Fortunately, the month of April has proved to be a turning point in the season. They are currently 8-3 in April, and their record has blossomed to an impressive 16-11. They sit in second place in the NEWMAC, and are a dominant 10-5 in conference play. They have won 6 out of their past 7 games, including a 10-3 checkmate over Curry, a 14-1 beat down over Clark, and a 10-2 victory over Roger Williams.

Although seven men hold a batting average over .300, the key to the Beavers’ recent success has been the play of junior Chris Kucher. Kucher leads the team with a .388 batting average, posting 31 hits, 2 HRs, and 10 RBIs. With thirteen games remaining he is only seven hits shy of surpassing his career best of 38, which he recorded in 2011. Although his 14-game hitting streak came to an end in the Beavers’ 10-3 victory over Curry on Thursday, he is still only three swings away from recording the 100th hit of his career.

“I’ve got a new approach to the plate, and I’m seeing the ball very well,” explains Kucher. “The whole team is improving. We have a new set lineup and we feel confident getting on base and getting each other in.”

In addition to Kucher, John Botelho, Trevor Boyce, and Conor Kortmann have excelled for the Beavers.

These four players belong to an outstanding junior class that has carried the load offensively for Babson this season. “We’re a very tight knit class,” begins Kucher, “and it’s a sign that our class has clicked both off the field and on the field.”

Botelho boasts a .368 batting average, as well as 25 hits, 3 HRs, and 17 RBIs. Boyce is hitting .340 with 17 hits and 11 RBIs, while Kortmann is batting .302 with 29 hits and 13 RBIs.

As the Beavers approach the final quarter of their season, the men hope that their recent improvement is only the beginning of a late season surge which will vault them into the top position in their conference. “This is the determination stretch,” confides Kucher. “This is the last stretch where we have to do well and carry it into the playoffs.”

In order to maintain their momentum, the men will have to rely on the arms of Kyle Lyon and Rick Gilbody. Lyon currently holds an impressive 1.86 ERA to go along with a 3-2 record, 33 strikeouts, and 2 shutouts. He already has more strikeouts than his 2011 total of 30, and he has pitched in big situations.

Gilbody has been an outstanding surprise for the Beavers, as the senior was not normally used as a pitcher until this season. “Rick came in not throwing many innings, and he has excelled beyond imagination,” exclaims Kucher. Gilbody boasts a 2.03 ERA and 3-0 record, to go along with 17 strikeouts.

Another crucial element to the men’s recent success has been the emergence of freshman Dillon Gonzalez. Gonzalez holds a .289 battings average and 24 hits, but it is on the base paths where he has made the biggest contribution. He has 10 stolen bases, and gives the opposing team’s catcher fits when he is on first base.

“Dillon has a leadership role for the freshman class,” contends Kucher. “As a freshman, you have to bring the camaraderie to the bench. Dillon is an example that rookies can also contribute on the field as well.”

The Beavers should have no trouble maintaining their composure during important games during this determination stretch, as they have shown mental strength at various points this season. They have won three games in extra innings this year, including a 5-4 victory over Framingham State and a 3-2 edge over rival Wheaton.

“It’s a sign that we have the players to back each other up in the lineup,” insists Kucher. “It definitely shows that we have the emotional and mental strength to win those close games.”

After losing stars Dave Ahern and Andrew Aizenstadt to graduation, the Beavers are overachieving so far this season. Kucher feels, however, that there is still much room for improvement. “Knowing that we lost some key players, we are content with our record,” he claims. “But we think we can still get a lot better during the remainder of the season.”

“It’s going to test how mentally tough we are,” declares Kucher. “We’re going to see if we are able to go into a week of non-conference games and still bring the mentality needed to compete.”

Article Written By: Ben Cardarelli, Staff Writer
Photo Courtesy of Babson Athletics

As the women approach the final quarter of their campaign, they are again poised to compete for the NEWMAC Championships.
They currently boast a 16-13 record and have won four out of their past five games, including an 8-0 romp over Wellesley and an 11-3 rout over Smith. They hold a 6-4 conference record, placing them in a tie for third place with rival WPI.

Heading into this season, the women had very high hopes. “Although Coast Guard has a very tough pitcher, our goal is definitely to win the NEWMAC and advance to the NCAAs,” says senior catcher Nicole Latini. “We’re above .500 right now, which is a great place to be.”

