ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The MIT men’s volleyball team will join the United Volleyball Conference (UVC) starting in 2014. The Engineers, who have been an independent team for the past two seasons, will begin conference play immediately with the UVC.

“We are very excited to welcome MIT into the United Volleyball Conference,” said Commissioner Chuck Mitrano. “As an exceptional academic institution and strong volleyball program, this addition enhances an already outstanding men’s volleyball conference.”

The UVC, a conference that consists of 11 NCAA Division III institutions, completed its third season as an officially sanctioned single-sport conference in 2013. The America Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) consistently ranked seven UVC teams throughout the season in top-15 poll and Nazareth College and Stevens Institute of College each competed in the NCAA tournament with the Golden Flyers finishing as the runner-up.

“MIT is honored to be accepted as a member of the United Volleyball Conference,” said Barb Bolich, assistant athletic director/senior woman administrator. “We are pleased to be associated with this collection of highly reputable and successful NCAA Division III men’s volleyball programs.”

MIT added men’s volleyball as a varsity sport in 1986 and joined the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association, of which it was a member until 2003. The following season, Paul Dill took over the reins of the program as it began conference play in the North East Collegiate Volleyball Association (NECVA) New England Division. Under his direction, the Engineers made seven straight NECVA Tournament appearances, including two trips to the semifinals, were crowned New England Division champions twice, and collected 93 individual honors.

“We are extremely excited and grateful for the opportunity to join arguably the premier Division III conference in the country,” said Dill. “We look to add even more strength and depth to the conference and believe that our inclusion will be mutually beneficial to all members.”

During Dill’s 10 seasons at the helm, MIT has compiled a ledger of 245-95, which features nine straight 20-win seasons. The Engineers have maintained a regular presence in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division III Men’s Coaches Top 15 Poll, as they own a current streak of 37 consecutive weeks in the rankings. In addition, MIT has received five AVCA All-America selections and three Capital One Academic All-America awards.

The other 11 members of the UVC are Bard College, D’Youville College, Elmira College, Hilbert College, Medaille College, Nazareth, New York University, Penn State Behrend College, Stevens, SUNY New Paltz and Vassar College.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The MIT men’s lightweight crew team traveled to California for the 111th annual IRA National Championship Regatta, which took place from Friday, May 31 through Sunday, June 2. Tech entered one varsity four boat in the championships, competing in their first race early on Sunday morning.

In the second of two heats in the elimination round, MIT finished in fourth place with a time of 6:55.46, just a few seconds slower than their best time this season. Harvard was first in at 6:43.07 and was followed directly by the University of Wisconsin with a time of 6:43.25, while MSO Crew was third with a 6:50.89. The Engineers moved on to the Petite Final that competed later on in the day.

Just three boats competed in the Petite Final of the lightweight four event, the last race of the weekend. Right from the beginning, MIT settled into second place behind Columbia and remained there for the remainder of the race. The Engineers completed the course with a time of 6:58.28, while Columbia was first in 6:54.28 and Penn was third with a time of 7:11.30.

—Charlotte Brackett

Who will take this year’s NBA finals? The Tech’s Austin Osborne evaluates the positional matchups between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs.

Spurs point guard Tony Parker has had an outstanding season, having led San Antonio to a Western Conference Finals sweep over the Memphis Grizzlies last week. Averaging 23 points and over 7 assists in the postseason, he is the most dynamic player on the Spurs roster. The Heat has struggled to defend point guards in the playoffs this year, and Parker will be no exception. Unless LeBron is matched up against him, (which could happen, if the Heat employ the same strategy that they used against Derrick Rose in 2011) Parker could have a huge series. On the flip side, Mario Chalmers has been a fairly consistent presence as point guard for the Heat. Chalmers isn’t going to win the series for them, but they need him to play well if they want to repeat as NBA Champions. That means that he must make open threes that are given to him, and he must distribute the ball to the Big 3.

