ANDOVER, N.H. – The Castleton University women's ski team opened the season with a victory on Friday, taking the top team spot in MacConnell Division slalom action at Proctor Ski Area.
 
The Spartans finished with a team time of 4:58.32, followed by second-place Babson at 5:07.82. UConn was third with a time of 5:21.20. The Spartans had six racers place in the top-10, highlighted by Karoline Rettenbacher's first-place finish.
 
­Rettenbacher raced her way to a time of 1:38.48 after posting runs of 48.55 and 49.93. Tatiana Tobolka was third overall in her debut race for Castleton, clocking in at 49.26 and 50.20 for a total time of 1:38.57. Petra Veljkovic and Birgit Kinneberg finished back-to-back in fifth and sixth place, respectively. Veljkovic crossed with times of 49.93 and 50.45 for a total of 1:40.38, while Kinneberg posted times of 50.64 and 50.59 for a time of 1:41.23.
 
Lena Soehnle was ninth at 1:45.05 after runs of 51.97 and 53.08. Deena Jacunski debuted with a 10th-place finish, finishing just behind Soehnle at 1:45.12. Jacusnki logged runs of 53.44 and 51.68.
 
The Spartans are back in action Saturday at Proctor Ski Area for another slalom race.