Latini, along with Catie Funk and Jess Pashos, is one of the captains of the team. She is batting an extraordinary .391 this season, along with 36 hits, 3 HRs and 25 RBIs. Her 12 career triples is the all-time record in Babson school history, and her 106 RBIs ranks third all-time.

The Beavers recent surge in the standings is directly associated with the awakening of their potent offense. “I feel like we’ve got the strongest, or one of the strongest, offenses in the league,” insists Latini. The team has the numbers to back it up, as two of the women are batting above .400 and eight of the women are hitting over .300.

The most dominant offensive player has been junior Catie Funk. Funk’s batting average is currently .416, and she has posted 42 hits and 6 HRs along with 36 RBIs. Over three seasons, her 19 HRs is the most in Babson history and her 112 RBIs are good enough for second in college history. She only needs to reach 141 RBIs to surpass the Babson College record currently held by ’04 graduate Colleen Kelly.

“We’re so happy to have Catie’s stick in the lineup,” begins Latini. “When she steps into the batter’s box, you know something good’s going to happen. She’s all about going big or going home, and she usually goes big.”

In addition to Funk, Kelly King has been a diamond in the rough for the Beavers this season. After joining the team as a pitcher during her freshman year, she is playing first base as a sophomore and currently boasts a .405 batting average, with 30 hits and 23 RBIs.

“Kelly has absolutely stepped up,” insists Latini. “She’s filled a huge role in the infield, and she’s playing great.”

Junior Jackie Enos has also provided 13 RBIs this season, and junior Ashleigh Phelps has added 24 RBIs. They are two key components of a dominant junior class that will be relied on to provide leadership next season.

After burying Endicott 8-4 on Thursday, April 12, the Beavers are now preparing for two crucial games against conference leader’s Springfield (15-10). “We have six conference games remaining, so we control our own destiny,” explains Latini. “It’s definitely going to be a good mental challenge for us.”

In order to compete for the division, the Beavers will need to ensure that their pitchers continue their recent solid form.
Sophomore Tess Rubega has been dominant of late, holding a 3.17 ERA and a 6-3 record along with three shutouts. “As the catcher, I feel really confident when she’s on the mound,” claims Latini.

Latini is quick to point out, however, that she believes the success of their pitching this season is due to the diversity of their four-woman rotation. “Each of our pitchers has their own strengths and weaknesses,” she contends.

As one of the three seniors on the team, Latini admits that she definitely feels added motivation knowing that this will be her last season of competitive softball. “There’s definitely that pressure there,” she begins. “It’s scary to think that I only have ten regular season games left. I want to prolong my season as long as I can.”

The Beavers will have home field advantage for eight out of their remaining ten games, as they host Brandeis, Lesley, and MIT in addition to Springfield. This stretch of games will be essential in determining whether the women have what it takes to compete for the NEWMAC crown. The Beavers will then close their season on Saturday, April 21, with a two-game series at Coast Guard.

Article Written By: Ben Cardarelli, Staff Writer
Photo Courtesy of Babson Athletics

Beginning in fall 2012, the SGA president will be Matt Muller with Kevin Kuo as the executive vice president. Anthony Vasquez will take the reins at the VP of Finance and Tyler Blake will be the VP of Communications. David Yoon, the current VP of Commerce, will be moving to the role of VP of Campus Activities as the commerce position as been eliminated.

Future SGA president Matt Muller, won 79 percent of the votes. 21 percent of the student body did a “write in” – which means some students voted for another candidate by writing in another student’s name. Future SGA vice president, Kevin Kuo won 91 percent of the votes. 9 percent opposed with write in nominations.

Things got closer for the candidates running for vice president of finance. Two students ran for the same position – Anthony Vasquez and Garek Berard. Even though two candidates ran, some students still wrote in names of other candidates. The percentage of the write in for the finance position was 3 percent. Anthony Vasquez won 60 percent of the votes, thus winning the position as VP of Finance.

The most competitive position in this election was Vice President of Campus Activities. Three students ran for this position – David Yoon, Jared Wolf, and Liz Chaplin. The percentage of write-ins for this position was 4 percent. David Yoon won, with 39 percent of the votes. Yoon’s victory was by a thin margin of just 36 votes over David Wolf. Liz Chaplin received 25% of the vote with a 102 votes.

