The Hopkins men’s and women’s track & field teams competed this past weekend in both the Penn Relays and the Shippensburg Invitational events. On Friday, the team sent runners to Philadelphia, PA for the prestigious Penn Relays, before joining the rest of the team in Shipensburg, PA on Saturday for the Invitationl.

As Hopkins athletes- -one current (Ryan) one prior (Nicole), The News- Letter sports writers, and all-around sports enthusiasts, we have chosen to dedicate our last column to two Top 10 Sports Moments lists: one list for the past four y e a r s - - o u r college years- -and one for the next four y e a r s - -y o u r college years.

In the team’s final week of the regular season, the Hopkins baseball team played a whopping five games in three days against Haverford, Muhlenberg, and Salisbury. Against Haverford this past Saturday, Hopkins lost both games in a double- header match up that featured a steady dose of both offense and defense.

The Hopkins women’s lacrosse team scored an impressive win at home on a day dedicated to the nine seniors on the roster. Fittingly, it was the seniors who took control of the game to lead the Blue Jays to a 12-9 victory over 13thranked Ohio State in the last game of both teams’ regular season slates.

The Hopkins men’s lacrosse team got back on track this weekend as they edged #1 and previously undefeated Loyola University 10-9 in overtime. Sophomore Rob Guida was the driving force behind the Jays handing their Charles Street rivals. He not only netted the first goal of the game, but also the last, decisive tally en route to his first career hat trick, earning him The News-Letter’s Athlete of the Week.

The eighth-ranked Hopkins women’s tennis team won a pair of Centennial Conference victories this past weekend to push them into the NCAA tournament for the sixth year in a row. The Lady Jays hosted the tournament, facing Haverford on Saturday and Swarthmore on Sunday to capture the title.

The Hopkins men’s tennis team is rolling on to the NCAA Tournament. On Sunday, the 16th-ranked team captured their sixth straight Centennial Conference crown and seventh in the last eight years by defeating 27th-ranked S w a r t h - more, 5-1. F r e s h m a n Erick Lim secured the c hampionship for H o p k i n s with his win at sixth-singles: “It was an exciting experience.

The Charles Street rivalry could not have played out more dramatically than it did this past Saturday. The Blue Jays achieved an emotional victory over the top-ranked Loyola Greyhounds after an exciting back-and-forth between the two lacrosse giants.

As the regular season comes to a close, the longawaited NBA playoffs are finally here. After a lockout over the new collective bargaining agreement delayed the start of the regular season and resulted in a shortened 66-game season, fans can now look ahead to what should be as exciting a playoff picture as any in years.

The Hopkins baseball team took on the Washington College Shoremen this past Friday before battling the Eagles of the University of Mary Washington at Homewood Field on Tuesday. Hopkins squeezed by the Shoremen on Friday, 3-2, and knocked down the Eagles, 8-3.

If winning nine of their last ten matches wasn’t enough, the women’s tennis team has made a habit to win their games emphatically. Eight of those wins have come in the form of 9-0 sweeps. This past Sunday was no exception for the Lady Jays who notched two 9-0 wins against Bryn Mawr and Mary Washington to send Hopkins into the postseason.

Head coach Missy Doherty of the 10th ranked Penn State Nittany Lions earned her 100th win, defeating a visiting Hopkins on Saturday night by a score of 12-9. Penn State upped their overall regular season record to 11-4 and 3-2 in the final game of their American Lacrosse Conference slate.

Before junior second baseman Adam Weiner stepped up to the plate this past Friday against Washington College, he had never hit a home run before. The Newark, DE native came up with one out and the score tied at two in the bottom of the ninth inning when he proceeded to send a high fastball way over the left field fence — much to the amazement of the crowd, the Blue Jays and himself.

While the rest of the Hopkins population was indulging in Spring Fair activities, the Hopkins men’s tennis team was hard at work capping off another undefeated Centennial Conference regular season. They also finished a weekend sweep with three wins. On Saturday, the Blue Jays swept a double header from Centennial foe Washington College and Eastern Shore rival Salisbury University.

