Feb. 13, 2013

2013 ODU Notes

Opening Draw
Johns Hopkins hosts Old Dominion in both teams' season-opener at Homewood Field on Saturday afternoon. The Blue Jays and the Monarchs are meeting for the first time.

For the Record
Johns Hopkins begins its 38th season in 2013 with an all-time record of 360-234-4 (.605) and a 142-97 (.594) record as a Division I program. The Blue Jays have posted 27 winning seasons, including 21 straight from 1987 to 2007. Hopkins has also made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three in the Division I Tournament (2004, 2005, 2007).

Season Openers
The Blue Jays open the season at home for the 20th time in 38 seasons. The Jays are 23-13-1 (.635) all-time in season openers and have won their last four openers. In home season-openers, Hopkins is 14-5 (.737) all-time and 6-3 (.667) since moving to Division I in 1999. Hopkins will open its season against an opponent other than George Mason for the first time since 2007 when JHU faced off against George Washington.

Welcome to Campus
Hopkins welcomes 12 newcomers this season, including 11 freshmen and sophomore transfer Jen Cook. The Blue Jay newcomers hail from Maryland, New York, Florida and Colorado. The new arrivals account for 40 percent of the 30-person roster.

Home Sweet Home(wood)
Under head coach Janine Tucker, the Blue Jays are 87-43 (.669) within the friendly confines of Homewood Field. Hopkins will play eight regular season home games this season and will host the seventh annual American Lacrosse Conference Tournament.

Against the Monarchs
The Blue Jays and the Monarchs meet for the first time in women's lacrosse action.

Scouting the Monarchs
Old Dominion returns five starters and 10 letterwinners, including senior co-captain and preseason All-CAA selection Shelby Davis. She has started all 47 games in her career and has grabbed 61 ground balls, caused 25 turnovers and controlled 24 draws. The Monarchs lost four of their top five scorers from last season, which accounted for 107 of the team's 162 goals. Junior Emily Austerberry is the Monarch's returning leading scorer with 21 goals and 25 points last season. ODU is also looking to replace goalie Sarah Geary, who played all by 97 minutes in goal last season.

The Monarchs were selected to finish seventh in the CAA in a preseason vote of the coaches. Head coach Heather Holt returns for her second season after guiding ODU to a 4-13 record in her first campaign. Holt served as the interim head coach for the Lady Monarchs during the 2012 season after serving as an assistant coach for 12 seasons under Sue Stahl.

Lights, Camera, Action!
Hopkins will play a pair of games on national television this year. Hopkins will face Georgetown (March 13) and Penn State (April 21) on ESPNU.

Poll Position Part I
Johns Hopkins is ranked in both preseason polls as JHU is 19th in the IWLCA Coaches Poll and 17th in the deBeer Media Poll. The Blue Jays were ranked in the final nine polls of the season by the IWLCA, while they spent 10 weeks ranked in the deBeer poll in 2012.

Poll Position Part II
Eight of Hopkins' opponents this season are ranked in the IWLCA Coaches Preseason Poll, including top-five teams Northwestern and Florida.

Looking Back
Hopkins had an up and down season in 2012, culminating in an ALC Semifinals appearance. The Blue Jays finished the season with a 9-9 record, but with five wins over ranked teams and one of the toughest schedules in the nation, they just missed out on an NCAA Tournament berth. Sophomore Taylor D'Amore and seniors Alyssa Kildare and Colleen McCaffrey went on to earn All-ALC and IWLCA All-Region honors. D'Amore also broke the 15-year-old school single-season record with 74 draw controls.

Streaking
Four Blue Jays enter the 2013 season with active point, goal and assist streaks. Here's a look their streaks.

Sammy Cermack (Jr. • M):
• Has at least one point in 18 straight games
• Has at least one goal in 12 straight games

Taylor D'Amore (Jr. • A):
• Has at least one point in 21 straight games
• Has at least one assist in four straight games

Monica Fischer (Sr. • D):
• Has at least one point in two straight games
• Has at least one goal in two straight games

Sarah Taylor (Jr. • M):
• Has at least one point in two straight games
• Has at least one goal in two straight games

Climbing the Ranks
Several Blue Jays are making their move up the Johns Hopkins Division I record book. Here's a look at where they rank:

Taylor D'Amore (Jr. • A):
• Needs 7 points to rank 10th (has 120)
• Needs 3 goals to rank 15th and 14 to rank 14th (has 61)
• Needs 3 assists to rank 3rd and 32 to rank 2nd (has 59)
• Needs 15 draws to rank 4th (has 113)

KC Emerson (So. • GK)
• Needs 60 saves to rank 7th (has 60)

Cosette Larash (Sr. • GK)
• Needs 38 saves to rank 2nd (has 299)

Stars & Stripes
Junior Taylor D'Amore and 2008 graduate Lauren Schwarzmann were named to the 36-player roster for the 2012-14 United States women's national senior team in July. This is D'Amore's first turn with the national team, while Schwarzmann has been with the U.S. national team program since 2007. She spent three years with the U.S. Developmental Team before elevating to the Senior Team in 2010.

Since 2005, six different Blue Jays have played in teh U.S. national team program, including 2012 graduates Alyssa Kildare and Colleen McCaffrey.

At the Helm
The winningest coach in program history, Janine Tucker begins her 20th season as the head coach at Johns Hopkins in 2013. She sports a record of 210-113 (.650), including a 142-97 (.594) mark at the Division I level. Tucker took over the Blue Jay women's lacrosse program in August 1993 and coached five seasons in Division III before successfully guiding the program's transition to Division I in 1999.

A 1989 graduate of Loyola (MD) and a member of the Greyhounds Athletic Hall of Fame, Tucker led the Blue Jays to double-digit win totals in each of her first 14 seasons, including four NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, three ECAC Division I championship games, and the program's first three NCAA Division I Tournament appearances in 2004, 2005 and 2007. Tucker became the 14th coach in NCAA Division I history to reach 200 wins when JHU beat host UMBC, 12-7, on April 13, 2011.

Oh Captain, My Captain
Hopkins will be captained by senior Cosette Larash and juniors Sammy Cermack and Taylor D'Amore.

On Tap
Johns Hopkins returns to action on Wednesday, February 20 as the Blue Jays host Mount St. Mary's in non-conference action. The opening draw is scheduled for 4:00 pm at Homewood Field.