A Parade of NEWMAC Champions for Babson Beavers
As Babson College began celebrating the successes of the Class of 2021 at in-person Commencement celebrations this past weekend, many of their classmates were busy racking up more achievements and accolades while excelling on the athletic fields.
It was a whirlwind weekend for Babson Athletics, as all eight spring sports teams reigned during New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) competition with six championship teams and three individual champions.
The women’s lacrosse team led a parade of champions, winning the NEWMAC tournament title and earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The men’s lacrosse team advanced to the NEWMAC tournament final after winning a share of the regular-season title, and four other teams clinched regular-season NEWMAC championships, including baseball, softball, and men’s and women’s tennis. Plus, three track & field athletes claimed individual conference titles.
“Throughout this year, despite the many challenges inflicted by COVID-19, our student-athletes have remained focused on excellence in all that they do,” said Mike Lynch, Pamela P. and Brian M. Barefoot Senior Director of Athletics and Athletics Advancement. “They and our coaches have shown remarkable determination, guile, resilience, and leadership. I could not be more proud.”
Lynch also notes that since athletic competition resumed in the winter, Babson’s team sports have a combined record of 64-6.
Here’s how the spring teams fared this past weekend:
Women’s Lacrosse
The women’s lacrosse team scored 16 consecutive goals Saturday to rout Springfield College, 22-4, to win its first NEWMAC tournament championship since 2018 and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III tournament.
Valerie Quinlan ’20, MSF’21 earned NEWMAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player honors with a goal, three assists, and a career-high 12 draw controls. In the conference final, Erin Jayne ’23 scored five goals, Sara O’Connor ’21 scored a career-high four goals, and Georgia Salvatore ’21 and Claudia Dodge ’23 each scored twice.
Members of the undergraduate Class of 2021 include O’Connor, Salvatore, Kelley Burtch ’21, Cricket Fligor ’21, Isabelle Lent ’21, Sarah McCarthy ’21, and Juliana McGuire ’21, and members of the graduate Class of 2021 include Quinlan and Siobhan McDermott MSEL’21.
In their NCAA tournament opener, the Beavers (4-1) will play The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) in the second round Saturday at Colby College in Waterville, Maine.
Men’s Lacrosse
The men’s lacrosse team, conference co-champion during the regular season, advanced to the NEWMAC tournament championship game for the first time since 2016.
Sean Smith MSF’21 scored three goals, and Lee Sipes ’21 and Chi Chi Price ’23 each scored twice to lead Babson to a 13-8 victory over Clark University in a NEWMAC tournament semifinal game Saturday at MacDowell Field.
The lacrosse team includes 11 seniors in the Class of 2021: Sipes, John Antaya ’21, Ethan Carpenter ’21, John Calicchio ’21, Reed Goldstein ’21, Alex Lesher ’21, Will Messner ’21, Mason O’Hanlon ’21, Quinn Schomp ’21, Jack Tague ’21, and John Titolo ’21.
The undefeated Beavers (4-0) will meet the Coast Guard Academy next Saturday for the tournament title, with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division III tournament.
Baseball
Ranked 10th in the nation, the baseball team swept a doubleheader at Clark University on Saturday to clinch its fourth consecutive regular-season NEWMAC title.
In the first game, starting pitcher Jordy Allard ’21 (5-0) struck out 10 and allowed just one run on five hits and no walks, as the Beavers won, 6-2. In the second game, the Beavers rapped out 19 hits, including a home run by Jack Julian ’24 to rout Clark, 15-2. Ben Gottesman MSEL’21 earned his first victory with five strong innings.
Members of the undergraduate Class of 2021 include Allard, Ben Aleixo ’21, Tyler Bell ’21, Henry Leake ’21, Alex Luka ’21, Alex Reynolds ’21, Colin Rooney ’21, and Jack Ward ’21, and members of the graduate Class of 2021 include Gottesman, AJ DiFillipo MSBA’21, William Gallagher ’20, MSBA’21, Michael Nocchi ’20, MSEL’21, Jack Theriault ’20, MSBA’21, and Matthew Valente ’20, MSEL’21.