The men on the Hopkins lacrosse team are frustrated. Pissed, is more like it. The Blue Jays are itching for another opportunity to showcase their true talents and bury this current losing business. After racing out to a 8-0 start, and an appropriate USILA (United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association) numberone ranking slapped on their back, Hopkins has stumbled.

This past week proved to be tumultuous for Hopkins’ men’s and women’s track and field teams. On Friday Apr, 20 both teams participated in the Widener Invitational held in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Invitational brought together schools from all over the East, including many division I teams such as University of Pennsylvania, Villanova and the Naval Academy.

Aside from a single loss to Gettysburg College late last week, the Hopkins baseball team has continued its torrid season as the Jays went 4-1 in the past week to improve to 21-9-2 on the season and 11-2 in Centennial Conference play. In the team's lone loss of the week, the Bullet's offense in the first inning was all the team would need to snap a 12-game losing streak against the Blue Jays at Homewood.

Through less than one round of NHL playoff action, senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan has already levied out nine suspensions and two fines for a total of 16 games lost and $15,000 lost in checks. To put those numbers into perspective: the entire 2011 playoffs yielded just seven suspensions in total.

Hopkins men’s tennis, currently ranked 16th in the country by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), won a pair of critical matchups this past week. The Blue Jays, now 11-4 overall, remained undefeated in the Centennial Conference with a convincing 9-0 win over Muhlenberg on Saturday.

For The News-Letter Athlete of the Week, sophomore Alex Jebb has found quick success in all facets of the Hopkins experience. As a triple-jump participant and Biomedical Engineering major, Jebb has challenged himself to the fullest ever since stepping onto campus two Fall seasons ago.

The Hopkins women’s tennis team traveled to Allentown PA, to take on- Muhlenberg. In this Centennial Conference matchup the Blue Jays took no time getting off to an early lead. The Jays swept the doubles matches, taking an early 3-0 lead on the day. The Blue Jays did not lose a single match in doubles play, going 8-0 in each of the three.

The Northwestern Wildcats women’s lacrosse team is not only the perennially top-ranked team in the nation, but also the defending NCAA champions. The Blue Jays understood the importance of this matchup in their quest to put the team back on the map towards a n a t i o n a l title after an already successful season.

The third ranked Blue Jays suffered only their second hiccup of the season Saturday, and had their 12-game home-winning streak snapped, falling to Maryland, 9-6 in front of a sold-out throng of 8,500 at Homewood Field. The ninth-ranked Terps began their torrid comeback at the nine minute mark in the third quarter, scoring the final six goals of the game, including a remarkable four scores by junior attackman Owen Blye.

The Hopkins women's tennis team entered last Saturday’s match against Washington College as the eighth-ranked team in the nation, and they once again did not disappoint. The Lady Jays routed the visiting Shorewomen, winning all nine matches. The 9-0 Centennial Conference victory helped the Jays improve to 5-0 in the conference and 8-4 overall.

Now the real fun begins. The long slog that culminates with sixteen wins and the grand prize of Lord Stanley's Cup started last night, Wednesday, Apr. 11. S i x t e e n teams, eight different matchups, one paramount goal. This is the most exciting time of the year — playoff hockey.

This past weekend, the Hopkins men’s and women’s outdoor track teams traveled to Millersville, PA to take part in the Millersville Metrics & Combined Events Challenge where they faced off against some of the best Division II and III teams the nation had to offer.

The women’s tennis team has competed against — and beaten — some of the country’s top Division III talents in recent weeks. The Blue Jays feel as strong as ever in their pursuit of their sixth consecutive Centennial Conference championship and first national title.

This past Saturday, the Hopkins men’s tennis team recorded its fourth shutout of the season, downing Haverford 9-0 and improving to 6-0 in the conference. With only five matches left before the Centennial Conference Tournament, Hopkins sits at the top of the conference standings.