Two people ran for the Vice President of Communications – Tyler Blake, and Robert Sternberg. 7 percent of the students wrote in. Tyler Blake, who will be on the SGA e-Board next year as VP of Communications won 57 percent of the votes.

Article Written By: Winnie Zhu, Staff Writer

RENT, which started as a musical in 1996 with a 12 year Broadway run and continued onto the big screen in 2005, tells the story of a motley group of artists during the height of the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) outbreak in the late eighties and nineties. Its story has survived the test of time and still touches the hearts of many in both movie and theatric form.

Having seen the play on at least five different occasions (I was once “obsessed” and knew every word to every number), I came with high expectations for the Babson Players cast. Their soulful performance exceeded my expectations and clearly engaged the full house.

Even though many of the characters were portrayed by familiar faces from around campus, this was completely forgotten as they became their characters.

While I wished that the voices were easier to hear over the music at times, I still recognized a number of individuals with amazing vocal talent.

From the first moment, Tom Pandolfo who played Roger Davis sang with a voice which was well-controlled and his tone rang through with honesty. His ability to harmonize well with so many other performers truly colored the music.

One of these gems was Jennifer Fusco whose solo in Seasons of Love almost stole the show with its seemingly effortless clarity and sweetness balanced with the diverse voices of the entire cast.

An unforgettably entertaining Maureen by Annie Maraschiello brought smiles and laughter to the audience with a punch of vibrant energy. Although Maureen typically serves as a sort of comic relief in the show, there was also something lovable about Maraschiello’s personal interpretation that brought a unique and perhaps needed twist to the rebellious bisexual character.

On the subject of “lovable”, one cannot forget the Tom Collins by Winfred Fields and Angel Dumott Schunard by David Hines in their heartbreaking love story. Immediately when Angel emerged in her festive holiday outfit in a song and dance performance to the song Today 4 U, I was captivated and had the sense that the entire audience was smiling. As the plot thickened, Fields and Hines became their characters, and their tragedy nearly brought me to tears regardless that I knew all along how their story would end.

Lastly, the orchestra deserves recognition for providing lively instrumentals as a backdrop for the entire performance. Though they were just a few instruments in a tight cluster, they did the work of a large band.

Regardless of the one technical issue the Babson Players wowed the audience. Had the house lights remained on just a few seconds longer, the cast would have seen the standing ovation emerging as the set went dark.

The last performance of RENT by the Babson Players is on Saturday at 7pm in the Sorenson-Carling theater.

Article Written By: Hannah Esberg, Staff Writer
Photo By: Ben Staples, Director of Photography

Disappointingly, the team had lost 3 out of their past 4 contests.

The Beavers (4-3) were trying to right the ship at home on Saturday, as they hosted the visiting Massachusetts-Maritime Buccanners (5-3).

From the opening tip, the Beavers dominated the contest with their speed and their precision passing. While the Buccaneers could not generate any offense, Babson easily moved the ball around the visitors’ defensive zone and bombarded their goalie with shots. The score reflected the dominating performance, as the Beavers had an 8-0 lead by the end of the opening period.The first of these goals was scored at the 10:59 mark by junior captain Alex Patinkin. It was his 11th goal of the season and his 21st point of the year, moving him atop the Babson season scoring list.

Senior Tom Mallon added the insurance marker merely forty seconds later, blasting home his 15th goal of the campaign over the shoulder of Buccaneers goalie Paul Painten.

Freshman Phil Russo joined in on the onslaught by adding his 3rd and 4th goals of the season, while Scott Schachter scored the eighth and final goal of the period off of a beautiful assist by Patinkin.

In the second period, the Buccaneers came out seeming uninterested and lacking motivation. Rather than try to play their way back into the game, they seemed to have lost confidence in their strategy.

Babson defensemen Christian Cattaruzza, a freshman, and Ryan Dawidjan, a sophomore, played solid at the back end to preserve the comfortable lead, allowing the Beavers to continue breaking the game open.

At the 9:19 mark of the second frame, Brad Bero scored his 8th goal of the season to extend the lead to 9-0.

