It will be a bumpy ride, but it's all downhill for Hannah Hardaway and Travis Mayer, two students from Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Science, who both have earned coveted spots in moguls on the U.S. Olympic ski team. The 2002 Winter Olympics will be held in Salt Lake City Feb. 8 to 24.

There are only eight places – four each for men and women – on the U.S moguls squad. Moguls are large bumps of closely packed snow set on a downhill skiing course.

As if this were not enough Olympic glamour for Cornell, former Cornell hockey star Joe Nieuwendyk, the center for the National Hockey League's Dallas Stars, will play on the Canadian men's hockey team. He represented Canada at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Dana Antal, a forward who played two years on the Cornell women's hockey team, also will play for Canada in Salt Lake City.

Mayer said that never in his wildest dreams – even as late as last Thanksgiving – did he believe he had a chance of making the Olympic team. "I went from being on the development ski team to the Olympic ski team in one week," he said. "It's like having four bucks in your pocket, playing the lottery and then winning a million bucks. It hasn't set in yet, and it probably won't set in until the opening ceremonies."

Credit: Melanie Kimbler

Mayer, 19, a freshman food science major from Buffalo, N.Y., who lives in Steamboat Springs, Colo., finished in first place after his mogul run at the U.S. Ski Team Gold Cup competition on New Year's Eve at Deer Valley, Utah. That gave him a guaranteed spot on the men's Olympic team.

Hardaway, 23, a junior from Moultonborough, N.H., who majors in applied economics and management, confirmed her spot on the Olympic team at the Gateway Freestyle Challenge in Lake Placid, N.Y., Jan. 20, by finishing second over all in the women's moguls competition. Mayer also competed in the Gateway Freestyle Challenge, finishing second among the men.

Both students are on an academic leave from Cornell while pursuing their Olympic dreams, and both are taking correspondence courses to keep up with required academic credits. Mayer says he plans to return to Cornell for summer sessions, but will take off future fall and spring semesters for training in Chile and France for the 2006 Olympic winter games in Italy.

Mayer came to Cornell in fall 2000, aiming for a bachelor's degree in food science to help in his family's juice processing business, Mayer Bros. of West Seneca, N.Y., a company founded in 1852. Mayer's older brothers, Eric D. Mayer '00 and Garrett A. Mayer '98, both earned bachelor's degrees in agricultural business management and marketing at Cornell.

Debra Perosio, a Cornell lecturer in applied economics and management who is Hardaway's academic adviser, was doubly excited when she learned that Hardaway had made the Olympic team "That's great news for Hannah, but it really is a small world – I taught [Travis'] brothers Eric and Garrett when they were here," she said.

Kathryn Boor, Cornell associate professor of food science and Mayer's academic adviser, was equally enthused. "He is the most charming young man I have ever met; he keeps me up to date on his events, and I couldn't be happier for one of my students," she said.

Both skiers followed their older siblings onto the slopes. Hardaway began competing at age 12 for the Killington, Vt., freestyle squad and joined the U.S. Ski Team in 1996. A year later, she won the World Juniors title in Finland. "My brother joined the Killington team and I wanted to be like my brother," Hardaway said.

In her freshman and sophomore years at Cornell, Hardaway was a center fielder for the university's varsity softball team. In 1999 although injured, she was on the Ivy League championship team.

As for Mayer, he was put on skis for the first time at age 3, competed at age 6, and like Hardaway followed his older brothers into the sport. He has won two of three North American skiing events, called NorAms, which are stepping-stone competitions to high-level world events. He has 12 top-10 finishes on the NorAm tour for his career. He also won the 2000 World Junior title and the Junior Moguls Championship in 1999.

NBC will televise the Olympic games. The network is scheduled to broadcast the women's moguls final on Feb. 9, the second day of the games, from 8 to 11:30 p.m. EST. (The event takes place earlier in the day, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., MST.)

NBC will televise the men's mogul final Tuesday, Feb. 12, from 8 to 11:30 p.m. EST. (The event takes place earlier in the day, between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., MST.)

CBS television will broadcast the Gateway Freestyle Challenge, in which Hardaway and Mayer competed in Lake Placid Jan. 20, on Sunday, Feb. 10, at 2 p.m.