After nearly a month of pre-season dry-land workouts, the Jeffs are nearing their debut on the slopes in early January.
This year the Jeff women will be looking to build on the successes of last winter's campaign. They finished a strong seventh at the Eastern Championships last winter, after taking second in the Thompson Division.
With a balanced mix of new talent and experienced veterans, the early outlook for the squad is promising.
"The new group of first-year women is strong and committed they should really be able to contibute," said Coach John Risley.
The returning nucleus of the team is comprised of Co-captains Sara Edelston '03 and Victoria Salem '02. Joining the veteran group will be Meg Nelson '01 and Kris Parker '01. Edelston and Parker competed in the Eastern Championships last year.
Nelson and Salem are two returning point scorers who were unable to compete last season-Nelson was abroad and Salem was held out due to an injury.
With this year's team healthy and hungry, Risley expects to challenge perennial league powerhouse Green Mountain College, which has a roster full of talented and experienced skiers.
"Without two of our top people, we did well last year," said Risley. "This year I expect to really challenge Green Mountain."
Last season the Amherst women's ski team toppled Thompson Division foes Connecticut College, Tufts University, Boston University and Northeastern University, among others.
The Jeffs hope to duplicate and perhaps surpass this success when-after three weeks of intense all-day, every-day practices through Interterm-they begin their six-race season in January.