Advantage: Spurs

Danny Green is a sharpshooter. Although he wasn’t particularly effective in Games 3 and 4 against Memphis, Green can definitely get hot in the three-point range quickly. He is averaging 10.5 points per game in the playoffs so far, and the Spurs would appreciate it if he could continue that production against Miami. Dwyane Wade played like he had something to prove in the pivotal Game 7 against Indiana and it showed in the box score. After a very lackluster first 6 games, Wade had 21 points and 9 rebounds in the series clincher, showing that he is still a superstar in this league. Although he has been hampered by a nagging knee injury, he is still the number two player on Miami’s roster, and the Spurs must take him into account at all times. If he is allowed to get 20 points every game, San Antonio could be in trouble.

Advantage: Heat

This matchup isn’t really fair to Kawhi Leonard, a good player in his own right, but when the greatest player in the world is on the other side of the court, you’re bound to be overshadowed. There was much talk during the Indiana series about LeBron James reverting back to his days in Cleveland where he took almost all the shots and was forced to singlehandedly lead his team to success. As great as he is, that won’t work against the Spurs. He will definitely score points, but that won’t directly translate into team success. James must play as he has all season and how he played in Game 7 against the Pacers. Kawhi Leonard is obviously going to have trouble guarding him, but I expect him to get help throughout the series. Leonard is a valuable player for the Spurs going forward, as he is only 21 years old. He has been shooting the 3 very well this postseason, and San Antonio will need him to maintain that production in the Finals.

Advantage: Heat

Tim Duncan has found the fountain of youth. After experiencing a decline in performance after 2009, Duncan re-established himself as a dominant post presence again this season, averaging almost 18 points and 10 rebounds per game. He will be the key to this series, and will need to dominate in the same way that Roy Hibbert did in the Eastern Conference Finals. Duncan must attack Miami’s frontcourt at all times and avoid getting into foul trouble. Miami struggles with physical post players, so Duncan should be able to have his way in this series. Udonis Haslem should get the starting spot for Miami, as the Spurs play big, similar to Indiana. Shane Battier has no chance to defend Duncan, so the Heat will need to play someone with size. Haslem is a serviceable player, but he will be in the game for his defense mostly.

Advantage: Spurs

Chris Bosh apologized to Miami during the Pacers series for not playing up to his potential, and while he still only scored 9 points in Game 7, he appeared to be more interested in grabbing rebounds than he was in previous games, getting 8 total. Simply put, the Heat needs Bosh in this series. They can’t win if he continues to produce like a role player. They need him to rebound like someone who is 6’11 should and they need him to play physically, rather than drifting to the 3-point line so much.

The Spurs are going to attack exactly the same way that Indiana did, and Bosh must hold his ground for the Heat to win. Tiago Splitter is another big man who doesn’t really rebound, but he fills his role well in San Antonio. He is incredibly efficient, scoring on a low number of attempts and he does a decent job defending opposing big men.

Advantage: Heat

Both teams are deep, with Miami’s bench headlined by Ray Allen, Norris Cole and Chris Andersen. Andersen has been outstanding this postseason, and he adds a spark of energy that Miami sorely needed off the bench. Allen is one of the best shooters of all time and he is constantly being set up for wide open threes by LeBron. The Spurs, on the other hand, have one of the best sixth men of all time in Manu Ginobili who should wreak havoc in this series. They have shooters of their own on the bench, in Gary Neal and Matt Bonner. Overall, the two second units are about even.

Advantage: Even

Gregg Popovich is one of the best coaches of all time and he has had an extra week to prepare his team, while the Pacers and Heat battled for the Eastern spot in the Finals. He has surely been watching the series and has seen the Miami weaknesses that were exposed, so rest assured that he will come into the series with a gameplan to exploit them. Erik Spoelstra has done a great job in his own right managing the talent of the Heat. After almost letting the Eastern Finals slip away, he did a good job preparing his team for Game 7 and utilizing his entire roster to their maximum potential. He also got creative with his lineups in order to combat the physical play by Indiana, which is a credit to his ability to adapt. This will be key in the Finals, as they are playing a Spurs team that can throw many different styles and strategies at their opponents.

Advantage: Spurs

Prediction: Spurs in 7

MIT Men’s Track and Field wrapped up competition at the New England Outdoor Championships with an eighth place finish with 36.50 points on Saturday. The Engineers finished just ahead of New Hampshire, with 35 points. Southern Connecticut State came in first place with 159 points.