The third-ranked Hopkins men’s lacrosse team notched their 12th straight home victory last Thursday, Apr. 5, downing the Albany Great Danes, 17-6, to improve to 9-1 on the season. Just four days after their first loss of the year against North Carolina, the Blue Jays rebounded nicely with 11 different players scoring goals and 14 players tallying at least one point in the convincing win.

This past Thursday, the Hopkins baseball team traveled to Westminster, MD, to take on McDaniel for the second time this season. Beating the Green Terror in their previous meeting, the Jays were looking to complete the season sweep. In a dramatic and thrilling ninthinning finish, the Blue Jays did just that.

The Hopkins men’s tennis team placed no doubt in opponents’ minds that they are poised for their seventh straight conference title this season. Now ranked 16th in the National Division III polls, Head coach Jamie Engle’s team has won three straight matches.

The 2012 Major League Baseball season began last week in Tokyo, and every team will play its first game by this Friday. With this in mind, it’s time to roll out The News-Letter’s annual MLB preview. A year ago, I picked the Red Sox over the Brewers in the World Series, harping on their respective off-season additions as the keys to what I thought would be their 2011 title runs.

The Hopkins women’ s track and field team traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina to partake in the Raleigh Relays this past Friday. Sophomore Holly Clarke and freshman Hannah Eckstein represented the Blue Jays in the event. Clarke and Eckstein placed 10th and 14th in the 10,000-meter event.

The Hopkins women’s lacrosse team hit the road to Nashville, Tennessee to take on the 15th ranked Commodores of Vanderbilt University in American Lacrosse Conference action. The 19th ranked Lady Blue Jays came into town fresh off a 9-8 nail-biting win against the Tigers of Princeton University.

Standing at six-foot-six, senior right-handed pitcher Alex Eliopoulos has been a towering force all season long for the Hopkins baseball team. Named as a preseason second team All-American by d3baseball. com and a top 10 Division III prospect by PerfectGame.

The Blue Jays bested the McDaniel Green Terror this past Tuesday, achieving a 9-5 victory, the result of a combination of strong Hopkins play, as well as several McDaniel errors. The Blue Jays have moved to 13-8-2 on the season, and 4-1 in the Centennial as the Blue Jays enter their second week of Conference play.

With wins over then number-five Syracuse and top-ranked Virginia in the past week, the Hopkins men’s lacrosse team grabbed the number one spot in both the InsideLacrosse/Nike Media Poll and the Coaches Poll for the 104th time in program history. However, the dynamic University of North Carolina attack, led by freshman standout Jimmy Bitter, was relentless against a Hopkins defense that perhaps was poised for a letdown after two emotional victories the previous week.

In the past few months, the Hopkins women’s tennis team has faced many formidable opponents including top ranked Williams, Tufts and Emory. While the Lady Jays did face several difficult matches and a few defeats, they have become a formidable team themselves, recently moving to the eighth spot in the Division III rankings.

The men’s tennis team traveled country-wide over spring break to take on seven teams in the span of a week, six of which are ranked in the top 30 in the nation. The team opened play in Claremont, Calif., at the Stag Hen Invitational, taking on 18th-ranked Claremont Mudd Scripps and 11th-ranked Washington University on March 16th and March 17th, respectively.

The Hopkins women’s tennis team began Centennial Conference play on Saturday, Mar. 17th against Haverford. This marked the beginning of the Blue Jays’ conference championship title. With that in mind, the Jays wanted to make a statement and did just that, dominating the Fords, 8-1.

In her four-year career swimming for the Hopkins Blue Jays, senior Elizabeth Rogers has recorded a lengthy list of accolades, one that includes 18 all- America honors and seven school records. While these accomplishments are certainly enough to satisfy Rogers, we decided to add one more by recognizing her as this week’s Athlete of the Week.

Both the men’s and women’s swimming teams set new school records over the past week at the 2012 NCAA Swimming & Diving Championships in Indianapolis, IN. On the men’s side of the pool, all nine Blue Jays who competed at the championships received All-American honors.