The Beavers (10-2 overall, 9-1 NEWMAC) will play Springfield College in the NEWMAC tournament semifinals on Saturday (and Sunday, if necessary).
Softball
The softball team clinched its first regular-season NEWMAC championship since 2007 on Saturday with a doubleheader sweep of Clark University, 8-0 and 4-1, extending its winning streak to eight games.
In the first game, graduate student Brooke Stock ’20, MSF’21 did it all, tossing a complete-game one-hitter and going 4-for-4 with a home run and two doubles. Audrey LaBouliere ’23 and Logan MacDonald ’22 led the way in the second game.
In addition to Stock, the softball team includes four new graduates: Alicia Bagan ’21, Lauren Civello ’21, Elizabeth D’Agostino ’21, Jamie Hoffman ’21, and Jacqueline Paul ’20, MSBA’21.
The Beavers (11-1) will play Coast Guard in a NEWMAC tournament semifinal Saturday (and Sunday, if necessary).
Men’s Tennis
Kian Yazdi ’23 won two matches, including number one singles, as the men’s tennis team defeated the Coast Guard Academy, 5-4, Saturday to clinch its first regular-season NEWMAC title since 2015.
Jason Weisman ’23, Gabriel Cestero ’24, and Jack MacDonald ’23 also won their singles matches, and Yazdi and Parker Law ’23 teamed up to win number three doubles.
Three senior players—Chris Kolesnik ’21, Andre Libnic ’21, and Markus Nordby ’21—are graduating this month.
The undefeated Beavers (5-0 overall, 4-0 NEWMAC) will play Coast Guard again Saturday in the NEWMAC championship match.
Women’s Tennis
The women’s tennis team (3-0) defeated Springfield College, 8-1, Saturday to claim its first regular-season NEWMAC title since 2003.
Ashley Avery MSEL’21, Adele Fernandez ’24, Marissa Madison ’21, Juliette Moschella ’24, and Jane Wang ’24 recorded victories in both singles and doubles.
Members of the Class of 2021 include Avery, Madison, Ally Kaden ’21, Mary Kille ’21, Carolina Merz ’21, and Alexa Tutecky ’21.
The undefeated Beavers (3-0) and will host next week’s championship match against Springfield.
Men’s Track & Field
Colin Cianciolo ’22 and Anthony Rodriguez ’24 each won individual events, as the men’s track & field team recorded a program-record 64 points to place fourth Saturday at the NEWMAC championships.
Cianciolo won the 400 meters with a school-record time of 48.62 seconds, becoming the school’s first NEWMAC champion in the event. He also finished third in the 200 meters with another school-record time of 22.22 seconds. Rodriguez won the 10,000 meters in 32:15.89, Babson’s first conference champion in the event. He also placed second in the 5,000 meters with a time of 15:43.47.
Michael Agard ’24 set two program records and finished in the top seven of all three of his individual events. He recorded Babson bests in the long jump (with a leap of 21 feet, 7.50 inches to finish third) and the 100 meters (with a preliminary time of 11.13 seconds, before finishing fifth with a time of 11.26 seconds).
The Class of 2021 is represented by Ethan Kohanik ’21.
Women’s Track & Field
Katherine Jacobs ’22 won the 100-meter hurdles, as the women’s track & field team finished fifth Saturday at the NEWMAC championships.
Jacobs broke her own school record twice, including a time of 14.45 in the finals to become Babson’s fifth individual conference champion in the event.
Seven track & field student-athletes—Logan Amaral ’21, Bridget Krauss ’21, Ana Lamoso ’21, Grace Regan ’21, Eve Rice ’21, Sterling Seymour ’21, and Caroline Winicki ’21—are graduating with the Class of 2021.
Both the men’s and women’s track & field teams will compete in the NEICAAA championships May 14–15 in New Britain, Conn.
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