Yankees’ Rodriguez Earns New Nickname For Himself: A-Roid
First, there was A-Rod, the scrappy kid playing in Seattle who seemed destined for greatness. Next came Pay-Rod, the star shortstop who ditched his team in search of a bigger contract. Not long ago, Joe Torre gave us A-Fraud, the narcissistic, demanding Yankee superstar. Now, the revelations of this past weekend provide another addition to the repertoire of variations on the guy’s nickname: A-Roid.
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Senior standout Julia C. Zimmerman ’09 stayed on top of her game, winning the all-around and the vault, and placing second on the bars, as the MIT gymnastics team placed third in a field of four teams. Host Southern Connecticut State University came away with the win (185.950), followed by SUNY Brockport (184.550), the Engineers (175.000), and Rhode Island College (169.250).
Debate Team Reaches Quarterfinals at World Debate Championship
During IAP, the MIT Debate Team reached the quarterfinals of both the World Universities Debating Championship, held in Ireland, and the North American Debate Championships, hosted by Amherst University in Massachusetts. This accomplishment represents MIT’s best finish ever at the World Championships, a tournament normally dominated by international competition.
The Tech’s Athlete of the Week: Jacqui Wentz ’10
On January 25, Jacqueline M. Wentz ’10 became the first female athlete in the country to qualify for Division III NCAA Championships in the 5000 meters this year. Her automatic qualifying time of 17:05.2 at the Terrier Invitational broke the MIT record for the distance.
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The nationally-ranked No.7 MIT men’s track and field team hosted Williams and Coast Guard in its first indoor meet of the season on Saturday afternoon at the Johnson track. The Engineers picked up 13 event wins and earned 171 points on their way to a comfortable win over second-place Williams (117.50). Coast Guard earned 87.50 points for third place.
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Double-digit attack efforts by Eric R. Reuland ’10, T. Scott Pollom ’09, Michael Demyttenaere ’10, and Garrett L. Winther ’11 would not be enough as nationally-ranked No. 7 Newbury College defeated MIT, 30-32, 30-28, 30-18, 30-20, on Tuesday. With the loss, the Engineers’ record moved to 4-6 overall and 3-2 in NECVA New England Division action.
Steelers Top Cardinals in Super Bowl, Win Sixth Championship
Last Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Arizona Cardinals 27-23 in Super Bowl XLIII, held at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa Bay, to win their sixth title in franchise history. Although the result was anything but unexpected — with Pittsburgh being the heavy favorites to win — the final score does not reveal the suspense, dramatic turns, and big plays throughout the three hour, thirty-eight minute masterpiece.
GAME OF THE WEEK Men’s Swimming Ends Its Season Undefeated
MIT men’s swimming and diving, which is ranked No. 11 in the latest Division III national poll, claimed its first undefeated regular season in program history with a convincing victory at No. 19 Amherst College. Paced by two pool records, the Engineers topped the Lord Jeffs, 172-119, while closing out the regular portion of their slate with an 8-0 record.
The Year in MIT Sports
Two thousand and eight saw a number of impressive performances from MIT’s student athletes, both noteworthy individual achievements and successful seasons for several varsity teams. Across all MIT athletics, the Institute set a new record for Academic All-American honors with 11 selections for the 2007-2008 seasons.
The Year in National Sports
The sports world has certainly provided its share of memorable moments in the past year. From the Super Bowl last February, to the Olympics in August, to, well, the Super Bowl again last weekend, here are some of the biggest headlines from 2008. In no particular (somewhat chronological) order:
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James M. “Jimmy” Bartolotta ’09 became the first MIT basketball player to top 2,000 career points as he scored a game-high 39 in a sensational performance on Saturday to lead the Engineers past Wheaton, 85-60.