Sports Shorts
Therkelsen, Perumbeti Earn NEWMAC Conference Honors For Men’s Soccer
MIT men’s soccer player Christian W. Therkelsen ’11 garnered First Team All-Conference honors in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference. Defender Nitin Perumbeti ’09 earned a spot on the Second Team.
MIT has had at least one member of its men’s soccer team named to the All-Conference First Team each year since the NEWMAC’s inception in 1998.
Therkelsen was the only rookie in the conference to earn First Team accolades, and the Norwegian striker was also the first MIT freshman to garner such honors since Nick R. Nestle ’04 in 2000.
He recorded eight goals for a total of 16 points to lead the Engineers in both categories, while his impressive statistics also placed him sixth in the NEWMAC in goals and tied for ninth in points. Therkelsen burst onto the intercollegiate scene in early September, netting the winning goal in each of his first two contests to earn conference Player of the Week honors and solidify his reputation as a goal-scoring threat.
Perumbeti, who also earned Second Team honors after his freshman season in 2005, started all 16 of MIT’s games this season, providing the backbone for a defense which conceded just 19 times for a goals-against-average of 1.13.
Sailing Finishes Third In Crews Regatta
The MIT sailing team finished third overall in Sunday’s Crews Regatta, earning fifth and sixth place finishes in the A- and B-Divisions, respectively. Roger Williams University won the event, while Salve Regina University finished second.
A west to northwest breeze of 7–10 knots made for a perfect day as the teams raced eight rounds at each level along the Charles River.
Competing in their Tech dinghies, A-Division skipper Lisa A. Schlecht ’10 and crew Gabriel B. Cira ’08 finished with six top-five finishes, while the B team of skipper Jillian R. Reddy ’11 and crew Toan Tran-Phu ’10 closed with five of the same caliber.
Among the teams MIT topped were long-time rivals Harvard University, Tufts University, Northeastern University, and Brown University.
MIT also finished ninth out of 18 teams at the Rhode Island State Championship on Sunday. Originally scheduled for two days, the event was postponed on Saturday due to heavy rain.
B-Division leader Joshua C. Leighton ’10 and crew Victoria E. Lee ’10 slotted fifth, placing in the top 10 in all of the lower circuit’s five rounds. The A-team didn’t fare as well, finishing 14th after five races. Host Salve Regina University won the event with a score of 56.
MIT will compete in the Atlantic Coast Championship in Florida next weekend.
—Mike Stoller
Boothe Named to NEWMAC All-Conference First Team In Field Hockey
Engineer defender Katherine M. Boothe ’09 was selected to the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference All-Conference First Team in field hockey. It was the 20th season in the program’s history that a member of the team copped All-Conference honors, most recently when Deanna M. Lentz ’06 was named to the First Team in 2005.
As the anchor of MIT’s defense, Boothe consistently created tackles and interceptions in the midfield. In addition, she served as an option on the Engineers’ offensive penalty corners. For the season, Boothe registered one goal and one defensive save.
—Mindy Brauer
Men’s Fencing Opens Season With Strong Results
Igor Kopylov ’09 and Matt L. Gethers ’09 each placed second in their respective weapons as MIT kicked off its fencing season at The Big One, a tournament hosted by Mount Holyoke College this past Saturday. For Kopylov, it was his third consecutive top-two finish in saber; for Gethers, it was a career milestone in epee.
Rangarajan D. Nadadur ’10 added to the Engineers’ performance in sabre as he placed 19th. Maximilian L. Brand ’11 finished right behind him, while Nurzhas Makishev ’09 (35th), Matthew W. Farrell ’08 (39th), and Isaac P. Businger ’11 (52nd) rounded out the squad.
In epee, Jeremy S. Hurwitz ’08 captured 14th place, and Gabriel A. Chan ’09 posted the next finish at 31st. Damon C. Henry ’10 claimed the 39th spot, while Javier J. Ordonez ’10 and Joseph E. Atnafu ’11 ranked 53rd and 63rd, respectively.
The members of the foil team finished closely together, with Spencer R. Sugimoto ’08 leading the way at 19th and immediately followed by Benjamin T. Switala ’09 and Richard C. LaGrandier ’11. Jason J. Chan ’09 claimed the 26th slot, while Sebastian Castro ’08 finished three spots behind him. Romain A. Teil ’11 (38th) and Michael A. Yee ’07 (43rd) closed out the day for MIT.
—Mindy Brauer
Shin Finishes First in Epee As Women’s Fencing Posts Three Top 10 Finishes
Stephanie H. Shin ’10 became the fourth fencer in MIT history to capture first place in epee at The Big One, a tournament held this past weekend at Mount Holyoke College. Cordelia S. Link ’10 and Elena A. Tatarchenko ’11 joined Shin among the top 10 finishers as they placed second in foil and 10th in sabre, respectively.
The Engineers found additional success in epee action as Nicole J. Koulisis ’08, Zhenya Gu ’08, and Joanna W. Tong ’08 placed 11th, 16th, and 18th, respectively. In their intercollegiate debuts, Kristin D. Kuhn ’11 ranked 35th while Teresa M. Giblin ’11 was 53rd.
In foil, Lindley C. Graham ’10 captured 17th place as Chun Li ’08 posted the next finish at 30th. Rounding out the squad was Amirah N. Khan ’09 in 35th place and Jenna G. Caldwell ’11 in 47th.
Following Tatarchenko’s 10th-place performance, Yuhsin Chen ’08 claimed the 16th spot in the sabre competition. Laura A. Evans ’10 finished 27th, while Elizabeth Y. Tsai ’11 (42nd) and Jennifer L. Allen ’10 (51st) completed MIT’s contingent.
—Mindy Brauer