To kick off the final day, Samuel G. Parker ’15 ran the 800m, coming in 14th place with a time of 1:53.43. In the next event, the 1500m, Justin L. Bullock ’14 came in 27th with a 4:11.95. After finishing in third place in the 400m Hurdles in prelims Friday, Michael S. Kaba ’16 moved onto finals, coming in second place with a time of 52.20, cutting over a second-and-a-half off his time.

The MIT 4x100 relay was composed of Michael J. DuPlessis ’14, Kaba, Josh D. Duncavage ’13 and Tyler S. Singer-Clark ’14. The team came in second place with a time of 41.93. The Southern Connecticut State relay crossed the line just two one-hundredths of a second ahead of the Engineers. The MIT 4x400 relay also finished in second place, finishing with a time of 3:12.42. The relay was made up of States Lee ’16, Kaba, Derek C. Barnes ’16 and Singer-Clark.

Benjamin J. Schreck ’15 improved on his performance in the Pole Vault from Friday, finishing in third place with a vault of 15-05.00. Yida Gao ’13 also improved, coming in 11th when he cleared the bar in 14-11.00.

To end the day, three Engineers competed in the Triple Jump. Carrington Motley ’16 finished highest for MIT, coming in eighth place with a jump of 45-10.00. Classmates Arinze C. Okeke ’16 and Angel S. Echevarria ’16 finished in 13th and 15th place with jumps of 44-06.75 and 44-02.75 respectively.

The Engineers will return to action next weekend for the ECAC Division III Championships, before gearing up for the NCAA Championships that will be held at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse the following weekend.

A league-leading 61 athletes represented MIT on the 2013 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Spring Academic All-Conference Team. The Engineers finished the year with a conference-high 146 selections, followed by WPI with 101.

Honorees must have met the following criteria: earned a minimum GPA of 3.5/4.0 scale or 4.35/5.0 scale, achieved second year academic status at his or her institution, and been a member of a varsity team for the entire season.

The NEWMAC consists of ten highly selective institutions committed to academic excellence: Babson College, Clark University, U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, Springfield College, Wellesley College, Wheaton College, WPI, and MIT.

Spring sports sponsored by the NEWMAC are: Baseball, Women’s Lacrosse, Women’s Rowing, Softball, Men’s Tennis, and Men’s and Women’s Track and Field.

WPI secured the second-highest number of honorees with 53, followed by Springfield (35), and Wellesley (22). The following is a list of MIT’s NEWMAC Academic All-Conference recipients:

