STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Old college rivalries never die, but they do get gray-haired and grizzled.
Midway through the NCAA Championship slaloms Friday night at historic Howelsen Hill, former Denver star Otto Tschudi waltzed into Olympian Hall waving an enormous DU flag, looking for an opportunity to taunt former Colorado coach Bob Beattie. A generation ago, Tschudi skied for Beattie’s DU nemesis, Willy Schaeffler.
Beattie, 77, gritted his teeth as Tschudi approached. Tschudi, 61, found Beattie and waved the flag in his face, emboldened with DU in the lead.
“As much as I hate DU, I still love you,” Beattie told Tschudi after his simmering temper had a chance to cool.
Such is the rivalry of the two most storied programs in collegiate skiing. DU has won 20 NCAA ski titles, more than any other school. CU is second on the list with 16.
“I was brought over here by Willy, and he indoctrinated me into this (rivalry),” said Tschudi, a native Norwegian who won five NCAA titles for DU, orchestrated the revival of the DU program in the early ’90s and was inducted into the Colorado Ski Hall of Fame in 2009. “I’m so glad that Bob is still around . . . I have fun with him.”
Tschudi was even happier at the end of the evening, as DU took a substantial lead in the championships, which conclude today with cross country races. The Pioneers, who are working on a three-peat, have 589.5 points with New Mexico holding down second place (535). The Buffs are in third (504).
“We’ve built a pretty strong cushion,” DU coach Andy LeRoy said. “If our nordics go out and just compete hard (today), I believe they’ll be able to take it home.”
Norwegian Andreas Adde of Alaska-Anchorage won the men’s slalom. New Mexico’s Malin Hemmingsson, a native of Sweden, took the women’s slalom.
Today’s freestyle races are a men’s 20-kilometer at 10 a.m. and women’s 15K at noon.
