EAST BURKE, Vt. – Junior Mathilde Nelles (Malmedy, Belgium) posted a pair of top-ten finishes to pace the Plymouth State University women's alpine ski team in a pair of Eastern Intercollegiate Ski Association (EISA) giant slalom races at the Burke Mountain FISU at Burke Mountain on Friday.
 
The Panthers finished tied for third in the first race, while placing fourth in the second.
 
The Basics:

• Burke Mountain Alpine Carnival (Women's GS – Race One)
  • Highest finish: Sixth (Nelles)
  • Top-10 finishes: One (Nelles)

• Burke Mountain Alpine Carnival (Women's GS – Race Two)
  • Highest finish: Seventh (Nelles)
  • Top-10 finishes: One (Nelles)

Team Scores:

• Burke Mountain Alpine Carnival (Women's GS – Race One)
  • UVM (141), St. Lawrence (105), Plymouth State (99), Boston College (99)

• Burke Mountain Alpine Carnival (Women's GS – Race Two)
  • UVM (135), Boston College (106), St. Lawrence (105), Plymouth State (98)

How it Happened (Race One):

• Nelles finished her first run with a time of 1:04.9. She ended up sixth after a second run of 1:05.6 for a total time of 2:10.6, finishing 1.8 seconds off the leader.
• Senior Gigi Quimby (Pepperell, Mass.) posted the second fastest time for the Panthers, crossing the line in a combined 2:16.5 to finish 12th overall.
• PSU's remaining four racers were clumped together, taking 15th through 18th. Sophomore Carmela Olmo (Val D'Aran, Spain) led the way with a time of 2:19.7, followed by freshman Claire MacDonell (Toronto, Ontario), junior Katie Townsend (Layton, Utah) and sophomore Zoe Simpson (Portland, Ore.).

How it Happened (Race Two):

• Nelles led the way for the Panthers again in the day's second contest, slipping back one spot to seventh with a time of 2:09.19.
• MacDonell and Olmo ended up 15th and 16th with times of 2:17.38 and 2:18.47, respectively.
• Townsend finished just ahead of Simpson in 18th place, topping her teammate by just 0.15 seconds, while Quimby was unable to finish her second run.

Up Next:

• Next up for the women is the Boston College Carnival from Feb. 27-28. Details of the event have not been released yet.
• The men compete in their two GS races at Burke Mountain Resort tomorrow (Feb. 13).