Carrying a 5.0 GPA, sophomore Benjamin Lin was presented with the NCAA Elite 89 Award at the NCAA Fencing National Championship held this past weekend at Ohio State University. He is the second consecutive fencer to receive this accolade, as Joey Rafidi ’14 was tabbed for the honor last year. Since the Elite 89 program was established during the 2009-10 academic year, MIT Engineers have collected eight awards.
The Elite 89, an award founded by the NCAA, recognizes the true essence of the student-athlete by honoring individuals who have reached the pinnacle of competition at the national championship level in his or her sport, while also achieving the highest academic standard among his or her peers. The Elite 89 is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative grade-point average participating at the finals site for each of the NCAA's 89 championships.
In his debut at the NCAA Championship, Lin finished 23rd in the sabre competition as he recorded a 5-2 victory over Air Force and edged out freshman teammate Tzer Wong, 5-4. He came close to picking up wins against opponents from the University of Notre Dame, Duke University, Pennsylvania State University (in two separate matches), Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania, but lost each bout by a score of 5-4.
Majoring in computer science and engineering, Lin completed an internship at Kamcord and was an Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) participant with Tale Blazer.
