The All-Around Success of MIT Athletics

MIT’s undefeated football team is receiving mainstream media attention, but the team’s winning ways are only a portion of MIT’s athletic success this fall. As of Monday, November 24, 12 of MIT’s varsity sports teams had winning records, four were ranked in the top 10 nationally, and three more were ranked in the top 25.

Read about the latest MIT sports news below then visit the MIT Athletics site for more information on news and games. Follow @mitengineers on Twitter for real-time updates and weekly summaries.

Cross Country

The women’s cross country team, ranked second nationally, finished in second place—out of 32 teams—at the 2014 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship on November 22. The team finished in fifth overall in 2013, and this year's runner-up finish marks the team's fifth consecutive top 10 national ranking.

Elaine McVay ’15 finished in 11^th out of 275 runners, completing the six-kilometer course in 22:00.0, the best finish of her MIT career. Sarah Quinn ’16 (16^th place), Christina Wicker ’17 (17^th), and classmate Maryann Gong ’18 (32^nd) all finished in the top 50.

The men's cross country team took eighth place at the November 22 championship. The team’s eighth- place finish, their best since 1985, included a fourth-place finish (out of 280) for Spencer Wench ’15 and top 25 finishes for Colin Godwin ’18 (22^nd) and Matthew Deyo ’17 (25^th).

Soccer

The women’s soccer team, ranked 24^th nationally, defeated Colby-Sawyer, 3-1, in the first round of the NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament. (The Engineers lost to Roger Williams, 1-0, in round two.) Three MIT athletes received NEWMAC All-Conference honors, including Ambika Krishnamachar ’15, who was named Athlete of the Year for the second consecutive season.

The men’s team, which finished 8-7-3, placed three athletes on the NEWMAC All-Conference team, including Rookie of the Year Joshua Wilson ’18.

Swimming and Diving

The men’s swimming and diving team, ranked sixth nationally, is undefeated in the team’s first three dual meets of the season. The women’s team, ranked 11^th, is 4-0. Four members from both teams collected NEWMAC weekly honors. Both teams will play host at the three-day MIT Winter Invitational, December 5-7.

Water Polo

The water polo team finished their season with 15 wins and were ranked as high as fourth nationally. Junior Ory Tasman ’16 and Kale Rogers ’16 were named to the 2014 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Northern Division All-Conference second team. Tasman broke the MIT program record and single season record for goals earlier this year.

More News (via MIT Athletics)

• Men’s basketball opens with a 64-51 win at Gordon.
• Women’s Basketball fights off Westfield State, 65-56.
• Men’s Heavyweight Crew competes at Foot of the Charles.
• Rifle gets wins against University of the Sciences, Wentworth.