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If anything, the 2003 US Collegiate Ski Championships proved that UBC is a serious force in North American Collegiate ski racing.
At his first College Nationals, first year engineering student-athlete Trevor Bruce carried the men on his back. The former Canadian National Ski Team member won the bronze in Thursday's Giant Slalom, to lead the team to an awesome second place team effort. Third year racers Alexander Boedtker and Paul Boskovich also came up with solid results for the team, placing 17th and 18th respectively.
In Saturday's Slalom, the UBC Men hoped to finish on the overall team podium for the first time since 1997. Against fierce competition Bruce, Boedtker and Boskovich all finished in the top twenty but failed to reach the team podium, finishing fifth. When all the times were added up, UBC ended up fourth overall for both races behind Sierra Nevada College, Boston College and Colby Sawyer College. Despite just missing the overall podium, the race represented a considerable step forward for the Men's program which entered the race ranked 11th in the USCSA.
On the Women's side UBC entered their first National Championships in five years unranked and relatively unknown. On the first day of competition, a tough Giant Slalom course claimed three of the five women and put them out of contention for team glory. Rookie Kim Webber was the top Canuck placing 8th in a field that included many former European National team members.
The Women's Slalom on Friday gave the Women Ski-Birds one last chance to leave an impression in California. Stephanie Rodenkirchen and Kim Webber finished 14th and 20th respectively to help the team place a solid 6th. With the team remaining intact for next year, the UBC women has to be considered a team to watch in 2004.
UBC Skiers Bruce, Boskovich, Boedtker, Rodenkirchen and Webber all claimed Athletic All-American Awards for their efforts. Bronze medalist Trevor Bruce and Men's team manager Paul Boskovich showed that they do in fact travel with textbooks by winning Academic All-American Awards.
The USCSA is the North Americas largest college ski racing league with over 250 teams starting the season with only the top 20 team qualifying for the annual National Championships. UBC is Canada's only representative in the USCSA and has been a member of the college circuit for over 25 years. The Thunderbirds have a strong tradition of finishing men and women in the top-ten, both in the individual and team standings.
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