The Year in Sports, part 2
@ByName:sport
Baseball
For the first time in its history, the MIT baseball team qualified for post-season play, finishing with a record of 17-12. Though the Engineers did not advance in the tournament past the first round, the 17 wins marked a high in the 41-year history of the program.
Head Coach Fran O'Brien won his 200th career victory during the season. Catcher Tim Day '89, third baseman Mike Murray '90, and pitcher Fran Patterson '89 received the highest accolades. Day was the second leading hitter in Greater Boston League play, hitting .516, made second team All-New England, and was rated in the top 50 hitters in all of Division III with his .420 average. Murray was also named All-New England, making the third team, and Patterson had the third best ERA in all of Division III, allowing only six earned runs in 44 innings, while compiling a 5-1 record.
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Crew
The crew teams, unfortunately, did not experience such good fortune. Both the heavyweight and lightweight crews had what could best be called a "rebuilding year."
The heavyweights opened with a strong pre-season, winning their Club 8 division going into the Head of the Charles. During the season, however, they compiled with a disappointing 0-9 record, though several of the losses were by just fractions of a second. Captain Chris Neils '89, MVP Jay Best '89, and Rick Franklin '89 all rounded out their careers as three-year letter winners.
The lightweights fared little better. They compiled a 4-6 record on the season, but all four victories were outside the league against weaker crews. Nonetheless, they were victories, giving the team hope for the future.
The best news for the crew teams came from outside the boathouse, as Jim Pierce, a 1981 graduate, made the US National Rowing Team.
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Cross Country
The cross country team was ranked often in the top 10 in New England Division III throughout the season, so their 0-3 record belied their abilities. The team finished strongly in multi-school meets, often losing only to the Division I clubs.
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Fencing
The fencing team was well lauded for their exploits in postseason play. Joe Sang G, T. K. Wong '89, and Joe Harrington G each won their events in the New England Intercollegiate Championships, competing in the sabre, foil, and epeeDO NOT PUT RESPECTIVELY HERE. IT IS IMPROPER WITH MORE THAN TWO ITEMS
. Their efforts helped MIT earn second place in the tournament.
Harrington went on to earn eighth place in the Intercollegiate Fencing Championships, where MIT finished 11th overall. Sang went on to take ninth place in the NCAA's, meriting him an All-America honorable mention.
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Golf
Golf is played in both the spring and fall. The Engineers finished the spring season an impressive 11-4, winning the Engineers Cup to conclude the regular season. The team placed 18th in the New England Intercollegiate Golf Association Championships. The fall team finished 25th in the NEIGA Championships.
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Gymnastics
The men's gymnastics team was not able to test itself to the fullest, due to a funding problem. Their fourth place finish in New England qualified them for the Nationals in California, but a lack of money kept them home.
The team finished the season at 4-2, ranked sixth in all of Division III. Eric Reifschneider '89, Mark Malonson '89, and Alan Nash '89 all qualified for the Eastern Colleges Athletic Conference Championships. Reifschneider was the 1989 winner of the Kispert Award, given to the MIT male senior scholar-athlete of the year. He won an NCAA post-graduate scholarship for being an outstanding scholar-athlete as well.
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Hockey
Being an undersize club, the hockey team had trouble against most of its foes. The team record was a disappointing 6-10. The high point of the season was an impressive 19-goal outburst at the end of the season against Gordon College.
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Lacrosse
There was rarely a dull moment when watching the lacrosse team. The team set MIT records for scoring all season long as they compiled a 6-7 record (4-3 in the Pilgrim League). Dave Chang '89, a first-team All-League selection, set MIT records for points in a season (78), assists in a season (33), and assists in a career (81). Pat Nee '89 set an MIT career record for goals scored with 102. As a team, the Engineers broke a school record as they swished in 12.2 goals per game.
Chang finished tied for fifth in Division III for most points per game, and 11th in goals per game. Phil Kim '89 joined him as a first-team All-League selection.
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Pistol
Pistol has consistently been one of the top teams at MIT, and this year was no exception. The team placed highly in all three events at the national level, and individual team members distinguished themselves quite well.
