A chat with Viktor Petrenko, figure skating legend How disciplined practice and community-minded humility got him to the top
After two decades of personal academic labors that included a B.A. degree, two masters, the relative mastery of the Russian language, and lessons for “Adult Beginners” at the MIT Figure Skating Club, and after 25 years of long-distance admiration, last month on Aug. 17 I finally got an in-person interview with my figure skating hero, 1992 World and Olympic Champion Viktor Petrenko at his home ice rink.
SPORTS SHORTS
MIT Women’s Tennis opened the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) season with a 9-0 victory over Springfield College. The team cruised through three doubles matches, winning each set 8-2. The round of singles was no different. Vynnie J. Kong ’15 won her first No. 2 set 6-2 while Julia C. Hsu ’14 finished off with a 6-2, 6-0 victory in the No. 6 match. Both Candace Wu ’13 and Victoria Tam ’16 scored a win at 6-2, 6-0 in the No. 3 and 4 match respectively. Michelle M. Dutt ’15 also delivered an outstanding No. 5 match with a win of 6-1, 6-0. At No. 1, Lauren C. Quisenberry ’14 crushed her opponent with a 6-2, 6-1 win. After a strong win in the NEWMAC opener, MIT Women’s Tennis will have its next match at Tufts University on Sept. 20.
Smith, Simmons fall to MIT
In its first home matches of the 2012 season, the MIT women’s volleyball team defeated New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) rival Smith College (25-17, 25-18, 25-11) and local foe Simmons College (25-15, 25-19, 25-12) on Saturday afternoon. These victories pushed MIT’s record to 10-1 overall and 2-0 in NEWMAC.
Murray wins his first grand slam at US Open Serena Williams takes women’s title
Third-seeded Andy Murray of Scotland won his first Grand Slam last Monday after defeating second-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia in five sets (7-6 (12-10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2) in the U.S. Open Men’s Singles Final. Murray is the first British man to win a Grand Slam since Fred Perry won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 1936.
Volleyball overtakes Clark
After a second place finish at the North Park University Tournament in Chicago last weekend, MIT pushed their winning streak to four matches with an impressive 3–0 win over Clark University in NEWMAC women’s volleyball action on Tuesday evening.
Women’s tennis wins first game
It was a fine start to the 2012 season for the No. 30 MIT women’s tennis team as the Engineers downed Assumption College, 9-0. Junior Lauren C. Quisenberry and freshman Victoria Tam got things started for MIT with an 8-0 win at No. 1 doubles.
Volleyball team wins 4 matches
MIT Women’s Volleyball swept all four of its matches this past weekend to take the Regis Pride Invitational Championship. Kristine A. Bunker ’14 was named to the All-Tournament Team and Tatiana Berger ’14 was named the Tournament MVP.
Red Sox trades players
One can only imagine that if former Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green was running the Boston Red Sox, he would have said that Adrian Gonzalez, Josh Beckett, and Carl Crawford were not who we thought they were. On Saturday, the Red Sox finally let them off the hook, releasing them into the friendly confines of Chavez Ravine.
Sports Shorts
Three members of the MIT football team picked up the first individual honors of the 2012 season when USA College Football announced its 2012 Division III Preseason awards. Senior offensive lineman Ethan E. Peterson (Rutland, Vt.) and junior defensive linemen Joel T. Santisteban (Lawrence, N.Y.) and Derek E. Vaughn (Goodlettsville, Tenn.) were all selected to the organization’s Northeast Regional All-Star team.
US women’s gymnastics: Gold
The 2012 London Olympics officially started on Friday with a quirky opening ceremony which included the Queen jumping out of a helicopter and lots of corgis.
SPORTS SHORT
Former MIT heavyweight crew coxswain Stephen Young ’09 will represent the United States at the 2012 World Rowing Championships which will be held from Aug. 15 to 19 in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. This will be Young’s second time coxing at the World Rowing Championships. Last year in Lake Karapiro, New Zealand, he raced in the men’s coxed pair and in the lightweight men’s eight.
Olympic swimmers chosen
We’re currently midway into July. That means it is hot and humid in Boston, there are less than two months before school begins, and the London Olympics are only a few weeks away. The USA Olympic team is currently being assembled for the Games which begin on July 27th. From June 25th to July 2nd, the Olympic team trials for swimming were held in Omaha, Nebraska. The big story from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games was Michael Phelps’ domination of the pool he earned eight gold medals to become the most decorated Olympic athlete in history. He will be competing in seven events (four of them individual) at this year’s Olympics. However, there are other superstars this year, including Missy Franklin in freestyle and backstroke and Rebecca Soni in women’s breaststroke. Here are some things to watch out for in the coming Olympics:
Sports Shorts
Rising senior Wyatt Ubellacker ’13 completed his U.S. Olympic Trials experience Saturday June 30 with an outstanding swim in the prelims of the 50-meter freestyle event. He finished second in his heat with a personal record time of 22.78 seconds. Ubellacker also competed in the 100-meter freestyle trials on Thursday and finished with another personal record of 51.39 seconds.
Federer takes No. 1 at Wimbeldon
Roger Federer of Switzerland won his seventh Wimbledon Championship last Sunday at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London. On his path to the championship, he defeated first-seeded favorite Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the semifinals in four tough sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3). In the finals, Federer rallied back to beat the fourth-seeded Andy Murray of Scotland in four sets after dropping the first set (4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4).