Women’s tennis beats Smith in season opener Freshmen Quisenberry, Hsu lead Engineers to decisive 7-2 victory over Pioneers
This past Saturday, MIT women’s tennis played their first match of the season against Smith College. The match started off with the doubles matches. First off was the freshmen doubles team of Lauren C. Quisenberry ’14 and Julia C. Hsu ’14. They breezed through their match and won decisively, 8-1. Next off were Melissa A. Diskin ’11 and Katharine A. O’Neal ’14. They played a tough match but lost 2-8; this made the overall score tied at 1-1. The next team to finish was Jenny C. Dohlman ‘11 and Jennifer A. Rees ’11. They were down 2-4 in their match, but they quickly changed the momentum to win the next six games straight to take the match 8-4, giving MIT a 2-1 lead over Smith. Sonya Makhni ’11 and Hillary E. Jenny ’12 were the last ones on court. The match was close with both sides fighting for every point, but MIT pulled it out in the tiebreaker for the win, 9-8(5).
The New England Patriots
When I moved from the homeland of future Washington Nationals’ star Chien-Ming Wang (that would be Taiwan) to New England ten years ago, I suppose the Patriots were my “new home team”. However, sports loyalties are complicated. My father converted (some people would say “matured”) from a Yankees fan to a Red Sox fan over the course of his life, and I’m still not sure how he did it. As the Red Sox falter this year, I make concerted efforts to attach myself to a playoff-bound National League team (the Phillies); I wear the hat, follow them in the standings, but still struggle to attach myself to this team.
Upcoming Home Events
Saturday, September 11 Sailing: Toni Deutsch Regatta 9:30 a.m., Charles River Football vs. Becker College 12 p.m., Steinbrenner Stadium Women’s Tennis vs. Smith College 1 p.m., duPont Courts Women’s Soccer vs. University of Southern Maine 4 p.m., Steinbrenner Stadium Men’s Soccer vs. Newbury College 7 p.m., Steinbrenner Stadium Sunday, September 12 Sailing: Toni Deutsch Regatta 9:30 a.m., Charles River
Sports Shorts
The field hockey team won 4-1 on Tuesday afternoon at Lasell College to remain undefeated at 3-0 this season.
Sure it’s fake, but does it have to be boring too?
Boom! TD Bank Garden erupted in cheers as the lights went down and pyrotechnics fired off on Monday night. “Sports” entertainment company World Wrestling Entertainment aired their 900th episode of Monday Night RAW. Since its debut 17 years ago on January 11, 1993, the WWE has produced the most episodes in the history of primetime TV. In fact according to a fun fact displayed during a commercial break, if MTV’s Jersey Shore continues to run at its current rate, it will reach its 900th episode in 2083 when Snooki is 96 which is older than Betty White’s current age.
After a glum Sox on Sox weekend, time to move on
All summer, I’ve read about the declining TV and radio audiences for the Red Sox, but in order to gain a full grasp on the changing market for Red Sox baseball, I needed to go down to Fenway and wait in line for seats. In years past, I’d arrive outside the ticket window at Gate E a full five hours in advance of the first pitch and find thirty to fifty people camped out in the shadow of the Green Monster, spread out on blankets, sipping coffee, and listening to radio hosts dissect the Red Sox. As I arrived on Saturday morning at the ballpark two and a half hours before game time, I found just eight people in line ahead of me. In the thirty minutes between my arrival and the time tickets went on sale, the line in front of me dwindled to a mere four people as scalpers offered face value for “box seats” (be wary of scalpers: aside from the fact that the seats are grouped in rectangular sections, there was nothing “box” about those seats). The first-row, infield grandstand seats that I purchased offered an excellent view of what promised to be an intriguing pitchers’ duel in the first game of Saturday’s double-header.
Getting to know the Boston Bruins
In Boston, the Bruins won’t win a popularity contest with the Red Sox, Patriots, or Celtics, but their hardcore fans are true Bostonians and as dedicated to their team as any fans of the other New England sports teams. For those unfamiliar with the game of ice hockey, imagine a sport which, like soccer, is a low-scoring affair, but unlike soccer, permits physicality between players and doesn’t reward those who like to fake injuries. It also represents one of the best ways to have fun when you’re near a frozen body of water and can’t go anywhere because there’s too much snow (this is New England for about four months out of the year). Many Bruins fans, unlike fans of franchises in the southern United States, have fond memories of playing the game with family and friends. Collegiate hockey (the BU Terriers and the BC Eagles are among the top teams in the nation) is extremely popular around Boston as well.
