The Basics
• Scores:
#9 UC Davis-16, Johns Hopkins-2
 Johns Hopkins-12, Salem-10
• Records: JHU (1-1) • UCSD (1-0) • SU (0-1)
• Location: Annapolis, MD • Lejeune Hall
• The Short Story: After 636 days, the Johns Hopkins water polo team returned to action at the annual Navy Open. Hopkins split its matches, falling to ninth-ranked UC Davis and then topping Salem in the afternoon.
 
How it Happened • UC Davis
• The Aggies jumped out to a seven-goal lead in a run that spanned the opening 12 minutes of the game. The Blue Jays got on the board with 2:53 to play in the second quarter on a goal from senior Emerson Sullivan. UC Davis answered with six straight goals to push its lead to 13-1 with 7:25 remaining. Once again, it was Sullivan that ended the run, scoring his second of the afternoon. The Aggies would tack on three more in the final four and a half minutes to take the 16-2 win.
 
How it Happened • Salem
• Hopkins rebounded with a hard-fought two-goal win over Salem in the nightcap. Salem struck first, but a goals from sophomore Seth Berke and Sullivan less than two minutes apart put JHU up 2-1. The Tigers would convert a five-meter shot with just six seconds remaining in the opening quarter to knot the score at two.
• The teams traded goals to open the second and it was 3-3 when a strike from freshman Ian Raley sparked a five-goal Blue Jay run. That run spanned nearly five and a half minutes and bridged halftime. Sullivan and senior Jake Pearson fueled the run with two goals each.
• Petar Leontijevic ended the Hopkins' run with a goal at the 5:28-mark in the third quarter to make it an 8-4 game. That goal ignited a Salem run that used up more than 12 minutes and saw the Tigers pull within two with 1:10 to play. That would be as close as they would get however and the Blue Jays would grab their first win of the season.
 
What it Means
• Today's game was the first for Hopkins since December 8, 2019.
• Hopkins is now 0-2 against UC Davis and 13-5 all-time against Salem.
 
Inside the Box Score
• Sullivan finished with seven goals and two assists in the two games, including his third career game with at least five goals.
• Jake Pearson matched his career high with four points (2g, 2a) in the win over Salem. He also added four steals, four ejections drawn and a block in the two games.
• Berke and Raley each scored their first career goals, while sophomores Alastair Powers and Liam Housenbold each tallied their first career assists.
• Freshman Kyle Pearson made six saves in the first half versus UC Davis and added six saves in the second half of the win over Salem. Freshman Connor Mechelke turned in five saves against UC Davis and versus Salem.
 
Up Next
• Hopkins wraps up the weekend on Sunday with another tough opponent, 14^th-ranked Princeton. The Blue Jays and Tigers will meet at 11:45 am.