Sports Shorts
Water Polo Finishes Season in Fifth Place
The 2007 campaign for MIT water polo came to a close on Sunday afternoon, as the Engineers went 2-1 over the course of the weekend to secure a fifth-place finish at the Collegiate Water Polo Association Northern Division Championships.
The Engineers finished 16-11 in Adam Foley’s first year as a head coach, marking the water polo program’s most successful campaign since 2003, when MIT put forth its best record ever at 23-9.
Saturday morning, Tech and Iona College faced off with a spot at the Eastern Championships up for grabs and unfortunately for the Engineers, the Gaels squeaked out a 9-8 victory to extend their season. The loss, coupled with MIT’s triumph over Iona during the regular season, marked the fourth consecutive year that the Engineers and Gaels have split a pair of meetings.
MIT had to bounce back quickly following the disappointing defeat, as it took on Connecticut College later on Saturday afternoon. The Engineers responded in stunning fashion, as six players netted multiple goals en route to pounding out a 20-5 win.
The Engineers earned a spot in the fifth-place game courtesy of the victory, where they downed Fordham University, 8-7, to finish out the season on a winning note. Morgan S. Laidlaw ’08, playing in the final game of his intercollegiate career, netted a pair of goals to push his season total to a career-high 18.
John V. Preis ’11 ended the season with a team-leading 72 strikes.
—Jeff Lemieux, DAPER Staff
Men’s Swimming, Diving Sweeps at Batterman Relays
MIT men’s swimming and diving couldn’t have had a more successful start to its 2007-08 season, sweeping all nine swimming events at the Batterman Relays on Saturday. The non-scoring meet, hosted by Wheaton College, included the host Lyons and Tufts University.
The trio of Jeffrey Y. Zhou ’10, Rastislav Racz ’10, and Luke R. Cummings ’10 continued the incredible form which saw all three travel to the National Collegiate Athletic Association Championships in their rookie seasons. They teamed with Laurent Charpentier ’10 to open the afternoon with a victory in the 200-yard medley relay, touching the wall at 1:35.75.
Charpentier then raced to a win in the 500-yard freestyle crescendo relay, swimming with Kalvin D. Kao ’08, Peter J. Wellings ’09, and Michael J. Dobson ’11 to a time of 4:13.08 — nearly 11 seconds faster than second-place Tufts.
Zhou, Trace U. Sauter ’11, Toomas R. Sepp ’11, and Deke Hu ’09 won the 200-yard backstroke relay (1:40.48) before Zhou and Sepp returned to win the 200-yard butterfly relay (1:34.19) with Charpentier and Cummings.
Zhou, Cummings, and Charpentier took the top spot in the 400-yard freestyle relay (3:15.12) along with Wellings.
The 400-yard IM relay was won by Racz, Hu, Cummings, and Kao with a time of 3:46.47, before the 1,500-yard freestyle relay team of Dobson, Jack Hill ’11, and Udit Garg ’09 clocked in with the fastest time of 15:05.17.
Hu, Cummings, Kao, and Racz joined forces for the 200-yard breaststroke relay, which they won with a mark of 1:53.38, before Cummings picked up his team-leading sixth victory of the day in the final event, the 200-yard freestyle relay (1:27.52), along with Zhou, Wellings, and Charpentier.
—Jeff Lemieux, DAPER Staff
Women’s Swimming, Diving Opens Season
MIT women’s swimming and diving opened its 2007-08 campaign Saturday, earning the top times in five of nine swimming events at the Batterman Relays, hosted by Wheaton College. The Engineers also secured the top scores in both the one-meter and three-meter diving portions.
The non-scoring meet also included host Wheaton College and Tufts University.
Amy E. Jacobi ’11 was a catalyst for MIT’s success throughout the afternoon, staking a claim in four of MIT’s five swimming victories. Along with Ashley E. Pinchinat ’10, Abigail M. Clark ’09, and Sasha B. Brophy ’08, Jacobi helped the Engineers to a time of 4:53.47 in the 500-yard freestyle crescendo relay — a full six seconds faster than the second-place finishers from Wheaton.
Jacobi teamed with Jennifer A. Chao ’09, Clara S. Bennett ’10, and Nicole M. O’Keeffe ’09 to win the 200-yard backstroke relay with a mark of 1:54.51. She then led off the victorious 200-yard butterfly relay followed by Kristen M. Felch ’09, Ellie S. Souganidis ’10, and O’Keeffe. That group touched the wall at 1:51.48. Jacobi and O’Keeffe paired up for one final triumph, this time with Brophy, to clock in at 16:09.44 in the 1,500-yard freestyle relay.
O’Keeffe picked up her fourth victory of the afternoon in MIT’s other win, anchoring the 400-yard IM relay team which also included Clark, Chao, and Ariadne G. Smith ’10 clocking in at 4:25.85.
—Jeff Lemieux, DAPER Staff
Men’s Ice Hockey Tops Bridgewater State, 3-2
Third-period goals from Nicholas R. LaBounty ’09 and Kevin M. Farino ’10 erased a one-goal deficit and handed MIT a 3-2 victory over host Bridgewater State College in the season opener for the men’s ice hockey team Thursday evening.
With the win, the Engineers (1-0-0) became the first team to overcome the Bears (3-1-0) this season. Bridgewater State had started its campaign undefeated while outscoring its opponents, 23-9, in its first three games.
Dustin P. Kendrick ’10 gave the Engineers a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal with 3:38 remaining in the opening period. Joseph M. Fahey ’10 provided the final pass to feed Kendrick, while LaBounty picked up the secondary assist.
The Bears tied the score at 1-1 just over one minute later, however, when Lee Trott fed Joe Allen for his first goal of the season. Early in the second period, Allen turned provider to assist Trott’s tally, which gave the hosts a 2-1 lead that they carried into the third period.
Bridgewater State lost that lead, however, as Ryan W. Ballentine ’09 assisted LaBounty’s goal with 18:11 remaining in the final period to even the score once again. MIT’s fight-back was complete with exactly seven minutes left on the clock, as Farino netted the winning goal, with Fahey picking up his second assist of the night.
The Engineers will open their 2007-08 home schedule on Wednesday, Nov. 7, when they will host Daniel Webster College at 7 p.m. in the Johnson Ice Rink.
—Mike Stoller, DAPER Staff