Sox playoff hopes dim after Rays
The Red Sox headed to Tampa Bay last weekend to take on the Rays in a pivotal three-game series. Five and a half games behind the Rays, the Red Sox needed to take at least two out of three in the series to position the team for the last month of the season. A promising start stoked playoff hopes, but the rest of the weekend left Red Sox nation in a somber state of mind. Here’s a recap of the weekend and a look ahead at what lies in store for the Sox.
The Art of UFC
I’m not a sports fanatic in any sense. I don’t follow the Red Sox or the Bruins, and I absolutely hate seeing blood or watching people get punched out.
News Briefs
At 7:20pm on Sunday, the TD Garden was in complete excitement for UFC 118. This was the first time that the UFC had been in Boston. Tickets went for anything from $75 to $4500, and some fans had even lined up outside of the box office at midnight when the tickets were released to guarantee the best seating possible for the event. According to Fightline, 15,575 fans attended the event. Official numbers will be released next week.
Getting to know the Red Sox
<i>Editor’s Note: Welcome to Boston! Since Beantown’s professional sports teams are such an integral part of its culture, we’re presenting an insider’s view — history, current state, and future expectations — of each of them. The first installment in the series features... the Red Sox, of course.</i>
Sports Shorts
Coaches Ted Benford and Andy Hilton are leaving the lightweight men’s rowing program, Director of Athletics Julie Soriero announced on Monday. Benford, who served as the Engineers’ head coach for the past five seasons, will be returning to Northeastern University as the associate head coach. Following a three-year stint at MIT, Hilton will be going back to Dartmouth College, his alma mater, as the assistant heavyweight coach.
A runner to remember
In the past few months, Jacqueline M. Wentz ’10 has completed a dizzying journey – from finishing up finals at MIT, where she graduated and double-majored in Physics and Biological Engineering, to competing in the finals of the 3000-meter women’s steeplechase at the USA Track and Field (USATF) National Championships.
Racing for the top spot
Last month the MIT Motorsports Formula SAE team competed and placed 8th in the Formula SAE West competition. Over the past two years the team has been designing and building a Formula 1 style race car. Our hard work has paid off, as MIT placed higher than ever, taking 8th place out of 80 registered teams.
Dew Tour brings world’s best to Boston
At a quarter to three on June 26, hundreds of people ran through the doors of Boston’s TD Garden and rushed up the escalator stairs to the balcony of the stadium to watch the first of five stops on the 2010 Dew Tour and IFC Skateboarding World Championships. General admission ticket holders were not guaranteed seating and therefore contributed to the dog-eat-dog situation. Why choose to risk your life in the mob? Because tickets were only $15 (cheap when compared to the $100 action zone tickets), they were perfect for the moderate fan as well as the monetarily-challenged college student.
Engineers travel overseas; claim basketball tourney title
Last month, the MIT men’s basketball team competed in the Kainan University Invitational Tournament in Taiwan. This annual event, now in its fifth season, featured mostly teams from Asian universities. Using their depth and size advantage over their opponents, the Engineers cruised through the tournament, picking up four straight wins en route to their second tournament title in two trips (They also competed in the tournament in 2006).
Are you ready for some football? (No, the other kind)
The 2010 FIFA World Cup begins on June 11 in Johannesburg as the host, South Africa, take on their Group A opponents, Mexico. It will be the first tournament to be hosted by an African country and the first in which the host nation, not the defending champions (this year Italy, which won on 2004), will play the opening match.
MIT Cycling faces ECCC rivals in Madison
Nine members of the MIT cycling team competed in the Collegiate Road Nationals, held May 7-9 in Madison, Wisconsin. The event opened on Friday with an incredibly challenging road race at Blue Mound State Park. Rain, temperatures in the 40’s, and over 8,000 feet of climbing over 70 miles made the men’s race a race of attrition, with only half the starters finishing the race. John Dreher G was MIT’s first finisher, in a solid 18th place, even though he had upgraded to A’s just three weeks before nationals. Despite riding the last 10 miles of the race with a broken shifter cable, forcing him to run up the steep hills, John Rhoden G placed 27th. After spending much of the race chasing after getting a flat tire, Tim Humpton ’10 finished in 32nd place.
US preps for World Cup against Czechs, Turks
Last week, the US Men’s National Team played two friendly matches against the Czech Republic and Turkey teams, as a tune-up for the World Cup.
Senior spotlight: Exceptional student-athletes
In the spirit of today’s commencement, the sports section has chosen to spotlight a smattering of MIT’s graduating student-athletes. It is a testament to the strength of the Institute’s athletic program that we do not have space to feature all of the seniors, though we tip our caps to every student who balanced the time commitment that a varsity sport requires with some of the nation’s most rigorous academics.