DU’s alpine effort.

Utah (585), defending champion Dartmouth (546) and Middlebury (529) rounded out the top five. There was some irony in that all three had full 12-skier squads, the only three in the 21-team field, but couldn’t topple the two finished ahead of all.

This was the 12th time in the 55 NCAA championships that DU and CU both finished in the top two; all seven times that Colorado has finished as the national runner-up, the only team ahead of it was the Pioneers.

Denver becomes the second team in NCAA skiing history to win the title shorthanded; the Pioneers competed here with 11 skiers, the same number CU had in 2006 when it was the first team to win. That Buff team won by 98 points, and under this year’s scoring format, would have been a 75-point win. If the same scoring format was still in use this winter, DU won by the same 30.5.

Coming to an end was a streak of 13 straight years where the third day leader went on to win the title, but this was the first time that the leader didn’t have a full complement of skiers for the final two races. The last school to rally the final day was Vermont in 1994, which pulled off a 57-point swing in moving from third to first in Sugarloaf, Maine.

CU and DU shared the four other “sub-titles” this week, as Colorado led the meet in Nordic points (387) and in women’s scoring (358), while Denver had the edge in alpine points (359) and men’s scoring (353).

“I think this was a good championship and now that it’s over, I’m happy with a second place finish,” CU head coach Richard Rokos said. “DU did a great job all week and they delivered and I have to congratulate them.”

“Having two double-winners, I don’t think that it happens too often, especially to two ladies that deserve it the most,” Rokos said of Zikova and Maria Grevsgaard, who won both women’s Nordic titles. “Lucie had an unbelievable career, three years she skied for us and she pretty much did everything that she could possibly do. And Maria has something that none of the other racers could match, and we get her another year.”

Rokos was correct as Colorado did make some team history here this week. Zikova became the fifth Buff to claim both individual titles at the NCAA’s in the same discipline since the sport went coed in 1983, and coupled with Grevsgaard’s sweep, it marked the first time in the 26 coed NCAA meets that the Buffs had two sweeps the same year. The pair overall joined John Skajem (1987, alpine), Line Selnes (1998, Nordic) and current CU Nordic assistant coach, Jana Rehemaa (2006, Nordic).

ALL-TIME NCAA INDIVIDUAL TITLES BY CU STUDENT-ATHLETES (All Skiers)
4 Bill Marolt, Skiing: 1963 (downhill), 1965 (downhill), 1966 (slalom, alpine combined)
4 Mike Porcarelli, Skiing: 1970 (slalom, alpine combined), 1972 (slalom, alpine combined)
4 Buddy Werner, Skiing: 1961 (slalom, alpine combined); 1963 (downhill, alpine combined)
3 Per Kare Jakobsen, Skiing: 1988 (Nordic freestyle, Nordic relay), 1989 (Nordic freestyle)
3 Lucie Zikova, Skiing: 2006 (slalom), 2008 (giant slalom, slalom)

The four CU individual champions crowned here also tied for the most in a single championship by the Buffaloes, previously done on three other occasions, in 1960, 1963 and 2006.

It was CU’s 78th overall NCAA individual ski title, as the Buffs extended their lead over second place Denver (70), and was also the 21st win by a Buff skier this season, which tied the most in single year dating to 1983. The 2006 Buffaloes also had 21 individual winners over the course of the season.

Zikova also wrapped up her four years at Colorado as the second winningest all-time individual with 16 career wins, trailing only Grevsgaard, who passed her this winter by winning 11 of 12 races.

ALL-TIME INDIVIDUAL WINS BY CU SKIERS
19 Maria Grevsgaard, 2006-08 (12 CL, 7 FS)
16 Lucie Zikova, 2005-08 (12 SL, 4 GS)
13 Per Kare Jakobsen, 1988-90 (9 FS/XC, 4 CL)
12 John Skajem, 1985-87 (8 SL, 4 GS)
11 Anette Skjolden, 1991-93 (7 CL, 4 FS)
11 Line Selnes, 1998 (6 FS, 5 CL)
10 Bjorn Svensson, 1990-93 (6 FS, 4 CL)

Four CU skiers wrapped up their careers at these championships, Roosevelt, Zikova and Nordic racers Lenka Palanova and Kit Richmond. Over the four days, seven Buffaloes earned All-America honors, five first- and/or second-team and two second-teamers.

