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Show - WW --- W c X c 5 a o o Tori Pillinger Tori to head for Europa Cup Jan. 3 by Randy Hanskat Tori Pillinger, Park City's best prospect for the Alpine World Cup circuit, returned home Tuesday from racing in The North American Ski Trophy Series (NorAms) in the East. Then hours later she jetted off for Winter Park, Colorado. But her travel is just beginning. Pillinger was selected Sunday to compete in Europe for the U.S. Ski Team (U.S.S.T.) on the Europa Cup thanks to her performances in the NorAm races. Pillinger said over the phone Tuesday night she was just the same girl who grew up on the local ski racing scene. But regardless of her modesty, Pillinger, by racing on the Europa Cup circuit, will be only one step away from the World Cup, the pinnacle in ski racing. Pillinger and four other girls Amy Livran, Krisit Terzian, Chantal Knapp, and Edith Thys were selected by the U.S.S.T. to race in Europe because of their NorAm results. Pillinger said her besfshowings were two seventh place results and one eighth. One of those sevenths, in a slalom Sunday at Mt. St. Anne, Canada, was the top American finish in the race. Also competing, in addition to U.S.S.T. "C" membersiPillinger is in the U.S.S.T. training group), were contingents from Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Yugoslavia, Yugo-slavia, and Canada. Heady company. The U.S. group will head for Europe on Jan. 3, with the first race scheduled in Kaprun, Austria shortly thereafter. After that race there will be 11 others, for a total of four in each discipline (slalom, Giant slalom, downhill), running through Jan. 29. Then the girls will head back home. This will be Pillinger' s second taste of the Europa Cup she raced in a couple of the season-ending races last season. She didn' t do as well as she would have liked then, but said she hopes the second time is the charm. She said her skiing has kept improving over the past year, especially in the technical disciplines. Her last tuneiip before heading to Europe will start Thursday in- -Winter Park, with the Elbert Cup slalom races, to be attended by skiers from throughout the West. |
