European soccer year entering final stretch
Soccer has entered the final stretch all throughout Europe. Some leagues already have a team that has clinched the league title; other leagues are currently witnessing heated races for first place. Teams are trying to collect as many points as possible from their remaining games to finish as high in their league as possible. Players are showcasing their talents with hopes of being selected for their country’s World Cup Squad.
MIT pistol team wins big Women’s team claims the gold in aggregate
As the season comes to a close, the MIT Pistol Team has finished with a strong performance at the National Rifle Association Collegiate Nationals. The scoring members of the MIT women’s team (Jennifer Y. Hsu ’14, Kristine N. Kim ’14, and Jackie Wu ’16) put in an outstanding performance to take home the NRA Collegiate National title, placing first in Women’s Air Pistol and third in Women’s Sport Pistol. This is the first time the team has taken the gold in aggregate since 2007, where the then-varsity team won the open championship.
Alumna makes history
MIT Gymnastics Club gymnasts won national medals and landed its place in U.S. gymnastics history at the 2014 National Association of Intercollegiate Gymnastics Clubs (NAIGC) Nationals in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Almost 1,000 athletes across 76 collegiate gymnastics club programs and hundreds of fans packed the Chattanooga Convention Center April 2–5 for the largest NAIGC championships in the organization’s 25-year history.
Is current NHL point system hurting the game?
Pre-1983: All games were worth 2 points. There was no overtime, and the winner of each game got both points. If a tie resulted, the teams would split the points.
MIT field hockey team mounts comeback to win
Trailing by four with eight minutes left to play, MIT mounted a 5-1 run to force overtime where freshman Hannah Levy (Yardley, Pa.) scored the game-winning goal as the Engineers defeated Wellesley College, 15-14, in a NEWMAC women’s lacrosse game on Tuesday night. Kira M. Schott ‘16 led all players with six goals as MIT improved to 9-3 on the year and 2-2 in NEWMAC play. Meghan Peterson paced the Blue (4-8, 1-3 NEWMAC) with four goals and added two groundballs and two draw controls.
Men’s crew team comes in second
MIT’s men’s lightweight crew team traveled to California for the San Diego Crew Classic, which will take place from Friday, April 5 through Saturday, April 6. Tech entered just one boat in the event, a Varsity 8, that fared well on the first day of competition.
Women’s lacrosse team stops Smith College comeback
A four-goal run late in regulation helped the MIT women’s lacrosse team thwart a comeback attempt by Smith College and secure a 20-13 NEWMAC victory on Saturday, April 5. Hannah A. Levy ’17 generated a game-high six points on four goals and two assists for the Engineers (7-3, 1-0 NEWMAC). The Pioneers (1-10, 0-3 NEWMAC), playing with only 10 field players, saw Olivia Timmins and Anne Zawacki record hat-tricks.
Men’s volleyball team earns five wins en route to title win
In a back-and-forth five-set thriller, No. 8 MIT emerged with a 25-18, 16-25, 25-19, 16-25, 15-11 victory over No. 6 UC Santa Cruz to claim its first MIT Men’s Volleyball Scramble Tournament championship on Saturday, April 5. The Engineers (24-5) defeated Hunter College (25-11, 18-25, 25-22, 25-18), Bard College (25-18, 25-16, 25-14), and Southern Vermont College (26-24, 25-18, 25-18) before picking up their second five-set win over the Banana Slugs this season. Paul M. Syta ’14 was named Tournament MVP while Kenneth M. Siebert ’14 was tabbed for All-Tournament Team honors.
MIT falls in first game
After consecutive rainy days and canceled games, the MIT softball team finally opened New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play on Tuesday, facing Smith College in a double header on the road. Tech lost the first game 3-2 in eight innings after going to a tie breaker, but held on to an early lead in the second game to take a 6-4 victory over the Pioneers. The Engineers are now 4-8 and 1-1 in NEWMAC play, while Smith is 8-3 and 2-2 in league action.
Champions League soccer returns with quarterfinals
March was truly filled with madness in sports. NFL free agency opened up and teams raced to sign the best free agents in the market. NCAA basketball fans witnessed some incredible upsets and millions were forced to shred their brackets. European soccer saw some magnificent matches and events. Chelsea’s 6-0 demolition against Arsenal, Barcelona’s 4-3 win and Messi’s historic hat-trick against Real Madrid in the el Clasico, and Bayern Munich’s clinching of the Bundesliga title with still a good amount of games remaining in the German league are just some examples of what European soccer produced in March. Apart from the leagues, Champions League soccer continued and the round of 16 came to an end. Thus, only eight teams now remain on the quest to be Europe’s best. Let’s take a look at the match-ups.
MIT sweeps Clark with solid pitching
Solid starting pitching from Nicholas J. Locascio ’16 and David A. Hesslink ’17 led MIT to a sweep of Clark University in a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) baseball doubleheader on Saturday, March 29. The Engineers took game one 8-1 before completing the sweep with a 2-0 victory that improved the Engineers to 7-3 overall and 4-0 in the NEWMAC. Clark fell to 4-13 and 1-4 with the losses.
Two fencers represent MIT
For the second year in a row, Joseph F. Rafidi ‘14 will represent MIT at the NCAA Fencing Championship and he will be joined by Cordelia G. Avery ‘17 at the competition scheduled to begin this Thursday at Ohio State. Qualifiers for epee and sabre, Rafidi and Avery are the lone Division III participants in their respective weapons.
MIT Sport Taekwondo Club places second overall Makes strong showing at Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference tournament
On March 9, the MIT Sport Taekwondo Club competed at the Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (ECTC) tournament hosted by Princeton University. MIT faced many tough and experienced teams from schools such as Princeton and Cornell. With around 400 competitors, the team came in second in the overall competition with a total of 347 points.