The Hopkins women’s basketball team opened play in the annual NCAA Division III playoff tournament on Friday, Mar. 2nd. The Blue Jays travelled to Medford, MA to take on first round opponent, University of New England. In a game that came down to the final seconds, the Lady Jays held off the Nor’easters and advanced to the second round of the tournament.

Two members of the Hopkins women’s indoor track and field team, sophomore Holly Clarke and freshman Hannah Eckstein traveled to Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa this weekend to compete in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Both women were selected to run in the 5,000 meter event last Saturday night.

Hopkins lady lacrosse posted its second consecutive victory over a top-25 ranked team on Wednesday night when the Jays powered past 15th-ranked Georgetown, 16-12, in Washington, D.C. The Blue Jays improved to 5-2 on the year, while Georgetown, who had previously played two top-five opponents, slipped to 2-3.

The 13th ranked Hopkins men’s tennis team took on their most daunting opponent of the young Spring season this past Sunday. Fifth ranked North Carolina Wesleyan College traveled to Homewood campus to challenge the Blue Jays, only to be defeated 6-3, becoming the highest ranked opponent Hopkins has ever beaten.

Why live more than a mile high when you can live less than a mile from the beach. As the clock is ticking on Peyton’s decision to pick his next team to play for — which should take less than a week as he has stated — teams are starting to drop out of the race while the Dolphins have held their position from the beginning.

The Hopkins Blue Jay baseball team looked to take their victory over York last Wednesday into the weekend and beginning half of this week in order to gain some momentum before their annual spring break trip to Arizona. However, the past three games did not end exactly how the Blue Jays had planned.

It is no surprise to fans and opponents alike that the Hopkins men’s lacrosse team is off to a great start. With a huge win over UMBC this past weekend in the annual Konica- Minolta Face- Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium, 12-5, the Blue Jays further displayed their dominance in the Division I lacrosse scene, imroving their record to 6-0.

The Hopkins men’s and women’s fencing teams have each had very impressive seasons thus far, both earning spots in last Saturday’s NCAA Mid- Atlantic Regional at Lafayette College. The regional marked the end of the 2011-2012 season for both the men’s and women’s squads, despite the valiant effort made by both teams.

Following their success at the Centennial Conference championships, Hopkins wrestling continued to impress. Freshman Paul Bewak and junior Reid Mosquera finished seventh and eighth, respectively, at the 2012 NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships this past weekend in La Crosse, WI.

The second-ranked Hopkins men’s lacrosse team continued its regular season dominance with a convincing 12-5 victory over the UMBC Retrievers this past Saturday afternoon. The Jays made the four-mile trek to M&T Bank Stadium to play in the sixth annual Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic, in front of a crowd of 17,138.

The second-ranked men’s lacrosse team held off a late surge by the 12thranked Princeton Tigers on Friday, besting them 10-8, before shutting out Manhattan at home, on Tuesday, 11-0. Hopkins remains unbeaten and improved their record to 5-0. Hopkins has now won 12 straight regular season games dating back to last year.

What do Valentine’s day, Mardi Gras and March Madness all have in common? If you said, “they’re all on Tuesday,” you’re probably missing the point. It’s hard to explain the excitement consistently generated by each of these quasi-holidays, but it is essentially ineffectual to even try.

As any Hopkins affiliate knows, the academics at JHU are rigorous, intensive and time consuming. It would not be an exaggeration to say that a typical daily schedule comprises of sleeping, eating, studying and then repeating the aforementioned activities (sometimes without the sleep).

The Hopkins women’s tennis team traveled to Greencastle, IN this past weekend to compete in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship. The competing teams were Denison University, Claremont- Mudd-Scripps Colleges, Washington University, University of Chicago, Washington & Lee University, Carnegie Mellon University, DePauw University and Hopkins.

The Hopkins women’s lacrosse team entered this week’s action riding a three game winning streak, breezing to wins by margins of at least ten goals in their early season contests. However, the Lady Jays ran into some stiff competition against the 11th-ranked Greyhounds of Loyola University (MD) and Stony Brook, dropping a pair of closely contested games in the friendly confines of Homewood Field.

