Water Polo secures playoff spot at CWPA

The Hopkins water polo team entered the CWPA Southern Championship this past weekend with the common goal of securing a spot in the CWPA Championship. With four matches on their plate, the Jays finished a solid 2-2. They started out hot for the weekend, knocking off George Washington and Salem International, their first two opponents, but fell in the semi-finals and the third-place matchup to Princeton and Navy. The first match of the weekend pitted Hopkins against beltway rival George Washington. Freshman Conor Hehir got the Jays off to a fast start with two quick goals in the first quarter. In the second, however, GW tied the game at five each with a little under five to play. With the game tied, Hopkins came roaring back and responded with five goals of its own, and the score stood at 10-5 in the third. In the end, Hopkins was too much for the Colonials, and the Jays took the match 16-11. Senior Johnny Beal was the engine behind the Hopkins machine that day, chipping in six goals and three assists. Sophomore Matt Fraser had himself a hat trick, and junior goalie Erik Henrikson made eight saves for the Jays. Game two of the weekend featured the Jays facing off against Salem International. Although close at first, the Jays flexed their muscle during one particular 10-minute span that saw them take control of the match. With the game knotted at two, Hopkins caught a hot hand. Nine goals later, Hopkins was sitting comfortably with an 11-2 lead. Coming out of the half, Hopkins kept pouring it on Salem International. With a 9-2 second half, the Jays kept control of the match to win 20-6. Freshman Jono Gillette led the scoring charge for the Jays with four goals, while fellow freshman Ryan Greenwald contributed with a hat trick. In total, 11 different Blue Jays scored goals in the match. The win versus Salem International propelled Hopkins into the semi-finals to face a formidable opponent: the Princeton Tigers. Princeton, the ninth-ranked team in the nation, jumped out to a hot start right from the get-go. The Tigers notched the first three goals of the match to take a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. With less than a minute left in the first half, Hopkins got on the board to cut the lead to two heading into the second frame. The second quarter was largely uneventful, with the teams' defenses showing their muscle. Princeton came out of the quarter with the only goal and took a 4-1 lead into the second half. With just over a minute to play in the second half, Hopkins chipped away at the Princeton lead and made it a 4-3 match. However, Princeton answered back with three goals of their own early in the fourth, and their lead stood at four. Senior Wes Hopkins and Gillette did their part to cut into the lead, each scoring a goal to make it a 7-5 match. However, Princeton notched one more goal that proved to be the end for Hopkins in the match. When the game was finally over, the Tigers were in the win column with an 8-6 victory. With the loss to Princeton, Hopkins was set to face a familiar opponent in the third place matchup: Navy. Unfortunately for the Jays, the Mids proved to be too much, and they lost 11-10 in a hard fought match. Coming out of the first half trailing 6-4, Hopkins was able to cut that lead to one heading into the fourth at a score of 9-8. Junior Langdon Froomer came up clutch for the Jays, tying the match at nine with 4:45 to play. Hopkins and Navy then traded goals for the next minute, and the match stood at 10 all with 3:47 to play. However, Navy was able to take the lead and hold onto it, winning the match 11-10. The fourth-place finish was a positive, though, as it was their best finish at the CWPA Southern Championship since 2011. After the matches, Henrikson shared his thoughts. “Well, I think we had a really great tournament,” he said. “Ultimately, we placed fourth for the tournament, which gives us the seventh seed going into playoffs. Our team seems to really be clicking well right now, and I am excited for Easterns weekend. It should be a great tournament for Hopkins water polo.” With the fourth place finish, Hopkins will head to the CWPA Championship at the Naval Academy, Nov. 21-23. The team hopes to carry this positive momentum forward as they prepare for another big tournament.