MIT finishes fourth in 2022 Division III LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup standings
In the final 2022 Division III LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup standings, MIT finished in fourth place overall as the Engineers ended the 2021-22 academic year with 936.75 points. This marks the second-highest finish in MIT history as the Engineers climbed two spots following a tremendous performance in the spring season.
Fall highlights
- Men’s cross country finished as the NCAA National Runner-Up as the Engineers registered a program-best five All-Americans at the NCAA Championship.
- Women’s cross country captured the NEWMAC title and had two All-American performers at the National Championship in Louisville, Kentucky.
- Women’s soccer hosted the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the first time ever, advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals after capturing the NEWMAC Championship.
- Women’s volleyball earned an NCAA Quarterfinal berth as well, winning the regional at home in Rockwell Cage after an NEWMAC Tournament victory that landed the Engineers in the NCAAs.
Winter highlights
- The men’s swimming and diving team finished in sixth place as a team at the NCAA Championship with a pair of relay national championships and a national title in the 100 free by sophomore Tobe Obochi of Highland Park, Illinois.
- Women’s swimming and diving landed an eighth-place finish at the NCAAs as junior Edenna Chen (Colorado Springs, Colorado) captured the national title in the 100 breast. In addition, her time was just .02 seconds away from the D3 national record.
- The men’s track and field team finished in sixth place at the NCAA Championship as junior Kenneth Wei (Mt. Sinai, New York) captured the long jump title and senior Ryan Wilson (Redwood City, California) earned a wire-to-wire victory in the 800 meters.
- Women’s track and field had five student-athletes advance to the NCAA Championship, including senior Izzi Gengaro (Boonton Township, New Jersey), who finished as an All-American in the 5,000 meters.
- Fencing first-year Patrick Xinyi Liu (Brookline, Massachusetts) finished in eighth place in the final foil standings at the NCAA National Collegiate Fencing Championship.
Spring highlights
- Men’s lacrosse posted the best season in program history as the Engineers went undefeated in the regular season, won their first-ever NEWMAC Championship, and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Graduate student Ryan Gebhardt (Baldwinsville, New York) was named as the NEWMAC Athlete of the Year as he became the all-time, all-divisions NCAA goal scoring leader.
- The softball team earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament and advanced all the way to the NCAA regional final. The Engineers had six All-Region performers, one All-American, and a pair of First Team Academic All-Americans.
- The women’s tennis team capped off a tremendous 2021-22 season as the Engineers hosted the first three rounds of the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the program’s fourth overall Elite Eight. Junior Sarah Pertsemlidis (Coppell, Texas) made history as she advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Singles Championship, and three Engineers earned All-American accolades overall.
- Men’s tennis avenged a regular-season loss to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and earned a thrilling 5-3 victory over the Bears as the Engineers advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship.
- Outdoor track and field had a historic showing at the NCAA Championship, capturing four individual national championships as both Wei and Wilson swept the indoor and outdoor titles in the long jump and 800 meters, respectively. Wei added the 110-meter hurdle championship, while first-year Luka Srsic (Worthington, Ohio) took the pole vault championship.
- The women’s track and field team finished in 18th place at the NCAAs, led by a high jump national championship from junior Kimmy McPherson (San Diego, California). First-year Alexis Boykin (Clayton, Ohio) posted an All-American showing in the shot put, along with a seventh-place All-American performance by the 4×400 relay team, to cap off the final day of the competition.
The LEARFIELD Directors’ Cup was developed as a joint effort between the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) and USA Today. Points are awarded based on each institution’s finish in NCAA Championships.