Water Polo flys to California to face rivals

This past weekend, the Hopkins water polo team flew all the way across the nation to battle fierce competition in the pool.

Head coach Ted Bresnahan and the team flew west to the sunny college town of Claremont, Calif. for the annual Gary Troyer Tournament and the USA Water Polo D-III National Championships, taking place on Oct. 3 and 4, respectively. They faced two days of games ahead of them, looking to build upon a 5-3 record and three consecutive wins, including one over D-I powerhouse Princeton.

Facing a tough docket, including four of the top 10 teams in the D-III rankings, Hopkins turned in a record of 1-3 over the weekend. They ended up on the losing end of their two matchups in the Troyer Tournament on Friday, going down to fifth-ranked Chapman 11-6 and ninth-ranked Redlands 8-7 later that day. On Saturday morning, however, the Jays came back with a vengeance, beating Claremont Mudd-Scripps 15-10 before ending the weekend with a tough 11-9 loss to Whittier.

Friday marked the beginning of the tournament, in which Hopkins has been participating for over ten years. Against Chapman, the Jays were able to keep the game within reach early on, ending the first half only down one goal at 3-2. Chapman dominated the third quarter though, with a barrage of six goals to put the game almost out of reach before the two sides traded two goals each in the fourth. Though not presented with too many man-up opportunities, Chapman was able to cash in on their five chances effectively, scoring four goals and putting the Jays in a tough spot throughout the game. Leading the way for Hopkins with two goals was junior Garrett Davidson, while senior Johnny Beal chipped in two points with a goal and an assist.

Later that afternoon, the Jays went down in a close contest against the Redlands Bulldogs. After conceding the first goal, Hopkins scored three straight to end the first quarter. After tacking on another two, the team headed into the locker room with a 5-3 lead. Redlands came out of the half with an intense focus, however, turning the tables on the Jays and outscoring them 5-2 to seize a close 8-7 victory. Beal again had a big performance, with two goals and two assists, while his fellow senior co-captain Wes Hopkins buried two shots. Junior Erik Henrikson had 13 saves between the pipes.

Now playing in the D-III National Championships, which faced the two top teams of 2013 from the East Coast against the top two from the West, the Jays came back with a renewed drive. The match started fast, with both teams netting 4 goals. After another flurry of goals in the second half, the Jays found themselves heading into halftime down 7-6. Facing the prospect of going 0-3 on the California trip as well as losing in the semifinals of the tournament, the team had to regroup at the half.

“We were pretty stunned, but Johnny Beal gave us a passionate pump up speech and then we were able to regroup and have a great second half," sophomore Pete Fisher said.

And that they did, as the Jays scored five unanswered goals out of the break on the way to a 15-10 victory. Beal once again lead the scoring with five goals, while freshman Jono Gillette and junior Langdon Froomer each contributed three points. Five other Hopkins players got in on the scoring action as well.

The Jays ended an intense weekend on a down note, however, losing in the finals of the championship by a final score of 11-9 to Whittier. Despite keeping even with the Poets for the second half of the game, the team could not overcome an initial 3-0 deficit. Wes Hopkins and Beal had three goals each to cap off stellar individual efforts over the weekend.

“Whittier was our toughest opponent,” sophomore Giovanni Cragnotti said. “Almost their entire roster is from Europe, and those players are more experienced and aggressive.”

Despite a losing record for the weekend, the team had a good time both in and out of the pool, and several team members were able to enjoy being back home in California for a few days.

The next time the Jays take the pool will be at George Washington, a similarly ranked opponent, on their senior night. The Jays will hope to continue their dominant streak in conference matchups against the Colonials on Oct. 11 in Washington D.C.