Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2001

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19 NAMED TO FREESTYLE WORLDS TEAM

DEER VALLEY, Utah (Jan. 9) - Defending world champions Eric Bergoust
(Missoula, MT) and Ann Battelle (Steamboat Springs, CO) lead a group of
19 freestyle athletes named Tuesday to represent the U.S. Ski Team at
the World Championships Jan. 16-21 in Canada.

 Head Coach Jeff Wintersteen said the final selections were made during
this past weekend's Gateway Freestyle Challenge World Cup events at Deer
Valley, the 2002 Olympic freestyle venue.  The group include 10 men and
nine women, who will compete in aerials, moguls and dual moguls at
Blackcomb, B.C.

 Bergoust, who opened the season by re-setting his own world record
score in aerials, is the current World Cup leader. Battelle, who is
returning from a shoulder injury, won the moguls gold medal and bronze
in duals at the 1999 World Championships in Meiringen, Switzerland.
Named to compete:

 Men - aerials: Bergoust, Corey Hacker (Boston, NY) and three Park City,
Utah, skiers - Joe Pack, Brian Currutt and Jerry Grossi; moguls: Evan
Dybvig (Tunbridge, VT), Toby Dawson (Vail, CO), Garth Hager (Bothell,
WA) and Alex Wilson (Buffalo, NY); dual moguls: Dybvig, Hager, Wilson
and Ryan Riley (Steamboat Springs, CO).

 Women - aerials: Emily Cook (Belmont, MA), Brenda Petzold (Andover,
MA), Kelly Hilliman (Tonawanda, NY), and Tracy Evans (Park City, UT);
moguls: Battelle, Hannah Hardaway (Moultonborough, NH), Shannon Bahrke
(Tahoe City, CA), Jillian Vogtli (Telluride, CO) and Donna Weinbrecht
(Killington, VT); duals: Battelle, Bahrke, Hardaway and Vogtli.

 "I'm psyched. This is a really good team. Everyone who's on it is there
because he or she performed, because they got the results they needed,"
Wintersteen said. "I don't think there are any real surprises; it's all
performance-based and.and they performed.

  "It's primarily our core group, our best athletes. We know Blackcomb
can have some tricky weather, some strange snow, and I think this team
is ready to deal with whatever comes its way."