Spring Sports Preview
Baseball
Head coach:Mac Singleton
Assistant Coaches: Dwight Smith, Tom Lenehan
Returnees: Paul Collins, '98, Baldemar Mejia '98, and Will Nielsen '98 will captain a veteran- rich club. Collins will continue as the workhorse behind the plate, having caught all but one of the games in 1997. Mejia, who was an All-league selection last year, will start in his fourth consecutive year at right field while Nielsen, who was an All-league selection the last two years, hopes for another strong season.
Pitcher Thomas Epps '97 and second baseman Nikhil Batra '98 round out the returning seniors. Epps had the lowest ERA in the league for much of last season. He has also shown great promise as a batter, hitting three home-runs in twelve games in the fall. Batra brings impeccable defense to the team and compliments it with a solid bat.
Jason Szuminski '00, David Piho '00, Joel Morales, '99, and Peter Gustafson '99, are other notable returnees. Szuminski, a right-handed fireballer from Texas, contributed significantly by leading the team in strikeouts. Piho started at shortstop as a freshman and led the team in home-runs last season. Morales won the conference batting title and team MVP award as a freshman at first base. Gustafson is a third year player at third base and one of the most steady bats in the lineup.
New Prospects: No pitchers graduated last year, but three freshmen pitchers were added: Joseph Panganiban '01, Zachary Jenkins '01, and Jeffrey Billing '01. Besides pitching, all three also play positions in the field.
Outlook: MIT looks to have a solid year. Two years ago, when MIT recorded the most regular season wins in team history - 20 - the team was led largely by this year's senior and junior classes. Since that season, many quality players have been added, making the team even stronger. In addition, MIT went 111 in the short fall season, which promises a strong spring. The key obstacles to an excellent season this year include several quality teams such as Williams, Wesleyan, and perennial local rivals Tufts, Babson, and Brandeis.
Last year's season: Last year was a disappointing year for the baseball team. Although the team finished first in the East Division of the CAC, the final record of 1615 was disheartening. However, this record was respectable given the amount of change the program underwent with the departure of Coach Fran O'Brien and the arrival of Coach Singleton.
Coach's Comments: Each new season brings with it the optimism and enthusiasm that seem to be part of the spring ritual for baseball everywhere. MIT Baseball is no exception as our players and coaches prepare for the opportunities and challenges of the upcoming season. The dedication and eagerness that the players bring to practice is a true source of strength for our program. The challenges in rebuilding our ball club each year are always there and this season is no exception.
Heavyweight Crew
Varsity Coach: Gordon Hamilton
Freshman Coach: Richard Branch
Key returnees: Robert Lentz '98, elected last June to a second year as Captain of the MIT Heavyweight Varsity Crew and one of the best oarsmen at MIT in a decade, injured his back lifting weights over the summer and will be out for the season. The team returns five letter winners from last year's varsity: Dan Parker '99, Mike Perry '99, Karl Richer '99, and Karsten Kallevig '99, who hopefully will recover from an injury in time to help the first eight, and a fine coxswain in Jen Lykens '99.
New prospects: Freshman Coach Richard Branch has what looks to be one of the better crews in recent years. Four of the squad had some rowing experience in High School: Paul Elliott '01, Chris Penny '01, Mark Jhon '01, and Jim Morash '01. Jhon and Morash rowed with the varsity in the fall and bring some good experience and leadership to an eager group of beavers.
Outlook: MIT heavyweights compete in the toughest Division I
League in the country. Injuries to several key oarsmen (Lentz, Kallevig,
and potential first boat oar Shane Wu '99) make this season a bit more of a
question than anybody would like. However, the team had an excellent
Florida IAP training trip where the heavyweight beavers handily defeated
the University of Miami. The extraordinary winter training continued at the
World Indoor Rowing Championships where 11 out of 13 rowers posted personal
bests and Perry's fine performance nearly resulted in his making the Finals
of the Collegiate Heavyweight
Championships. Last year's season: Won five and lost four and ranked 17 among
the Division I crews in the country. Coach's comments: The squad has dealt quite well with losing our
Captain and the other injuries. These have hurt our depth and will affect
both our First Varsity and Second Varsity Boats. I have seen some
remarkable improvement in our technique, however, and we are very
determined and working quite hard. I am looking forward to some excellent
races. Lightweight Men's Crew Head Coach: Stu Schmill '86 Freshman Coach: Greg Barringer Key returnees: Five of the eight varsity oarsmen from last year
are returning, as well our outstanding coxswain, Joe Irineo '98. Stroke
Garrett Shook '98 and Captain Chris Liu '98 will lead the team, along with
standouts Dan Frisk '99, Kris Kendall '98, and Paul Oppold '99. These
oarsmen made up the heart of the 4th place finishing (nationally, Division
I) 1997 crew. New prospects: The lightweight crew class of '01 is one of the
best to enter MIT in years. Kevin Schmidt '01 and Rich Hanna '01 are
leading a large group of very talented freshmen through a very successful
winter training season. This should shape up to be a successful year of
racing. Outlook: Last year, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton were the only
three crews in the country faster than our lightweight varsity. We are
hoping to crack into that group, but it won't be easy, as each of those
three crews only lost one oarsman to graduation. The rest of the league
will toughen up as well. Cornell has two outstanding transfer students, and
Columbia, Rutgers, Penn and Dartmouth all are building on medal winning
freshmen crews from two and three years ago. Last year's season: We were the fourth fastest crew in the
nation. While we didn't have much success in our dual season races, after
racking up wins over Rutgers, Boston College, Holy Cross, and the U.S.
