GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. — The 2003 nordic ski season is starting out much the same way the 2002 season left off for the Saint Mary's University teams — far away from home.

After spending the majority of last season on the road in search of snow, SMU coach John Skemp was hoping this year would be different — he was hoping this year, Mother Nature would cooperate a bit.

Not a chance.

So, instead of hosting the SMU Invitational last Saturday and Sunday, the Cardinals — make that Cardinal, singular — found himself back on the road, heading north to Grand Rapids, Minn., to take part in the Mount Itasca Rumble Invitational.

Michael Uffenbeck (Drummond, Wis.) turned in a 26th place finish in the 10-kilometer freestyle race, posting a time of 33:21.5.

"I thought the weekend went pretty well," said Skemp. "It was the first race of the season for Michael, and I thought his time was pretty solid. It would be nice to have some snow to train on, but there's still no snow in the forecast, so we'll just have to make do."