Men’s basketball wins NEWMAC championships
The MIT’s Men’s Basketball team had reason to celebrate last weekend, winning two games to earn the title of NEWMAC champions.
SPORTS SHORT
This past weekend our rifle team defeated Penn State in the Air Rifle competition of the MAC Championships. The Engineers finished the championships with 2249 points, a resounding 20 points ahead of Penn State. The Engineers’ sweet success may have come as a shock to the tough competition at Penn State, but the Engineers were hardly surprised. According to team captain Elizabeth A. Phillips ’13, the Engineers’ exceptional performance was a testament to the huge work that each member of the team put in over the last few months of the season. The team exhibited its admirable drive and unity as many shooters shot 4–13 points higher than their regular season averages for air rifle. Although the Engineers were disappointed to not qualify as a team for the smallbore side of the competition, they dominated this event individually. In fact, the sum of their individual smallbore scores would have put them ahead of Penn State as well as the Virginia Military Institute to win the division. The Engineers’ victory at the MAC Championships was a tremendous result and a great conclusion to the season.
Men’s Ice Hockey makes dramatic win in overtime
This past weekend, the MIT Men’s Ice Hockey team captured its second consecutive Northeast Collegiate Hockey Association (NECHA) Championship in the American Conference Finals, capping off a storybook season with a heart-pounding overtime win. The Engineers successfully defended their 2010-2011 NECHA Cup victory, the first since MIT last won it in 2001.
Where has Jeremy Lin been hiding?
For the past few weeks, “Linsanity” has been sweeping the nation. For those unfamiliar with this phenomenon, it is the buzz centered around 23-year-old Harvard graduate and New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Shu-How Lin. Since earning a starting position on the team in early February, Lin has averaged 24.6 points, 9.2 assists, and 2.4 steals per game, scoring more total points in his first five starts than any player since the merger of the ABA and the NBA in 1977. However, Jeremy Lin’s story is not one of “how did he get so good so quickly?” but rather “how did he go unnoticed for so long?”
STEVE CHO ‘15: Prince of Squash
Sung Won (Steve) Cho ’15 is a freshman on the MIT Varsity Squash Team. After starting to play squash a couple of months before moving to the United States from South Korea in eighth grade, Steve went on to play for the Division I Groton High School Varsity Squash Team. He has excelled in some of the premiere squash competitions including the Massachusetts Junior Open and the New England Interscholastic Squash Association (NEISA) Individual Championships. Steve will most likely declare Course 7 (Biology) or Course 20 (Biological Engineering) by the end of this semester. The Tech sat down with Steve’s to discuss life as a student-athlete on the MIT Varsity Squash Team.
Engineers fall to Clark, 61-50
Pink balloons lined Rockwell Cage Saturday afternoon while fans dressed in pink packed the bleachers. Not only was it Senior Day for the MIT Women’s Basketball team’s final home game, but it was also the “Play4Kay” initiative. This fundraiser by the Kay Row Cancer Fund, in collaboration with the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, aimed to raise funds for breast cancer research and generate awareness on the courts and in communities.
Swimming and Diving takes NEWMAC title
Our Engineers got off to a decisive start at this year’s NEWMAC swimming and diving finals this weekend. The men’s and women’s teams opened the meet winning a combined 8 of 13 events. By the end of the first evening, the men’s team led with an impressive 323 points to second place United States Coast Guard Academy with 220 points. The women’s team held a strong lead with 323 points over Springfield College’s 256.
SPORTS SHORTS
Over the weekend, the MIT Figure Skating Club hosted the Eastern Sectional Intercollegiate Team Skating Competition. The USFSA-sanctioned competition included skaters from 20 universities on the East Coast. The Engineers last hosted this event two years ago, when they finished sixth overall out of 13 schools; this time, they finished seventh with 28 points. The University of Delaware, Dartmouth, and Boston University took the top three spots with 125, 100, and 88 points, respectively.
Men’s Basketball beats WPI
On Wednesday, the MIT’s Men’s Basketball team demonstrated its ability to perform well under tough conditions, an ability they will need as they fight for the NEWMAC postseason championships and the national championships.
SPORTS SHORT
On Tuesday night at Harvard, the MIT’s Women’s Fencing team entered the Bean Pot Tournament against Brandeis, Harvard, and Boston College. The team arrived with a promising record of 12-19, straight off a 2-5 record from the Eric Sollee Invitation where MIT crushed Hunter College, 23-4, and Haverford College, 17-12. Throughout time, however, Harvard has boasted a 25-12 record against the Engineers, which means that this match was time to retaliate.
Nationally ranked volleyball wins Invitational
Nationally-ranked No. 5 MIT defeated No. 9 Rivier College, 25-16, 25-19, 25-22, en route to winning the championship of the MIT Men’s Volleyball Invitational on Sunday afternoon. The Engineers also swept Emerson College (25-17, 25-22, 25-13), Stevenson University (25-22, 25-20, 25-13), and York College (N.Y.) (25-17, 25-23, 25-17) to capture their second consecutive title and their fifth overall in the eight-year history of the tournament. Kenneth M. Siebert ’14 was selected to the all-tournament team while David R. Thomas ’12 earned Tournament MVP honors for the second year in a row, becoming the first player to accomplish this feat.
SPORTS SHORT
On Saturday, the MIT Women’s Basketball team made a remarkable comeback against Springfield College, winning 51-50. MIT has not beaten Springfield since 2003, and with this win they bring their record for the season to 10-12 (the highest since 2008). Springfield dominated the first half, with MIT trailing 27-17 at halftime. However, the Engineers were able to capitalize on Springfield’s turnovers in the second half and outscored the Pride 34-23. This win was not sealed until the end — actually, until after the clock had stopped. Alexxis R. Isaac ’15 made two free throws at the very end of the game to complete this comeback victory. Other notable players from the game include freshman Mari R. Kordell, who made 19 points to become the high scorer for the game, and Anna L. Merrifield ’13 who had seven assists. The Engineers will play Wheaton on Wednesday to hopefully continue their NEWMAC winning streak.
Men’s Track and Field team dominates at BU Invitational
This weekend, the No. 14 ranked MIT Men’s Track and Field team competed in a pair of nonscoring invitational meets, one at home and another across the river at Boston University. The Engineers were focused on posting strong individual performances just a week ahead of the New England Division III championship.
Men’s Basketball defeats Clark, 63-60
No. 5 MIT withstood a late rally by Clark University to win, 63-60, in overtime in the NEWMACs conference game. With the win, the Engineers improve to 10-1 in the conference and secure their second NEWMAC regular season title in three years. MIT’s 22nd victory in 23 games this season ensures that it will host the conference semifinals and championship in two weeks.
Squash victorious
The MIT squash team welcomed Boston University and Boston College to the Z-Center Squash courts on Saturday and the Engineers were able to come away with a pair of victories, defeating BU, 8-1, and BC, 5-4, to improve to 7-10 on the season. Four different Tech players picked up wins in both matches led by freshman Sung Won “Steve” Cho ’15, who improved to 8-9 on the season.
Basketball defeats Babson
On Wednesday, MIT’s men’s basketball team faced a challenge from Babson College in its last home game of the season.
SPORTS OPINION Football embodies American values
Football is America’s sport. Not only because it is the most watched sport in America. Not because it is the top grossing sport in America. Football is America’s sport because it represents the morals that we as Americans value. There is little doubt about it after this past year.