Entering the Southern Championships after the best season in program history, the Johns Hopkins water polo team had high hopes of overcoming recent history and advancing to the Eastern Championships.
Instead, history repeated itself as the Jays took home their second fifth-place finish in the past two seasons, ending their season just one spot shy of entering the coveted tournament.
The weekend looked like it would start off favorably with the Blue Jays playing against Slippery Rock. Hopkins beat Slippery Rock earlier this season at the Bucknell Invitational, 10-7.
However, Slippery Rock managed to catch Hopkins off-guard and turned the tide, sending the Jays to a 10-7 defeat. Prior to the tournament, the Blue Jays was ranked fourth in the eastern division, while Slippery Rock was ranked first in the western division.
After the loss, Hopkins dropped to the loser's bracket, making it impossible to place higher than fifth. Their next game was against George Washington, whom the Blue Jays recently bested in a close 11-9 game. For the game at the Southern Championship, a different setting produced similar results, as Hopkins weathered another close match to beat George Washington 14-11.
The intensity from the second game carried over into the night for the Blue Jays' next game. After George Washington, Hopkins played against Gannon for the first time this season to determine which team went on to the fifth-place game in the tournament.
Hopkins rolled to an easy victory, scoring a total of 13 goals to Gannon's seven.
For the fifth-place game, Hopkins played against rival Salem International. Previously in the season, Hopkins has played against Salem International twice, winning both times. The first time the two teams met, the Blue Jays won 9-6. The second game was equally close at 15-12.
Salem routinely plays tough against the Jays, but they couldn't escape history. Hopkins finished the game with a final of 11-9 and the tournament with a hard-fought but disappointing fifth-place, one spot
shy of advancing to the Eastern Championships. Only the top four teams from Southerns move on to Easterns.
Consistency was the theme of the day for Hopkins, who brought home their second consecutive fifth-place finish. Last year, the Blue Jays lost the fourth-place game against Bucknell, a longtime rival, by two to finish just outside the four advancing spots.
Hopkins has previously been to the Eastern Championships four times. Each time they finished eighth.
The fifth-place finish stings the Jays even more considering the teams that earned the top spots. Earning the right to continue were Slippery Rock, Navy, Bucknell and Princeton, all of whom, except Navy, the Jays beat at one point during the season.
Navy finished the tournament in first place, followed by Princeton, Bucknell and then Slippery Rock in fourth place. These four teams will go onto the Eastern Championships where the first place team will then receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Final Four.
Even though Hopkins worked hard the week prior to the tournament, the team was plagued by injuries and midterms. With a large number of people out at the different practices, it was hard for the team to prepare the full squad at every practice.
Hopkins finished the season with the best record for Eastern teams with 24 wins and six losses. Prior to entering this game, Hopkins was first in Division III teams, and won the Eastern Division III championships.
In the Collegiate Water Polo Association national varsity poll, the Blue Jays were ranked No. 16, the highest in Hopkins history.
"Being ranked No. 16 is almost unheard of for Division III teams. It was definitely a first for our school," said sophomore goalkeeper Mitch Williams. "Everyone was so pumped up and excited every time the rankings came out and we were ranked in the top 20. That's so much better than we've ever had before."
This year marked many landmarks for Hopkins, including the first victory against Princeton in program history.
At the Eastern Division III Championships, senior Jim Singleton became the Eastern Division MVP and head coach Ted Bresnahan was named Coach of the Year. Williams was also named to the first team all-tournament, as well as Singleton. But Williams insists he didn't do it by himself.
"In winning the Division III title, we won through a team effort," said Williams. "Personal talent is a good thing to have, but having team talent behind me during the games is even better."
Last year, Singleton was name to the second-team All American for water polo and Williams received an honorable mention.
