German skier Julia Ebner joins Nanooks

August 10, 2012

Marmian Grimes

Jamie Foland
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Alaska Nanooks women's skiing head coach and interim director of athletics Scott Jerome announced Thursday that Julia Ebner of Furtwangen, Germany, is the newest addition to the program's roster. She will join the Nanooks as a freshman in the fall with four years of NCAA eligibility remaining.

"Julia is another strong addition to our women's ski and cross country teams," Jerome said. "I expect Julia to make an immediate, positive impact in our results both this fall on grass and this winter on snow."

A 2011 graduate of Furtwangen's Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium, Ebner has skied competitively since 2005. She has participated in the German National Championships since 2009, posting five top-20 finishes at the event over her young career.

Her top performance included a 9th place finish in the women's 10 kilometer classic race at the German Championships in January of 2011, when she garnered a career-best 89.21 International Federation of Skiing (FIS) points.

At the 2012 National Championships, Ebner finished 15th in the 10k Skiathlon and 19th in the 5k classic event, recording her second lowest (fewer points being best) FIS result with 117.14 points.

Ebner plans to pursue general studies during her first year at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

"I also know that Julia will adhere to the high standards that we set for our teams academically." Jerome added. "We are excited that Julia chose to pursue her education and athletic career at UAF."

She is the first women's skiing recruit to sign on for the 2012-13 season.