Baseball

Hayden K. Cornwell ’15

Patrick E. Dayton ’14

Andrew R. Jeanguenat ’13

Kiel L. Jindra ’14

Max J. Ockner ’13

Ricardo J. Perez ’13

Jonathan E. Rea ’14

Parker A. Tew ’15

Henry Zhu ’13

Women’s Lacrosse

Erica C. Du ’14

Laura Y. Lu ’14

Molly E. McShane ’13

Lyndsy A. Muri ’15

Meghan S. Wright ’13

Softball

Leah Alpert ’13

Anna R. Christensen ’13

Karly E. McLaughlin ’15

Men’s Tennis

A. Troy Astorino ’13

Vlad Firoiu ’14

Tymor C. Hamamsy ’13

Brian K. Oldfield ’13

Jeffrey M. Sperling ’15

Edwin M. Zhang ’14

Men’s Track and Field

Nicholas A. Diamantoni ’15

Matthew D. Falk ’12

Jared M. Forman ’13

Kristoffer M. Fray ’15

Yida Gao ’13

Kyle J. Hannon ’13

Dominique S. Hoskin ’15

Matthew G. Jordan ’15

Jacob M. Jurewicz ’14

Jay P. McKenna ’14

Jordan P. Mizerak ’14

Samuel G. Parker ’15

Harry A. Rein ’15

Daniel J. Ronde ’13

Benjamin J. Schreck ’15

Tyler S. Singer-Clark ’14

John B. Thomas ’15

Cyrus Vafadari ’12

Women’s Track and Field

Kaitlin N. Allen ’14

Kali M. Benavides ’15

Marie N. Burkland ’13

Joanna K. Chen ’15

Margaret M. Coad ’15

Martina A. de Geus ’14

Marissa R. Engle ’15

Kayla Z. Harris ’15

Cindy Y. Huang ’15

Shivani A. Kaushal ’15

Abigail B. Klein ’14

Jaclyn A. Konopka ’14

Lauren B. Kuntz ’13

Dacie J. Manion ’15

Elaine D. McVay ’15

Melissa A. Showers ’13

Veronica Szklarzewski ’15

Alexandra B. Taylor ’14

Louise E. van den Heuvel ’14

Ashley R. Wheeler ’15

The MIT Cycling team capped off a great season last weekend in Ogden, UT, where they won the Division II National Championships team omnium. This comes after a stellar performance the weekend before at Penn State where MIT secured the season team omnium victory in the Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference (ECCC). The team omnium competition combines points from all men’s and women’s races, so usually requires a team to have depth in both fields.

Two weekends ago, the team made the long drive to Penn State to compete in the ECCC Championships. The race weekend included the exciting/scary road race up “Black Mo’” which is basically a large mountain inside Black Moshannon State Park in Philipsburg, PA. The first race on Saturday was the team time trial (TTT), a quick 9.5-mile race in the state park. The MIT men’s A team edged out home team Penn State by eight seconds to start the weekend on top.

After warming up in the cars and eating some pancakes, the team prepared for the infamous road race, which included 1874 feet of climbing per 21.4 mile lap. The men’s A race involved three laps of the course. Cameron Valier Cogburn G won the race in 3:12:54, beating second place by over two minutes. Yuri Matsumoto G finished sixth in the women’s A field, which completed two laps of the course.

The next day, the team headed over to Penn State’s frat row to race in a technical, 1-kilometer long criterium. Shaena R. Berlin ’13, a Tech meteorologist, finished third in the women’s A race, with teammate Katherine A. Wymbs ’14 close behind in seventh place. Katie F. Maass G and Georgia K. Lagoudas G maintained their early breakaway in the women’s C race and finished in first and fourth, respectively. In an amazing show of teamwork, the MIT racers in the men’s D field propelled teammate Anton Stuart Hunt G into a solo breakaway early on. Hunt ended up winning the race, and teammate Adam Thomas Jones G finished fourth.

It’s nearing the end of the semester and assignments are piling up, but ten MIT riders made the trip out to Ogden, UT for last weekend’s Collegiate Road National Championships. In three days, MIT won multiple races and left with the team omnium award. The MIT women’s team dominated Friday’s TTT, beating second place Whitman College by over three minutes. Despite an unfortunate crash at the end of the criterium on Saturday, Laura Rosalind Ralston G finished third and Christina Marie Birch G finished sixth.

On Sunday, the teams competed in the road race, which involved 101 kilometers for the women and 125 kilometers for the men. After a solo effort on the last climb, Cogburn won his race by more than two minutes. Four MIT women finished in the top 12, with Ralston finishing second to cap off a great season and secure her individual omnium title.

The list of the individuals who will be competing in the 2013 NCAA Division III Tennis Tournament was released on Wednesday afternoon, revealing the names of two MIT athletes. Lauren C. Quisenberry ’14 will represent the MIT women’s tennis team for the second time in her career, the last of which was in 2011, while Edwin M. Zhang ’14 will be making his first nationals appearance. The last MIT men’s tennis player to make it to NCAAs was Tom Dohlman in 2007.

The individual championships that will be taking place Thursday through Saturday, May 23–25 at Stowe Stadium in Kalamazoo, Mich., will consist of 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams.

So far this season, Quisenberry is 18-2 in singles play, with every match being played at No. 1. At NEWMACs, she was selected as the conference’s Women’s Tennis Athlete of the Year for the second time in her three years at MIT after winning both doubles and singles in the top spot against Wellesley College in the championship final.

Zhang has compiled a 12-5 record, with all games played in the No. 1 spot. At NEWMACs late last month, he was not only named to the All-Conference team but was also selected as the Athlete of the Year for his performances so far this season. He wrapped up the championship this year with two doubles wins at No. 1.

