Alpine Skiing Opens 2011 Season With Strong Showing At Mount Sunapee

NEWBURY, N.H. – The Babson College alpine ski teams opened their 2011 season with the first of two straight giant slalom races at the Colby-Sawyer Carnival at Mount Sunapee on Friday. The men's team placed two athletes in the top 10 on its way to a fourth-place finish out of nine teams, while the women placed eighth out of 10 squads.

The men's half of the race featured a spectacular collegiate debut by Beavers first-year Mark Grundy (Cumberland, R.I.), who finished fourth overall with a combined time of 1:42.52 – just two-hundredths of a second out of third and only 0.80 seconds off the winning pace. He was joined in the top 10 by senior captain Keith Vella (Sussex, N.J.), who opened his final season with a stellar sixth-place effort, posting a two-run time of 1:43.14.

Senior captain Max Winthrop (Avon, Conn.) cracked the top 20 in his first race of the year, taking 16th overall in 1:45.59. He was followed by sophomore Ryan Drake (West Simsbury, Conn.) in 41st place, sophomore Ricky Beneduci (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.) in 43rd, senior Scott Kern (Basking Ridge, N.J.) in 49th, and first-year Stephen Seibel (Ottawa, Ontario) in 57th.

The women were paced by the tandem of senior co-captains Alexis Burton (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Alyssa Sullivan (Tiverton, R.I.). Burton finished 20th overall with a combined time of 1:52.30, while Sullivan followed in 27th place with a two-run total of 1:54.53. Rounding out the Beavers' lineup were sophomore Hilary Reis (Bethel, Maine) in 36th place, sophomore Franny Robertson (Douglas, Wyo.) in 39th, first-year Jaclyn LaCavalla (New City, N.Y.) in 51st, and first-year Sophie Komornicki (Naperville, Ill.) in 62nd.