The snow is melting, the fields are cleared and the weather is warming up. All three of these factors point to one conclusion: You should go attend a Hopkins sports game! If you need any more convincing, here are the rundowns of how some of our teams did in the past week. Embrace the hype and go support.
Men’s Lacrosse: W (13–7)
The Battle of Charles Street may have been a closer fight in years past, but this year the battle had a clear winner. This was the 62nd edition of the matchup. Loyola didn't even have to wave the white flag for the Jays to know they came out on top.
On the attack side, senior Matt Collison and junior Chuck Rawson both ended the game with hat tricks. Both midfielders have had hat tricks in the past and are some of the University’s top scorers. This also extended Collison’s team-best scoring streak, which goes back 19 games. Ground balls were dominated by sophomore Reece DiCicco who caused seven of the team's turnovers over the last two games. The Jays caused Loyola to give up the ball 20 times. However, they did have 16 turnovers themselves.
The University’s defenders held Loyola scoreless for not only a full quarter, but longer than 26 minutes of play. This feat wasn’t just a fluke, as this was the second time in just three games that the Jays have held their opponents scoreless for over 25 minutes. A large piece of this was due to freshman goalie Dash Lamitie stopping 12 shots. This freshman has played in all three games so far this season and is proving his #2 pre-season goalie rank correct so far.
Men’s Wrestling: Centennial Championships
As the wrestling season comes to a close, the Jays took to the mats at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in New York. As a team, the Jays didn’t do their hottest, finishing sixth out of the six schools in attendance. Senior Connor Powell led the Jays in points scored, when he earned the number two seed and ended with a second place finish. He conquered Gettysburg easily in the semi-finals, but fell 10–3 in the finals against USMMA’s Viviano Gutierrez. Also on the podium were junior Freddy Pimental and senior Kadin Khalloufi, both earning bronze. While they were in different weight classes, they earned their spot through the consolidation brackets. Finishing in fourth were sophomore Giorgio Difalco and senior Jacob Pomykata. Their next competition starts Feb. 27, and if anyone qualifies, they will attend the NCAA Championships in Indiana later in March.
Women’s Fencing: EWFC Championship
The fencers went undefeated at the Eastern Women’s Fencing Conference Championship, making this the team's 12th title. In Sabre, the Blue Jays won the weapon title with a 65–16 record, or eight of nine match wins. Leading the way were senior Josephine Chang and sophomore Jessie Tong who each won 11 bouts. Three more Hopkins Sabre fencers won eight of their bouts. Another weapon’s title was earned by the Jays in Foil. Like Sabre, this was Foil’s 10th EWFC title, but they were undefeated for all nine matches, going 78 for 81. Earning 13 of these was freshman Nina Markovsky. Epee may not have won the title, but in a competition with as many schools as this one, a second place finish is still an accomplishment. They went 58 for 23, meaning seven out of the nine matches were won. The Women’s fencing team competes next on Feb. 22 at Temple University.
Women’s Lacrosse: W (14–8), W (14–13)
Women’s lacross also took on the Battle of Charles Street this past week and showed Loyola University the true best lacrosse school in Baltimore this year. It was still quite chilly on Wednesday, but this didn’t hurt their play at all. The first half was the most stressful. Back and forth dominance in the first quarter ended with five goals each and same with in the second quarter, which ended with two goals each. The Blue Jays took their time to recuperate during halftime, and charged back onto the field to outscore Loyola 7–1 in the second half. Senior Ava Angello scored the most goals of the game and finished with a hat trick.
Sunday’s game against Duke was a true nailbiter. After the third quarter, Hopkins seemed like they would take the W, but a fourth quarter rally by the Blue Devils — and many failed attempts to score a goal by the Jays — sent the game into overtime. One overtime wasn't enough, and the two blue teams found themselves in overtime two. Finishing the game and securing the exciting win was Freshman McKenzey Craig.