This information was released just two days after the announcement that both the women’s and men’s tennis teams at MIT had made it to the NCAA tournament. After winning its first conference title since 2002 back in October, the women’s team received an automatic bid to the national tournament. This will be just the third time in the history of the women’s program that the Engineers have been invited to nationals, the last time being in 2000. MIT is 1-3 in NCAA play.

The men will be making their eighth consecutive trip to NCAAs. The Engineers are fresh off winning their 15th consecutive New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) title after defeating Babson College with a score of 5-1 at home two weeks ago. Last year at NCAAs, after receiving a first round bye, the Engineers defeated Stevens Institute of Technology with a score of 5-1 in the second round before falling to Williams College in the third with a score of 5-0. Overall, MIT is 11-19 in NCAA action.

First to play are the men, who will face the winner of the UMass-Boston vs. Skidmore in the second round at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, May 10 at Williams. If victorious, the Engineers will enter the third round on Saturday morning.

The No. 20 nationally-ranked women’s program opened the tournament by battling Simmons College in the first round yesterday at 2:30 p.m. The winner of that round will go on to face Middlebury College at 2:30 p.m. today. The quarterfinals, semifinals and finals for both the men and the women will be played from Monday through Wednesday, May 20–22 in Kalamazoo.

Miami comes into this series after a long rest following Round 1. They swept the Milwaukee Bucks convincingly and earned a week-long rest before Round 2. Unfortunately for the Heat, they are matched up against the Chicago Bulls after they upset the 4th seeded Brooklyn Nets. The Bulls are a bad matchup for Miami, as they play incredibly tough defense. Luol Deng will make life difficult for league MVP LeBron James, and Jimmy Butler will likely be matched up with Dwyane Wade for the majority of the series. Chris Bosh may be the key to the series. If he can dominate in his matchup against a hobbled Joakim Noah, the Heat will make quick work of the Bulls, but if Noah can play consistently well, Chicago could make things interesting, even without Derrick Rose. As a side note, the Bulls ended Miami’s 27 game winning streak earlier this season.

Prediction: Heat in 5

The Miami Heat were the only team in the East to sweep during the first round, and this proof of their domination in the East. The Chicago Bulls, who ended Miami’s 27-game win streak near the end of the regular season, will be a tough challenge each game, but LeBron James and Dwyane Wade should have no trouble closing out in the fourth quarter. Bulls forwards Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer may perform well in the paint, but the Heat can torch from the outside with perimeter shooting from their guards.

Prediction: Heat in 4

The Pacers showed some flaws in their series against the Hawks. They looked great in the first two games, and it showed on the scoreboard. They dominated Atlanta early in the series, but once they went on the road, they began to fall apart. It will be a key for them to take one of the first two games of the series on the road against New York, so they can get some momentum early. The Knicks didn’t look particularly stellar against the Celtics, either. They started the series strong, much like Indiana did, but allowed the Celtics to win two in a row, and they almost blew a 27-point lead in the 4th quarter. That does not bode well for this Round 2 series, as the Pacers have more firepower than the Celtics. The problem with the Knicks is that they rely on two largely inconsistent players, Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith. When they are playing well, they are two of the best pure scorers in the league, but when they’re off, they completely destroy any chance New York has of winning, as they simply continue to shoot. I expect the Pacers to pull out a win in this evenly-matched series.

Prediction: Pacers in 7

The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers are both teams that can pass, find the open man, and shoot the ball well. The games in this series will be close, and the clutch factor will come into play. In the fourth quarter, the Knicks will probably go to Carmelo Anthony, who will be difficult to defend for any Indiana Pacer. If they resort to a double team, look for Anthony to kick the ball out to one of his three-point shooting teammates. Pacers star Paul George will get his share of points, but this will not be enough to beat the Knicks in a seven-game series.

