April 15, 2014
2014 UMBC Notes
The Draw Johns Hopkins returns home for the middle game of a tough three games in five days stretch, that will see the Blue Jays play in three different states. Hopkins hosts UMBC in non-conference action at Homewood Field as the Jays are coming off a thrilling 12-11 double overtime win at Northwestern on Sunday. UMBC is coming off back-to-back wins at Columbia and home versus Vermont.
The Streak
The Blue Jays won their first 10 games to start the season, breaking the school Division I record set by the 2006 squad. That year, the Blue Jays started the season with eight straight wins before falling to Maryland and finishing the season with a 12-4 mark. The overall school record for wins to start the season was set by the 1994 team that went 16-0 before losing in the NCAA Division III Semifinals. The coach of that 1994 squad was Janine Tucker; it was her first season at Homewood.
For the Record
2014 marks the 39th season for Johns Hopkins, which sports an all-time record of 381-243-4 (.609) and a 163-106 (.606) record as a Division I program. The Blue Jays have posted 29 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).
Looking Back
Sophomore Dene' DiMartino scored a career-best and game-high five goals to lead Johns Hopkins to a 12-11 double overtime win at fifth-ranked Northwestern on Sunday. The win is Hopkins' first in Evanston and ends a five-game winless streak at NU. Hopkins' 11 wins so far this season are the most since 2007, when JHU won 12 games. Senior Taylor D'Amore controlled a team-high seven draws, classmate Sammy Cermack totaled four points (2g, 2a) and freshman Caroline Federico made a career-high nine saves in the win.
No Sophomore Slump
Sophomore middie Dene' DiMartino was named the ALC Rookie of the Year in 2013 after totaling 35 goals, 38 points, 23 ground balls, 47 draws and eight caused turnovers. She led all freshmen in the ALC in goals, points and draws and was second in ground balls. So far this season, DiMartino has surpassed her assist (6), point (41) and caused turnover (9) totals while matching her goal total (35) from a year ago.
At the Circle
Senior Taylor D'Amore became the program's all-time leader in draw controls on March 16 when her second draw of the day broke Kadie Stamper's all-time record of 203. D'Amore enters this week with 223 career draws and ranks fourth in the ALC in draws per game (3.54). She controlled seven draws in the win at Northwestern on Sunday, one shy of her career high and two shy of the school single-game record.
Poll Position
After its win at Northwestern on Sunday, Hopkins jumped six spots in the IWLCA Coaches Poll and is now seventh with 250 points. The Blue Jays also jumped three spots in the Inside Lacrosse/deBeer Media Poll and are ranked fifth with 141 points. In addition to the Blue Jays, five of their 2014 opponents are ranked in this week's IWLCA Top 20.
Century Club - Part I
Senior Sammy Cermack notched the 100th point of her career with her first goal on February 26. She is the 15th player in school Division I history to reach the mark and enters this week with 127 career points. Cermack joined classmate Taylor D'Amore, who currently has 267 career points, and they are the seventh set of teammates with at least 100 career points (see chart above). Senior Sarah Taylor is just four points shy of reaching the milestone as well as she enters this week with 96 career points.
Century Club - Part II
Senior Taylor D'Amore scored four goals on February 22 for her team-leading 15th career hat trick. Even more important, her third goal of the afternoon was the 100th of her career. She is the eighth player in school Division I history to reach the milestone and the first since Candace Rossi in 2012. D'Amore enters this week's action with 127 career goals.
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:
Sammy Cermack (Sr. ? M):
? Needs 8 points to rank 10th (has 127)
? Needs 1 goal to rank 14th and 5 to rank 13th (has 81)
? Needs 3 assists to rank 7th (has 46)
? Needs 1 draw to rank 7th, 2 to rank 6th and 36 to rank 5th (has 92)
Taylor D'Amore (Sr. ? A):
? Needs 116 points to rank 1st (has 267)
? Needs 3 goals to rank 5th (has 127)
? Needs 9 assists to tie school record (has 140)
? Needs 2 caused turnovers to rank 14th (has 45)
Dene' DiMartino (So. ? M):
? Needs 5 points to rank 19th (has 79)
? Needs 5 goals to rank 17th (has 70)
? Needs 10 draws to rank 10th (has 81)
KC Emerson (Jr. ? GK):
? Needs 13 saves to rank 6th (has 133)
Caroline Federico (Fr. ? GK):
? Needs 94 saves to rank 8th (has 26)
Sarah Taylor (Sr. ? M):
? Needs 13 points to rank 15th (has 96)
? Needs 4 points to reach 100 for her career (has 96)
? Needs 4 goals to rank 13th (has 82)
? Needs 5 draws to rank 19th (has 49)
200 and Counting
Senior Taylor D'Amore notched her 200th career point on February 15 to become just the fifth player in school Division I history to reach the milestone. She is also the 10th player all-time in school history to tally at least 200 points and the first to do since Mary Key in 2006. D'Amore currently ranks second in school Division I history, and third all-time, with 267 career points.
Against the Retrievers
Hopkins and UMBC meet for the 26th time in a series that dates back to 1976. The Retrievers dominated the series early on, going 11-3-2 against the Blue Jays between 1976 and 1998. Since the Blue Jays moved to Division I in 1999, they are 7-2 against the Retrievers. The last time the two met at Homewood, UMBC upset Hopkins, 7-6. UMBC scored the final two goals and held JHU scoreless for the final 16:36 of the game.