Military Academy, we peaked at the Eastern Sprints Regatta, our
championship race, and finished fourth. Coach's comments: The team has been working very hard, working
out twice a day all year several times a week, and we should see the
benefits this spring. The guys are really dedicated, as they will need to
be, as our competition is fierce. We are pushing to win a medal in the
absolute toughest league in the country. I feel confident about our
chances. Women's Crew Head Coach: Mayrene Earle Assistant Coaches:Susan Lind-holm, Becky Berry Key returnees: Susan Dey '98 captain, Mariah Luff '99, Heidi
Chang '98, Kristin Jugenheimer '99, Megan Reese '99 New prospects: Kate Graham '00 Outlook: We hope to qualify again this year for the NCAA National
Championships. Our goal is to win the NEW 8 Championship and bring the
trophies back to Cambridge. Last year's season: The novices were undefeated in the regular
season and the varsity was second in the NEW 8 Regatta. Our varsity four
placed sixth at the inaugural NCAA Division I Championships in the spring
of 1997. Coach's comments: We have trained very hard since the first day
of classes in September and are looking forward to opening up our season at
the end of March against Northeastern and Radcliffe/Harvard. The undefeated
novices who are now rowing on the varsity add a lot of momentum, enthusiasm
and speed, while the juniors and seniors provide great leadership. We have
really beefed up our spring schedule with the addition of Boston University
and Navy and are looking forward to the challenge it presents and the speed
we will gain from the experiences. Golf Coaches: Ken Bellerose and Joe Kuchta Key returnees: Captain Young E Kim '98, Dan Henderson '98, Todd
Kamin '00 Outlook: We hope to place in the top half of the field in spring
tournaments and to finish the year above .500. Our top competitors are
Tufts and Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Last year's season: We anticipated a season of rebuilding with
occasional glimmers of hope and promise. Overall, however, we experienced a
difficult season. Coach's comments: I enjoy teaching and coaching golf. I hope all
the participants of the MIT golf team get as much from golf as I, and so
many others, have. Men's Lacrosse Head Coach:Walter Alessi Assistant Coach:John Ireland Key returnees: Our four year letter winners are leading scorer
Tyler Moeller '98, top scoring midfielder Mike Butville '98 and captain
defenseman Ken Myers '98; Chris Smith '98 was our third leading scorer;
Gene Pyo '99 was our second leading scorer; Mike Rainey '00 and John
Scaeffer '99 are two other key returnees at midfield, and Justin Verdirame
'00, who played every minute of every game last year, returns as
goalie. New prospects: Three freshmen midfielders who we expect to be
immediate impact players are Peter Jenkins '01, Pascal Rettig '01 and
Guillermo Urquiza '01. Tim Nolan '01, will compete for the starting
goalkeeper position. Outlook: We return with most of our lettermen from last year,
including our top five scorers. We graduated two starting defensemen and
will lack experience there. However, we have some strong candidates working
very hard to fill those positions. Last year's season: 66 overall, 44 in the league. Coach's comments: We hope to improve our overall and league
record and contend for the league championship in post-season play. Women's Lacrosse Coach: Cheryl Silva Key returnees: Marilyn Vogel '98, Anya Hawrylchak '98, Maddy
Burke '99 Tracy Sadowski '99, Marjorie Rosenthal '98, Jessica West '98,
Brook Baker '99, Kate Zimmerman '00, and Anne Lee '99. New prospects: Freshmen Lauren Germain '01, Jill Nagle '01,
Alison Woods '01, Michelle D'Andrea '01, Lani Rapp '01, Lynn Mathew '01,
Shalini Agarwal '01, and Erica Lee '01. Outlook: Burke and Sadowski return as the top point scorers on
the team. The team will be looking for big things from the returning line
defense of Rosenthal, Baker, and West. Goalkeeper Anne Lee '99 is returning
for her third season in the net. The season home opener will be Wednesday
March 18 against Plymouth State College. The team then will be heading
south for their annual spring training trip to SpringFling '98, a
tournament held in Panama City Beach, Florida where they will face off
against three of the top Division II programs in the country: William Smith
College, Trinity College and Bowdoin College. This year's squad is one of
the largest in recent years with 25 players filling out the roster. A solid
freshman class of recruits brings new talent, experience and optimism to
the program as the team looks to improve on last year's record. Last year's season: 39 Sailing Coaches: Fran Charles, Kyle Welch, Tim Fallon Key returnees: Captain Drew Mutch '98 (MVP), Dave Hellmuth '98,
Ned Patterson '98 Rob Damus '99, Alan Sun '00, Sean Fabre '00 New prospects: Madhulika Jain '00, Nikki Spinello '01, Carla
Pellicano '01, Alex Mevay '01, Ian McCreery '01, John Beckos '01 Outlook: The top competitors are Harvard, Boston University,
