November 21, 2008

Four NEWMAC Student-Athletes Named to CoSIDA /ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America Team

Courtesy of MIT and WPI Sports Information

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Four New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) student-athletes were named to the CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America men's soccer first team on Tuesday. Tom Caldwell (East Berlin, Pa.), Neil Zimmerman (Dallas, Texas) and Christian Therkelsen (Nesbru, NORWAY) of MIT along with WPI senior Benjamin Gilde (Manchester, N.H.) received this distinguished honor.

Caldwell is MIT's first goalie to earn Academic All-America plaudits and he was named to the NEWMAC All-Conference Second Team. He finished first all-time in shutouts (19), second in goals against average (1.50), fourth in saves (345), fifth in fewest goals allowed (65), and ninth in save percentage (0.767). Caldwell also set the Institute standard for shutouts in a season with nine during the 2008 campaign. A three-time NEWMAC Academic All-Conference Team selection, he will graduate with a degree in Physics. Caldwell completed an internship with Voith Siemens Hydro Power Generation in research and development and he is also a member of the MIT Dark Matter Time Projection Chamber (DMTPC) research project.

Zimmerman finished his career ranking 10th all-time in assists (10) and tied for fifth in assists in a season with seven this year. He ranked third in scoring during the campaign, tallying 13 points with three goals, including two game-winning strikes. One of MIT's tri-captains and a Biological Engineering major, Zimmerman was a three-time NEWMAC Academic All-Conference Team honoree. He is a member of the Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Society, MIT Biomedical Engineering Society, and MIT Wind Ensemble. Zimmerman has served as a tutor in the Biological Engineering Department and a research assistant at the MIT Department of Chemical Engineering. He had a fellowship in the Cancer Immunobiology Center at the University of Texas Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and was the third author of a research article that was printed in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States of America (June 2008).

Therkelsen was tabbed to the NEWMAC All-Conference Team after leading MIT's attack with 16 goals and eight assists for 40 points. His performance set a new Institute standard for points in a season while ranking second in goals and tying for fourth in assists. Currently pursuing degrees in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science along with Management, Therkelsen received his first NEWMAC Academic All-Conference Award. During the past year he was a research assistant at MIT's Intelligent Transportation Systems Lab. Therkelsen created a traffic simulation model to analyze and predict traffic congestion that is being used by the Beijing Transportation Research Center. He also developed and debugged a model of road network in Lower Westchester County, N.Y., which is being implemented by the New York State Department of Transportation to study morning traffic into New York City.

Gilde was named to the second team a year ago as a junior and to the third team in 2006 as a sophomore, making him the only College Division player this fall to be All-America three straight seasons. The College Division is comprised of NCAA Division II and III, NAIA and junior college programs. He is also a three-time NEWMAC Academic All-Conference selection.

During each of his first three years at WPI, Gilde was honored with a major award at the annual athletics banquet. He was awarded the Poly Club Award as the junior male athlete, the Leo S. Jansson Award as a sophomore who best exemplifies the high standards expressed in "The WPI Athlete," and the Charles R. McNulty freshman award. Gilde also earned the Charles O. Thompson scholarship for outstanding academic success at WPI as a freshman.

In addition to his impressive academic achievements, Gilde led the Engineers on the field as well, leading WPI in scoring for the third straight season. He tallied a team-best six goals and added a pair of assists en route to amassing 14 points during the 2008 season, leading to his third straight selection to the NEWMAC All-Conference team.