Prediction: Knicks in 6

As soon as Russell Westbrook went down with a knee injury in Round 1, Oklahoma City’s chances of winning the championship went to zero. They might still get to the Western Conference Finals, and they even might win there, but they have absolutely no chance of beating Miami without Westbrook. In fact, I don’t think that they have much chance to beat the Grizzlies in this series. Memphis has a huge advantage in the post with the tandem of Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph, and the Thunder need to find an answer for them. They will probably have to play Kendrick Perkins much more than they have in the past, which will require them to change their offensive gameplan. Serge Ibaka could also have a rough series trying to score, especially now that he has been thrust into the role of being the Thunder’s 2nd best player. Kevin Martin must also have a big series, so that some of the burden of scoring can be lifted off of Kevin Durant. The only way OKC will move on to the next round is if Durant can get somewhere around 40 points every game, Martin can add another 20 or so, and they need to play tough defense on Gasol and Randolph. I just don’t think all three of those things will happen however, and the Thunder will have to wait until next year to compete for the title.

Prediction: Grizzlies in 7

No Westbrook! This will make this series extremely difficult for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they face the Memphis Grizzlies, who are coming off four straight wins against the Los Angeles Clippers. Thunder point guard Reggie Jackson and Kevin Martin will have to step up in the backcourt to provide a scoring lift for the Thunder as superstar Kevin Durant will attempt to lead the team to another series victory. Grizzlies forward Marc Gasol, who was a threat in the first round series, should not be a huge factor if Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka manage to shut him down defensively.

Prediction: Thunder in 6

The Spurs run like a well-oiled machine. Arguably, they looked the most dominant in the first round, sweeping the Los Angeles Lakers in convincing fashion. LA really never had a chance, and although you could argue that they were missing Kobe Bryant, they still had Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol, two of the best big men in the league. Tim Duncan has found the fountain of youth and is playing like he is 25 again, which is great news for the Spurs. If Duncan maintains his level of play, they are the easy favorite in the West, especially after the Russell Westbrook injury. Tony Parker has really evolved into one of the premier point guards in the league over the past two years and Manu Ginobili provides the same spark off the bench that he always has. The Warriors come into the series off a surprising win over the Denver Nuggets. Stephen Curry suddenly became a potential NBA superstar due to that series, as he singlehandedly took over three games. He is definitively one of the best pure shooters of all time, and the Spurs are definitely going to be focusing all of their efforts on guarding him. David Lee may return for the Warriors in the series, which will be huge for them. Klay Thompson is another great shooter that could cause problems for San Antonio, but knowing the Spurs, they will figure out how to slow down Golden State’s explosive attack on offense. San Antonio moves on.

Prediction: Spurs in 5

The Golden State Warriors’ offense clicked during the series against the higher-seeded Denver Nuggets, but it is difficult to see its continued success against a disciplined San Antonio Spurs defense. Spurs point guard Tony Parker will be difficult to stop as he attempts to penetrate into the paint, and the aging but productive Tim Duncan will be tough to handle down low, especially with a hobbled David Lee. However, Warriors sharp-shooter Stephen Curry could emerge as a star during this series with his stellar shooting off the dribble. With Klay Thompson and Jarrett Jack to boost their scoring, Golden State may be able to pull this series out in seven.

Prediction: Warriors in 7

Two members of MIT Baseball have been honored for their achievements on the diamond and in the classroom this season. Ricardo J. Perez ’13 and Hayden K. Cornwell ’15 were selected to the Capital One Academic All-District baseball team, the College Sports Information Directors of America has announced.

MIT’s first baseman Perez is among the team leaders in batting average, extra base hits and RBI. He leads the team and is third in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference with three triples. Currently hitting .282 on the season, he has recorded ten multi-hit and six multi-RBI games this season for the Engineers.

A starter in right field, Cornwell has emerged as one of the top offense threats in the NEWMAC this season. Hitting a team-best .367, he also leads the team in hits (44), doubles (12) and RBI (28), ranking among the top ten in the NEWMAC in each of those categories. The owner of a ten-game hitting streak earlier this season, he has gone hitless in back-to-back games just once all season.

—Phil Hess

Brandeis University received a one-out, walkoff RBI single in the bottom of the ninth from Liam O’Connor that lifted the Judges to a 3-2 win over MIT in non-conference baseball action. Brandeis’ starter, Mike Swedloff, held MIT in check all day and threw a complete game, three hitter to pick up the victory. Parker A. Tew ’15 had a pair of hits and scored both runs for the Engineers.

