Sept. 30, 2007
LEWISBURG, PA - The Johns Hopkins water polo team finished fifth at the ECAC Championships for the fourth consecutive time. The Blue Jays suffered a loss to the St. Francis (NY) Terriers in the first round before rebounding with wins over the Harvard Crimson and Brown Bears.
Saturday afternoon, Hopkins could not overcome a strong #14 St. Francis team, falling 15-8 to the defending champions. Seniors Chris Hemmerle (Harleysville, PA/Souderton) and Sean McCreery (Pleasant Hill, CA/ De La Salle) and junior Peter Davis (Riverside, CT/Greenwich) all had two goals in the loss. Also scoring were sophomore Reid Fox (Harleysville, PA/Souderton) and M.G. Gonzalez (Calabassas, CA/Oaks Christian).
Hopkins rebounded just a few hours later to defeat Harvard 13-11 for the fourth straight time. The Blue Jays jumped out to a 3-1 lead after the first with goals from sophomore Kyle Gertridge (Gunn Prep/Paolo Alto, CA), junior Alex Bond (North Wales, PA/Germantown Academy) and McCreery.
Hopkins never trailed in the game as the Blue Jays lead grew to as many as five throughout the game. McCreery finished with a game-high four goals in the win. Sophomore Peter Sauerhoff (St. Louis, MO/John Burroughs) finished with three goals, all coming in the final quarter, as the Blue Jays held off a Crimson rally.
The Blue Jays closed out the weekend with a tough 6-5 win over the #20 Bears in the fifth-place game. It was a back-and-forth game as neither team held more than a one-goal lead, there were four ties and three lead changes. Trailing 5-3 with 6:52 to play in the final quarter, the Blue Jays rallied with three unanswered to take the 6-5 win. Fox's goal with 4:33 to play tied the game at 5-5, while Davis got the gamewinner with 1:58 on the clock.
Hopkins improved its record to 5-7 on the season, going 2-1 at the championships. The win over Brown was the four in the last five meetings between the two schools. The Blue Jays return to action on Tuesday, October 2 as the George Washington Colonials visit Baltimore. The CWPA Southern Division match is set for 7:00 pm at the Newton White Athletic Center.
