Jan. 17, 2014
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
The Johns Hopkins men's and women's basketball teams travel to Collegeville, PA on Saturday for a doubleheader versus Ursinus. The men will look to continue its climb up through the rankings of the Centennial Conference by sweeping the season series with Ursinus. On paper, the Bears, who fell 90-56 to the Blue Jays in November and who currently sit at 2-12 (0-7 in CC play), don't appear to be a major threat to JHU (7-7, 4-3 CC).
However, Ursinus features a trio of double-digit scorers in Ryan Adams (13.6 points per game), Trevor Norton (11.4 points), and Jesse Krasna (10.6 points). The Bears would like nothing more than to knock off an unsuspecting conference contender in front of their home crowd.
With those factors in play, the Blue Jays will have to limit the Bears' chances while looking to juniors George Bugarinovic and Jimmy Hammer to lead the way if the Jays want to topple the Bears in Helfferich Hall for the first time since 2007.
Tipoff is set for 3:00 p.m. ET.
The women, undefeated in CC play with an 8-0 record, currently sit one game above the rest of the pack - and a win could make their lead a little more stable. Acquiring a victory against the Bears will not be easy though.
Ursinus remains right in the thick of things with a CC record of 4-4 and overall record of 6-7 and has done it with the help of Jessica Porada. She has dominated around the rim so far this season, averaging 13.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. The Blue Jays will have to lock down the frontcourt and contain Porada if they are to bolster the buffer protecting their title hopes.
The game is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.
Johns Hopkins at Ursinus live stats & Video
Track
The Johns Hopkins women's track team was recently ranked sixth in Division III in the U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association's preseason poll.
On Saturday, the Blue Jays will make their first attempt at defending that ranking while competing in the Terrapin Indoor Invitational (held at the Prince George's Sports and Learning Complex).
The Blue Jays will face off against teams from host Maryland, as well as Christopher Newport, Howard, Delaware State, Morgan State and a host of other universities.
The men's team will also make the trip to Maryland for the meet with the hope of putting on a strong early season performance and building up momentum and confidence heading into February.
The meet is expected to run throughout the day.
Fencing
The Johns Hopkins men's and women's fencing teams will be in Virginia Beach, VA, from Friday to Monday to compete in the U.S. Fencing Association's North American Cup tournament.
The Cup, which will run throughout each of the days, should give the Blue Jays additional experience on a larger stage heading into higher profile competition at the Philadelphia Invitational and the NCAA Regional Championship.
Swimming
The Johns Hopkins men's and women's swimming teams will compete in back-to-back meets on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, Hopkins will race at St. Mary's of Maryland and on Saturday, the Blue Jays will face off against the Ducks of Stevens Tech, here in Baltimore. The meets should bolster the teams' experience and confidence heading into their biggest meets of the year.
Friday's competition is set to start at 3:00 p.m. ET and Saturday's at 11:00 a.m. ET
Johns Hopkins at St. Mary's Live Video
