Men's Skiing 3/9/2020 12:00:00 AM

USCSA National Championships Preview

USCSA National Championships
Tuesday-Friday, March 10-13
Whiteface Mountain | Lake Placid, N.Y.

WHAT TO KNOW
• The top teams in the country return to Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, N.Y., for the USCSA National Championships beginning on Tuesday morning.
• The championships are being held at Whiteface for the fourth time since 2014.

LAST TIME AT WHITEFACE
• Behind a pair of top-seven finishes from senior Elizabeth Baer, junior Sarah Mangiacotti and first-year Lauren Abdow, the Babson women came in second in both giant slalom races at Whiteface back on January 24-25.
• Senior Jack Blanchard was the Beavers' top finisher in both men's GS races (8th and 5th) to help the team come in second and third on January 24-25.

2019 USCSA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS RECAP
• Mangiacotti finished sixth in the giant slalom, 14th in the slalom and ninth in the combined standings to collect three All-America awards as the Babson women matched the program's best finish with a tie for fourth place at Snow King Mountain in Jackson Hole, Wyo.
• Blanchard bounced back from a fall in his first GS run to earn the fourth All-America accolade of his career with a fourth-place finish in the slalom as the Babson men came in 10th overall.

SCOUTING THE BABSON WOMEN
• The Beavers won the giant slalom and finished fourth in the slalom on the way to coming in second in the combined standings at the USCSA Eastern Regional Championships back on February 22-23 at Sugarloaf.
• Abdow recorded her first career victory in the GS and came in ninth in the slalom, while Mangiacotti and Baer finished fifth and sixth in the GS, respectively.
• Mangiacotti owns 10 top-seven finishes in 12 races, while Baer has posted 11 top-10 results this winter.
• The Babson women are making their fifth consecutive national championships appearance and have finished 4th (2018), T-5th (2017) and 4th (2016) in addition to last year's tie for fourth place.

SCOUTING THE BABSON MEN
• The Green and White came in second in the slalom and third in the giant slalom on the way to posting a runner-up result in the combined standings on February 22-23 at the USCSA Eastern Regional Championships.
• First-year Jack Beney placed second in the slalom and fifth in the GS, while Blanchard (8th SL, 8th GS) and sophomore Victor Wiacek (3rd SL, 10th GS) both produced a pair of top-10 results.
• Senior MacIntyre Henderson also came in third in the GS to record his third top-five finish in six races this winter.
• The Beavers are making their 13th straight trip to nationals and have eight consecutive top-10 finishes, which includes a fourth-place showing at Whiteface in 2018 and a program-best third-place result in 2013.

HISTORY LESSON
• Henderson, who earned All-America honors in the slalom, the GS and the combined standings in both 2017 and 2018, enters this week's championships as one of just men's skiers to in program history earn six All-America honors.
• Blanchard and Baer both enter the final competition of their careers with four All-America awards apiece.
• The Babson men finished first in the slalom and forced a four-way tie for first place in the combined standings before ultimately coming in fourth on tiebreakers at the 2018 national championships at Whiteface.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
• Blanchard, who has finished no worse than eighth in his last eight GS races at Whiteface, Henderson, who owns a victory and two runner-up finishes in seven GS events at Whiteface, and senior Sean Robinson are all set to compete at the USCSA National Championships for the fourth year in a row.
• Baer owns six top-10 results in the giant slalom at Whiteface.

TEAMS TO KNOW
• Defending champion Sierra Nevada and runner-up Rocky Mountain are two of the top programs in the west, while MacConnell Division rivals Castleton and Clarkson should pose a challenge to the Babson men.
• Sierra Nevada's women captured their first title since 2016 last winter, while Castleton, St. Olaf and Rocky Mountain made up the top five along with the Beavers.

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