The Hopkins’ baseball team went 1-1 at home versus Messiah and Rutgers- Newark this weekend before kicking off three weeks on the road. The team will play five away games on the East Coast before heading to Phoenix, AZ for their spring trip. The Blue Jays went 1-1 away as well, falling to 13th-ranked Rowan in Glassboro, NJ on Tuesday before defeating York College in Pennsylvania on Wednesday.

Blue Jays baseball remains unbeaten in its last seven season-openers after their game on Feb. 27th against 10th-ranked Alvernia, albeit in a rather unconventional fashion. The game was ended at 7-7 after the end of the ninthinning due to darkness, notching Head coach Bob Babb’s 11th career tie, one of only 25 in all of Hopkins baseball history.

One of the best seasons in recent years for the Hopkins men’s basketball team came to an end last Wednesday night, Feb. 22nd, as the Blue Jays dropped a Centennial Conference tournament first round game to Washington College by a score of 56-53. The loss, however, should not overshadow what was an extremely successful season for the Blue Jays.

After a comfortable 12-6 win against Towson was followed by a very tight 8-6 victory against Delaware, the Hopkins men’s lacrosse team looked to find more consistency against Siena College this past Saturday at Homewood Field. Hopkins opened with a great first quarter, dominating time of possession against the Saints en route to a 3-1 lead through the first 15 minutes.

Our spring sports previews conclude this week with Hopkins’ men’s and women’s tennis squads. Women’s Tennis The Lady Jays will enter the 2012 season as the perennial favorite in the Centennial Conference, coming off of their fifth consecutive conference title.

Following impressive double-digit victories against George Mason and Mount St. Mary’s, the Hopkins women’s lacrosse team squared off against Denver in their home opener this past Friday afternoon. For the fans at Homewood Field, the Blue Jays did not disappoint, tallying a season-high of 20 goals to defeat the Pioneers, 20- 5.

This past Sunday, Feb. 24th, the Hopkins men’s and women’s fencing teams headed to New York City to compete in one of the season’s toughest competitions: the U.S. Weapon Squad Championship. Going into the tournament, the Blue Jay fencers knew that they would have to bring their A-game if they hoped to defeat any of the highly ranked teams they were expected to face.

If last year was any indication, this season was junior Reid Mosquera’s for the taking. After making it all the way to the NCAA N a t i o n a l s in the 2010- 2011 season, Mosquera, a native of Andover, MA who competes in the 197-pou nd w e i g h t class, was happy with his success but hungry to improve and advance even further.

The women’s indoor track team posted its second consecutive Centennial Conference Championship on Saturday, with senior Alison Smith, sophomore Emily Wenson and freshman Hannah Eckstein as standouts, each garnering first place finishes. Sophomore Alex Jebb shined for the men, as the Blue Jays rolled to their best Centennial Conference Indoor Track Championship finish in history, placing second and winning four individual titles in the process.

The Hopkins women’s basketball team hosted the Centennial Conference tournament last weekend for the second consecutive year. The Lady Jays, who were regular season conference champions, finished as tournament runners- up in 2011 after falling to rival Muhlenberg in the championship match.

The Hopkins wrestling team made history this past Saturday in Gettysburg, PA with the capture of their first-ever Centennial Conference championship. After the Blue Jays were awarded the Centennial Conference Title, Head Coach Keith Norris was honored as the Centennial Conference Coach of the Year.

On the heels of our men’s lacrosse season preview last week, here is what else and who else Blue Jay nation can look forward to this spring. This feature will be continued next week with previews of the men’s and women’s tennis seasons. W o m e n ’ s Lacrosse Lady Jay lacrosse has yet to become the National powerhouse that the men’s program has built through decades of a winning tradition, but the girls may be on their way as soon as this spring.

The Hopkins women’s basketball team closed out the regular season playing host to visiting Bryn Mawr last Thursday. The 0-23 Owls were no match for the 25th-ranked Jays, as Hopkins pummeled the Owls, 74-26, improving to 21-3 overall and 17-3 in the Centennial Conference.

