Nov. 4, 2012
JHU-Mercyhurst Box
JHU-Salem International Box
JHU-Notre Dame Box
JHU-George Washington Box
LEWISBURG, PA - The Johns Hopkins water polo team finished fifth at the 2012 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Southern Division Championship with a 3-1 record. The Blue Jays finish the season with a school record 25 wins, going 25-9 on the season. With their fifth place finish, the Jays fail to advance to the CWPA Eastern Championship, the first time JHU will miss Easterns since 2005.
Hopkins, seeded third in the championship, opened up against Division II Eastern Champion Mercyhurst on Friday evening. The Lakers upset the Blue Jays, 11-8, in just their second ever win over JHU. Mercyhurst, who would advance to the championship match, jumped out to a 3-1 lead on Hopkins and led 7-2 before senior Alex Whittam's five-meter goal with 47 seconds to play in the second quarter made it a four-goal game at the half. The Blue Jays opened the third quarter with goals from seniors Kielan Crow and Ross Schofieldto cut the deficit in half. But the Lakers answered with their only goal of the quarter and led 8-5 heading into the fourth. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays could get no closer in the final eight minutes.
Crow led Hopkins with three goals and two assists and two steals against Mercyhurst. Whittam added two goals to go with one steal and two ejections drawn. Sophomore Danny Ovelar made four saves in two quarters of action while freshman Erik Henriksonstopped five shots and had two steals.
Hopkins responded with a dominating 21-5 win over Salem International Saturday morning. The Blue Jays jumped out to a 9-1 lead and didn't look back as they cruised to the win. Eleven different players scored for Hopkins, led by Schofield's five-goal outing. His fifth goal of the match was his 100th of the season, tying Brian Mead's record set in 2004. Whittam, Crow, juniors Thomas de Lyon and Conor Fleming and freshmen Garrett Davidson and Blake Range each scored a pair of goals in the win. Whittam also dished out three assists and swiped three steals with two ejections drawn. Ovelar made three saves and allowed just two goals in two quarters. Sophomore Scott Weigelalso played two quarters in goal and stopped sevens shots while giving up just three goals.
JHU then topped Notre Dame (OH), 17-10, to advance to the fifth-place match. The Blue Jays jumped out to a 5-2 lead before the Falcons battled back with a 3-1 spurt to make it a one-goal game with 3:17 to play in the second quarter. Sophomore Wes Hopkinswould have the final say of the quarter, giving Hopkins a 7-5 lead at the break. It was all Blue Jays in the final 16 minutes, outscoring the Falcons 10-5 to take control.
Schofield paced the Blue Jay offense with a six-goal, four-assist performance while Crow had four goals and four assists. Whittam wrapped up the impressive performance from the three JHU seniors with two goals and four assists as the trio combined for 12 goals and 12 assists. Range and Hopkins also chipped in two goals apiece in the win. Ovelar played all four quarters in goal and turned away 11 shots while also grabbing three steals.
Hopkins won a thriller over George Washington, 16-15, in double overtime in the fifth-place match on Sunday morning. The Blue Jays took a quick two-goal lead, but the Colonials responded with three goals in the final 1:50 to take a 3-2 lead after the first eight minutes. Hopkins came out strong to start the second quarter, with three in a row, to go on top 5-3. But GW answered with a 4-1 burst to take a 7-6 lead into the half. The teams matched each other goal for goal over the first six minutes of the third before back-to-back goals by GW gave the Colonials an 11-9 lead after 24 minutes. Hopkins battled back with goals from Whittam and Crow to tie the match at 11 apiece midway through the fourth quarter.
The teams traded goals over the final three minutes, with Crow scoring the game-tying goal on a six-on-five with just two ticks on the clock to force overtime. Hopkins led by two goals in each overtime period, with GW cutting the deficit to one both times. But the Blue Jays' two-goal lead with 65 seconds to go was too much to overcome for the Colonials.
Schofield and Crow scored six goals apiece to lead the Blue Jays while Schofield also had four assists, three steals and four ejections drawn. Crow's six goals were a career high. Whittam scored and dished out three assists, while junior Stephen Kingeryhanded out a school-record-tying six assists. Ovelar made two saves in two quarters, while Weigel made six and Henrikson added four.
The CWPA Southern Championship concludes the careers of Hopkins' three senior captains, who left an impressive mark on the Blue Jays' record book. The trio led Hopkins to 76 wins - the most in a four-year period in school history. Schofield finishes the season with a school-record 112 goals while also tallying a career-best 61 assists for a total of 173 points. His 61 assists this season are the second most in school history. For his career, he ranks fifth in school history with 276 goals, second with 151 assists and fourth with 174 steals. Crow notched career highs in goals (67) and assists (24) while also tallying 49 steals. He finishes his career ranked ninth in goals (201), fourth in assists (87) and third in steals (189). Whittam scored 56 goals and doled out a school-record 63 assists for 119 points. He also had a career best 76 steals, the fourth most in school history. Whittam holds the school record for career assists (188) and steals (224) and ranks seventh in goals (232).
