New Englanders fortify U.S. freestyle team

Hannah Soar of Somers, Conn. will likely be among those competing at Waterville this weekend. (Getty Images) (Ansel Dickey/KMS)

Several New Englanders are among the 32 athletes who will represent their country in aerials and moguls competitions around the world as members of the 2019-20 U.S. Freestyle Ski Team.

These athletes will compete in 19 World Cup events spanning three continents this season, including stops at an inaugural aerials event in Tbilisi, Georgia, a joint aerials and moguls event in Almaty, Kazakhstan, and moguls finals in Idrefjäll, Sweden.

Members of the team include:

Eric Loughran of Pelham, N.H. (men’s aerials) | Loughran has enjoyed consistent results on the World Cup tour, having made his first World Championships appearance in 2017 and his first Olympic appearance in 2018.

Megan Nick of Shelburne, Vt. (women’s aerials) | A former gymnast, Nick recorded seven top-10 finishes, including four podiums, on the NorAm tour during the 2015-16 season.

Alex Lewis of Carlisle, Mass. (men’s moguls) | Known for throwing a cork-14 on the moguls course, Lewis took first place at the 2019 Val St. Come NorAm and third place in dual moguls at the 2019 Junior World Championships. 

Sabrina Cass of Cheshire, Conn. (women’s moguls) | Cass burst onto the moguls scene with a 2019 Junior World Championship title to her name and finished eighth overall in the NorAm cup, earning her a spot on the U.S. Ski Team for the 2019-20 season.

Nessa Dziemian of East Hampstead, N.H. (women’s moguls) | Dziemian had a breakout year in 2015, capturing the NorAm title and two podiums at U.S. nationals, including the dual moguls title.

Hannah Soar of Somers, Conn. (women’s moguls) | A Killington product, Soar qualified for the U.S. Ski Team during her junior year of high school. She was a consistent top-10 contender on the NorAm circuit and had two World Cup starts in 2017.

“I’m really looking forward to the season ahead,” said U.S. head aerials coach Vladimir Lebedev. “The team has had a very productive summer. All of our athletes have made improvements, and the whole team is incredibly motivated to be successful this season.”

“Every new season is a reset from the last, and this team is hungry for success and strives to do things better,” said Matt Gnoza, head moguls coach. “We have the potential to reach peak performance and the athletes are determined to get there. We will continue to keep working, and make every run count, so that we accomplish our desired results this season.”