MIT men’s volleyball raises record to 11-7
The MIT Men’s Volleyball team emerged with a 25-23, 25-18, 25-17 victory over division rivals Endicott College on Tuesday night. The nationally-ranked No. 7 Engineers raised their record to 11-2 for the year and 7-0 in conference play. MIT scored the first three points of the match and later held an 8-4 lead. Endicott countered with a 6-1 spurt which put it in front for a majority of the frame. Five ties ensued until a strike by Kenneth M. Siebert ’14 ended a long rally to give the Engineers a 21-20 edge. A kill from William B. Evans ’14 increased the margin, which prompted a timeout from the Gulls. After the break, both sides traded points, and another Siebert blast closed the set. Endicott jumped out to a 6-3 advantage in the second game, but MIT responded with a 9-3 run to pull ahead. The Gulls capitalized on several miscues by the Engineers, tying the set at 13. An Endicott service error followed by an ace from Siebert gave MIT some breathing room. However, both squads exchanged serves as a kill from Endicott’s Jeremy Siden brought the Gulls within one point. MIT countered by registering an 8-2 run to wrap up the set.
Sports Shorts
The men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in a tri-meet against Williams and Moravian on Saturday. Both teams took first place by a wide margin.
Upcoming Home Events
Tuesday, February 8 Men’s Volleyball vs. Endicott College 7 p.m., Rockwell Cage
The Red Sox are back
Welcome back. For some of you, this has been a four-month hibernation from reading or thinking about professional baseball. I’ve kept tabs on all of you. In Dallas, you despaired for the plight of Tony Romo, agonized over Wade Phillips, and fell back in love with Jason Garrett. In Alabama, you invested your life savings in a Cam Newton legal defense fund and vowed to take those bureaucrats at the NCAA to the Supreme Court over Newton’s eligibility, if it came to that. In Green Bay, you went to your neighborhood Packer shrine and thanked the Cheesehead gods for giving you a general manager with the guts to say “no” to Brett Favre and “yes” to Aaron Rodgers when it came down to it in 2008. In New England, you thought that this year was going to be better than the 18-1 2007 season, until it wasn’t.
Packers vs. Steelers: Our picks
The Super Bowl is once again upon us, when the collective attention of the nation will be directed towards their TV screens watching the Packers and the Steelers take one another on in Dallas. Who will win? The Tech’s Sports staff weigh in, with bragging rights on the line …
Swim and Dive fall to Amherst
The MIT Swimming and Diving teams took to the pool against Amherst College on Saturday. Despite strong efforts, neither the men’s nor women’s team were able to come away with a victory. The losses were the first of the season for both teams.
Upcoming Home Events
Saturday, February 5 Men’s and Women’s Track and Field vs. Williams College & Coast Guard 12 p.m., Johnson Track Sunday, February 6 Men’s and Women’s Fencing Eric Solle Invitational 8:30 a.m., DuPont Gym
Sports Shorts
Led by Nigel C. Kojimoto ’12 the MIT rifle team finished second out of four squads at the Bean Pot competition held at MIT last weekend. Kojimoto collected the gold medal in the smallbore portion of the event for the highest individual scorer as well as silver in air rifle, as Tech finished just 50 points behind Wentworth Institute of Technology in overall team scoring.
The biggest and best sports moments of 2010
If sports can strike awe in the collective imagination of the spectator, the player, or the manager in moments of triumph, the day after can be pretty damn good, too. The Yankees lost 22-0 to the Cleveland Indians the night before my school year began in 2004. For the entirety of the next day, I had, and seized, the opportunity to warn the Yankees fans at my high school of their team’s impending doom. As we began our classes, each student had to sign up for a day to give a presentation on current events in social studies class. My chosen date was October 28. By sheer luck, this was to become the day after the Red Sox won their first World Series in 86 years. Never mind that the momentous 2004 election was only a week away, the title slide of my presentation featured a picture of the euphoric celebration inside Busch Stadium. Let’s take one last opportunity to savor the biggest and best sports moments of 2010:
Engineers rack up impressive 2010 victories
MIT Athletics once again had an outstanding year in 2010. Several teams ended their years nationally ranked, and many others earned NEWMAC Championships and went on to compete for national championships. Here’s a look at some of the notable achievements of MIT’s teams from the past year.
2010’s defining moments
A few years from now, we will look back on 2010 and remember only certain moments in the world of sports — those instances of great influence, moments that changed the history and impacted the future of sports.
