UNM alpine skier Marte Dolva became the Lobos' seventh individual NCAA champion when she won the women's slalom in March.
But the championship almost didn't happen, because Dolva had to be coaxed back to the team after playing for the women's soccer team.
Dolva, a sophomore criminology major, said a disappointing finish in last year's NCAA skiing championships coupled with a frustrating soccer season made her decide to concentrate on soccer and forego her final year of eligibility in skiing.
Because she had participated in competitive skiing in her native Norway, she came to UNM with only two years eligibility. She does, however have two years left of soccer eligibility.
"I wasn't sure I was even going to ski this year," she said. "I wanted to focus on soccer because it's easier to do just one thing, but I changed my mind in December."
UNM skiing head coach George Brooks said that being able to play two sports at the college level shows what a tremendous athlete Dolva is. He said last season was a disappointment for her, blowing away the field in every alpine event she entered - only to be upset and end up second in the NCAA slalom.
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"She's just had a tremendous impact on our program," Brooks said. "She started out slower this year, but obviously came on strong when it counted and won the NCAAs."
Dolva said that winning the NCAA championship this year was a surprise.
"I didn't expect to win, actually," she said. "I expected to win last year."
Dolva said UNM recruited her from a prominent skiing academy in her home country of Norway.
"UNM knew about me and they contacted me," she said. "It was a good opportunity for me to get my education and still ski."
But after the disappointing 2001 skiing season, Dolva said she found something that she hadn't thought about since she was younger - soccer.
"I quit soccer when I was 16 to focus on skiing," she said. "To tell you the truth, I think I like playing soccer better. I'm a little tired of skiing right now."
Dolva said she had an up and down soccer season last year playing forward.
"I was injured, so I couldn't play as much as I wanted," she said. "I was in and out of the lineup, so I was a bit disappointed."
Dolva added that she enjoyed the way she was treated as an athlete.
"The soccer team is very professional and I like that," she said. "If you have injuries, the staff makes sure you are taken care of."
Dolva says she hasn't set any specific goals for next year's soccer season, but hopes to improve.
"It is a team sport, so I hope I can help out the team in any way, but of course I want to score a lot of goals," she said.
