No. 9 Volleyball Beats Reigning National Champions

The #9 MIT Men's Volleyball squad, who join five other current MIT teams who are ranked in the top-ten in their respective sport, took down the reigning national champion and current #1 team Nazareth in four sets over the weekend.

Read more here: http://www.mitathletics.com/sports/m-volley/2011-12/releases/20120130i4pjfh

#6 MIT Downs Coast Guard as Karraker and Hollingsworth near 1,000-Point Mark

The nationally-ranked MIT basketball squad took down Coast Guard yesterday afternoon in dominating fashion with an 80-55 victory. The Coast Guard Academy, an Elite Eight team just a few years back, could not keep up with Tech's inside presence and outside shooting.

Hollingsworth, a Junior eligibility-wise, leads the conference in scoring at 18.1 ppg (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

All-American Noel Hollingsworth poured game-highs of 23 points and 11 rebounds along with 2 assists and 2 blocks. Mitchell Kates scored 19 of his 21 points in the first half connecting on 5 three-pointers in the frame while dishing out 4 assists. Sharp-shooter Jamie Karraker connected on 5 three's as well for 15 points, while Senior Billy Bender filled the stat-sheet with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists, and a block. 6'8" Will Tashman hauled in 8 boards in just 19 minutes.

Junior Mitchell Kates is currently 22nd all-time at MIT in scoring (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

With the win, MIT moves to 18-1 overall and stands alone at first place in the NEWMAC with a 6-1 conference record. Juniors Jamie Karraker and Noel Hollingsworth are now both within striking distance of the 1,000-point mark, as Karraker needs 13 points and Hollingsworth 12 to reach the milestone. This would be one of the few instances, if ever, in NCAA history where two teammates score their 1,000th point in the same game. Junior Mitchell Kates reached the mark versus WPI last week.

6'7" Freshman Dennis Levene is a versatile athlete with an array of offensive and defensive weapons (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

MIT travels to Wheaton College on Wednesday for the 7pm tip-off.

MIT Ranked #1 College in America by Business Insider

MIT once again topped Business Insider's list of "The 50 Best Colleges in America".

Read more here: http://www.businessinsider.com/best-colleges-2011-11#1-massachusetts-institute-of-technology-50

No. 6 Tech Bounces Back with Win

The MIT Basketball team, which fell to #6 in the nation after a loss to WPI, got back to their winning ways with a 64-46 victory over Clark University this evening in Rockwell Cage. MIT's defense held Clark, who upset the Engineers in the 2009-2010 NEWMAC Tournament, to just 31% shooting from the field.

Sharp-shooter Jamie Karraker connected on six three-pointers for a game-high 18 points. All-American Noel Hollingsworth dished in 15 points and 6 boards, while point guard Mitchell Kates contributed 11 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 steals.

MIT also received valuable minutes from the bench, including 6 rebounds, 4 points, 3 blocks, and an assist in 10 minutes from 6'8" freshman Matt Redfield.

MIT shot 53% from the field and out-rebounded Clark 36-28. Tech takes on the US Coast Guard Academy at home this Saturday at 2pm.

Kates' 1,000th Point Not Enough as WPI Stuns #3 MIT

After leading at halftime, the #3 ranked MIT Engineers couldn't recover from a 12-2 run by WPI in the second half, ultimately falling to last year's regular season champions 80-68. The upset is the Engineers' first loss of the season, as MIT is now 16-1 overall and 4-1 in conference.

A rematch of 2011's Conference Championship (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

Leading Tech was All-Conference Mitchell Kates, supplying MIT with 22 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. On his 19th point of the night, Mitchell Kates became MIT's 24th player to reach the 1,000-point milestone.

Junior Mitchell Kates will continue to move up the all-time leading scorers' list (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

The big-man duo of Will Tashman and Noel Hollingsworth combined for 26 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists, while sharp-shooter Jamie Karraker connected on three three-pointers for 11 points. Senior Billy Bender had a game-high 10 rebounds. 

MIT and WPI will meet again during the final regular season game (Pic: Robert Krawitz)

MIT went cold in the second half, however, shooting a season-low 36% from the field during the frame and going 0-6 from three. Tech was also out-rebounded in the half 19-13. 

