Dec. 9, 2007

Complete Results

ANCHORAGE, AK- Alaska survived a strong performance from the Seawolves in the men's skate races to claim the Alaska Nordic Cup for the second consecutive year. Despite claiming two points less than Anchorage in the second day of competition (the Seawolves won Day Two, 22-20), the Nanooks' six-point advantage built on Saturday held up to give the Blue and Gold the overall win in their season-opening event.

After coming into Sunday's events with a 24-18 lead, Alaska's women promptly extended the gap to nine points as Elisabeth Habermann and Aurelia Korthauer took the top two spots in the 5 km interval-start skate. Habermann completed the uphill course in 35:32, while Korthauer finished in 37:14, just edging UAA's Brittany Greer for the second spot. Tamra Kornfield also scored a point for the women's team, as they cruised past the Seawolves, 12-9.

UAA would not surrender the Nordic Cup easily, however, and the Nanook men faced a tough fight from a strong Seawolf roster. Marius Korthauer was the only Alaska skier able to land a top-five spot, scoring a vital five points with a second-place finish in 30:08. Vahur Teppan and Andy Schnitzer also brought in points for the Nanooks, coming in sixth and seventh, respectively.

Amazingly, this marks the first season in the four-year history of the Alaska Nordic Cup that the weather has permitted two days of competitions between the two schools. The Nanooks now lead the all-time cup series with a record of 2-1-1.

Alaska now get nearly a month layoff before jumping into its NCAA qualifying schedule with the U.S. National Championships, which will be held in Houghton, MI from Jan. 1-6, 2008.