It's my turn to rant and rave

I am writing this letter in response to Mike Newcomb's article in the January 16, 2001 issue of Tech News. Mr. Newcomb's sarcastic article, which slammed the sports teams of WPI, apparently forgot to mention the fact that the Men's Swim Team has a record of 4-2 (which is the only winning varsity sports team right now, by the way). He also claimed that he wants to do "interesting stories" about the sports program here at WPI. Well, Mike, did you ever think to do an article about any one of our 4 victories so far this season? Did you know that the swim team as a whole, both men and women, has only been mentioned once so far in Tech News this season? I'm referring to issue 11/21/00 in case anyone was wondering. And if you think that's bad, try looking up how many times we got an article detailing our accomplishments of our 99-00 season. Please note that mentioning our record in the paper's scoreboard once a week doesn't count as far as I'm concerned.

Having been involved in swimming for a good half of my life, I have long since gotten used to the fact that it is a sport which is rarely recognized by the media. Honestly, I don't need an article in a newspaper to reaffirm my own accomplishments. What I do have a problem with is this attitude that WPI's athletes are sub par (or at least Mr. Newcomb seems to think so). Excuse me, but I, like many other WPI athletes, come into practice every single day and give my all for my team and my school. That's something that not everyone here at this school can honestly say.

So here's a great idea. Try writing about the swim team once in a while if you're looking for interesting articles. I'll even get you started. Did you know that WPI is the only collegiate swim team that is forced to practice in an antiquated twenty yard pool (typically 25 yard pools are the standard)? Yet the men's team, despite these conditions, has amassed a winning season last year and is currently holding a winning record for this season. I'd say that is pretty interesting. You don't even have to write anything that deep either. A simple recap of our swim meets would be more than sufficient.

The next time Tech News considers about publishing an article complaining about of the deficiencies of WPI athletics, maybe someone should check to see whether or not there is actually something to complain about.