Eric Blau '91 was the most outstanding team member. He finished second in the air pistol, earning him All-American status, and fifth in free pistol, making him an Honorable Mention All-American in this event. His performance also earned him a spot on the US Junior National Air Pistol team.
The team itself finished second in air pistol (to Navy), third in free (to Air Force and Army), and seventh in standard. Ken DeCanio '90 and Fredric Chong '90 finished 23rd and 24th respectively in air pistol, while DeCanio finished 18th in standard pistol.
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Rifle
Like the other shooting team, the rifle team also enjoyed a great deal of success. The team was 6-8 in air rifle, but finished an amazing 19-9 in the smallbore event. The highlight of the year came when the team won the Mid-Atlantic Conference Championships.
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Sailing
This year marked the retirement of Head Coach Hatch Brown from the sailing team. His efforts led his team to be chosen Club of the Year by the Massachusetts Bay Yacht Racing Union. The award was both for the club's efforts on the Charles and in the community.
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Skiing
The ski team turned out to be about as tough as one could possibly expect. The final match record for the team was 43-7, impressive in itself. What was even more impressive was the way that they won the Eastern Intercollegiate Skiing Association Division II championships. Considering that the top Alpine skier fell on both his runs in the championships makes this feat quite remarkable.
Steven Bull '90, Terry Totemeier '91, and Tim Sulzbach G were selected as All-East in the cross-country event, while Greg Montonaga '89 was named All-East Alpine skier.
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Soccer
The soccer team finished the season an all-together average 6-7-3. Stephen Feldgoise '92 was the leading scorer for the second year in a row, while Michael Dorsch '90 was named MVP.
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Squash
Despite an unimpressive-looking 11-14 record, the squash team was nonetheless potent. The team wound up ranked 17th in the nation. Alec Litowitz '89 was the team's top performer, becoming MIT's first All-American as he made the second team.
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Swimming
The swim season was also one of the greater accomplishments in MIT sports this year. There were national championship qualifiers in five events and four All-Americans. The team finished sixth in New England Division III (the best performance in five years) and 14th in nationals.
Marcos Fernandes '90 was the top performer, earning two All-American awards and three Honorable Mention All-American honors as well. Fernandes finished third in the nation in the 100-yard backstroke and was a member of the seventh-place 200 medley relay team; he also took 11th-place in the 50-yard freestyle and participated in the 16th-place 200 free and 14th-place 400 free relay teams. Fernandes set several new MIT records; he now owns or shares seven.
Peter Neirinckx '90, Dinesh Lathi '92, and Andrew Knoedler '91 were also members of the All-American 200 medley relay team, as well as the Honorable Mention 200 and 400 free relay teams. Neirinckx also received Honorable Mention All-American awards for his 13th-place finish in the 200-yard individual medley and his 16th-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly.
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Tennis
The tennis team finished the season at 13-10, ranked 16th nationally. Kai-Yee Ho G was the top individual on the team, ranked 40th, and Ho and Brian Brown '89 were the top doubled tandem, ranking 23rd nationally. As a team, the Engineers qualified and went on to the NCAA Division III Championships.
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Water Polo
Water polo was another sport experiencing a rebuilding year. The team, which finished at 6-15, took sixth place at the New England Championships.
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Wrestling
The wrestling team tied a best-ever performance at the New England Wrestling Association Championship, finishing fifth and scoring an MIT best-ever 87.5 points. Five wrestlers turned in finishes in the top four.
Scott Schwartz '89 had the most impressive performance, culminating a 26-0 season with a victory in the 134-pound division, which sent him to nationals. Alec Franz '90 finished second in the 190-pound division, while Matt Long '91 took third at 150. Fourth place finishes were turned in by James Lombara '90 at 167 and Josh Ertischek '91 at heavyweight.
Head Coach Tim Walsh won his 100th career match victory last year as well.
Compiled by Shawn Mastrian,->
with assistance from Stu Schmill->
and Roger Crosley of the->
Sports Information Office->
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 was printed on page 18.
This article may be freely distributed electronically, provided it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice, but may not be reprinted without the express written permission of The Tech. Write to archive@the-tech.mit.edu for additional details.
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