Box Score The Basics
• Scores: #7 MIT-20, #5 Johns Hopkins-13
• Records: JHU (11-23), MIT (12-15)
• Location: Slade Aquatic Center • Whittier, CA
• The Short Story: In a rematch of this year's CWPA Division III Championship, it was MIT that came out on top, beating Johns Hopkins in the inaugural USA Water Polo Division III National Championship Sunday morning.
 
How it Happened
The teams traded goals in just a 13-second span in the game's opening minute in what turned out to be a high-scoring first quarter. MIT then took the lead on a Christian Schillinger goal at the 6:54-mark. Hopkins answered with a goal from sophomore Jayden Kunwar to knot the score.
    Just 39 seconds later, Schillinger scored again to spark a four-goal run that saw the Engineers push out to a 6-2 lead. Freshman Chris Freese ended the run with a man-up goal with 55 seconds remaining in the quarter. But MIT had the final say of the quarter and took a 7-3 lead into the second.
    Sophomore Emerson Sullivan opened the second-quarter scoring with an advantage goal, but MIT answered with a pair to push out to a 9-4 lead. Sullivan and junior Stephen Schmidt scored back-to-back goals to pull Hopkins back within three with 3:40 to play in the second. Clyde Huibregtse got one back for the Engineers but Sullivan answered with his third of the period and it was 10-7 MIT at the half.
    The Engineers scored three straight to open the third quarter to push their lead to 13-7 at the midway point. Sullivan and senior Finn Banks combined to score three straight for the Blue Jays as Hopkins pulled back within three heading into the fourth.
    Schmidt then scored on the advantage just 30 seconds into the fourth to make it a two-goal game. MIT came back with a pair to take a 15-11 lead before a Banks' goal at the 5:25-mark. Once again, the Engineers answered, scoring three straight to push their lead to six with under two minutes to play to secure the win.
 
What it Means
• Hopkins falls to 30-12 all-time against MIT, with neither team winning back-to-back games since 2015.
 
Inside the Box Score
• Banks led the Blue Jays with six points (3g, 3a) in his final collegiate game. With his first assist of the morning, he broke the program's single-season assist record and finished the year with 71. He also totaled 141 points (70g, 71a) – the second most in school history. Banks was named to the All-Tournament Team with eight points (3g, 5a) in the two games.
• Banks finishes his career ranked in the top-10 in school history in points (349), goals (200), assists (145) and ejections drawn (133). He is just the seventh player in program history with 300 points and 200 goals in his career.
• Sullivan scored a team-best four goals and added an assist and three ejections drawn. Junior Jake Pearson tied his career high with three assists while also grabbing three steals. Kunwar scored twice and drew two ejections. Junior Max Fleming made nine saves and handed out an assist in the goal.