MIT taps Lindblad as director of sailing

Matt Lindblad of Marblehead has been named as the Cucchiaro Family Director of Sailing, as announced by Dr. G. Anthony Grant, director of athletics and head of the Department of Athletics, Physical Education at MIT.

Lindblad will replace long-time director of sailing Fran Charles, who will be retiring at the end of the 2022-23 academic year.

“I am very pleased to have Matt as the fifth director of sailing in the program’s history,” said Grant. “He has done a tremendous job over the last 17 years with our varsity sailing program as a coach and will continue to engage with the entire MIT and Cambridge communities in his new role as director of sailing.”

Lindblad has served as the co-head coach women’s and co-ed varsity sailing since 2006, as well as the acting director of sailing each summer from 2009-2022.

On the water, Lindblad helped direct the co-ed team to the 2018 ICSA Co-Ed National Championship and a fourth-place finish in the 2018 ICSA Women’s National Championship.

The Engineer women’s team has also finished in the top-10 on four occasions at the ICSA Women’s National Championship. Lindblad’s

Boys

From P. A9 teams also finished in 10th place at the 2013 and 2014 ISCA Women’s Singlehanded National Championships.

After coaching the varsity sailing teams at MIT for 17 years, Matt Lindblad has been named the fifth director of sailing in the history of the university’s program.

“I’ve been incredibly fortunate to learn so much from colleagues and students in DAPER and the MIT sailing community,” Lindblad said. “Our sailing programs are unique and offer opportunities to sail everything from foiling sailboats to bluewater racing and cruising. Our professional staff and players only dream about, and it propelled his Marblehead teammates to the Elite 8 as the 10th seed in Division 2.

O’Neill alertly rebounded a missed three-point attempt by Nick Lemmond and promptly banked it off the glass as the buzzer sounded to beat host Pope Francis in a Sweet 16 game, 59-57.

“I trusted my teammate Nick Lemmond to hit the shot, because he had an amazing game,” O’Neill said after the game. “But I stayed ready just in case I needed to make a play. The ball went up, and I crashed to the lane and luckily my good positioning led to the buzzer beater.”

In 1983, there was this Cinderella team that came out of nowhere to win the NCAA Division 1 basketball tournament. Years later, ESPN documented that run by North Carolina State and its head coach Jimmy Valvano. They aptly called it “Survive and Advance,” which could sum up the 2023 version of the Marblehead basketball Magicians, led by veteran coach Mike Giardi.

The Magicians began the postseason with a 60-55 win over visiting Pembroke (12-9, 23rd seed) in a Round of 32 game before boarding the bus for the long trip down the Mass Pike to Springfield to take on Pope Francis (17-4, seventh seed), where O’Neill made sure they went home victorious.

Prior to O’Neill’s winning basket, Lemmond fired away from beyond the arc, but his three-point try fell short. However, O’Neill was in the right position at the right time to grab the rebound, banking it home as time ran out to break the 57-57 stalemate and avoid overtime.

Lemmond ended up pacing the attack with 19 points. O’Neill accounted for 10, but none so important than his final layup.

Ryan Commoss was credited with 14. Tryone Countrymon netted nine. Isaiah Makor had five before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

Scott Campbell contributed two points to the winning cause.

A total of only four Pope Francis players figured into the offense. Ryan Vedovelli led the Cardinals in scoring with 20 points. T.J. Reid was close behind with 18.

“Our guys played tough, but give Pope Francis credit, they kept on chipping away,” said Giardi.

The score was tied at 16 in the second quarter, then the Magicians went on a 14-3 run to take a commanding halftime lead, 30-19. They were still ahead after three, 43-35.

But the Cardinals refused to give up in front of their home fans, outscoring the Marblehead boys, 22-16. But they left too much time on the clock, and the Magicians took advantage of all 13.1 seconds to seal the deal on O’Neill’s heroics.

Galante

From P. A9 volunteers teach thousands of people how to sail annually, and our coaches maintain one of the best collegiate sailing programs in the country. I am excited to have the opportunity to support these programs and work with such passionate and enthusiastic staff and volunteers.”

Since 2006, MIT sailors have earned 10 All-America honors to go along with four New England Sportsmanship Awards and numerous All-New times, and for their constant companionship, meals, flowers, hugs, keepsakes and donations.”

Those donations have allowed the family to start the James R. Galante Scholarship Fund, “which will give back to the community, while preserving James’ memory for many years to come,” Jim Galante explained.

Last spring, Jim Galante presented the first scholarships for $2,500 each to James’ football teammates George Percy and James Doody. His track teammates Ben Kahn and Michael Gabaud were given $1,000 scholarships. In addition to these scholarships, over $20,000 was granted to community nonprofits in 2022.

Jim Galante remarked about his three other children’s inner strength to continue on with their activities.

“Lisa and I’s biggest fear is that the kids are putting up a brave front to prevent us from worrying about them,”

Gymnasts

From P. A9

Andrews — placed as event all-stars during the NEC Meet on Feb. 11, hosted by the Sterling YMCA in Beverly.”

Tamia Johnson and Celine Uhrich were the captains of this year’s team.

“They did an awesome job ensuring their last (scholastic) year was a great one. All the girls felt welcomed and empowered, because of them,” said McKie. “As we look ahead to next year, I think our seniors are going to be some of our key performers. It will be our biggest senior group in a few years, and I’m excited to see how they do in their final season.”

England Team and Academic All-ICSA Team honors.

Lindblad’s teams have also been perennially ranked in the top-20 in the national rankings for both the women’s and co-ed squads.

In addition to his work on the water for the Engineers, Lindblad also serves as a current member of the DAPER Culture Steering Committee and the DAPER DEI Committee, as well as a participant in the MIT mentoring program as a mentor and co-mentor. he said. “But they are strong kids, who all did their best to keep their heads up following the accident. However, we also know they each have a loving group of friends that check up on them regularly.

A 1999 graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Lindblad also earned a master’s degree in education with a specialization in higher education administration from Northeastern University in 2014. Lindblad lives in Marblehead with his wife, Lisa, children Isabel and Sam, and dog, Callie.

Dahlia Galante is now a junior at Trinity College majoring in English and Philosophy, while competing on the varsity track team. Julius Galante is a sophomore at Westminster High School, while Oscar Galante is an eighth-grader at the Veterans School.

“Both Julius and Oscar are now gearing up for their spring baseball seasons,” Jim Galante said.

James Galante, who had committed to continue playing football at Denison University in Ohio, drew people to him.

“He was soft spoken, walked tall and let his actions do the talking on and off the field,” his father said. “He was never mean to anyone. At his funeral service, a mom with her daughter and son came up to us, and the mom started by thanking us for raising a good boy. The daughter then said James stuck up for her when she was being bullied. They all hugged us when we could not stop crying. That made us so proud.”

The first annual James R. Galante Charity Golf Tournament will be held at Tedesco on June 5. It was the only date available at the country club, and ironically, it is also James’ birthday. The tournament sold out in three days.