Middlebury head alpine skiing coach Abby Copeland has been named the Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association's (EISA) Alpine Coach of the Year after leading the Panthers to an outstanding 2026 campaign.

HONOREE HIGHLIGHTS

• Copeland earns the honor for the second time after winning the award as an assistant in 2013.
• The Panthers excelled throughout the season, tallying 13 top-three finishes across the two disciplines.
• Middlebury took home the men's giant slalom (GS) at the University of Vermont Carnival and the women's GS at the EISA Championships.
• The trend continued on the national stage, as Julian Arthur (slalom) and the duo of Kjersti Moritz and Nicholas Unkovskoy (giant slalom) brought home All-American honors from the NC Skiing Championships, hosted by the University of Utah. 
• Since joining the team in 2009, Copeland has coached 26 All-Americans and helped the navy and white to 12 top-10 finishes in the last 15 completed NC Skiing Championships.

Copeland led the squad to a runner-up placing at the EISA Championships and a seventh-place showing at the NC Skiing Championships.