RESULTS
PINKHAM NOTCH, N.H. -- The Babson College men's alpine ski team
secured a bid to the Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference (ECSC)
Championships on Friday, as the Beavers used a stellar all-around
effort to finish fourth in the giant slalom at the BC/Brown
Carnival at Wildcat. It marks the second straight regional
qualification for Babson, and is the program's sixth in the last
seven years.
Armed with a lineup loaded with talent and depth, the men's team
locked up at least a fifth-place finish in the MacConnell Division
standings with another solid showing on Friday. With two of the
team's top performers this winter - sophomore Keith Vella
(Sussex, N.J.) and first-year Max Winthrop (Avon,
Conn.) - unable to complete their second runs, Babson
still managed to take fourth in the nine-team event thanks a trio
of top-20 finishes. Junior Chris Jacobs (Rochester,
N.Y.) and senior co-captain Kevin Fusick (North
Granby, Conn.) tied for 16th overall with matching
combined times of 2:00.05, while senior co-captain John
Roche (Hingham, Mass.) was close behind in 18th place with
a two-run total of 2:00.61. It marked the best finish of the season
for Fusick, while Jacobs matched his career-best of 16th for the
third time this season.
Junior Connor Lemenze (Stratton Mountain, Vt.)
also continued to ski well for Babson, finishing 25th overall,
first-year Gregory LaFrance (Brookline, N.H.)
added a 37th-place effort, and sophomore Enrico Palmerino
(West Brookfield, Mass.) came in 49th.
The women's team also competed on Friday, placing 10th overall
in the slalom. Leading the way for the ladies were sophomore
Alexis Vest-Burton (Salt Lake City, Utah), who
finished 25th overall, and junior Tahira Adatia (Tacoma,
Wash.), who came in 59th.
Both teams wrap up their regular season competition tomorrow
morning, when they return to Wildcat for the slalom event. The
men's team will then head to the ECSC Championships at Waterville
Valley on February 21 and 22, where a top-five finish would send
them to the USCSA National Championships for the fourth time in
program history.
