MIT athletes earn four NEWMAC championships

The fall season was another successful one for MIT Athletics as the Engineers achieved both athletically and academically.

MIT teams claimed four New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships, eight programs were nationally-ranked, and four teams represented MIT at NCAA Championship events programs. Six student-athletes were named All-Americans, 52 earned All-Conference honors, and 11 Engineers were recognized with major awards from the NEWMAC.

Academically, MIT amassed 96 NEWMAC Academic All-Conference selections and seven Google Cloud Academic All-America Team members as MIT is now one of just two schools nationally to have over 300 all-time Google Cloud Academic All-America honorees.

At the conclusion of the fall, MIT was ranked No. 12 nationally in the Learfield Directors’ Cup standings out of 449 NCAA Division III institutions. The Engineers generated 218.5 points, which was based on each team’s finish at NCAA Championship events.

Men’s Cross Country finished 16th at the NCAA Championship and captured the program’s 21st NEWMAC Championship, maintaining its status as the only team to win the title in conference history. Head coach Halston Taylor was named NEWMAC Coach of the Year for the fifth year in a row and 16th time during his career. Sophomore Billy Woltz earned NEWMAC Athlete of the Year accolades, first-year Andrew Mah collected NEWMAC Rookie of the Year plaudits, and senior Josh Rosenkranz was selected to NEWMAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Seven student-athletes earned spots on the NEWMAC All-Conference team while Mah, Rosenkranz, Woltz, and junior Josh Derrick qualified for the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) New England All-Region Team.

Women’s Cross Country captured third place at the NCAA Championship and won the program’s 12th straight NEWMAC Championship. Senior Leandra Zimmermann earned USTFCCCA All-America honors while head coach Halston Taylor was voted the USTFCCCA New England Region Coach of the Year for the fifth time. First-year Einat Gavish was named the NEWMAC Rookie of the Year and junior Marissa McPhillips was selected for the NEWMAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Eight student-athletes represented MIT on the NEWMAC All-Conference Team, including USTFCCCA New England All-Region honorees Gavish, Zimmermann, junior Katie Bacher, and sophomores Katie Collins and Jenna Melanson.

Field Hockey advanced to the NEWMAC Championship for the third year in a row but fell to Smith College, 2-1, in overtime. Junior Devon Goetz was tabbed for National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) All-America Third Team accolades and was joined by sophomores Megan Flynn and Amanda Garofalo on the NFHCA New England East All-Region Team. The trio also picked up NEWMAC All-Conference awards while sophomore Jennah Haque represented the Engineers on the NEWMAC All-Sportsmanship Team.

MIT Football was crowned NEWMAC Champions, marking the program’s second conference title, and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the second time in Institute history. In addition to receiving 13 NEWMAC All-Conference Team selections, first-year head coach Brian Bubna was named the NEWMAC Coach of the Year, senior Udgam Goyal was voted the NEWMAC Offensive Athlete of the Year, and senior Riley Quinn earned a spot on the NEWMAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Junior Ben Bennington was selected to the New England Football Writers Division II/III All-New England Team while Quinn was the recipient of the organization’s Jerry Nason Award for Senior Achievement, which recognizes a student-athlete succeeding in football against all odds. For the second year in a row, Goyal was named the Google Cloud Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for Division III Football. He was also joined by junior AJ Iversen on the Google Cloud Academic All-America First Team.

Men’s Soccer fell to Wheaton College, 3-1, in penalty kicks after a scoreless double-overtime quarterfinal game in the NEWMAC Championship Tournament. Junior Jeremy Cowham, and seniors Thad Daguilh and Wesley Woo earned NEWMAC All-Conference accolades while senior David Wu was selected to the NEWMAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Woo represented the Engineers on the United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team and was voted to the Google Cloud Academic All-America Third Team.

Women’s Soccer claimed its second straight and fifth overall NEWMAC Championship after defeating Springfield College, 2-1, in overtime. The Engineers’ season ended with a 1-0 loss at Amherst College in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In addition to receiving seven NEWMAC All-Conference Team selections, head coach Martin Desmarais was named the NEWMAC Coach of the Year for the fifth time in six seasons, junior Sophia Struckman was voted the NEWMAC Offensive Athlete of the Year, senior Hailey Nichols repeated as the NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Year, and senior Allie Hrabchak earned a spot on the NEWMAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Struckman was tabbed for USC All-America Third Team accolades and was joined by Nichols on the USC All-Region First Team. Nichols, junior Emily Berzolla, and senior Lily Mueller represented MIT on the Google Cloud Academic All-America Team for the second year in a row.

Women’s Volleyball fell to Babson College in four sets during the semifinal round of the NEWMAC Championship Tournament. Senior Abby Bertics was named the NEWMAC Athlete of the Year for the second year in a row and was joined by senior Carly Silvernale on the NEWMAC All-Conference First Team while senior Carly Staub earned a spot on the NEWMAC All-Sportsmanship Team. Bertics was selected to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America Third Team for the second consecutive season and was named the New England Region Player of the Year while senior Christina Liao received AVCA New England All-Region Honorable Mention plaudits. Bertics became the first student-athlete in program history to be voted the Google Cloud Academic All-America Team Member of the Year for Division III Volleyball and repeated as a Google Cloud Academic All-America First Team selection.

Men’s Water Polo defeated Iona College, 16-11, in the fifth-place match of the Northeast Water Polo Conference (NWPC) Championship Tournament, marking the Engineers’ best finish and first tournament win in the three-year history of the event. MIT also collected the program’s ninth Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Division III Eastern Championship title following a 15-12 victory over Johns Hopkins University. First-year head coach Bret Lathrope was named the NWPC Coach of the Year while first-year Miller Geschke and junior Clyde Huibregtse were tabbed to the NWPC All-Conference Second Team. Geschke was chosen for the CWPA Division III All-America First Team as sophomore Evan Kim collected Honorable Mention plaudits.

de MIT News http://bit.ly/2SWCdl0