MIT shines in 2012 NEWMAC games
It has been a highly successful fall campaign for MIT’s varsity athletics program as the Engineers won six of the seven fall New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championships over the past two weeks, a record level of success for MIT Athletics. Below are highlights of MIT’s fall season varsity athletics teams.
SPORTS SHORT
The MIT Men’s Basketball team, the no. 1 ranked team in the nation in DIII, will take on Harvard tonight at 7 p.m. at Harvard’s Lavieties Pavilion. The Engineers, coming off a historic Final Four season, will look to prepare for the 2012-2013 campaign with this highly anticipated preseason tune up. Only a few tickets remain for the nearly sold out 2,000+ seat Pavilion.
Men’s soccer clinches first NEWMAC title
At the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Semifinals, MIT Men’s Soccer defeated No. 1 seeded Babson to proceed to the championship match. MIT clinched the win against Babson after a penalty kick by junior Andrew C. Fijan in double overtime. Just 16 minutes into the game, sophomore John L. Kramer and Sean D. Bingham ’16 scored the first two goals three minutes apart. Babson tied up the game by the 29th minute, so the first half ended with a score of 2-2. While the Engineers outshot Babson 12-7 in the first half, both teams took far fewer shots in the second half with Babson outshooting MIT 5-4. Like the first half, goalie Jake L. Amereno ’16 made one save while Babson’s goalie made two, forcing the game into overtime. Even during overtime, both goalies made tremendous saves, so neither team was able to make a goal. With the game resting on penalty kicks after neither team had scored during overtime, Fijan sent the ball flying to the lower left corner, allowing MIT to advance to the finals after a 5-4 victory.
Women’s volleyball beats Wellesley in title game
Behind the strength of efficient hitting and solid defense, the MIT women’s volleyball team defeated host and top seed Wellesley College, 25-17, 26-24, 25-15, in the 2012 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship on Sunday afternoon. The No. 3 Engineers (30-5) collected their first title since 1990 and fourth overall to earn a spot in the upcoming NCAA Championship Tournament. Kristine A. Bunker ’14 was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after compiling 28 kills, a .313 hitting percentage, and 15 blocks.
Field hockey takes Springfield, wins NEWMACs
Sophomore Caitlin A. Mackey scored two first-half goals and tacked on an assist while tournament Most Outstanding Player junior Madeline L. Wharton added a goal helping second-seeded MIT claim the 2012 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Field Hockey Championship with a 6-3 win over fourth-seeded Springfield College on Sunday afternoon at MacDowell Field.
TKD takes second place
On Saturday, Oct. 13, the MIT Sport Taekwondo Club organized and competed in this season’s first Eastern Collegiate Taekwondo Conference (ECTC) tournament. Facing fierce competition from universities such as Brown, Harvard, Penn State, Tufts, Princeton, and Cornell, the team showed impressive grit and determination and won a strong second place finish out of 22 schools.
XC wins NEWMACs
MIT Men’s Cross Country, which is now ranked sixth in New England, captured its 15th consecutive New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) championship title last Saturday afternoon. The Engineers have won every year since the inception of the conference in 1998. With 33 points, they edged out last year’s runner-up Springfield, with 44 points, and WPI, who moved up two places from last year, with 89. The Engineers’ highest finisher was Roy A. Wedge ’14, who finished in fourth place with a time of 26:02.28 in the 8k run. He was followed soon after by Benjamin A. Mattocks ’13 in fifth with a time of 26:08.01.
ETHAN E. PETERSON ’13: Talented athlete, engineer
Ethan E. Peterson ’13 is a Course 22 (Nuclear Science and Engineering) and Course 8 (Physics) senior on MIT Men’s Varsity Football. He has started on the MIT offensive line for the last three seasons and became co-captain last season. For his stellar play, he has received much recognition, including being selected for first team All-New England Football Conference. In fact, Ethan recently won the National Scholar-Athlete Award given by the National Football Foundation. This award selects 15 honorees out of the national pool of 147 semifinalists, who are selected from all divisions of college football for their academic prowess and their achievements on the field. Ethan is the sixth person in MIT Football history to receive this distinguished award.
Football dominates Salve Regina MIT overtakes No. 1 team with 29 seconds remaining
Two weeks ago, the MIT football team pulled off possibly the biggest upset in school history, beating previously undefeated (and nationally ranked No. 24 in Division III) Salve Regina University, 20-19. The Engineers, down 14-6 with 9:55 left to play in the fourth quarter, staged an unbelievable comeback, scoring two touchdowns in two possessions. The game winning drive started with just 1:08 to play. It was the last home game of the season, also known as Senior Day, making the victory that much more memorable for the Engineers.
Women’s Tennis dominates season
MIT Women’s Tennis completed a perfect season of play in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference today as the Engineers claimed the 2012 NEWMAC Championship with a 5-0 victory over defending champion Wellesley College. In a rematch of last season’s championship match, MIT reversed that decision to win its fourth conference crown and first since 2002. The victory also gave the Engineers the NEWMAC automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Tournament.
Men’s soccer shuts out Elms College 8-0 Monday
Following an upsetting loss to Coast Guard over the weekend, the MIT men’s soccer team turned things around quickly when they shut out Elms College 8-0 on Monday night. The Engineers improved to 10-4-1 for the season, while the Blazers dipped to 6-7-2.
Women’s soccer victorious
In an exciting game that left them a goal behind at the start of the second half, the MIT women’s soccer team went on to defeat the Coast Guard Academy, 3-1, on a sunny Saturday afternoon following senior day. Jennifer R. Ibanez ’16 scored the game-winning goal in the 75th minute of play. The Engineers are now 12-3-1 for the season and 7-1 in NEWMAC play, while the Bears fell to 2-12 and 0-8 in conference play.