Upcoming Home Events
Wednesday, February 2 Women’s Basketball vs. Babson College 7 p.m., Rockwell Cage
Sports Shorts
MIT Skiing finished their IAP Training Camp with races in giant slalom at Gunstock on Friday and slalom at Blackwater on Saturday. Highlights from Friday’s race include a personal second best USSA points race for Jonathan D. Allen ’14, who finished 62nd for the men; a huge personal improvement for Alix M. de Monts ’13, who finished 60th for the women; and a top points race for Jennifer L. Hawkin, who finished 66th. MIT’s third woman was Sarah J. Laderman ’12 in 71st. Jillian R. Reddy ’11 did not finish. The men’s remaining scorers were Jason D. Pier ’13 in 28th, Michael J. Yurkerwich ’11 in 50th, and Joshua Walker CME in 65th.
Volleyball scores Newbury victory
In its first home match of the 2011 campaign, the nationally-ranked No. 8 MIT men’s volleyball posted a 25-21, 25-19, 25-13, victory over Newbury College in a North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) New England Division contest on Jan. 18. With the win, the Engineers improved to 4-0 on the year and in conference action while the Nighthawks saw their ledger dip to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the league.
Upcoming Home Events
Wednesday, January 26 Women’s Basketball vs. Coast Guard 6 p.m., Rockwell Cage Men’s Basketball vs. Coast Guard 8 p.m., Rockwell Cage Thursday, January 27 Men’s Volleyball vs. Emerson College 7 p.m., Rockwell Cage Friday, January 28 Rifle — Bean Pot 5 p.m., DuPont Range Saturday, January 29 Rifle — Bean Pot 9 a.m., DuPont Range Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Coed Invitational 12 p.m., Johnson Track Women’s Basketball vs. Springfield College 1 p.m., Rockwell Cage Men’s Ice Hockey — MIT/Boston Bruins Alumni Game 2 p.m., Johnson Rink Men’s Basketball vs. WPI 3 p.m., Rockwell Cage
Sports Shorts
MIT skiers raced with their largest team yet in slalom and giant slalom events at Waterville Valley on Saturday and Sunday this weekend. On the women’s side, top-placing Chyleigh J. Harmon ’14 earned her best finish Saturday at 41st. Captain Jillian R. Reddy ’11 strongly led the rest of the team, finishing 56th. Rounding out scoring were Sarah J. Laderman ’12 in 63rd and Jennifer L. Hawkin in 64th. Newcomer Alix M. de Monts ’13 was disqualified. Sunday, however, all of the MIT women finished in a pack and recorded their best team result yet. Hawkin came in 60th, Harmon 61st, Reddy 63rd, de Monts 65th, and Laderman 66th. It was a personal best USSA points race for Hawkin.
Men’s volleyball starts off season with 3 wins
The MIT men’s volleyball team opened their season with three matches last week against Wentworth, Lesley, and Elms. The Engineers, who are ranked No. 8 in the AVCA Division III Coaches Top 15 Poll, won all of their matches to start the season 3-0.
Sports Shorts
The MIT Ski Team had their first two slalom races of the season this weekend at Cranmore. Despite clocking in their fewest ever team finishes Friday, individuals from the MIT team had successful weekends. On Friday, Michael J. Yurkerwich ’11 and Jason D. Pier ’13 both placed in the top 25 for the men (in 14th and 19th, respectively) and scored personal best USSA points. Saturday saw another top-25 finish from Yurkerwich (12th; Pier was 29th), and a first-time finish for newcomer Joshua Walker ’12 (68th). In addition, Jonathan D. Allen ’14 improved in the league from 71st Friday to 67th Saturday. For the women, Chyleigh Harmon ’14 narrowly missed the top-50, placing 51st in Saturday’s race. Her teammates Jennifer L. Hawkin ’12 and Sarah J. Laderman ’12 raced consistently placing 72nd and 74th Friday, then 72nd and 73rd on Saturday. Next weekend the team will race one slalom and one giant slalom race at Waterville Valley in New Hampshire, their “home” mountain.
Taekwondo takes on Cornell
Before break, the MIT Sport Taekwondo team competed in two Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (ECTC) tournaments, held at Cornell and Princeton. The Engineers finished second to archrival Cornell in both competitions, falling to second in the overall season standings.
Upcoming Home Events
Saturday, January 22 Men’s and Women’s Swimming and Diving vs. Tufts University 1 p.m., Z-Center Pool Men’s Volleyball vs. Baruch College 3 p.m., Rockwell Cage Men’s Volleyball vs. Elms College 5 p.m., Rockwell Cage Sunday, January 23 Men’s Volleyball vs. Emmanuel College 12 p.m., Rockwell Cage