A side note on DU’s title, as it is the 14th NCAA championship team coached by a Colorado alum. Andy LeRoy, the 2000 national slalom champ his senior year, joins Bill Marolt (seven with CU), Tim Hinderman (two at CU) and Chip LaCasse (four at Vermont) as Buffalo grads who have piloted title teams.

Rokos was happy with LeRoy, also a former CU alpine assistant, winning a title in his second season, he knows what’s like to win early on, with CU’s 1991 title coming in Rokos’ rookie year. “I’m happy for Andy. I’d rather it be us, but if not, I’m glad Andy had the good fortune. It’s like most of the guys here. A bunch of the coaches on the hill have come through the CU program or are affiliated in one way or another. We’re a very small fraternity and we always share each other’s successes.

“The tournament was well conducted and I think that we represented what we could,” Rokos concluded. “Everybody skied well and up to their potential, and in many cases beyond it. Nordics and Maria just showed class for herself as a double-winner, and Lucie, the same thing. There’s not a better way for her to part with collegiate skiing.”

(Assistant SID Allie Musso is with the ski team and contributed to this report.)

55th Annual NCAA Championship Final Team Scores

1. Denver 649.5
2. Colorado 619
3. Utah 560
4. Dartmouth 546
5. Middlebury 529
6. Vermont 455
7. New Mexico 404
8. Alaska-Anchorage 334.5
9. Nevada 303
10. Northern Michigan 287
11. New Hampshire 286
12. Alaska-Fairbanks 253
13. Colby 227
14. Williams 223
15. Bates 153
16. Montana State 145
17. Michigan Tech 63
18. Gustavus Adolphus 59; 19. St. Scholastica 35; 20. Wisconsin-Green Bay 26; 21. Whitman 14.


CU Skiing/2008 NCCA Championship Notes

Cracking the Top
NCAA West schools have won 13 of the last 14 championships, as the skiing elite fraternity remains hard to crack; only seven different schools have claimed the title since the sport went coed in 1983: Utah (9 titles), Colorado (5), Denver (5), Vermont (4), Dartmouth (1), New Mexico (1) and Wyoming (1). But since the ’72 title meet, Vermont (20 titles or seconds), Utah (19), Colorado (17; 14 wins and three seconds) and Denver (8, four wins, four runner-ups) have dominated college skiing over these 37 seasons. Only three other schools, Wyoming (one win and four seconds), Dartmouth (two wins) and New Mexico (one title and two seconds) have been able to crack the top two in this span.

CU All Time
The Buffaloes have won 17 national championships in skiing: 11 men’s (1959-60-72-73-74-75-76-77-78-79-82), five coed (1991-95-98-99) and one women’s (1982, AIAW). The 16 NCAA titles by Colorado trail Denver by three, as the Pioneers caught and passed CU by winning three straight to open the 21st century. After DU and CU (35 combined), Utah has won 10, Vermont 5, Dartmouth 3, Wyoming 2 and New Mexico 1 (CU and Dartmouth tied for the ’76 crown).

Individual Champions
The Buffs had four individual NCAA champions this winter, the fourth time in school history, and posted seven top five efforts overall, including one runner-up finish. Colorado leads all-time with 78 individual titles, topping Denver (70), Utah (64), Vermont (52), Dartmouth (34), Wyoming (19) and Middlebury and New Mexico (10 each); skiers from Alaska-Fairbanks, Dartmouth, Denver and Utah won the other individual crowns. The Buffs have now had three or more individual champions 13 times, including four occasions when CU skiers topped the podium four times: 1960, John Dendahl (skimeister, nordic, cross country) and Dave Butts (downhill); in 1963, Buddy Werner (alpine combined, downhill), Bill Marolt (downhill) and Jimmie Heuga (slalom); in 2006, Jana Rehemaa (classical, freestyle), Kit Richmond (freestyle) and Lucie Zikova (downhill); and this winter, Maria Grevsgaard (freestyle, classical) and Lucie Zikova (giant slalom, slalom). CU has had at least one individual winner 20 of the last 27 seasons.

NACDA Directors’ Cup
Colorado’s second place effort earned the Buffaloes 90 points in the NACDA Directors’ Cup Standings, as skiing is the first of nine NCAA winter titles decided for 2007-08. CU was 25th in the final fall standings with 172 points, the first time in several years CU was out of the top 10 (California led with 370). The 90 points moved CU into the No. 8 position with 260. Denver had 25 points prior to finishing first (118th), and earned 100 in zooming to 47th on the list. The Buffs were third among Big 12 schools in the standings in the fall, trailing only No. 9 Texas (244.5) and No. 23 Oklahoma State (180).

