The State of Red Sox Nation: helplessness and uncertainty
A terrible sensation of helplessness gripped all of New England last Wednesday night. The Red Sox entered the final night of the season tied in the standings with the Tampa Bay Rays with the wild card playoff spot up for grabs. At the last possible moment, everything went awry.
MIT women’s tennis sweeps Babson, 9-0
The MIT Women’s Tennis team continued their conference winning streak with a 9-0 victory over Babson College. In doubles, at No. 2, Michelle M. Dutt ’15 and Julia C. Hsu ’14 came off first with a close 8-5 win. No. 1 with Lauren C. Quisenberry ’14 and Stasey Vishnevetsky ’12 were soon to follow with an 8-4 victory. The toughest doubles match was at No. 3, but freshmen Vynnie J. Kong ’15 and Juana C. Becerra ’15 pulled out an 8-6 win. In an unofficial doubles match, Hillary E. Jenny ’12 and Alexandra C. Hall ’12 lost 8-0 at No. 4 doubles.
Sports Shorts
After a closely-fought game at UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, the Engineers were unable to hold onto a late lead and fell 31–29. This was MIT’s third straight loss after a season-opening win. With 1:23 left in the last quarter, Justin R. Wallace ’15, who had rushed for an impressive 84 yards, scored a touchdown. Benjamin D. Hessels ’14 scored a two-point conversion to give the Engineers a one-point lead — their first lead in the game. Unfortunately, the Engineers ended up down again at the 23 second mark, because of a 45 yard field goal scored by UMass Dartmouth’s Edgar Osols.
Men’s soccer drops fifth straight, 1-0 to Williams
Having suffered four straight losses heading into the weekend, MIT Men’s Soccer was hoping to regain momentum on Saturday at Steinbrenner Stadium. Unfortunately, with a 1-0 loss for MIT, the nationally-ranked Ephs of William College stood in their way.
SPORTS SHORTS
Facing its first nationally ranked opponent this season, the MIT Women’s Volleyball team fell to No. 21 Springfield College, 25-18, 28-26, 25-23, in a hard-fought NEWMAC contest on Tuesday night. The loss lowered the Engineers’ record to 13-4 on the year and 2-2 in league play.
Field Hockey victorious
Molly K. Duffy ’14’s put-back early in the second half proved to be the game-winner as MIT defeated visiting Endicott College, 2-1, in non-conference field hockey action on Tuesday night. The win is the third straight for the Engineers, who improve to 9-2 on the 2011 campaign. Endicott falls to 1-7 with the loss.
Football loses home opener against Curry College
MIT played its first home game of the season on Saturday against Curry College. MIT came into this week hoping to double the number of wins from the 2010 season (1-8) following a 51-13 loss to Massachusetts Maritime Academy and a 35-13 win at Becker College. Instead, MIT started with the same 1-2 three-game record as last year. Curry College won using a balanced attack of rushing and passing and overcoming early turnovers with a strong defensive performance.
SPORTS SHORT
MIT Women’s Tennis played two matches in the past week, hosting Tufts on Thursday and visiting Mount Holyoke on Saturday.
MIT endures tough loss against Wellesley Blue
The MIT women’s volleyball team faced off against the Wellesley Blue in a heated contest this Tuesday night but unfortunately endured its first loss (27-25, 18-25, 25-15, 25-20) of the season. Coming hot off an 11-0 record thus far, the Engineers hoped to gain momentum. But this match moved MIT to 2-1 in the NEWMAC conference and Wellesley also to 2-1 in the conference, but to 6-3 overall.
Water Polo takes three victories on West Coast
The MIT water polo team, ranked No. 6 in the latest Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III poll, traveled west to California for a four-day trip over the weekend, taking on some of the top squads in the area while there. The Engineers participated in the Posada Royale Invitational at California Lutheran University, in addition to playing three games at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges. MIT picked up three wins against four losses during the road trip.
SPORTS SHORT
The MIT Women’s Soccer team matched Clark University with a 0-0 tie in Saturday’s NEWMAC opener. Both teams came close to getting on the scoreboard, including a shot in the first overtime period by Leslie A. Meyer ’13 that was just barely wide. Even though the match ended in a stalemate, this was an important game for MIT’s goalie Meghan S. Wright ’13, who set an Institute record with 21 career shutouts. This record was previously held by Meg O’Neil ’93 and Connie Yang ’03 with 20 shutouts each. Wright finished the game with six saves to oppose Clark goalie Audrey Eiseman’s five. Next up for the Engineers is their first-ever match against Roger Williams University on September 21st.
Soccer falls to Springfield
In a match befitting the undefeated squads from MIT and Springfield College, the Pride of Springfield earned a crucial victory with a strike from Kevin Nowak in the waning moments of the second half.
Five lessons football fans learned from Week 1
This past Sunday was one of the most highly anticipated opening days for any sport in years, following one of the most eventful offseasons that football has ever seen. For almost five months, the NFL was gripped in a frustrating lockout that prevented players from working in team facilities until late July.
Patriots prepare for tough competition
Editor’s note: This is the second part of a series introducing Boston’s professional sports teams. With the NFL season just getting under way, here’s a look at the New England Patriots. This piece was originally published last fall, but has been updated for the 2011-2012 season.