Dec. 7, 2013
Freshman Will Bellamy joined the Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications staff as a student assistant not long after arriving at Homewood in August. An experienced writer, he will bolster the efforts of the office with a preview of each weekend's events (please note that this is not intended to be an exhaustive in-depth preview of every game or event. Rather, it provides a quick overview for fans with key links and things to look for. Key games, especially those against nationally-ranked teams or those with playoff implacations, will lead the column each week).
Basketball
Both the Johns Hopkins' men's and women's basketball teams will make the trip to Allentown, PA, this weekend for a doubleheader against Muhlenberg College.
Both teams enter the matchup having put together solid starts to the season. The men currently sit at 4-4 (2-1 in Centennial Conference play) and have held opponents to 67.5 points thus far this season. They've also received impressive contributions from juniors Jimmy Hammer and George Bugarinovic, the Blue Jays' top two scorers a year ago. Thus far this season, Hammer is averaging 15.4 points per game and Bugarinovic is averaging 13.9.
The women have had even more success, zipping out to a 6-2 mark (5-0 in CC competition) behind the play of senior Fatu Conteh, who has put up 12.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, and three assists per game so far.
The men are currently locked in a tie for second in the conference with five other teams - including Muhlenberg - while the women sit alone in first.
Wrestling
The Johns Hopkins wrestling team will see how it stacks up against some of the strongest Division III squads in the nation during the New Standard Corporation Invitational this weekend at York College.
Of the twelve teams in attendance, three - Ithaca College, Delaware Valley and Johnson and Wales - are among the top fifteen in the NWCA's most recent rankings. The Blue Jays will also have to contend with teams from Apprentice School, Elizabethtown College, University of Maryland in Baltimore County, State University of New York at Brockport, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, Technical College of New Jersey, and the host school, York.
The meet will kick off at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday.
Swimming
The Johns Hopkins men's and women's swimming teams are currently in the midst of the Total Performance Sports Camps Invitational at Kenyon College in Gambler, OH, and will continue to compete until Saturday evening, when the three-day affair winds down.
Both teams entered the meet having flashed their ability and depth throughout the early stages of the season. The men topped Franklin & Marshall, Marywood, and Loyola with ease and recently took first at the Gettysburg Invitational. The women, who also finished first at the Invitational, have emerged victorious from all of their meets except their season opener at F&M.
The TPSC Invitational will pick up where it left off at 9:30 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday.
Track
The Johns Hopkins men's and women's track teams will kick off the season with the New Year's Invitational, which will be hosted by Princeton on Saturday. The meet, which will run throughout the day, will jump-start a season full of high expectations for both teams.
Fencing
After more than two weeks off, the Johns Hopkins men's and women's fencing teams will get back into the thick of things with the Brandeis Invitational on Sunday. The day-long event will feature teams from Columbia, MIT, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Boston College, and Brandeis.
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