Women’s tennis dominates doubles against Wellesley
In a battle that would determine first place in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference women’s tennis standings, MIT swept the doubles matches against Wellesley College and then split the singles matches to come away with a 6-3 victory. The win lifts MIT into sole possession of first place in the NEWMAC standings, moving the Engineers to 4-1 overall and 3-0 in the NEWMAC. Wellesley fell to 3-2 and 2-1 in the conference.
SPORTS SHORT
Pushing their record to 18-3 on the season, the women’s volleyball team went 3-1 on the weekend to capture the Johnson & Wales University Invitational Championship. The team beat Plymouth State University 3-0 in the first match of the tournament exacting revenge from a loss to them at the same tournament last season. MIT then followed up with a 3-1 win over hosts Johnson & Wales. On the second day of the tournament, Engineers suffered a setback with an unexpected 0-3 loss to Western Connecticut State University before bouncing back to beat Johnson & Wales again in the Championship match 3-1. Alyssa L. Rothman ’13 and Kristine A. Bunker ’14 were named to the All-Tournament Team while Katie K. Spielbauer ’13 was named Tournament MVP. The Engineers will travel to Wheaton College on Tuesday night, and then will return home for a Thursday night match against WPI at 7 p.m. in Rockwell Cage.
NFL referee madness
Picture this: it’s your third day working at a local coffee shop, and a customer comes in and orders a latte macchiato. Being an inexperienced barista, you accidentally hand them a caffé macchiato, and they go off on a 10-minute rant about how you’ve ruined their entire calendar year, how people like you are what is wrong with America, and how only provincial, inbred, degenerates don’t know the difference between a latte macchiato and a caffé macchiato.
SPORTS SHORT
MIT suffered a late loss to Curry College 31-28, giving up a touchdown with 23 seconds left. Sophomore Bradford L. Goldsberry tied the MIT record for receptions in a single game and was responsible for 325 yards and three touchdowns. In a back and forth game that featured a comeback by MIT in the third quarter by scoring two touchdowns to take the lead. MIT got an interception with just over five minutes to go, seemingly sealing the victory, but they were forced to punt, which set Curry up at their own 19 with 2:16 left. They drove down the field, helped by an MIT roughing the passer penalty and finished the series in the end zone. MIT plays UMass-Dartmouth at home Saturday, Sept. 29 at noon.
Tennis beats Mount Holyoke
MIT Women’s Tennis fell short in its match against cross-town rival Tufts University with a score of 4-5, putting MIT at 2-1 for the season thus far. Senior Candace Wu secured two wins for the team, winning both her singles and doubles matches. Though Tufts won the opening point with an 8-4 win at No. 1 doubles, MIT tied things up when Wu and junior Julia C. Hsu defeated Tuft’s No. 2 team with an 8-6 win. Tufts pulled away for the first round of doubles with a close win of 9-7 at No. 3. Lauren C. Quisenberry ’14 brought the Engineers back to within a point after scoring a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 1. Likewise, Vynnie J. Kong ’15 finished off her No. 2 match with a 6-4, 7-5 win. However, a pair of wins in the Nos. 4 and 6 secured the win for Tufts.
Triathlon dominates
The MIT Triathlon Team returned from Buzzard’s Bay Sprint Triathlon on Sept. 16 after an incredible performance. The team raced in the ¼ mile swim, 14.7 mile bike, 3.1 mile run triathlon as part of the Northeast Collegiate Triathlon Conference (NECTC) competitive season. For the second week in a row, the MIT Triathlon men placed first among collegiate competitors. The women performed solidly with a fifth place finish. The team sent 24 athletes to this race, which emphasizes the huge growth in MIT Triathlon and triathlon as a sport in general; in 2009, only four members attended the average race.
A chat with Viktor Petrenko, figure skating legend How disciplined practice and community-minded humility got him to the top
After two decades of personal academic labors that included a B.A. degree, two masters, the relative mastery of the Russian language, and lessons for “Adult Beginners” at the MIT Figure Skating Club, and after 25 years of long-distance admiration, last month on Aug. 17 I finally got an in-person interview with my figure skating hero, 1992 World and Olympic Champion Viktor Petrenko at his home ice rink.
SPORTS SHORTS
MIT Women’s Tennis opened the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) season with a 9-0 victory over Springfield College. The team cruised through three doubles matches, winning each set 8-2. The round of singles was no different. Vynnie J. Kong ’15 won her first No. 2 set 6-2 while Julia C. Hsu ’14 finished off with a 6-2, 6-0 victory in the No. 6 match. Both Candace Wu ’13 and Victoria Tam ’16 scored a win at 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 3 and 4 match respectively. Michelle M. Dutt ’15 also delivered an outstanding No. 5 match with a win of 6-1, 6-0. At No. 1, Lauren C. Quisenberry ’14 crushed her opponent with a 6-2, 6-1 win. After a strong win in the NEWMAC opener, MIT Women’s Tennis will have its next match at Tufts University on Sept. 20.
Smith, Simmons fall to MIT
In its first home matches of the 2012 season, the MIT women’s volleyball team defeated New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival Smith College (25-17, 25-18, 25-11) and local foe Simmons College (25-15, 25-19, 25-12) on Saturday afternoon. These victories pushed MIT’s record to 10-1 overall and 2-0 in NEWMAC.
Murray wins his first grand slam at US Open Serena Williams takes women’s title
Third-seeded Andy Murray of Scotland won his first Grand Slam last Monday after defeating second-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia in five sets (7-6 (12-10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2) in the U.S. Open Men’s Singles Final. Murray is the first British man to win a Grand Slam since Fred Perry won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1936.