The Basics
• Scores:
#7 Redlands-14, #8 Johns Hopkins-12
#4 Whittier-14, #8 Johns Hopkins-10
• Records: JHU (1-11) • UR (3-14) • WC (6-8)
• Location: Claremont, CA • Haldeman Pool • Axelrood Pool
• The Short Story: The Johns Hopkins water polo team closed it outs California trip with a pair of tough losses to Redlands and Whittier on Saturday.
 
How it Happened • Redlands
• The Bulldogs jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter but the Blue Jays responded with a big second quarter. Junior Chris Freese got things going with a man-up goal just 10 seconds into the quarter and senior Jake Pearson scored 55 seconds later and just like that it was a two-goal game.
• Austin Galanski scored back-to-back goals for Redlands in a 90-second span to push its lead to 6-2. Senior Jayden Kunwar scored with 1:56 to go in the half to spark a run that saw the Blue Jays score four goals in just 61 seconds to knot the score at six heading into the half. Freshman Ian Raley followed Kunwar's goal with a pair and then senior Emerson Sullivan cashed in on a man-up chance with 15 ticks on the clock.
• The Bulldogs came out firing in the third quarter, outscoring the Blue Jays 4-0 in the stanza to take a 10-6 lead into the final quarter.
• The teams traded goals over the first 3:20 of the fourth and Redlands' lead was 12-8. Sullivan then scored two goals in a 23-second span to pull JHU within two with 2:32 to play. Spencer Clinton then sandwiched a pair of goals around  a strike from sophomore Cameron Burns and the Bulldogs led 14-12. Sullivan scored to cut the deficit in half but with just five seconds remaining, that's as close as Hopkins could get.
 
How it Happened • Whittier
• Sophomore Alastair Powers opened the scoring at the 6:20-mark in the first quarter, but it was quickly answered by the Poets. Freese scored less than a minute later to spark a three-goal Hopkins run that saw the Jays go up 4-1 with 3:28 to play in the first.
• Whittier answered with a three-goal run of its own, that spanned into the second quarter, and tied the game at four. Sophomore Seth Berke and Sullivan sandwiched goals around one from Ricardo Reyes, Jr. to put the Blue Jays up 6-5 with 1:28 to play in the half. Reyes, Jr. would answer for the Poets and the teams were tied after two.
• After swapping scores to open the third quarter, Whittier erupted for seven straight goals in a run that bridged the third and fourth quarters. Eric Borunda capped the run with 5:11 to play in the game with the Poets leading 14-7. Graduate student Olin Shipstead halted the run with back-to-back goals, followed by a score from Berke with 37 seconds left to make it a 14-10 game.
 
Inside the Box Score
• Sullivan led the Blue Jays with five goals and six points, along with two steals, against the Bulldogs. Jake Pearson grabbed nine steals, to go with two points, three ejections drawn and three blocks. His nine steals are believed to be a school record.
• Freese (2g, 1a), Kunwar (1g, 1a), Raley (2g) and sophomore Paul Gensbigler (1g, 1a) all had multi-point games versus Redlands. Freshman Connor Mechelke finished with seven saves and three steals in the cage.
• Against Whittier, Sullivan, Berke and Shipstead led Hopkins with two goals each. Sullivan also handed out a pair of assists and drew two ejections. Shipstead added an assist and two steals and sophomore Liam Housenbold notched two points  (1g, 1a).
• Sullivan moves into 25^th place in school history with 123 career goals. Pearson now ranks 23^rd with 78 career steals and is seventh with 29 career blocks.
• Freshman Kyle Pearson finished with seven saves in the cage against the Poets.
 
Up Next
•  Hopkins returns to action on Saturday, October 16 against Navy. The Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference contest is scheduled for a 10:00 am start.