The founder of Alps & Meters, a luxury line of ski jackets and alpine sportswear, has been hands on with the Management Consulting Field Experience (MCFE) program for about four years, and says, “It’s very clear the kids at Babson exude entrepreneurship through every pore.”

Run by Arline MacCormack, associate director for Experiential Education, and management professor Joseph Weintraub, MCFE offers teams of students the chance to gain experience working with Boston-area business professionals.

As a professional with years of brand and creative experience in multiple global fashion companies, Joseph has been helping students learn experientially through MCFE while they provide his company with the latest innovation tools and resources.

Louis Joseph MBA’05

In the past, students have contributed by assessing and developing Alps & Meters market entry strategy for women, as well as the company’s luxury customer experience approach.

Joseph says the students’ research methodologies drive insight and action, delivering positive return on investment.

“Babson’s MCFE teams are armed with cutting-edge research abilities, tools, and passion,” he says.

Joseph previously worked at K-Swiss as vice president of global marketing, at New Balance as global brand manager for running, and at Puma as global director of strategy and innovation.

In 2014, Joseph established Alps & Meters, which was inspired by a trip to Sweden. Products include polo shirts, vests, parkas, and backpacks.

Joseph says Babson students are adept when it comes to research and describes their approach as “incredibly sophisticated.” He attributes that mindset to faculty and leadership who have a wealth of entrepreneurial experience.

“It’s been a fantastic extended relationship. I continue to be impressed with the student body, who are effectively on the cutting edge of the next wave of entrepreneurial endeavors.”

Joseph considers Babson a continuous partner and resource for his success.

“Mentorship for me is a virtuous cycle,” Joseph says, adding that he has acquired research skills, financial model possibilities, and improved marketing frameworks from working with the students. “I’ve learned legitimately as much from the students as they’ve learned from me.” – Bryan Lipiner

To start, one of Babson’s top skiers, Douglas DeLuca ’20, was injured by a snowboarder before the event and couldn’t compete. Then there was the excitement of waiting for the results of an extremely tight slalom race, followed by being part of an incredibly rare four-way team tie for first place overall.

In particular, the scene at the bottom of the hill during the slalom was filled with anticipation, says Sam Bensley, head coach. Once the top 30 skiers finished, frantic calculations ensued among MacConnell Division coaches. “The guys knew they had done well, but they thought they had placed second,” says Bensley. “I said, ‘I don’t want you guys to lose your minds just yet, but I think you did it.’”

Photo: Mike Broglio
Jack Blanchard ’20

Babson won the team slalom by four-hundredths of a second; for the first time in program history, the Beavers found themselves on top of the podium for this event. “It was surreal,” says Bensley. “We had alumni calling from all over the country congratulating us. The guys were on top of the world.”

“Four-hundredths of a second is like less than a foot in skiing,” says Jack Blanchard ’20, who placed second in the individual slalom and combined standings. “You can’t even think about how small that is. The feeling was unreal. Everyone was giving high fives, hugs, you name it.”

Bensley says his top three finishers had the cleanest runs he has ever seen from the team. “We knew we had a pretty solid group of five guys racing,” he says, “and if everyone skied their own race, we would do really well.”

MacIntyre Henderson ’20 and Blanchard finished the week with three All-America accolades in the slalom, giant slalom, and combined. Henderson placed third in the individual combined standings and fifth in the slalom.

Contributing to the team’s four-way tie for first in the combined were John Boland ’18, Sean Robinson ’20, and Eli Wolfson ’20. After the tiebreaker, the Beavers came in fourth but were still proud of their overall performance.

“We had been waiting all season for this,” says Blanchard. “We gave it all we had, and it was a great way to culminate the season. We knew we had the speed coming in, and to stick with our game plan was pretty awesome.”—Scott Dietz, associate director of athletics

Photo: Mickey Goldin
Sarah Collins ’13

The women’s basketball team posted its second straight 26-3 record while going 18-0 in the NEWMAC for the fourth consecutive season. Babson qualified for its fifth straight NCAA Tournament, advancing to the round of 32 for the fourth successive season. The College won its fifth consecutive NEWMAC Tournament and fourth straight regular season conference championship while extending its league winning streak to 85 games. A WBCA and D3hoops.com All-American, Sarah Collins ’13 was voted ECAC New England and NEWMAC Player of the Year and was named to the first team for those conferences. Linnett Graber ’16 was selected NEWMAC Rookie of the Year.

Men’s Alpine Skiing

History was made during the men’s alpine skiing season. Babson secured the program’s best finish in its 10 appearances at the USCSA National Championships, placing third in the country. The Beavers’ lofty marks didn’t end there, as they also won their inaugural USCSA Eastern Regional title. Carter Dowd ’16 earned USCSA All-America honorable mention laurels in the giant slalom and ECSC Skier of the Year honors. Sam Barber ’16 and Graham Quisenberry ’16 were named USCSA All-America honorable mentions in the combined standings, and Dowd and Zach Breakstone ’13 were named to the All-MacConnell Division team.

Men’s Ice Hockey

The Beavers set two defensive records en route to winning their first ECAC East Tournament title since 2009. The team finished with a program best 2.20 goals against average, while goalie Zeke Testa ’13 broke his school record by producing a 1.85 GAA in 17 games. Going 18-7-5 overall and 10-5-3 in league play, the squad advanced to the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal round. Testa was named an AHCA All-American, ECAC East Goalie of the Year, and to the all-conference first team; Ryan Heavey ’14 earned second-team honors; and Jamie Murray ’16 picked up all-rookie team accolades as a goalie.—Scott Dietz, associate director of athletics