Urban gymnastics is concrete + chutzpah
Twenty of the worldâs best free-runners and parkour athletes gathered for the Red Bull Art of Motion competition held at City Hall Plaza in downtown Boston on Friday.
Upcoming Home Events
Tuesday, September 21 Womenâs Soccer vs. Lesley University 4 p.m., Steinbrenner Stadium Wednesday, September 22 Menâs Soccer vs. Brandeis University 4 p.m., Steinbrenner Stadium Field Hockey vs. Nichols College 6 p.m., Jack Barry Field
Sports Shorts
Behind career days from Alexandra A. Wright â11 and Katie Kauffman â12, the MIT field hockey team won its NEWMAC opener over Clark University, 8-2, on Sunday afternoon. Wright tallied a career best four goals while Kauffman set a new program record with five assists to help the Engineers move to 6-1 on the season.
Upcoming Home Events
Saturday, September 18 Sailing: Hatch Brown Trophy 9:30 a.m., Charles River Football vs. Mass. Maritime Academy 1 p.m., Steinbrenner Stadium Menâs Tennis vs. UMass-Boston 1 p.m., duPont Courts Sunday, September 19 Sailing: Toni Deutsch Regatta 9:30 a.m., Charles River Field Hockey vs. Clark University 1 p.m., Jack Barry Field
Sports Shorts
In their NEWMAC opener, the womenâs volleyball team swept Mount Holyoke College, 25-8, 25-17, 25-8, on Tuesday night. The Engineers improved their overall record to 5-4.
Football starts season with win
This past Saturday Chad Martinovich celebrated his first opening win as the football head coach at MIT, as the Engineers defeated Becker College 21-13. Despite a few kinks early on in the skirmish, MIT dominated the game in statistics, racking up 343 offensive yards to the Hawksâ 175. The Engineersâ ground attack, led by Marcel B. Sanchez â12, rushed for 252 yards and three touchdowns, Both the offense and defense played soundly. With a new attitude surrounding the team, MIT football may be back on the path to respectability after a disappointing one-win season last fall.
Womenâs tennis beats Smith in season opener Freshmen Quisenberry, Hsu lead Engineers to decisive 7-2 victory over Pioneers
This past Saturday, MIT womenâs tennis played their first match of the season against Smith College. The match started off with the doubles matches. First off was the freshmen doubles team of Lauren C. Quisenberry â14 and Julia C. Hsu â14. They breezed through their match and won decisively, 8-1. Next off were Melissa A. Diskin â11 and Katharine A. OâNeal â14. They played a tough match but lost 2-8; this made the overall score tied at 1-1. The next team to finish was Jenny C. Dohlman â11 and Jennifer A. Rees â11. They were down 2-4 in their match, but they quickly changed the momentum to win the next six games straight to take the match 8-4, giving MIT a 2-1 lead over Smith. Sonya Makhni â11 and Hillary E. Jenny â12 were the last ones on court. The match was close with both sides fighting for every point, but MIT pulled it out in the tiebreaker for the win, 9-8(5).
The New England Patriots
When I moved from the homeland of future Washington Nationalsâ star Chien-Ming Wang (that would be Taiwan) to New England ten years ago, I suppose the Patriots were my ânew home teamâ. However, sports loyalties are complicated. My father converted (some people would say âmaturedâ) from a Yankees fan to a Red Sox fan over the course of his life, and Iâm still not sure how he did it. As the Red Sox falter this year, I make concerted efforts to attach myself to a playoff-bound National League team (the Phillies); I wear the hat, follow them in the standings, but still struggle to attach myself to this team.
Upcoming Home Events
Saturday, September 11 Sailing: Toni Deutsch Regatta 9:30 a.m., Charles River Football vs. Becker College 12 p.m., Steinbrenner Stadium Womenâs Tennis vs. Smith College 1 p.m., duPont Courts Womenâs Soccer vs. University of Southern Maine 4 p.m., Steinbrenner Stadium Menâs Soccer vs. Newbury College 7 p.m., Steinbrenner Stadium Sunday, September 12 Sailing: Toni Deutsch Regatta 9:30 a.m., Charles River
Sports Shorts
The field hockey team won 4-1 on Tuesday afternoon at Lasell College to remain undefeated at 3-0 this season.
Sure itâs fake, but does it have to be boring too?
