Looking Back (Jan. 26) | Women's Swimming And Diving: 164, MIT 136
On Senior Day, the women's swimming and diving team was reminded that its future is in very capable hands.
Sophomore Meredith Cronin and freshman Maureen O'Neill combined for five wins as the Jumbos scored a 164-136 win over nationally-ranked No. 20 MIT Saturday at Hamilton Pool, the team's first dual-meet victory over the Engineers since 2004.
A team that has finished in the top 25 of Div. III Nationals in each of the past three seasons, MIT dropped to 6-3 on the year while Tufts improved to 4-2.
Cronin kicked things off with a convincing win in the 1,000-yard freestyle before posting first-place showings in both the 100- and 200-yard backstrokes.
O'Neill, meanwhile, added two victories of her own and continued her stellar performance in freestyle events. Following a weekend in which she was the only Tufts swimmer to post first-place finishes, the Cherry Hill, N.J. native took the 50-yard event in 24.98 as well as the 100-yard race in 54.87.
In the last home competition of their careers, several seniors also shone for coach Nancy Bigelow's squad. Tri-captain Renee Nicholas took first place in both the 100-yard backstroke and the 200-yard individual medley while Kendall Swett got by rival Doria Holbrook in the 3-meter dive by a score of 327.75-315.30.
Looking Ahead (Feb. 3) | Super Bowl XLII: New York Giants vs. New England Patriots
What, did you think it was going to be the NESCAC squash tournament?
The biggest event in American sports takes center stage this weekend, when the New York Giants square off against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz.
The teams last met in Week 17 at Giants Stadium, when the Patriots capped an unbeaten regular season with a come-from-behind win over New York. Playing all their starters despite having a playoff spot wrapped up, the Giants did not make it easy on New England, taking a 12-point lead at the 9:12 mark of the third quarter. But the Patriots scored 22 unanswered points, including a 65-yard touchdown strike from Tom Brady to Randy Moss that was one the highlights of the 2007 season, before holding on for the 38-35 win.
Despite suffering the loss, the Giants undoubtedly built momentum from their strong showing against what some consider to be the greatest football team of all time. Since the defeat, Big Blue has won three consecutive road playoff games, including the NFC Championship in sub-zero temperatures at storied Lambeau Field.
The setback is also being cited as the turning point in the career of much-maligned quarterback Eli Manning. The No. 1 overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft went toe-to-toe with Brady for much of the game, finishing with four touchdowns against only one interception. Manning has not been picked off since, a key reason why the Giants have turned the ball over just once this postseason.
