The 20th-ranked Hopkins men's water polo team headed to Cambridge, Mass. two weekends ago to play in the 2009 Water Polo Eastern Championship at MIT. The team took the first game but lost their second game to Bucknell, ending their season.
"These games are really important for us as a team," sophomore Jeremy Maurer said. "We are on a roll right now . . . we got past Southerns and now we're off to Easterns, where we have the opportunity to show the entire collegiate water polo world that Hopkins water polo is the real deal."
Their first opponent was Fordham University. Fordham got off to an early start in the pool on Sunday with a trio of goals early in the first period, pushing the lead to 3-0. Fortunately, senior Peter Sauerhoff was able to halt the Fordham run and put the Blue Jays on the board, making the score 3-1 at the end of the first period.
The Blue Jays rallied behind Sauerhoff's goal heading into the second period as senior Antonio Aguilera netted back-to-back goals. One of the goals was with even-strength on both teams, and one of them came on a man-up advantage.
As the first half came to a close, freshman Alex Whittam, the 2009 Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Southern Division Player of the Year, powered home a penalty shot with 22 seconds left in the second period to give Hopkins a 4-3 lead heading into the break.
As the third period opened, Fordham was able to get on the board once again to even the score at 4-4 with 5:49 left in the period.
However, Hopkins was able to counter the score yet again, as Kyle Gertridge scored on a man-advantage at 2:19, and Whittam was able to put another goal in net with 1:40 left in the period. With 67 seconds left in the third period, Fordham was able to score again, making the score 6-5 at the end of three.
Fordham was able to even the score with only two minutes into the fourth period, but the Jays pulled ahead to 8-6.
Fordham knocked another one past Hopkins goalie Jeremy Selbst, making the score 8-7 with 3:22 left in the game. However, Hopkins responded yet again with a goal by freshman Ross Schofield, making the score 9-7 with 2:57 left to play.
Agitated by Schofield's goal, Fordham was able to net two goals at the end of the fourth quarter to make the score 9-9, and push the game into overtime.
Hopkins drew first blood in the first overtime period with a pair of goals by Schofield and Whittam. Fordham was able to score at the end of the first overtime period, making the score 11-10 heading into sudden death period. The second overtime period also saw another goal by Fordham to even the score at 11-11. With 1:07 left on the clock, Gertridge knocked in game-winning shot for the Blue Jays.
The Blue Jays advanced to the championship bracket for the first time in school history after the win over Fordham. In an unfortunate, yet exciting game, the men lost to Bucknell 10-9 in the third place game.
"We can go into the locker-room at the end of the season with our heads held high," Strickland said.
Maurer agreed with Strickland and also added, "Our season was amazing and we went further than any other Hopkins water polo team in school history," Maurer said, "And also farther than any Division III team in history. To be able to say that about this group of guys only seems fitting".
"The scene during the overtime period was absolutely surreal. Brown and Bucknell had the next game and instead of warming up you could see the two squads watching a contest that nobody wanted to see end.
Senior Kyle Gertridge used an old fashion T-shot to put the game away with 1:20 left in the sudden-death period. Gertridge would go on to make first team All East for his performance over the weekend. Freshman Alex Whittam had four goals in the game as he was named Southern Rookie of the Year at the Tournament banquet.
The win put the Jays in the championship bracket for the first time in the school's history," Bresnahan said.
The Water Polo team finished with a record of 17-17.