Boom! TD Bank Garden erupted in cheers as the lights went down and pyrotechnics fired off on Monday night. âSportsâ entertainment company World Wrestling Entertainment aired their 900th episode of Monday Night RAW. Since its debut 17 years ago on January 11, 1993, the WWE has produced the most episodes in the history of primetime TV. In fact according to a fun fact displayed during a commercial break, if MTVâs Jersey Shore continues to run at its current rate, it will reach its 900th episode in 2083 when Snooki is 96 which is older than Betty Whiteâs current age.
After a glum Sox on Sox weekend, time to move on
All summer, Iâve read about the declining TV and radio audiences for the Red Sox, but in order to gain a full grasp on the changing market for Red Sox baseball, I needed to go down to Fenway and wait in line for seats. In years past, Iâd arrive outside the ticket window at Gate E a full five hours in advance of the first pitch and find thirty to fifty people camped out in the shadow of the Green Monster, spread out on blankets, sipping coffee, and listening to radio hosts dissect the Red Sox. As I arrived on Saturday morning at the ballpark two and a half hours before game time, I found just eight people in line ahead of me. In the thirty minutes between my arrival and the time tickets went on sale, the line in front of me dwindled to a mere four people as scalpers offered face value for âbox seatsâ (be wary of scalpers: aside from the fact that the seats are grouped in rectangular sections, there was nothing âboxâ about those seats). The first-row, infield grandstand seats that I purchased offered an excellent view of what promised to be an intriguing pitchersâ duel in the first game of Saturdayâs double-header.
Getting to know the Boston Bruins
In Boston, the Bruins wonât win a popularity contest with the Red Sox, Patriots, or Celtics, but their hardcore fans are true Bostonians and as dedicated to their team as any fans of the other New England sports teams. For those unfamiliar with the game of ice hockey, imagine a sport which, like soccer, is a low-scoring affair, but unlike soccer, permits physicality between players and doesnât reward those who like to fake injuries. It also represents one of the best ways to have fun when youâre near a frozen body of water and canât go anywhere because thereâs too much snow (this is New England for about four months out of the year). Many Bruins fans, unlike fans of franchises in the southern United States, have fond memories of playing the game with family and friends. Collegiate hockey (the BU Terriers and the BC Eagles are among the top teams in the nation) is extremely popular around Boston as well.
Sox playoff hopes dim after Rays
The Red Sox headed to Tampa Bay last weekend to take on the Rays in a pivotal three-game series. Five and a half games behind the Rays, the Red Sox needed to take at least two out of three in the series to position the team for the last month of the season. A promising start stoked playoff hopes, but the rest of the weekend left Red Sox nation in a somber state of mind. Hereâs a recap of the weekend and a look ahead at what lies in store for the Sox.
The Art of UFC
Iâm not a sports fanatic in any sense. I donât follow the Red Sox or the Bruins, and I absolutely hate seeing blood or watching people get punched out.
News Briefs
At 7:20pm on Sunday, the TD Garden was in complete excitement for UFC 118. This was the first time that the UFC had been in Boston. Tickets went for anything from $75 to $4500, and some fans had even lined up outside of the box office at midnight when the tickets were released to guarantee the best seating possible for the event. According to Fightline, 15,575 fans attended the event. Official numbers will be released next week.
Getting to know the Red Sox
<i>Editorâs Note: Welcome to Boston! Since Beantownâs professional sports teams are such an integral part of its culture, weâre presenting an insiderâs view â history, current state, and future expectations â of each of them. The first installment in the series features... the Red Sox, of course.</i>
Sports Shorts
Coaches Ted Benford and Andy Hilton are leaving the lightweight menâs rowing program, Director of Athletics Julie Soriero announced on Monday. Benford, who served as the Engineersâ head coach for the past five seasons, will be returning to Northeastern University as the associate head coach. Following a three-year stint at MIT, Hilton will be going back to Dartmouth College, his alma mater, as the assistant heavyweight coach.
A runner to remember
In the past few months, Jacqueline M. Wentz â10 has completed a dizzying journey â from finishing up finals at MIT, where she graduated and double-majored in Physics and Biological Engineering, to competing in the finals of the 3000-meter womenâs steeplechase at the USA Track and Field (USATF) National Championships.
Racing for the top spot
Last month the MIT Motorsports Formula SAE team competed and placed 8th in the Formula SAE West competition. Over the past two years the team has been designing and building a Formula 1 style race car. Our hard work has paid off, as MIT placed higher than ever, taking 8th place out of 80 registered teams.