BRIDGTON, Maine – The Saint Joseph's College women's alpine ski team enjoyed an outstanding 2021 season with the program's first Reynolds Division Championship and a share of the coveted Ricker Cup, which is awarded annually to the top combined men's and women's program in the United States Collegiate Ski & Snowboard Association (USCSA) Reynolds Division.

The Monks won all seven events during the program's second season as a varsity program with a total of 13 individual podium performances, a tally that included six top finishes.

Freshman Erica Irvin (Windham, N.H.) bolstered the Monks' lineup with four individual victories and captured the Reynolds Division title with 620 points. Sophomore Jillian Luby (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and junior Sarah Hotchkiss (New Durham, N.H.) tied for second in the Reynolds standings with 320 points apiece and first-year Kaitlyn Gerhard (Dover, N.H.) placed seventh overall with 242 points.

COACH MARGOT COSENTINO:

"As the first Saint Joseph's program to face outside competition during the 2020-21 academic year, the women's team really came out fired up and ready to compete. Winning the division title was a huge accomplishment for our women's team, especially during a season that brought extra challenges by way of covid. I'm proud of how these ladies handled themselves and worked incredibly hard to make the best of a unique season."

"On the women's side, we had many personal-best finishes this season. We were incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to train and race as much as we did, which played an important role in the individual improvements made by our women's team."

"I'm excited to welcome back all our female athletes next year and the recruiting class of 2025 looks very strong!"

INDIVIDUAL RECAPS:

Freshman Erica Irvin (Windham, N.H.)

Podiumed in all seven of the Monks' races as a freshman with four top finishes, a pair of runner-up efforts, and one third-place performances…paced the entire Reynolds Division – both men and women – with 620 points…enjoyed a fine start to her collegiate career with a 1:04.09 (32.02 - 32.07) combined time in the first event and the fastest overall women's time in the second slalom with a 1:00.18 (29.71 - 30.47) effort in the Slalom Fest at Gunstock Mountain Resort on January 9th…placed 10th (1:22.89, 40.73 - 42.16) in the first race and 19th (1:25.57 – 42.13, 43.44) on the second course at Shawnee Peak on January 30th…was 24th (1:59.05, 56.86 - 1:02.19) at Sugarloaf Mountain on February 7th…eclipsed the women's field with a 1:57.29 (58.13 - 59.16) performance to earn her first collegiate victory at Sugarloaf on February 14th…led the Monks with a 1:30.50 (44.86 – 45.64) composite time and finished 27th overall in a slalom race at Titcomb Mountain on February 18th…finished second in the opener with a 1:27.64 (43.57 – 44.07) time and placed third with a 1:29.91 (44.80 – 45.11) effort in the second race at Titcomb Mountain on February 21st…finished second (1:20.84, 40.09 – 40.75) in the first race and won the second event with a 1:11.14 (35.89 – 35.25) composite time in a United States Collegiate Ski & Snowboard Association (USCSA) Reynolds Division event at Sunday River on February 28th…won both events with a 1:13.90 (36.94 – 36.96) combined time in the first giant slalom race and a 1:28.02 (43.47 – 44.55) effort in the second at Shawnee Peak on March 7th.

Sophomore Jillian Luby (Wolfeboro, N.H.)

Enjoyed an excellent sophomore campaign with four podium performances, including a pair of individual wins and two runner-up efforts…finished the season tied for second in the Reynolds Division with teammate Sarah Hotchkiss with 360 total points…posted the fastest women's combined time (1:02.50, 31.50 – 30.55) time in the first race and finished just behind teammate Erica Irvin with a 1:00.57 (29.98 - 30.59) in the second event at the Slalom Fest at Gunstock Mountain Resort on January 9th…finished the day as the fastest women's skier on the mountain with a 1:24.55 (42.56 - 41.99) time on the first course and a 1:24.84 (41.91 - 42.93) effort on the second at Shawnee Peak on January 30th…placed 28th (2:02.16, 58.31 - 1:03.84) at Sugarloaf Mountain on February 7th…posted the first victory of her college career with a 1:27.52 (44.13 – 43.39) time in the first race and posted a 44.93 time on the second run of the second event at Titcomb Mountain on February 21st…won the first race with a 1:19.63 (40.09 – 39.54) total time and finished a close second (1:11.38, 36.01 – 35.37) in the nightcap in a United States Collegiate Ski & Snowboard Association (USCSA) Reynolds Division event at Sunday River on February 28th…placed second in the opening giant slalom event with a 1:16.07 (38.19 – 37.88) total time and posted a 44.23 time in the first run of the second GS race at Shawnee Peak on March 7th.

Junior Sarah Hotchkiss (New Durham, N.H.)

Recorded a fine junior season with top five finishes in six of the Monks' seven events…stood on the podium twice with third-place efforts at Titcomb Mountain (2/21) and Shawnee Peak (3/7)…finished the season tied for second in the Reynolds Division with teammate Jillian Luby with 360 total points…registered a 1:06.38 (33.09 - 33.29) effort in the opener and a 1:02.32 (31.09 - 31.23) composite time in the closing race in the Slalom Fest at Gunstock Mountain Resort on January 9th…finished the first run of races in both events (45.89, 47.10) with DNF's on each of the second runs at Shawnee Peak on January 30th…was fifth with a 2:15.86 (1:06.71 - 1:09.15) effort at Sugarloaf on February 14th…placed fourth with a 2:07.93 (1:04.53 - 1:03.40) time at Sugarloaf on February 14th…finished third with a 1:32.75 (46.28 – 46.47) performance in the first event and was fourth with a 1:33.79 (46.70 – 47.09) performance in the second race at Titcomb Mountain on February 21st…posted a sixth-place finish (1:35.69, 43.43 – 52.26) in the first race and was fourth with a 1:19.09 (40.07 – 39.02) effort in the second in a United States Collegiate Ski & Snowboard Association (USCSA) Reynolds Division event at Sunday River on February 28th…finished fourth in the first GS race with a 1:23.10 (41.34 – 41.76) performance and third in the finale with a 1:39.52 (49.35 – 50.17) time at Shawnee Peak on March 7th.

Freshman Kaitlyn Gerhard (Dover, N.H.)

Contributed a fine season as a freshman with four top-six performances and fifth-place finishes at Sugarloaf Mountain (2/14) and Shawnee Peak (3/7)…posted a 1:26.06 (42.37 - 43.69) performance in the first race with a 1:19.49 (39.05 - 40.44) combined time in the second in the Slalom Fest at Gunstock Mountain Resort on January 9th…was 37th (1:43.28 – 50.82, 52.46) in the first event and 40th (1:44.13 – 51.29, 52.84) in the second at Shawnee Peak on January 30th…was fifth with a 2:15.86 (1:06.71 - 1:09.15) effort at Sugarloaf on February 14th…placed 37th with a 1:45.57 (51.00 – 54.57) time in a slalom race at Titcomb Mountain on February 18th…completed the first run with a 55.05 time in the opener and was sixth with a 1:51.15 (55.23 – 55.92) effort in the closing event at Titcomb Mountain on February 21st…placed seventh (1:45.22, 51.71 – 53.51) in the opening race and finished sixth (1:29.42, 44.71 – 44.71) in the closing event in a United States Collegiate Ski & Snowboard Association (USCSA) Reynolds Division event at Sunday River on February 28th…was seventh with a 1:29.51 (44.60 – 44.91) in the opening GS race and fifth (1:49.54, 53.68 – 55.86) in the second event at Shawnee Peak on March 7th.