Oct. 25, 2004
WASHINGTON, PA - The Johns Hopkins water polo team won the Division III Eastern Championship last weekend when it defeated Penn State Behrend, Connecticut College, Washington and Jefferson and MIT. Senior Brian Mead (Palo Alto, CA/Gunn) earned Eastern MVP honors, head coach Ted Bresnahan was named the Coach of the Year and five Blue Jays were selected to the all-tournament team.
Johns Hopkins started the weekend at Salem International before traveling to Washington and Jefferson for the Eastern Championships. Mead scored 10 goals and sophomore David Strickland (Houston, TX/Strake Jesuit College Prep) added four in a 23-20 loss to Salem.
The Blue Jays earned the top seed in the Eastern Championships and faced fifth-seeded Penn State Behrend in the opening round. Freshman Sean McCreery's (Pleasant Hills, CA/De La Salle) five goals led nine different Blue Jays in scoring as Johns Hopkins took a 8-3 first-quarter lead and finished with a 21-12 win.
Hopkins then defeated Connecticut 21-7 behind a 10-player scoring attack. Junior Robert Bates (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) scored a team-high four goals and the Blue Jays went seven for eight on their man-up opportunities to put JHU up 2-0 after Day 1.
On Sunday, Johns Hopkins defeated host Washington and Jefferson 13-9 to advance to the championship game against MIT. The Blue Jays trailed 3-2 against MIT after the first period but went on a 4-0 run in the second to lead 6-3 at the break. Junior James Singleton (Los Angeles, CA/Harvard-Westlake) scored four goals as Johns Hopkins pulled ahead for a decisive 14-6 win.
Mead earned MVP and all-tournament honors with eight goals in the four games while Singleton, McCreery, senior Mac Sanford (Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) and freshman goalkeeper Mitch Williams (San Diego, CA/Patrick Henry) were named to the all-tournament team.
Johns Hopkins finished 4-1 on the weekend to improve to 15-15 overall this year. The Blue Jays return to action at the CWPA Southern Championships in Princeton, NJ next weekend, Oct. 29-31.
