Oct. 26, 2008
BALTIMORE, MD - The Johns Hopkins men's water polo team claimed its 11th Division III Eastern Championship title on Sunday in a 20-15 win over MIT. Senior co-captain Josh Kratz (Landsdale, PA/North Penn) was named the tournaments Most Valuable Player after scoring 13 goals and notching seven assists in three matches. Head coach Ted Bresnahan was named the Coach of the Year.
The first quarter was tightly contested as Hopkins held a one-goal lead at the end of the first eight minutes. Junior Peter Sauerhoff (St. Louis, MO/John Burroughs) took a pass from junior Kyle Gertridge (Gunn Prep/Paolo Alto, CA) and scored on a behind-the-back shot to put the Blue Jays on the board first. Devin Lewis answered for MIT with back-to-back goals to give the Engineers their first and only lead of the match. Just 11 seconds after Lewis' second tally, senior Peter Davis (Riverside, CT/Greenwich) converted a pass from senior co-captain Alex Bond (North Wales, PA/Germantown Academy), igniting a three-goal Blue Jay rally. Brian Gardiner got one back for MIT with just 22 seconds on the clock as Hopkins took a 4-3 lead into the second.
Lewis tied the match for the second time with his third of the day with 5:51 to play in the second. Hopkins answered with a 4-0 run as four different Blue Jays scored to push their lead to 8-4 with 1:29 to play in the half. Rob Kalwarowsky and Preis sandwiched goals around a tally from Kratz and JHU led 9-6 at the half.
Coming out of the break, Davis kick-started a 3-0 run for the Blue Jays, scoring on a five-meter shot just 39 seconds into the third. Kratz then scored on a cross-pool pass from Sauerhoff, followed by a strike from Gertridge and it was 12-6 Hopkins. MIT responded with a 4-2 run to close out the third, but Hopkins led 14-10 heading into the final quarter.
Davis once again came out firing for the Blue Jays to start the quarter, scoring on a fast break 49 seconds in. Mike Smith-Bronstein, cut the deficit back to four with a five-meter goal. It was short-lived however as senior Chris Rochester (Hillsboro, CA/ Sacred Heart Prep) and Gertridge combined for three goals in less than two minutes to push Hopkins lead to seven at 18-11. MIT would outscore Hopkins 3-2 over the final four minutes, but it was not enough to overcome the Blue Jays lead.
Davis led all scorers with six goals while also notching two assists and four steals. Kratz scored five goals with three assists. For the Engineers, Lewis led the way with five goals, while Preis added four.
Senior Chris Hutchens (Granite Bay, CA/Bellarmine Prep) played the second and fourth quarters and finished with nine saves and one steal. Sophomore Jeremy Selbst (Old Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) played the first and third quarters and made four saves with two steals. Joining Kratz on the all-tournament team for Hopkins were Davis, Gertridge, Sauerhoff and Hutchens.
This was the 13th meeting between Johns Hopkins and MIT in the Division III Eastern Championship title match since the tournament began in 1991. The Blue Jays are 9-4 against the Engineers in the championship match. The Hopkins offense was explosive in the tournament, as the Blue Jays scored 20 or more goals in three straight games for the first time since Sept. 7, 1996.
In the third-place match, Penn State Behrend defeated Washington & Jefferson, 12-9. Washington & Jefferson then beat Connecticut College, 17-10 in the fourth-place match.
Hopkins returns to action at the CWPA Southern Championships, hosted by Princeton Nov. 8-9, 2008.
Tournament MVP: Josh Kratz, Johns Hopkins
Coach of the Year: Ted Bresnahan, Johns Hopkins
All-Tournament Team, First Team:
Josh Kratz, Johns Hopkins
Kyle Gertridge, Johns Hopkins
Peter Davis, Johns Hopkins
Connor Matzinger, Connecticut College
Mike Smith-Bronstein, MIT
John Preis, MIT
Eddie Werner, Washington & Jefferson
Goalie: Chris Hutchens, Johns Hopkins
All-Tournament Team, Second Team:
Jon Bacon, Penn State Behrend
Matthew Pluta, Penn State Behrend
Nick Llewellyn, Connecticut College
Devin Lewis, MIT Steve Hilty, Washington & Jefferson
Peter Sauerhoff, Johns Hopkins
Goalie: John Todd, Washington & Jefferson
