Nov. 12, 2001

BALTIMORE, Md. -- Johns Hopkins senior wide receiver Zach Baylin (Wilmington, DE/Tatnall) has been named the Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week, it was announced today. In the final game of his career, Baylin led Johns Hopkins to a stunning 21-14 win over ninth-ranked Western Maryland, which entered the game riding an eight-game overall winning streak and a 33-game Centennial Conference winning streak.

Baylin posted a career-high and school-record 14 receptions for 120 yards and a personal-best three touchdowns in the win. His 11-yard touchdown catch just before halftime tied the game at 7-7, while he added a two-yard scoring reception early in the third quarter to give the Blue Jays a 14-7 lead. After Western Maryland tied the game at 14, Baylin caught his third and final touchdown reception of the day, also from two yards out, with 7:58 remaining in the fourth quarter to provide the winning margin.

Baylin's 14 receptions broke the previous Johns Hopkins record of 13, originally set by Bill Stromberg in1980 against Franklin & Marshall and matched by Stromberg a year later against Widener. Baylin's 14 receptions also moved him from third to second place on the all-time receptions list at Johns Hopkins, while he jumped from fourth to second on the all-time receptions list in Centennial Conference history. He concludes his career with 191 receptions for 2,041 yards and 19 touchdowns. He ranks fourth all-time at JHU in career receiving yards and career touchdown receptions.

With his record-breaking performance, Baylin improved his season totals to 58 receptions for 648 yards and five touchdowns. His 58 receptions rank as the fifth-highest single-season total in school history, while he also became just the second wide receiver in Centennial history to lead the league in receptions for three straight years.

Johns Hopkins finished the season with a 6-3 overall record, including a 4-2 mark in the Centennial Conference. Ninth-ranked Western Maryland is the highest-ranked team Johns Hopkins has ever defeated in football and the Blue Jays finished with a winning record for the eighth time in 12 seasons under head coach Jim Margraff. In the 18 years prior to Margraff's arrival as head coach, the Blue Jays posted just seven winning seasons.

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