Four skiers on the women's ski team qualified for regional races last weekend, the first time that the women's ski team has made it to regionals.
Captain Naomi Orensten '04, Veronica Peschansky '05, Julie Chakrin '06 and Melissa Young '07 all finished as the top four Brandeis skiers, earning the right to compete in Waterville Valley, New Hampshire during February break.
The victory followed what has been a grueling season for the ski team. The entire team had a week long training session during winter vacation, and has traveled to Vermont to compete in races the past five weekends.
Captain Ian Roy '05 and Joshua "Yoshi" Silverstein '06 were the lead skiers for the men's team, which qualified for regionals last season, but came up short this winter.
Every Friday the skiers drive up to Vermont, providing their own transportation.
The team stays in condominiums, hotels and everything in between. Slalom competitions are held on Saturday, followed by giant slalom on Sunday.
The final race of the season was a race done in costumes, and the Brandeis team looked more than sharp sporting aprons.
Other teams appeared dressed to ski in school girl outfits. One men's team wore women's formal wear and another women's team wore miniskirts.
The team has competed in negative temperatures on icy slopes, always braving the conditions. The team is a mix of people who have skied competitively for years and people who only started skiing competitively at Brandeis.
Brandeis competes in a league with nine other schools, and the resulting times are carried over from week to week.
Brandeis finished in the top three of the league, along with Yale and Marrist.
"[Regionals] is a really high level of racing, and to make it here shows how hard we have worked," Orensten said. "It is really an honor."
The team attributes its success to its style.
"We're a scrappy team of varied miscreants that work hard enough so our girls could get to regionals," Micah Barth-Rogers '07 said.
The team will travel to New Hampshire on February 20th to compete in a field of 25 teams from division III and division II schools.
Orensten, unfortunately will not be competing, having recently torn her ACL. Orensten will be on the mountain cheering her teammates on.
"The ski team has really made my Brandeis experience," Orensten said. "Just being able to get away during the depressing winter months and compete alongside great friends has been so great for me.