Men spikers go to nationals
@ByName:By David RothsteinThe team, which finished the season at 23-11 (6-2 in the Eastern Invitational Volleyball Association Conference), was under the command of Edwin Marin '89, a fine passer and outside hitter, and the squad captain. Marin had been a starter on the varsity since his sophomore year and was expected to lead an experienced team that included seniors Charles Lee, Joe Tang, Allen Downey and junior Roland Rocafort.
But Marin went down with a serious ankle sprain just before the season began, and was unable to return to action until well into the season. It was a difficult setback for team and captain alike.
MIT embarked on a somewhat difficult schedule without Marin, playing with no great consistency. Against the better teams, MIT fared well, but lost to some weaker teams that perhaps it should have beaten, according to coach Karyn Altman '78.
Altman in fact spent what these days seems a rare season coaching the men's team, as she was out on maternity leave the previous year and has passed up on coaching the 1990 squad after a second son arrived in November.
The 1989 Engineers finished a strong second in the early March EIVA Open Tournament, but did not do so well at the Concordia Classic and Navy Tournaments later in the season.
The regular season ended with a 3-2 loss to Springfield College, which put MIT's chances of qualifying for the NCAA playoffs in jeopardy. But Roger Williams College, the only other EIVA team to beat MIT, defeated Springfield, which allowed for MIT to advance to first-round NCAA competition.
Playing without Tang, a strong outside hitter who had broken his wrist, MIT faced East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, against which MIT held a 1-2 record during the season. But the Engineers could not beat East Stroudsburg, then ranked 17th nationally, another time, and the season was over.
Five freshmen joined the volleyball program, and they will likely all play a critical role in MIT teams to come for the next three years. Middle hitter Allen Peyrat and outside hitters Faris Hitti and Tom Klemas saw varsity action in their first year, and setter Jim Szafranski and outside hitter Andreas Calderon started for the junior varsity.
All five make up an important part of this year's varsity, which made it to the semifinal round of the 1990 New England Collegiate Volleyball League Open Tournament last weekend at MIT. The team is competing without Rocafort, who is out for as much as half a season with an ankle injury.
(David Rothstein '91 is a member of the men's volleyball team.)
Copyright 1990 by The Tech. All rights reserved.
This story was originally published on Tuesday, February 6, 1990.
Volume 110, Year in Review
The story began on page 20 and jumped to page 19.
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