Boston College, Tufts, Coast Guard Academy, Connecticut College, University
of Rhode Island. This season we would like to move our ranking into the top
10 and qualify for nationals in New Orleans. Last year's season: We had our best Finish in seven years at the
Schell Trophy (fall New England champions), with strong showings by
freshmen for the second year in a row. Coach's comments: The coed varsity sailing team is really fired
up for the Spring. A regatta at New York Maritime College starts the season
next weekend. The women and men of the team are particularly excited about
the Boston Dinghy Cup on the first weekend of April. Sixteen teams
including the University of Hawaii, the Naval Academy, the Coast Guard
Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point will come to
Cambridge to sail in our boats on the Charles. MIT is ready to show them
how to master the wacky windshifts and we intend to give them all a lesson
on how to sail a Tech dinghy fast. Other hot regattas this Spring include
two weekends at Coast Guard for the Professor George Owen (MIT) Trophy and
the Thompson Trophy. Our Freshmen are poised to take home the Spring New
England Championships at Boston University. The New England Varsity
Championships will be hosted by Brown on Narragansett Bay on the second
weekend in May. The top 3 teams of that event go on to the Nationals in New
Orleans. Women's Sailing Coaches: Fran Charles and Kyle Welch Key returnees: Captain Jen Kelly '99, Jessica Lackey '00, Anna
Michel '98, Sheri Ann Cheng '99, Sarah Webster '99 New prospects: Susanna Mierau '00, Julie Muyco '98, Rebecca
Breazeale '01 Outlook: Our primary goal this season is to qualify for Nationals
at Tulane University in New Orleans. Another goal is to consistently race
four boats on the women's team. Last year's season: We improved great deal and missed qualifying
for the Atlantic Coast Championship by a point. Coach's comments: We may be the underdogs, but are working harder
than anyone and the results are showing in both boat handling and regatta
results. Softball Coach: George Rollins Key Returnees/New Prospects: With seven starters returning and
several good new prospects joining the team, the softball team is looking
forward to the oncoming season. Key returners are last year's All New-8
player co-captain Sherry Mowry '98 at shortstop and Anna Cherubin '99 at
third base. Both have strong arms and good bats and give the infield
experience, stability, and attitude. Kristie Stokke '99 returns at first
base and newcomer Annie Thompson '01 shows promise at second base. Amber
Crabbe '00 returns as our main pitcher and we are building on her no-hitter
from last year to make her one of the league's best pitchers. Replacing
last year's catcher are Jacki Baskin '00 and another newcomer Tamra Haby
'01. Besides Thompson, the other newcomers are freshmen Nann Kronschnabel
'00 and Joyce Lin '01, both outfielders who have good arms and speed. They
join last year's outfielders co-captain Joanna Garelick '98 and speedy Ali
Pearlman '00. Last Year's Season/Outlook: Last year the team made it to the
NEW-8 semi-finals and finished the season with a 612 record. They are
ready to go further this year. Building on the strong points of last year,
adding some key newcomers and a new coaching staff, the softball team is
very optimistic about the upcoming year. Clark University, Smith College,
and Worcester Polytechnic Institue are big games for the team. The most
significant one, however, will be our home opening game on April 3 against
the national Final Four team Wheaton College. Men's Tennis Team Coach: Jeff Hamilton Captain: Jim Matysczak '99 Returnees: Eric Chen '00, Anit Chakraborty '99, Ben Cooke '00
New prospects: Ricky Rossello '01, Rich Yeh '01, Anish Parikh
'01, Marcin Strojwas '00 Outlook: We hope to qualify again for the NCAA Tournament and
repeat as CAC Conference Champions. Last Year: MIT finished the year ranked 5th in the NCAA East
region and 3rd in New England Division III. We are currently ranked 19 in
the nation in the preseason. MIT's number one doubles team, Chen and
Matysczak, are ranked 8th in U.S. Division III. Coach's Comments: This 1998 team is very young, but the future
appears bright with no seniors on this year's squad. We may be one year
away from having our best tennis team in fifteen years. Women's Varsity Tennis Coach: Carol Matsuzaki Captain: Nisha Singh '00 Returnees: Singh, Angela Mislowsky '99, Doana Cecan '00 New prospects: Smriti Banthia '99, Sailu Challapalli '01, Tina
Chang '01, Shikha Gupta '01, Wan-Jen Hong '01, Jennifer Hsieh '01, Katy
Kaminski '01, Kosanna Poon '01, Sindhu Srinivas '00, Ayako Tanaka '00,
Jessica Yeh '01, Yue Zhang '01 Outlook: Our season goals are to have team unity, improve our own
games, improve each others' games, and to always give it our best shot, no
matter what. Last year's season: Finished 2nd in the NEW 8 Conference in the
Fall 1997 Season. Coach's comments: I am glad that we are such a young group.
