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:
Sports Shorts
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.
Cardinals Have Shot At Breaching ‘Steel Curtain’ on Sunday
It’s that time of year again. The time when retailers use every possible euphemism to connect their products with “the big game,” when thirty seconds on TV costs more than the GDP of a small third-world country, when the per capita consumption of hot dogs, chips, and other artery-clogging goodness increases I-don’t-even-know-how-many-fold, when a man is once again judged by the size of his … television? Yeah, Super Bowl Sunday.
Women’s Fencing Dominates Field at NFC CompetitionNo. 11 Men’s Swimming Tops Tufts to Stay Perfect
The MIT women’s fencing team kicked off the new year by defeating all six of its opponents at last Saturday’s Northeast Fencing Conference (NFC) meet hosted by Brown University. The Engineers topped Boston College (16-11), Tufts University (16-11), Smith College (23-4), Dartmouth College (24-3), Vassar College (18-9), and the host Bears (14-13). With the wins, the Engineers improved to 13-6 overall and 11-1 in the NFC.
Steelers Face Cardinals In Super Bowl
An average of 97.5 million viewers tuned in last year to watch the Super Bowl — the result of which shall not be mentioned here — making it the most watched NFL championship game in history. This year’s Super Bowl, which will be broadcast in 232 countries, should not disappoint.
Sports Shorts
Preseason All-American James M. “Jimmy” Bartolotta ’09 led the MIT men’s basketball team to an 89-64 victory over Springfield College by scoring 33 points against the Pride in a NEWMAC contest at Springfield’s Blake Arena.
GAME OF THE WEEK MIT Track and Field Takes Top Spot Against Bates and Colby
The MIT men’s and women’s track and field teams kicked off their 2009 campaigns with a pair of resounding first place finishes over Bates and Colby Colleges on Saturday at Bates. The men’s total of 204 points far outpaced second-place Bates, who finished with 128 team points; Colby finished in third with just 21 points. MIT’s women totaled 151 points while Bates finished second with 123 and Colby again came in third with 89.
MIT Cycling Takes Third Place In Div. II Cyclocross Nationals
Following a successful regular season of cyclocross racing in the New England area, the MIT Cycling team traveled to Kansas City, Missouri on Friday, December 12th to compete in the 2008 Cyclocross National Championships. Strong performances from both the men’s and women’s sides paced the Engineers to third place in the Division II overall standings, upholding MIT’s reputation as a national cycling power. The week before Nationals the team, led by captain William Palm G, had won the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference Division II title for the second consecutive year and third of the last four, with 152 total points, well ahead of the runner-up US Military Academy with 121.
Sports Shorts
The senior tandem of James M. “Jimmy” Bartolotta ’09 and Willard J. “Billy” Johnson’ 09 combined for 59 points in MIT’s 69-56 victory over Babson College in a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men’s basketball game on Saturday. Bartolotta led the way with 33 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the floor, including a 5-of-8 performance from behind the arc. Johnson totaled 26 points, 24 of which coming in the second half, on a 10-of-12 outing at the free-throw line and a 7-of-11 total from the field.
The Tech’s Athlete of the Week: DeRon M. Brown ’10
DeRon M. Brown ’10 capped a historic season in the backfield by being tabbed as MIT’s first football All-American in 11 years. Brown was named d3football.com’s Second Team All-American after finishing the 2008 campaign as the nation’s second-leading rusher.
As NFL Playoffs Near End, Disappointments
What were the NFL’s biggest disappointments this season? The Lions, Pats, and Plaxico, if you ask me. The Detroit Lions finished 0-16, the first winless season in NFL history. Despite an 11-5 record, the New England Patriots missed the playoffs, thanks to the season-ending injury Tom Brady sustained in the season opener. The New York Giants with Plaxico Burress went 11-1; after Burress accidentally shot himself in the thigh, the Giants lost four out of their final five games. Without their talented wide receiver, the reigning Super Bowl champions and top seed in the NFC lost 11-23 to the sixth-seeded Eagles.