The Basics
• Scores: #2 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps-15, #5 Johns Hopkins-10
• Records: JHU (7-22) • CMS (17-11)
• Location: Claremont, CA • Haldeman Pool
• The Short Story: Second-ranked Claremont-Mudd-Scripps used strong first and third quarters to beat the Johns Hopkins water polo team, 15-10, in the USA Water Polo Division III Semifinals Saturday afternoon.
 
How it Happened
• The Stags jumped out to a three-goal lead over the game's first six and a half minutes. Sophomore Seth Berke got the Blue Jays on the board with a six-on-five goal with 54 seconds to go in the opening quarter.
• The second started much the same as the first, with four unanswered CMS goals as the Stags pushed out to a 7-1 lead with 4:27 to play in the half. Sophomore Liam Housenbold ended the run with back-to-back goals, just 99 seconds apart. Graduate student Olin Shipstead then scored a man-up goal with just two ticks on the clock to make it a 7-4 game at the break.
• Senior Jayden Kunwar opened the third quarter with a five-meter goal to pull the Blue Jays within two at the 6:18-mark. The Stags responded with a 5-1 run to grab a 12-6 lead after three quarters.
• Senior Emerson Sullivan, who was seeing his first action in more than a month, scored just 19 seconds into the fourth. CMS answered with a pair of goals to push its lead to 14-7 at the 5:23-mark. Housenbold scored on a six-on-five, but the Stags answered with one of their own and it was a 15-8 game with 3:18 to play. Sophomore Paul Gensbigler converted on a Blue Jay' man-up, followed by another strike from Sullivan and the deficit was down to five just 62 seconds later. But that's as close as the Blue Jays could get.  
 
What it Means
• Hopkins falls to 7-10 all-time against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, including 0-2 in the USA Water Polo National Championship.
 
Inside the Box Score
• Housenbold led the Blue Jays with a game and career-high four goals and five points. Sullivan (2g, 1a), Shipstead (1g, 1a), Kunwar (1g, 2a) and Chris Freese (2a) also had multi-point games.
• Kunwar extends his point-scoring streak to 19 games. Sullivan moved into a tie for 21^st in JHU history with 180 career points.
• Senior Jake Pearson had a pair of steals and is now tied for 15^th with 117 career steals. Shipstead drew two ejections and moved into a tie for seventh in program history with 119.
• Freshman Kyle Pearson finished with 13 saves, his 12^th double-digit save performance of the season. He boasts 259 saves on the season, second most by a freshman in Johns Hopkins history.
 
Up Next
• Hopkins will take on eighth-ranked MIT in the third-place match on Sunday, December 5. The game is slated for an 11:00 am PST start at Haldeman Pool.