John Roche '08 finished fourth in the combined standings at regionals.

Feb. 24, 2008

WATERVILLE VALLEY, N.H. - The Babson College men's alpine ski team recorded its best finish ever at the Eastern Collegiate Ski Conference (ECSC) Regional Championships at Waterville Valley on Sunday, as the Beavers finished fourth in the giant slalom and fourth overall to secure the program's fourth-ever bid to the USCSA National Championships. It marks Babson's third national bid in the last four years, as the men's previous trips came in 2006, 2005, and 1990.

On Sunday, Babson was led by yet another magnificent performance by junior co-captain John Roche, as he finished seventh overall in the GS with a time of 2:01.54 to place fourth overall in the combined standings. He was once again joined in the top-20 by fellow junior co-captain Kevin Fusick, who placed 16th with a GS time of 2:03.95 to tie for 14th in the combined standings. Both Roche and Fusick were named to the ECSC All-Conference Team as a result of their outstanding weekend performances.

Also turning in stellar efforts for the Beavers on Sunday were first-year Max Winthrop, who bounced back from a second-run fall in Saturday's slalom to place 22nd overall in 2:07.00, and sophomore Chris Jacobs, who was right behind his teammate in 23rd place with a combined mark of 2:07.14.

The GS performance capped off a brilliant weekend for Roche, who competed in three events in as many days. On Friday, he finished 43rd in the slalom at the EISA Championships at Middlebury, and then on Saturday, he posted the top slalom finish of his career and possibly the best ever by a Babson skier at regionals when he placed fourth at the ECSC Championships. That set up his seventh-place effort on Sunday - the second-best finish of his career in the GS.