The Hopkins men’s and women’s track teams traveled to New York this past Saturday to participate in NYU's Division III Challenge Meet held at the New York Armory. With the men’s side featuring eight teams and two clubs, and the women’s side featuring nine teams and two clubs, the meet promised to be very competitive.

In the team’s fourth meet in five weeks, the Hopkins women’s fencing team showed no signs of slowing down at the Eastern Women’s Fencing Conference (EWFC) Individual Championships in Hoboken, N.J. this past weekend. After claiming the team’s third consecutive EWFC Team Championship the previous weekend, Hopkins returned to New Jersey for an individuals meet against some of the best fencing Division III had to offer.

It is a recurring theme in NCAA sports that a solid team must first mature and acclimate before their talent starts to shine through. In football, it has been the Texas Longhorns in 2005 and the Auburn Tigers in 2010. In basketball, it has been the UNC Tar Heels in 2009.

The Hopkins men’s basketball team traveled to Chestertown, MD to face Washington College this past weekend. The Blue Jays took down the Shoremen, 71-67. This was the final regular season game for the Blue Jays before the Centennial Conference Tournament.

Sophomore swimmer Taylor Kitayama and The News-Letter sports section go together like Peanut Butter and Jelly. Not a week goes by where The News-Letter does not cover Kitayama in some way and for good reason. For the past two years, this sophomore from Boulder, CO has been dominant both in the pool and in the classroom.

Men’s wrestling ended their regular season on a high note, after many members would consider the early part of the year to be a disappointment. Several key wrestlers suffered injuries early in the season, which played a significant part in the team’s struggle to a 6-15 overall record.

The men’s and women’s swimming teams had a prolific four days at the Bluegrass Mountain Conference (BMC) Championships held last weekend at Wingate College in Charlotte, N.C. The men’s team placed third overall with 520.5 points. The team was behind host Wingate (714 points) and Queen’s University-Charlotte (565 points).

The quest for a 10th Division I men’s lacrosse National Championship began in earnest on Friday night, Feb. 17th, as the second-ranked Blue Jays dominated the outmatched Towson Tigers on their way to a 12-6 win at the Nest. The win marked the 150th career victory for legendary Head coach Dave Pietramala.

Linsanity. Over the past 11 days a superstar has exploded onto the sports scene. Harvard educated, Asian-American, humble yet flashy, Jeremy Lin is a true Cinderella, or “Linderella”, story. In a year where the NBA season was shortened due to a lockout, we are constantly reminded that professional sports is a money driven business, but it only takes one player to show that pure love of the game can lift and inspire the largest market in sports.

After two consecutive wins against Centennial Conference opponents Washington & Lee and Gettysburg and a close loss to nationally ranked Messiah, the Hopkins men’s wrestling team was confident. This past Sunday, they were put to the test with a pair of matches against conference rivals Merchant Marine and Stevens Tech.

With resounding victories this week over Ursinus and Franklin & Marshall, the Lady Blue Jays basketball team clinched the top spot in the Centennial Conference for the regular season. Hopkins defeated the Ursinus Bears 67-46 on Saturday and stormed past Franklin and Marshall 68- 40 on Tuesday.

Senior forward Tim Mc- Carty led Hopkins to a 65- 60 win over the Ursinus- Bears with an outstanding shooting performance this weekend. He went six-ofseven from the floor, including three of four from outside the arc, to net a career high of 25 points.

Hopkins’ women’s fencing team took its third straight Eastern Women's Fencing Conference (EWFC) C h a m p i o n - ship this past weekend in M a d i s o n , New Jersey. The EWFC is currently in its 12th year. The league was established in the 2 0 0 0 - 2 0 0 1 season and has been a round-robin style single day Dual Meet Championship format.

Last Friday, Feb. 10th, the men’s and women’s track and field teams headed to Boston, Massachusetts to compete in the Valentine Invitational at Boston University. This indoor event, which annually hosts a large number of competitive athletes, including many Division I teams, provided the perfect opportunity for the Blue Jays to strut their stuff.