MIT takes on Clark University Wednesday at 7pm.

MIT Assistant Bill Johnson Featured on MIT Alumni Website

Former MIT standout and current assistant coach Willard "Bill" Johnson sat down with the MIT Alumni Association to talk about his pro hoops career and his return to the Engineers' staff:

http://alum.mit.edu/pages/sliceofmit/2012/01/20/diy-iap-mit-basketball-doubleheader-saturday-january-21/

MIT Athletics on National Stage

The MIT men's basketball team isn't the only team on campus finding success in the national spotlight. The MIT men's swimming and diving team, the women's swimming and diving team, the men's track and field team, as well as the women's track and field team are all ranked in the Top 10 in the nation in their respective sport:

#3 Men's Basketball
#4 Men's Swimming & Diving
#5 Women's Indoor Track & Field
#6 Women's Swimming & Diving
#10 Men's Indoor Track & Field

MIT Athletics' success as a whole is captured by their high ranking in the Director's Cup national standings (15th after the fall season), which measures the overall performances of Division III programs.

Read more here: http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2012/sports-shorts-0117.html

Tashman Earns Player of the Week

6'8" Junior Will Tashman earned Conference Player of the Week for his dominating performances last week versus Coast Guard and Babson. The reigning NEWMAC Tournament MVP and D3Hoops.com Northeast All-Region performer averaged 18.5 points and 10.5 rebounds over the two games.

Tashman hails from Atherton, California and is majoring in Materials Science & Engineering and minoring in Physics. The Jewish First-Team All-American spent last summer interning at Lunera Lighting, helping them develop state-of-the-art LED fixtures. 

MIT players have now received five out of the seven Player of the Week awards. 

Read more here: http://newmacsports.com/sports/mbkb/2011-12/POTW/mbkbPOTW011612

MIT Hoops Earns Points in Rankings

MIT Basketball remained at #3 in this week's national D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll, but gained 12 points in addition to holding on to a 1st-place vote.

Tech takes on WPI, ranked #24 in last week's poll, this Saturday at 3pm in Rockwell Cage.

Statistically Speaking

This is how MIT players stack up statistically in the NEWMAC. Stats are for games through 1/15. Only statistics in which an individual is in the Top 15 are listed. 

Of Note:

- MIT players take up 48 of the possible 195 positions (15 positions in 13 categories), or 25%

- Senior Billy Bender is ranked in the Top 15 in more categories, 12, than any other player in the NEWMAC

Noel Hollingsworth

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
Scoring	18.1	1
Blocks	2.1	2
FG%	56.7	2
Off. Rebounds	2.7	4
Total Rebounds	6.6	5
FT%	76.6	6
Def. Rebounds	3.9	6
Minutes	28.1	13

Jamie Karraker

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
3FGM	4.5	1
3FG%	45.3	5
Scoring	15.7	6
Minutes	29.4	7
FG%	48.1	13
Steals	1.3	13

Will Tashman

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
Minutes	30.2	1
Total Rebounds	9.7	1
Def. Rebounds	6.7	1
Off. Rebounds	3.0	2
Assists	2.7	4
Steals	6.6	5
FG%	53.2	6
A/TO	3.9	6
Blocks	0.8	8
Scoring	11.6	10
FT%	68.0	12

Mitchell Kates

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
Steals	2.2	1
Assists	5.2	1
A/TO	2.0	2
Minutes	29.6	6
FT%	71.7	9
Scoring	10.9	11
FG%	49.3	12
Total Rebounds	4.3	14
Def. Rebounds	3.4	14

Billy Bender

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
3FG%	48.8	1
FG%	56.7	2
FT%	77.8	5
3FGM	1.3	7
Total Rebounds	5.5	8
Steals	1.5	9
A/TO	1.5	9
Assists	2.3	11
Scoring	10.8	12
Def. Rebounds	3.4	14
Blocks	0.4	14
Minutes	27.7	15

Daniel Mccue

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
A/TO	1.7	5

Matt Redfield

Statistic	Value	NEWMAC
Blocks	1.1	5