With winter chills, Blue Jay nation heats up

Men's Basketball

Hopkins men's basketball opened their season Tuesday evening at Goucher in historic fashion, supplying Head coach Bill Nelson — in his 26th year at the helm of the program — with his 400th win. The early season accomplishment may be just what the Blue Jays need to build confidence after a disappointing 7-18 record in 2010-2011 — their third straight losing season.

In Game One of the annual Pride of Maryland tournament, the Jays got big contributions from sophomore point guard Dan Corbett, who netted a career-high 17 points, including four three-pointers in the second half, and senior forward and co-captain Tim McCarty, who racked up nine points and ten rebounds in the 54-49 win.

The Blue Jays return 12 players from last year's youthful squad, and with another year of experience under their belts, Hopkins hopes this is their year to breakout in the Centennial Conference.

Corbett, the team's leader in assists and steals a season ago, and McCarty, a Capitol One Academic all-American honoree in 2010-2011, will look to keep up their hot starts while fellow senior forward Danny Gergen, a native of Austin, TX hopes to crash the boards alongside McCarty.

Other notable returners that should make a difference this season include junior guards Adam Spengler and Mike Rhoads, sophomore guard Jaraad Rogers sophomore forward Connor McIntyre, sophomore center Aleksandar Nikolic, and freshmen Omar Randall, Luke Chambers, Jimmy Hammer, George Bugrinovic and Joey Hajj. Aside from their Centennial Conference action, the Blue Jays will head to Danville, KY over winter break to compete in the Centre College Holiday Classic against Cabrini and Centre/Berry (GA).

Women's Basketball

After losing two seniors, one being all-American forward Lyndsay Burton, there is no better way to bounce back than to boast an impressive incoming freshman class stocked with talent. Head coach Nancy Funk has brought in five freshmen to contribute to a 22-6 team last year.

The Blue Jays are on the rise after competing in the Centennial Conference Championship game last year and making it to the second round of the NCAA tournament as an at-large bid. Now, guards Jessica Brown (Haddon Township, NJ), Stacy Fairey (Charleston, SC), and Stephanie Binder (Scarsdale, NY) and forwards Haley Bush (Manhattan Beach, CA), and Ciara McCullagh (New Hyde Park, NY) will look to contribute to the experienced Jays.

The Blue Jays will return first team all-Centennial senior guard Chantel Mattiola and classmates and fellow senior guards Stephanie Fong and Kat Fox. In addition, junior forward Alex Vassila and sophomore guard Fatu Conteh combined for nearly 400 points last season and are expected to surpass that mark this season.

Hopkins opened their season at Goldfarb Gym on Wednesday evening against York College,

Wrestling

Despite a tough 1-7 start that includes losses to Division I programs Maryland and West Virginia, Hopkins wrestling proved last season that the Blue Jays are on the rise. The Jays return a plethora of young talent and are poised to make a run in the Centennial Conference, returning five wrestlers who placed in the top three at conferences a season ago.

The Jays also garnered national attention last season when they sent juniors Reid Mosquera (197) and Paul Marcello (141) to the NCAA tournament, and their return guided Hopkins to a preseason ranking of 30th in the country by the NWCA, the program's first national ranking in history.

Other notable returners include sophomores Ray Yagloski (125) and Matt Fusaro (157) as well as junior Adam Stevens (125) who all placed in last season's Centennial playoffs.

To be the best, the team will need to beat the best, and this season is already shaping up to be exciting. Hopkins has already faced off against nationally-ranked powers Ithaca (4th), York (10th), and Elizabethtown (27th), with Messiah (29th) soon to come.

Fencing

After coming off strong seasons in their respective fields, both the men's and women's fencing teams will look to have another successful season. Sophomore sabre Katherine Simeon made a name for herself last season, placing 15th at the Mid-Atlantic Regional as a freshman.

Now a sophomore, Simeon will look to build on her success and pave the way for the Blue Jays. Fellow sabres senior Mary Vitale placed 20th and sophomore Kathleen Rand also had an impressive outing at Regionals last season, placing 25th, but the Sabre is not the only event returning strong talent.

The foil returns sophomore Jackie Heath and senior Marion Trumbull, who placed 18th and 22nd, respectively, at Regionals last year.

Junior Komal Kumar and senior Lauren Chinn will look to dominate Epee this year after finishing 23rd and 32nd last season.

From Philadelphia, PA to Waltham, MA, the team will scour the Northeast to play some of nation's top competition.

Despite losing top fencers Max Wieder and Nick Krywopusk to graduation, the men's fencing team will return a pair of intriguing foils in sophomore Evan Stafford and junior Ben Wasser, who finished 25th and 33rd, respectively, at Regionals in 2010-2011. The men's team will travel to Durham, NC in February to compete in the Duke Invitational and the US Weapon Squad Championship in New York, NY.

Swimming

On the heels of an eighth and ninth-place finish by Hopkins' women's and men's swimming squads at the NCAA Swimming and Diving Chmapionships this past March, both Blue Jay teams look primed to continue their winning ways this season. Early on, the women's team has swam to a 3-0 record with wins over Franklin and Marshall, Loyola and St. Francis, while the men's side has wins over Franklin and Marshall and Loyola.

The Lady Jays, who won the Bluegrass Mountain Conference Championship earlier this year, return eight NCAA qualifiers and five all-Americans, including 2010-2011 BMCC swimmer of year sophomore Sarah Rinsma, and the 200 Medley Relay team of senior Elizabeth Rogers, and sophomores Cristina Cusumano, Alex Ladd and Taylor Kitayama.

Hopkins has already earned two conference swimmer of the week honors this year by way of junior Kristin Ferriero and Kitayama, and hopes run high for National Championship run.

On the men's side, the Blue Jays return 10 NCAA qualifiers and two first-team all-American relay teams. Hopkins welcomes back their young 200 relay of sophomores Joe Acquaviva and Anthony Lordi and juniors Carter Gisriel and Tyler Woods.

The 400 relay team comes back in one piece as well with Acquaviva, Woods, senior Tim Nam and junior Nick Schmidt. Like the women, the Jays will face a difficult schedule that includes trips to Maryland and Navy, but National Championship hopes are within reach.