DAY ONE
RESULTS
NORTH CONWAY, N.H. -- Senior co-captain John Roche
(Hingham, Mass.) rebounded from last weekend's
disappointing start with a vengeance on Friday, as he finished
ninth overall in the slalom to lead the Babson College men's alpine
ski team to a fifth-place finish on day one of the UConn Carnival
at Mount Cranmore. Sophomore Alyssa Sullivan (Tiverton,
R.I.) also cracked the top 10 with a career-best
performance for the women, as she guided the Beavers to an
eighth-place finish.
A Second Team All-American last winter, Roche returned to form
after a tough opening weekend at Sunapee. Based of runs of 50.64
and 55.11 seconds, the Beavers' senior captain placed ninth out of
71 competitors with a combined time of 1:45.75. He was joined in
the top 25 by sophomore Keith Vella (Sussex, N.J.)
and junior Chris Jacobs (Rochester, N.Y.), who
continued their brilliant start to the season with two more
excellent performances. Vella checked in at 18th place with a total
time of 1:48.98, while Jacobs followed in 21st place with a time of
1:49.83. For Vella, it marked the second straight career-best
finish.
Junior Connor Lemenze (Stratton Mountain, Vt.)
and first-year Greg LaFrance (Brookline, N.H.)
also skied well for the men's team, placing 28th and 29th,
respectively. Sophomore Max Winthrop (Avon, Conn.)
came in 39th for the Beavers, senior co-captain Kevin
Fusick (North Granby, Conn.) finished 46th, and sophomore
Enrico Palmerino (West Brookfield, Mass.) placed a
career-best 48th. It marked the first time since January 28, 2007
that the Beavers placed their entire team in the top 50 of a
regular season event.
Sullivan was brilliant in the women's half of the competition,
posting the best finish of her young career. Using runs of 53.11
and 58.35 seconds, she finished 10th overall out of 74 skiers with
a combined time of 1:51.46. Fellow sophomore Alexis
Vest-Burton (Salt Lake City, Utah) came in 24th for the
Beavers, posting a total time of 1:55.10, and junior
Tahira Adatia (Tacoma, Wash.) added a 54th-place
finish.
