Pyeongchang 2018

DAY FOUR IN THE BOOKS

Team USA’s collegiate athletes kicked off day five of competition with the men’s and women’s cross-country sprint classic and a women’s ice hockey preliminary round match up against Olympic Athletes from Russia.

Cross-Country Skiing

Middlebury’s Simeon Hamilton and Alaska Pacific’s Erik Bjornsen reached the quarterfinal round of the men’s sprint classic race at the Alpensia Cross-Country Ski Center, finishing 20th and 25th, respectively. Hamilton, a three-time Olympian and three-time All-American skier at Middlebury, qualified for the quarterfinals with a time of 3:16.13, while Bjornsen, a two-time Olympian, qualified with a pace of 3:17.69. Alaska Fairbanks’ Logan Hanneman finished 43rd with a time of 3:20.74.

On the women’s side, Dartmouth’s Sophie Caldwell marked the highest finish of a collegiate U.S. athlete in the sprint classic, earning a spot in the semifinals and ultimately finishing the race in eighth. The two-time Olympian finished fourth in her semifinal heat with a time of 3:13.32, which was less than a quarter-second slower than necessary to advance to the final. Teammate Ida Sargent, a fellow Big Green skiing alum, placed 33rd in the race with a qualifying time of 3:25.80.

U.S. teammate Jessie Diggins reached the final heat of the women’s race with a final time of 3:14.07, ultimately placing sixth and recording Team USA’s top finish in the race.

Cross-country skiing competition continues on February 15 in the women’s 10k freestyle and February 16 with the men’s 15k freestyle.

Women’s Hockey

The U.S. women moved to 2-0 in Olympic play after shutting out the Olympic Athletes from Russia, 5-0, at the Kwandong Hockey Centre Tuesday evening. Four Team USA athletes from three different schools found the back of the net in today’s contest, while Lindenwood’s Nicole Hensley earned Team USA’s first shutout of the Games after blocking 13 shots.

New Hampshire’s Kacey Bellamy opened the scoring midway through the first period with assists from Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson (North Dakota) and Gigi Marvin (Minnesota). Early in the second, Lamoureux-Davidson made history by scoring the two quickest goals in Olympic ice hockey history, six seconds apart, to put the U.S. up 3-0.

Three-time Olympian Marvin closed out the second period with a goal at 34:38 to extend America’s lead to 4-0, and in the final period Minnesota’s Hannah Brandt added a fifth Team USA goal with less than two minutes left in the game to close out OAR, 5-0.

The U.S. outshot OAR 50-13 and will finish up group play against rival Canada on late Wednesday evening, local time, at the Kwandong Hockey Centre.