After a beautiful save by Beavers’ goalkeeper James Whalen, one of only six shots he faced all night, Babson’s Mike McStravock scored his first goal of the season to push the host team’s lead to 12-0. Mallon and Russo each added another goal before the end of period, giving Babson a 14-0 lead heading into halftime.

When the whistle blew to signal the start of the second half, the Beavers picked up right where they loft off.

Mallon scored back-to-back to goals to extend the lead to 16-0, while senior Jamie Schmidt tallied his 13th goal of the campaign. Babson’s lead ballooned to an insurmountable 18-0 advantage, before sophomore Brett Rosen, senior Paul Grip, and freshman Brian Lawler each added their first goal of the campaign to reach the final 21-goal tally.

As for the Buccaneers, their lone goal was scored with 3:30 remaining by sophomore Todd Solari. Freshman Drew Prowse, who had recorded 16 goals already this season, and rookie Dylan Freudenberg, who had posted 15 goals, both struggled to maintain ball possession and were constantly hassled by Babson’s high-pressure defense. Although Painten started in the crease, he gave way midway through the second period to freshman Eric Kuehn.

In addition to the Beavers 70-6 advantage in shots, Babson held a 72-24 advantage in groundballs and a 22-4 edge in face-off wins.

In fact, Babson’s Alex Patinkin recorded 11 shots himself; five more than the entire Buccaneers twenty eight man squad.
With eight games remaining, the Beavers are currently at the midway point of their season.

Patinkin leads the team offensively with 14 goals and 13 assists for 27 points, while Mallon is a close second with 19 goals and 24 points. Defensively, Russo leads the team with 47 groundballs, while Dawidjan is only three behind with 44. Senior captain Cam Caruso has 17 points in his final college season, and senior Schmidt has 13 goals in his last campaign.

The Beavers are back in action on Tuesday at 7:00, as they will host Tufts under the lights. Babson is currently tied with Springfield for first in the conference, and will play their rivals on the final day of the regular season on April 28.

Article Written By: Ben Cardarelli, Staff Writer
Photo Courtesy of Babson Athletics

The fall semester will bring with it the reemergence of housing for the Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) and Theta Chi fraternities.

Theta Chi was formerly housed in Keith C and AEPi was housed in Canfield C. AEPi will be moving into Keith C and Theta Chi shall be moving into Canfield C.

Keith C currently houses Delta Tau Del¬ta. Delta’s housing was not renewed for next year according to Lisa MacDonald, Director of Residential Life.

Dean Oliver, the president of Delta Tau Delta, offered no comment for this article.
There will be two more vacant “towers” in Van Winkle Hall.

The Liberal Arts tower did not re-apply for special interest housing. The Entrepreneurship tower’s (E-tower) housing request was not accepted.

In the beginning of the fall semester, burnbook.me created controversy amongst students and staff on Babson’s campus.

The creators and co-founders of the website were E-Tower members. The website was a place where visitors anonymously created threads, posted comments, or recommended a thread by “burning” it to each of the four college profiles – Babson College, Wellesley College, Boston College, and Boston University.

Near the end of the fall semester, controversy found its way back into Babson’s E-Tower. Allegations of hazing and threats required intervention from the ad¬ministration and ultimately resulted in E-Tower losing its special interest housing status. E-Tower still retains its organization status.

Although the E-Tower has been going through its downs, the Residence Life Team at Babson College has been extremely understanding to the situation of E-Tower. After the issues within the tower, and burn¬book.me, Residence Life still gave E-Tower a second chance for the spring semester, ac¬cording to one member.

The members had to at¬tend mandatory meetings, but because the members were extremely busy with midterms and their own businesses, the mandatory meetings were never followed through. This ultimately led to the loss of housing for the E-Tower community.

However, the loss of housing is not permanent. Ac¬cording to Andrew “Andy” Huang, Residence Life will “help E-Tower be¬come a stronger organization next semester.” Huang says “I appreciate their help,” in response to Residence Life Team’s support.

The gratitude was not shared by former E-tower member Cameron Jacox, who expressed concern that the actions may put Babson’s overall #1 in Entrepreneurship Ranking in jeopardy.

E-Tower will be able to undergo the process of applying for special interest housing again next spring.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that AEPi was moving to Keith D, instead of Keith C.
Article Written By: Winnie Zhu, Staff Writer
Photo By: Ben Staples, Director of Photography