Sept. 5, 2009
Final Stats
ANNAPOLIS, MD - The Johns Hopkins water polo team, ranked #1 in Division III, opened its season with a tough slate at the Navy Open. JHU faced Northern Virginia Community College, 12th-ranked Navy and second-ranked Stanford. The Blue Jays picked up 15-9 win over NOVA, before dropping decisions to the Midshipmen (11-9) and Cardinal (20-1).
Hopkins opened the day against NOVA, with freshman Alex Whittam (Hillsborough, CA/Sacred Heart Prep) and senior co-captain Kyle Gertridge (Palo Alto, CA/Gunn) leading the way with a combined seven goals. Hopkins led 4-2 after one and extended it to 10-5 at the half. The Blue Jays took a 14-7 lead into the third before NOVA outscored the Blue Jays 2-1 in the final quarter for the 15-9 final. Freshman Kielan Crow (Portola Valley, CA/Lick-Wilmerding) and junior John Barrett (Clarendon Hills, IL/Fenwick) also had a pair of goals each. Junior Jeremy Selbst (Old Greenwich, CT/Greenwich) posted 11 saves between the pipes for Hopkins.
In its second outing, JHU ran into a tough Navy team. Crow and Whittam led the Blue Jays with a pair each, while Selbst posted nine saves in the goal. Also scoring for the Blue Jays were Barrett, Gertridge, senior Antonio Aguilera (Coral Gables, FL/Gulliver Prep), senior Peter Sauerhoff (St. Louis, MO/John Burroughs School) and freshman Mike Ragheb (Miami, FL/MAST Academy).
Hopkins closed out the weekend squaring off against Stanford. Sophomore Mark Strickland (Houston, TX/Strake Jesuit) scored the lone goal for the Blue Jays as the Cardinal took a commanding 13-1 lead at the half.
In his collegiate debut, Whittam led the Blue Jays in scoring over the weekend with six goals. Gertridge and Crow finished with four apiece, while Barrett had three and Sauerhoff and Aguilera each had two.
Hopkins returns to action on Friday, September 11 as JHU travels back to Annapolis, MD to take on 10th-ranked UC San Diego at 7:45 pm. The Blue Jays will then travel to Princeton, NJ for the Princeton Invitational.
