Sports Shorts
MIT’s varsity heavyweight crew began its spring season with a strong showing against one of the best crews in the country, finishing less than two seconds behind Columbia in the Alumni Cup. Columbia, which finished sixth at last year’s national championships, entered the campaign ranked No. 8 in the nation.
Six Teams Compete in Second MIT Cricket Club Tournament
Even though cricket is played or followed by more than a billion people all over the world, Boston has not seen much of it. Thanks to the MIT Cricket Club, which organized its second cricket tournament at MIT from March 14 to March 29, MIT became center stage for some exciting rounds of cricket. The tournament was the club’s first ever indoor tournament, with matches held in the Johnson Athletic Center. It was sponsored by the Students Activities Office, the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education, and the International Students Organization.
GAME OF THE WEEK Men’s Swimming and Diving Ninth at 2009NCAA Championship
With numerous outstanding performances, MIT men’s swimming and diving capped the 2008-09 season with its highest finish at the NCAA Championships in 27 years. The men finished ninth overall in the team standings, while the women’s team also closed out the year with a pair of solid swims.
The Tech’s Athlete of the Week: Julia Zimmerman ’09
In a magnificent ending to a remarkable collegiate career, senior star gymnast Julia C. Zimmerman ’09 won the all-round competition for the second time in three years at the prestigious National Collegiate Gymnastics Association (NCGA) championship hosted by Hamline University this past weekend. Zimmerman, who also won the crown in 2007, is just the second woman in 25 years to twice win the NCGA all-around title.
Sports Shorts
Rookie Robin S. Shin ’12 posted five victories en route to a 22nd-place finish in sabre at the NCAA Fencing National Championship held this past weekend at Pennsylvania State University. As a team, MIT tied for 24th place for the second year in a row, this time sharing the ranking with Vassar College.
Japan Defeats S. Korea to Win Second World Baseball Classic
Last Monday night, Japan beat Korea 5-3 in extra innings in the final of this year’s World Baseball Classic, defending its WBC title and bringing a fitting end to what sounds like such a great idea: bring teams from sixteen countries around the world together and have them go head-to-head in a grand tournament of America’s pastime, promoting national pride and giving the sport more exposure domestically and abroad…
MIT Sport Taekwondo Takes First Overall at Nat’l Championships
The MIT Sport Taekwondo team, coached by head instructor Dan Chuang and led by captains Corinna Hui ’09 and Christopher J. Han ’09, competed against the nation’s best teams at the National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) Championships at Brown University on March 21st and 22nd. Although MIT was outnumbered by a large team from Brown (MIT: 40; Brown: 64), MIT still prevailed, capturing first place, and beating out Brown University by the slimmest margin of two points to win the overall National Collegiate title.
MIT Pistol Team Takes Third Place at Nationals, Behind 2 Military Colleges
The MIT pistol team captured third place overall at this year’s NRA Collegiate Pistol Championships, placing behind first place United States Military Academy (West Point) and second place United States Naval Academy. Two team members, Michelle C. Ma ’10 and Fuzhou Hu ’09, also took spots on 2009 Collegiate All-American teams. The national championships were held March 16-20 at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Michigan St., Connecticut, Villanova, North Carolina Make Up NCAA Final Four
After a week and a half of March Madness, the regional champions have been decided. The 2009 NCAA Final Four consists of Michigan State, Connecticut, Villanova, and North Carolina – here’s a summary of how they got here.
The Tech’s Athlete of the Week:Igor Kopylov ’09
For the second year in a row senior Igor Kopylov was the lone Division III recipient of the Georges L. Cointe Award, which is given to a fencer who excels in high-level competition with excellence in sportsmanship. He is MIT’s third consecutive winner of this award and fourth overall as Trevor T. Chang ’07 was honored during his senior campaign and Guy P. Pommares ’71 was chosen in 1970.
Skating Club Holds Exhibition
On Saturday, March 14th, 2009, the MIT Figure Skating Club (FSC) held its annual club exhibition at the Johnson Ice Rink. This show was coordinated by group lesson instructor Susan Alpert; Esther Horwich ’77 was the show’s emcee. This year’s show featured many group, solo, and duet performances by club and local skaters and had an audience of around 200 people.
Strong Doubles Play Sets Tone as Women’s Tennis Sweeps Colby
MIT Women’s Tennis defeated Colby this past Saturday, winning 9-0. The warm day allowed the players to compete outside, which also allowed the many fans to see the action better. Among the fans was Kat Pick, a former assistant coach who came out to support the team. With the support of the fans, the team headed out to play doubles.