MIT curling team takes bronze at Nationals
MIT defeats Boston University twice in championships for season-ending victory
Alan Dooley
The MIT Curling Team swept their way to a bronze-medal finish in the playoffs at the National College Curling Championships in Duluth, MN. The title capped an overall 5-1 win-loss record at the event, which was held from March 8 to March 10. This year, the national competition was limited to 16 schools that earned the highest number of merit points in local bonspiels (the curling term for tournament). MIT earned their berth in the national competition by posting an undefeated record for the season, winning both bonspiels they competed in this year.
At college nationals, MIT’s team (skipped by Phillip M. Nadeau G, with vice Nishanth K. “Nish” Dev G, second Andrea R. Dubin G, and lead Gregory Alan Dooley G) posted a 3-0 record in round robin play, defeating teams from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Carroll University, and Bowling Green State University. They earned a place in the semi-finals by defeating Boston University in the quarter-final round, but lost in the semi-finals to No. 1 ranked St. John’s University in a very close game — MIT was leading by two going into the last end. MIT defeated BU once again in the bronze medal game to secure their third place national title.
This year’s team also consisted of David S. Tax G and visiting student Steven Gordon who competed on the team in the local qualifying bonspiels, but did not attend the nationals.
This is not the first year the MIT Curling Team has found success in the National College Championships. The team won gold at the nationals in 2011 led by Tax and posted a 2-1 record in the round robin play in 2011, but missed reaching the semi-finals due to the tie-breaking procedures.
For those who have never heard of or seen curling before, it is often described as shuffleboard on ice. Curlers attempt to slide granite stones down a long sheet of ice and get them to stop in a target (called the house) at the other end of the ice. The MIT Curling Club is made of MIT grads and undergrads, regardless of skill or experience, and practices from October to March.