Learning and personal growth will be the keys to our success. Men's Track and Field Interim Head Coach: Richard A. MacKenzie Assistants: Halston W. Taylor, William E. Singhose, and David H.
Palmieri Key returnees/Outlook: Leading indoor scorer Ravi Sastry, whose
157 points in the Quad Cup schedule established a new team record, will be
the team's top man in several events. Sastry should pace for the team in
long jump, high jump, 110 meter hurdles, 100 meter dash and 200 meter dash.
Ravi will also see duty on the 4x100 meter relay and the 4x400 meter
relay. The distances will be a strong area for the Engineers, with Mike Parkins
'99 and Chris McGuire '00 at the fore. Parkins dominated the Quad Cup
season in every event from the 800 Meters through the 5000 Meter. Last
Spring, Parkins qualified for the National Championships in the 3000 Meter
Steeplechase, and made a run at MIT's varsity record. McGuire captured the
5000 meter title at the New England Division III meet. Chris also won that
event in last spring's edition of the meet, and set an MIT freshman record
of 14:50.35 in the process. Leif Seed '99 spent the indoor season either in England or battling
nagging injuries. Returned to good health, he is running well as anchor man
of the 4x800 meter relay that qualified for ICAAAA Championships at
Cornell. Last spring, Leif joined Parkins as a National Qualifier in the
Steeplechase. Sohail Husain '98 and Rich Rosalez '98 will be counted on for
good depth. Joel Ford '98, an individual qualifier for the ICAAAA's in the 1000
meters, will lead the middle distance group. Chuck Van Buren '98, Gus
Blomquist '99, Ken Walker '01, John Biesiadecki '01 and Ed Tolson '01 will
give solid support. Neal Karchem '99 and Todd Rosenfield '01 will shoulder
the load in the 400 meters. Patrick Dannen '98 and Jason Dailey '99 and George Torres '99 constitute
the core of the throwers' group, aiming for high scores in the shot put,
discus, and hammer. Chad Souke '99 and Nick Michalakis '01 could give MIT
its strongest one- two punch in the javelin in years. New prospects: Phil Loiselle '01, Ed Keehr '01 and Liyan Guo
'01 Outlook: Coming off a successful indoor campaign, which included a 121
record and a 2nd place finish in the New England Division III Championship
Meet, the men's track and field Team looks solid. Hopes are high that Sean Montgomery '01 can shake the bad knee blues,
and return to action. His addition would fortify this event and lift the
4x400 meter relay team up a notch as well. Coach's Comment: I think that we are well stocked in the field
and in the longer running events, but I wish we had more depth and
experience in the sprints. We have a tough schedule ahead, but I know the
team will work hard and do well. Last year's season: 80, 3rd place in New England Division III
Women's Track Head Coach: Joe Sousa Assistant Coaches: Karon McCollin, Steve Linder Key returnees: Sprints and hurdles: Alyssa Thorvaldsen '00,
Elaine Chen '99, Natalie Smith '00, Stephanie Hong '98, Christina Kalb '98
Middle Distance/Distance: Janis Eisenberg '98, Debbie Won '00, Robin
Evans '99, Jantrue Ting '00, Tanya Zelevinski Throws: Jennifer Elizondo '99, Crystal Harris '00, Joycelyn Gathers '00,
Valerie Pires '00, Nicole Justis '00 Jumps: Mia Heavener '00 Pole vault: Lila French '99 New prospects: Christina Cosman '01, Sabrina Chang '00, Alicia
Hardy '99, Melanie Harris '01, Julie Ma '99, Lauren McCann '01, Rena Nasir,
Margaret Nervegna '01, Deepa Patel '01, Stephanie Soohoo '00, Chian Wang
'01, Christina Wilbert '01, Janine Buseman-Williams '01 Last year's season: Last year's team was the largest in school
history. It compiled a 62 record while it rewrote the school record book.
The team also shone with a third place finish in the New 8
Championship. Coach's comments: With the return of so many veterans, as well as
new prospects, the team is looking forward to an exciting season.
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