SLALOM RESULTS

WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. -- The Babson College men's alpine ski team completed day one of the Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference Regional Championships in spectacular fashion on Saturday, as the Beavers placed second out of 13 teams in the slalom event at Waterville Valley. Babson's team score of 280.24 was just over eight points shy of leader Plymouth State University, who posted a score of 272.07 on Saturday.

Needing a top-six finish overall to advance to the USCSA National Championships, the Beavers now are in excellent position to not only record their best regional finish ever - surpassing last year's fourth-place performance - but also to secure the fifth national bid in program history and the fourth in the last five seasons.

Babson's remarkable slalom performance featured a trio of top-15 finishes, highlighted by a brilliant fifth-place effort by senior co-captain John Roche (Hingham, Mass.). The 2007 All-American used runs of 45.02 and 47.02 to place fifth with a combined time of 1:32.04. He was joined in the Beavers' top three by sophomore standout Keith Vella (Sussex, N.J.), who continued to add to his breakout season by placing 11th overall with a total time of 1:33.77, and senior co-captain Kevin Fusick (North Granby, Conn.), who kicked off his final regional weekend with a stellar 14th-place finish in 1:34.43.

Rounding out Babson's five competitors were junior Connor Lemenze (Stratton Mountain, Vt.), who finished 37th overall, and sophomore Max Winthrop (Avon, Conn.), who came in 46th.

The Beavers return to the slopes on Sunday, when they wrap up the Regional Championships with the giant slalom event. Live timing of that race will be available at http://www.live-timing.com/races.php.