Head Coach Richard Rokos
Richard Rokos wrapped up his 18th season as head coach of the Buffaloes. He has guided the Buffaloes to national championships in 1991 (his first season), 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2006, to second place finishes in 2000, 2002 and 2008, third-place efforts in 1997, 2001, 2003 and 2007, fourth-place showings in 1993, 1994, 1996 and 2004, fifth-place in 1992 and sixth in 2005. Under Rokos, the Buffaloes have won 44 of 111 meets they have skied in, including 39 of 93 in the west and nine RMISA Championships/NCAA West Regionals (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006, 2008). In his tenure, CU has had 88 first-team All-Americans and 143 first- or second-team selections (alpine and Nordic), all adding to 210 top 10 finishes in NCAA championship competition.

In the End
The Colorado women scored 358 points to be the top scoring women’s unit for the third time since 2002, while the men scored 261 to finish third, their best finish since placing second in 2000. Here’s how this year’s championships broke down categorically:

Men’s Team Scoring
Denver 353, Middlebury 269, Colorado 261, Utah 244, Dartmouth 229, New Mexico 215, Vermont 210
WOMEN’S TEAM SCORING: Colorado 358, Dartmouth 317, Utah 306, Denver 296.5, Middlebury 260, Vermont 245, New Mexico 189

Alpine Point Leaders
Denver 359.5, Vermont 336, Utah 269, Middlebury 266, Dartmouth 260, New Hampshire 260, Colorado 232, Alaska-Anchorage 205.5, New Mexico 195. Men’s Leader: Denver 202 (2nd—Middlebury 159). Women’s Leader: Utah 182 (2nd—Vermont 180).

Nordic Point Leaders
Colorado 387, Denver 290, Northern Michigan 287, Dartmouth 286, Utah 281, Middlebury 263, Alaska-Fairbanks 253, New Mexico 209. Men’s Leader: Colorado 192 (2nd—Utah 157). Women’s Leader: Colorado 195 (2nd—Dartmouth 186).

All-Americans
Seven Buffaloes earned All-America honors in the meet, five gaining first-team status: Maria Grevsgaard (freestyle, classical), Lucie Zikova (giant slalom, slalom), Jesper Ostensen (freestyle), Lenka Palanova (freestyle) and Kit Richmond (classical. Ostensen became just the third male CU freshman to earn first-team honors, joining Egil Nilsen who did it in 1981, and Matt Gelso who did it last year. In addition, Ostensen and Palanova also earned second-team All-America honors in their other disciplines, and were joined by Gelso (classical) and Lisa Perricone (slalom). Top five finishes earn skiers the first-team honor, while finishing sixth through 10th nets a second-team honor.

NCAA Skiing All-Academic Team
CU placed a dozen team members on the NCAA Skiing All-Academic Team (its version of Academic All-America), as the qualifications included owning a 3.50 or better grade point average and participation in the NCAA regionals. Ashley Babcock, Mia Gaw, Matt Gelso, Maria Grevsgaard, Karl Nygren, Lenka Palanova, Drew Roberts, Kristin Ronnestrand, Rachel Roosevelt, Arman Serebrakian, Josh Smith and Lucie Zikova all made the prestigious team.

Looking Ahead
Seven of the 11 student-athletes who competed for Colorado in Montana are scheduled to return for the 2008-09 school year, led by senior Maria Grevsgaard, who will return with a fourth year of eligibility. The Buffaloes graduate seven seniors, including four who competed here, Rachel Roosevelt and Lucie Zikova (alpine) and Lenka Palanova and Kit Richmond (Nordic). Also graduating are Nordic performers Mia Gaw and Jenny Hamilton, and alpine skier Miles Cooke.

Future Sites
Bates College will host the 2009 NCAA Championships in Newry and Rumford, Maine. The west will host in 2010, with the site to be selected later this spring, with the east back up for 2011. Colorado and Steamboat Springs have submitted a bid for 2010, as the two put on the 2006 championships together, which many called one of the best championships ever hosted in the sport. Utah, which hasn’t hosted since 2000, and Alaska (last in 2002) also will likely submit bids.