Nadal and Federer lose in early days of Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal of Spain entered Wimbledon 2013 with great confidence after winning his record-setting eighth French Open title at Roland Garros, having defeated top-seeded Novak Djokovic in a grind-out five-setter in the semifinals. Nadal suffered from a partially torn patellar tendon during the middle of 2012, which caused him to withdraw from the 2012 London Olympic Games and stay sidelined for nearly a year after his second round loss at Wimbledon 2012. Despite this long hiatus, Nadal returned and displayed a championship performance during this year’s French Open. However, the fifth-seeded Nadal did not have as much luck last week during his Wimbledon first round match against Belgian Steve Darcis, who is currently ranked 135th in the world. Darcis upset Nadal in a tight three sets (7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-4) to advance to the second round.
New competition for Volleyball
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The MIT men’s volleyball team will join the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) starting in 2014. The Engineers, who have been an independent team for the past two seasons, will begin conference play immediately with the UVC.
SPORTS SHORT
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The MIT men’s lightweight crew team traveled to California for the 111th annual IRA National Championship Regatta, which took place from Friday, May 31 through Sunday, June 2. Tech entered one varsity four boat in the championships, competing in their first race early on Sunday morning.
NBA finals: San Antonio Spurs vs. Miami Heat
Who will take this year’s NBA finals? The Tech’s Austin Osborne evaluates the positional matchups between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs.
NEWMAC All-Conference
A league-leading 61 athletes represented MIT on the 2013 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Spring Academic All-Conference Team. The Engineers finished the year with a conference-high 146 selections, followed by WPI with 101.
Men’s track places 8th in NEWMACs
MIT Men’s Track and Field wrapped up competition at the New England Outdoor Championships with an eighth place finish with 36.50 points on Saturday. The Engineers finished just ahead of New Hampshire, with 35 points. Southern Connecticut State came in first place with 159 points.
Cycling caps off season with DII national and ECCC titles
The MIT Cycling team capped off a great season last weekend in Ogden, UT, where they won the Division II National Championships team omnium. This comes after a stellar performance the weekend before at Penn State where MIT secured the season team omnium victory in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC). The team omnium competition combines points from all men’s and women’s races, so usually requires a team to have depth in both fields.
Tech Tennis heads to DIII nationals
The list of the individuals who will be competing in the 2013 NCAA Division III Tennis Tournament was released on Wednesday afternoon, revealing the names of two MIT athletes. Lauren C. Quisenberry ’14 will represent the MIT women’s tennis team for the second time in her career, the last of which was in 2011, while Edwin M. Zhang ’14 will be making his first nationals appearance. The last MIT men’s tennis player to make it to NCAAs was Tom Dohlman in 2007.
Miami Heat expected to advance to Round 3
Miami comes into this series after a long rest following Round 1. They swept the Milwaukee Bucks convincingly and earned a week-long rest before Round 2. Unfortunately for the Heat, they are matched up against the Chicago Bulls after they upset the 4th seeded Brooklyn Nets. The Bulls are a bad matchup for Miami, as they play incredibly tough defense. Luol Deng will make life difficult for league MVP LeBron James, and Jimmy Butler will likely be matched up with Dwyane Wade for the majority of the series. Chris Bosh may be the key to the series. If he can dominate in his matchup against a hobbled Joakim Noah, the Heat will make quick work of the Bulls, but if Noah can play consistently well, Chicago could make things interesting, even without Derrick Rose. As a side note, the Bulls ended Miami’s 27 game winning streak earlier this season.
SPORTS SHORT
Two members of MIT Baseball have been honored for their achievements on the diamond and in the classroom this season. Ricardo J. Perez ’13 and Hayden K. Cornwell ’15 were selected to the Capital One Academic All-District baseball team, the College Sports Information Directors of America has announced.
Kaba is NEWMAC rookie of the year
At the conclusion of the 2013 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Track and Field Championships at Springfield College on Saturday, Michael S. Kaba ’16 was named the NEWMAC Rookie of the Year for his performances at the meet. This is the second year in a row that an MIT athlete has received the award.
MIT baseball falls to Brandeis in ninth inning
Brandeis University received a one-out, walkoff RBI single in the bottom of the ninth from Liam O’Connor that lifted the Judges to a 3-2 win over MIT in non-conference baseball action. Brandeis’ starter, Mike Swedloff, held MIT in check all day and threw a complete game, three hitter to pick up the victory. Parker A. Tew ’15 had a pair of hits and scored both runs for the Engineers.
Men’s tennis earns awards
Just days after winning their fifteenth consecutive New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) title, four members of the MIT men’s tennis team were selected for All-Conference honors, as announced by the conference on Tuesday afternoon. This is the second year in a row that four players have been selected.
Battle for the Muri Cup; 6th ranked
Moving up to sixth in the most recent national rankings — the highest ever for MIT — the Engineers Women’s Lightweight Crew took on first-ranked Harvard-Radcliffe in the battle for the Muri Cup. Harvard took the Cup in the Varsity 8 race and also won 2V event, with the Engineers picking up a win in the Novice 4 competition.
MIT men’s lacrosse wins 11-5
Seven unanswered goals along with 14 saves from goalie Christopher B. Rullan ’13 in the first half helped power the MIT men’s lacrosse team to an 11-5 victory over Clark University in a Pilgrim Lacrosse League game on Saturday afternoon. For the second straight outing, Chris S. Cook ’15 led the way for the Engineers (4-9, 2-3 Pilgrim) as he generated a game-high four goals.
Women’s lacrosse falls to Springfield College
In the regular-season finale for both squads, Springfield College defeated MIT, 11-7, in a NEWMAC women’s lacrosse game on Monday night. Kira M. Schott ’16 paced the Engineers (6-10, 2-4 NEWMAC) with four goals while Connie Nielsen registered four goals and an assist for the Pride (9-7, 4-2 NEWMAC).