MIT (22-9) scored in the first when Tew led off the game with a single, moved to second on a ground out and then came around to score when Hayden K. Cornwell ’15 delivered a two-out RBI single up the middle.

From there, however, Swedloff was in complete control for Brandeis (15-20) and did not allow another hit until Tew singled with one out in the eighth inning. The only other run that the Engineers could come up with was an unearned tally in the third inning. With one out, Tew drew a walk and then moved over to second on a sacrifice by James R. McKinney ’13. Tew then came all the way around to score when a ground ball to first off the bat of Creed J. Mangrum ’14 was misplayed for an error.

For MIT, Nicholas J. Locascio ’16 gave up just one hit over the first two innings before Brandeis broke through for a run in the third inning. Brandeis’ Pat Seaward led off with a single and moved up a base on consecutive ground outs to shortstop. O’Connor then came up with the two-out RBI, getting a single through the right side to make it a 2-1 ball game. Locascio finished by going six innings and scattering eight hits, surrendering just one run while striking out two.

Michael A. Wymer ’16 took over for Locascio and walked Dylan Britton from Brandeis to start the inning. After getting sacrificed to second, Britton moved to third and then scored on a pair of wild pitches to tie the game.

Brandeis threatened in the eighth inning, getting a pair of one-out singles that brought in Henry Zhu ’13 from the bullpen. Hsu relieved the Engineers by getting a pair of ground outs to end the imminent threat, but ran into trouble in the ninth inning. Zhu struck out the first hitter he faced but then gave up a double to Chris Ferro before O’Connor picked up the game-winning hit and his second RBI of the game to end the matchup.

At the conclusion of the 2013 New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Track and Field Championships at Springfield College on Saturday, Michael S. Kaba ’16 was named the NEWMAC Rookie of the Year for his performances at the meet. This is the second year in a row that an MIT athlete has received the award.

Kaba started the day off with a second place finish in the 110 High Hurdles with a new MIT freshman record of 14.94 and went on to win the 400 meter Hurdles with a time of 53.63, earning the NEWMAC meet record and another MIT freshman record. He was also part of the winning 4x100 meter relay that earned a season-best time of 42.52.

All-Conference accolades were handed out at the championships to those who finished in first and second place in each event. Kaba was named to the First Team for the relay and the 400 meter Hurdles, and the Second Team for the 110 High Hurdles. MIT collected a total of 31 All-Conference nods (17 for the men, 14 for the women) en route to defending their NEWMAC titles. The men claimed their fourteenth consecutive win, while the women captured their fifth straight title.

The Engineers will continue their season at the New England Division III Championships to be held at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, this Friday and Saturday.

Just days after winning their fifteenth consecutive New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) title, four members of the MIT men’s tennis team were selected for All-Conference honors, as announced by the conference on Tuesday afternoon. This is the second year in a row that four players have been selected.

In addition to the two singles players and one doubles team being named to the All-Conference team, the Engineers received three of the five individual awards. Head coach Dave Hagymas was named NEWMAC Coach of the Year, Edwin M. Zhang ’14 received NEWMAC Athlete of the Year accolades, and Larry Pang ’13 was named the Tournament Most Outstanding Player. This is the fifth time in Hagymas’ eight years at MIT that he has won the Coach of the Year award.

Zhang and Kevin R. Wang ‘16 were named to the All-Conference singles team. So far this season, Zhang has a record of 12-5, playing all of his matches in the No. 1 position. He wrapped up the NEWMAC tournament with two doubles wins. This is the third year in a row that Zhang has received All-Conference nods. Wang is 11-2 this season, going 6-1 at No. 3, 3-0 at No. 2 and 1-0 in the top spot. This weekend, Wang walked away with victories in both doubles matches and at No. 3 singles after winning a tiebreaker.

Matthew T. Skalak ’13 and Zhang were named to the doubles All-Conference team with their record of 4-2 at No. 1.

The list of teams that have made it to the NCAA Division III Men’s Tennis Tournament will be released on Monday, May 6, while the list of individuals who will be invited will come out on Wednesday, May 8. The Engineers have made appearances in the last seven national tournaments.