After back-to-back victories against Washington and Lee and Gettysburg, the Hopkins wrestling team fell short of nationally ranked Messiah last Friday night in Grantham, PA, 22-16. Coming off of the two previous victories, the Blue Jays looked to continue their momentum and take down the Falcons and make a statement.

The Hopkins women’s basketball team has quickly put together a wonderful season thus far, posting an 19-3 record overall and a 14-3 Centennial Conference record. Looking to take advantage of an opportunity to clinch a playoff berth in the conference playoffs, the Lady Jays traveled to Swarthmore on Saturday.

The Hopkins men’s and women’s fencing teams headed up to Waltham, MA for their first competition of the spring semester last Saturday, Feb. 4th. The Eric Sollee Invitational, hosted by Brandeis University, featured a plethora of schools including Penn, currently ranked seventh nationally, Brown, MIT and Brandeis.

The men and women’s swim teams created waves this past weekend, as they wrapped up incredible dual meet seasons at Navy and Washington and Lee. The men’s team traveled to Annapolis, MD on Friday, Feb. 3 to finish their season with their toughest competition yet against the Navy Midshipmen.

Fencing is a lot like chess. Granted, there are some subtle differences — namely, the use of a threeand- a-half foot long sword. Kidding aside, the two games are actually strikingly similar. They both involve a comparable brand of ‘strategizing’— a surprisingly mental aspect given the historically brutish nature of swordfights.

Hopkins men’s basketball team is heating up the hardwood on the Homewood Campus at just the right time. They are poised to make a run into the postseason. After hitting a mid-season swoon that saw them drop five consecutive conference games, the Jays rallied for three consecutive wins against Centennial Conference rivals.

With the spring semester just beginning, the men’s and women’s track teams both jumped to a solid start in this past weekend’s Seamus McElligot Invitation hosted by Haverford. Both teams dominated in their respective strengths: throwing for the men, distance and sprints for the women.

This past week, Hopkins men’s basketball attempted to stop a three-game skid, taking on Franklin & Marshall, hosting Muhlenberg and traveling to Gettysburg. Unfortunately, the Blue Jays could not prevent a further slide, losing games to the Diplomats and Mules to make it five consecutive losses.

The Hopkins men’s wresting team managed to clinch an important win last night, topping the Gettysburg Bullets 22-18. Although still only 4-11 overall, the Blue Jays have moved to 3-1 in the Centennial conference, while the Bullets have fallen to 1-4 in the Centennial.

During the next mid- term period, take a good look around campus. Be- sides the fact that it looks like a zombie apocalypse has just swept across cam- pus — with all of those bulging red eyes and mo- notonous gaits — a lot can be learned from observing each student.

The Hopkins women’s swimming team had a grueling three matches this week against formidable opponents Navy, Towson, and Washington and Lee. The Jays began this stretch on January 25th against the Division I Navy Midshipmen. The Midshipmen defeated the Jays, 137-76, handing Hopkins their first loss of the season and first defeat since January 28, 2011.

While many Hopkins students were relaxing at home enjoying a break from studying and work during intersession, the Hopkins men’s and women’s fencing teams were hard at work, training and participating in highly competitive tournaments. After a short break for the holidays, the Blue Jays opened up the second half of their respective seasons at the Philadelphia Invitational on Sunday, Jan.

A year removed from one of Hopkins women’s basketball’s best seasons in recent memory, a campaign that included 22 wins — the last of which came in the first round of the NCAA Tournament — the Lady Jays entered their 2011-2012 schedule with expected nerves.

While the rest of the student body at Hopkins returned home to recover from a long fall semester, the Lady Blue Jay basket- ball team took little time off. In fact, the ladies took advantage of the down time from school to contin- ue improving their game.

After a much needed winter break, the men’s and women’s track and field teams got back to the action earlier this month to kick off their winter seasons. The men opened up the New Year on Jan. 13th at the NYU Gotham Cup in New York, NY where sophomore Andrew Carey came in first in the un- seeded 800 meter run with a time of 1:59:37.