ANCHORAGE – The University of Alaska Anchorage ski team was honored Friday with a legislative citation from the State of Alaska, recognizing the program's unique accomplishments and contributions to the 49th State.
State Representatives Ivy Spohnholz and Andy Josephson, along with Senator Bill Wielechowski, were on hand to present the current Seawolves and their coaching staff with the citation in a brief ceremony at the Alaska Airlines Center.
The citation reads:
"The members of the Thirty-Second Alaska State Legislature are pleased to recognize and celebrate the service and contributions of the University of Alaska Anchorage Ski Team. Since its founding in 1977, the UAA Ski program attracts local and international athletes in Nordic and Alpine skiing, establishing a well-distinguished history in Alaska winter sports. The team has produced numerous National Collegiate Athletic Association National Championship titles and world-class Olympians.
With over forty years in the NCAA, the UAA Ski Team has finished in the top-ten at the NCAA National Championships thirty-five times, twice accomplishing its program best at fourth place in 2009 and 2021. UAA has produced nine individual NCAA National Championship Titles:
Stig Matsson (1991, 20K Classical)
Minna Turvo (1994, 5K Classical)
Frode Lillefjell (1997, 10K Classical)
Izidor Jerman (1997, Slalom)
Doris Hausleitner (1997, 5K Classical)
Aurore de Maulmont (2002, Giant Slalom)
Mandy Kaempf (2005, 15K Freestyle and 5K Classical)
Andreas Adde (2010, Slalom)
Furthermore, the team has recorded one-hundred-seventy-one All-American honors, which recognizes the top ten finishers in each race at the NCAA Championships. On the international stage, the team has produced thirteen Olympians. Most recently,
JC Schoonmaker was chosen to represent Team USA at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing, China – finishing ninth in the sprint relay.
Alumni of the UAA Ski Team have gone on to become respected athletes and role models in the skiing community. Dave Duncan, a three-time Academic All-American, earned silver at his first Winter X Games in 2010, and represented Canada in the ski-cross at three Olympic Games (2010 Vancouver, 2014 Sochi, 2018 Pyeongchang). Zuzana Rogers, All-America downhill skier, is a doctor of physical therapy in Anchorage and has worked on the medical staff for the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team for several years. Lex Patton became coach for the U.S. Alpine Ski Team at the 1994, 1996 and 1998 Olympics, and is now a firefighter in Anchorage.
Outside of their athletic accomplishments, the UAA Ski Team annually contributes over two-hundred-fifty hours of community service, supporting nonprofit organizations such as the Special Olympics and eliminating barriers for skiers across the state. Throughout its forty-five-year history, the UAA Ski Team has collaborated with the Alyeska Ski Club to conduct the AK Ski Swap, Alaska's largest ski and winter sports gear consignment sale. This community service event distributes gently used winter sports gear and increases the affordability of winter sports to local families. UAA coaches also volunteer with Skiku, a program led by the NANA Corporation, which provides skiing lessons and programs to rural villages and underrepresented groups in Anchorage.
The members of the Third-Second Alaska State Legislature honor the UAA Ski Team for their decades of fostering Alaska's skiing community and wish their student-athletes continued success in years to come."
