The men's and women's club skiing teams sped into the thick of their postseason hunts this weekend as the men's team finished third out of nine teams at Middlebury College, while the women's team tied for third place. Needing to finish the season as a top-three team in the McBrine Division of the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association to advance to the regional playoffs, the men's team currently ranks second and the women's team is third.

"We're racing teams that are well above our means, but we still have a bunch of really good racers and we get down the slopes fast," captain Robbie Schwartz '08 said.

Men's racer Grady Macklin '10 earned top-five finishes in all three races so far this season. Schwartz has placed in the top 15 in three meets, with one top-10 finish. On the women's side, captain Melissa Young '07 and Wei Sum Li '10 are the top performers.

The races are usually structured in a two-day weekend format. On Saturday, the racers compete in slalom skiing, which involves zigzagging downhill around several gates. Sundays are reserved for giant slalom, which is more difficult than regular slalom because there are fewer gates and the course is longer.

"[Racing on giant slalom] feels like you're flying," Will Burnett '09 said.

Since these races are held at mountains that are hours away, the team caravans to them each weekend and stays in hotels and resorts. Dana Etra '09 said this arrangement creates a closer sense of camaraderie among teammates.

"We have a great group of people and everyone works really well with each other," she said. "We bond over the weekends."

Since skiing is a club sport, most team members are recruited through the activities fair, and many have no racing background.

"We are all from different levels of ability," Etra said. "I'm a skier, but I was never a racer before this. It's a really eclectic group."

The team resumes competition next weekend at Ragged Mountain in New Hampshire.