Scouting the Retrievers
Kristen Bilney and Alyssa Semones led the team with 20 goals apiece, while Abby Wilson has a team-best 26 points on 16 goals and 10 helpers. Bilney also leads the team in draws (24) and Semones has a team-best 33 ground balls and 13 caused turnovers. Rachel Benzing has registered a point in nine of her 12 appearances, including four multi assist games, and leads the team with 16 helpers on the year. Goalkeeper Anna Barnett returned to the starting lineup at Columbia on April 9 after missing three games and has an 8.77 goals against average and a .461 save percentage.
We're Streaking! Part I
Five Blue Jays carry active point, goal and/or assist streaks into Wednesday's game. Here's a look their streaks.
Maddy Aldave (So. ? A/M):
? Has at least one point in 2 straight games
? Has at least one goal in 2 straight games
Sammy Cermack (Sr. ? M):
? Has at least one point in 12 straight games
? Has at least one goal in 5 straight games
? Has at least one assist in 2 straight games
Jen Cook (So. ? A):
? Has at least one point in 9 straight games
Taylor D'Amore (Sr. ? A):
? Has at least one point in 51 straight games
? Has at least one goal in 16 straight games
Dene' DiMartino (So. ? M):
? Has at least one point in 9 straight games
We're Streaking! Part II
Senior Taylor D'Amore's point streak of 51 games is the second longest streak in school Division I history. It is the longest streak by a Blue Jay since Mary Key tallied at least one point in a school-record 70 straight games from 2004 to 2007. D'Amore has also tallied at least one assist in each of her last 21 games, the longest streak in JHU DI history.
We are Family
Freshman midfielder Haley Schweizer is following in the footsteps of sister Courtney, who played four years for the Blue Jays and graduated in May. The Schweizers are the ninth pair of sisters to don the Columbia Blue & Black. Haley is not the only freshman to follow in the footsteps of a family member however, as goalie Caroline Federico is the daughter of Mike Federico `80. Mike was a three-time First Team All-American and National Goalie of the Year while helping the JHU men's lacrosse team to three straight NCAA championships (1978, 1979, 1980).
Home Sweet Home(wood)
Under head coach Janine Tucker, the Blue Jays are 99-48 (.673) within the friendly confines of Homewood Field. After playing seven of its first nine games at home, Hopkins will play just three games at Homewood in the final seven weeks of the regular season. Wednesday's game marks Hopkins' penultimate home game as JHU will play at Penn State and at Old Dominion before hosting Ohio State in both teams' regular season finale on April 26.
Tewaaraton Watch List
Senior Taylor D'Amore has been named to the 2014 Tewaaraton Award Watch List it was announced on February 27. She is one of 51 women's lacrosse players named to the list by the Tewaaraton Foundation, which selected the players from all three divisions of the NCAA. The Tewaaraton Award annually honors the top male and top female college lacrosse player in the United States. Additions to the list were announced on March 20 and April 10. On April 24, the field will be narrowed to 25 men's and 25 women's nominees. Five men's and five women's finalists will be announced on May 8 and will be invited to the May 29 ceremony in Washington, DC.
I'm Honored
Senior attack Taylor D'Amore was named a preseason First Team All-American by Inside Lacrosse. Last season, she was named a Second Team IWLCA All-American after finishing the season ranked fifth in the nation in assists per game (2.88), 10th in points per game (4.59) and 29th in draws per game (3.76). D'Amore, along with sophomore Dene' DiMartino have been named ALC Preseason Players to Watch. DiMartino is the reigning ALC Rookie of the Year after finishing 2013 with 35 goals, 38 points, 23 ground balls and 47 draws.
Lights, Camera, Action!
The Blue Jays have three television games on their schedule this season, including a pair slated for ESPNU. Hopkins defeated fifth-ranked Loyola, 6-5, on ESPNU on February 26 and will host Ohio State (Apr. 26) on ESPNU and will face Penn State (Apr. 18) on the Big Ten Network. The Blue Jays are 8-18 in games played on tv.
On the World Stage Part I
Two current and one former member of the Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team were in action at the 2013 FIL World Cup in Oshawa, Ontario this past July in seniors Taylor D'Amore and Sarah Taylor and 2010 graduate Kim Dubansky. D'Amore was an alternate for the U.S. Women's National Team, which won its seventh world championship. In January, she was selected to the 36-player roster for the ninth annual Champion Challenge.
Taylor suited up for England, which advanced to the Bronze Medal game before falling to Australia. Dubansky served as team captain of Israel, which was playing in its first world championship. Israel advanced to the seventh place game, but was forced to forfeit due to the game being played on the Sabbath.
Since 2005, six different Blue Jays have played with the U.S. National Team program. In addition to D'Amore, Alyssa Kildare `12, Colleen McCaffrey `12, Angela Hughes `10, Lauren Schwarzmann `08 and Mary Key `07 have all worn the Red, White & Blue.
On the World Stage Part II
On February 5, assistant coach Steele Stanwick was named to the U.S. Men's National Team 30-man roster for the 2014 FIL World Championship in Denver. The team was selected following a tryout process that included 98 players and spanned seven months. The 2014 FIL World Championship is scheduled for July 10-19.
At the Helm
The winningest coach in program history, Janine Tucker is in her 21st season as the head coach at Johns Hopkins. She sports a record of 231-122 (.654), including a 163-106 (.605) 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 has led the Blue Jays to double-digit win totals in 17 of her 21 years on the bench. She has also guided Hopkins to 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
Seniors Taylor D'Amore and Sammy Cermack will captain the Blue Jays for the second straight season. They are just the third set of classmates to serve as captains for two seasons, joining Brianna Cronin & Brooke Lipinski (2010, 2011) and Liz Davis & Heather Klink (1987, 1988).
On Tap
Hopkins wraps up a tough week on Friday, April 18 as the Jays travel to Happy Valley to take on 12th-ranked Penn State. Opening draw at Jeffrey Field is slated for 6:05 pm.
