Athlete of the Week: Sophia Meehan - Women’s Cross Country

The Hopkins women’s cross country team recently captured its third straight NCAA National Championship on Nov. 22. The runners who participated in the race included a talented array of Lady Jays, featuring seniors Ashley Murphy and Francis Loeb; juniors Sophia Meehan, Caroline Powers and Hannah Oneda; sophomore Tess Meehan; and freshman Bridget Gottlieb. Sophia Meehan, the top runner for the Lady Jays, came in sixth place overall at the national championship and paced the Lady Jays to yet another first place finish.

W. Basketball suffers first CC loss of season

The Hopkins women’s basketball team could not overcome a slow start Tuesday against the Gettysburg Bullets, and they fell 63-54 on the road for just their second loss of the season.

Bugarinovic, Hopkins power past Bullets

After a tough loss to Franklin & Marshall last week, the men's basketball team traveled to Gettysburg on Tuesday to dominate the host team with a 68-52 win that brought them to 4-2 for the season.

Lady Jays fall in finals versus Puget Sound

The Hopkins women’s basketball team kicked off their season last Saturday at home as they hosted the Mike Durgala basketball tournament.

Wrestling goes 1-2 at Washington & Lee

The Hopkins men’s wrestling team took part in three early season matches at Washington & Lee on Sunday. The Jays defeated Huntingdon 36-12 but lost to Lycoming 40-3 and to Ohio Northern 44-3.

Wrestling goes 1-2 at Washington & Lee

The Hopkins men’s wrestling team took part in three early season matches at Washington & Lee on Sunday. The Jays defeated Huntingdon 36-12 but lost to Lycoming 40-3 and to Ohio Northern 44-3.

Football completes undefeated season

The Jays football team finished off their perfect 10-0 regular season on Saturday with a 48-17 victory against the McDaniel Green Terror. Hopkins was 9-0 in conference play, giving them a fourth straight outright Centennial Conference title.

Swimming breezes by Franklin & Marshall

Both the men’s and women’s swim teams won their meets against Franklin & Marshall on Saturday. The Jays and the Lady Jays are both off to strong seasons with a 3-0 start.

Swimming breezes by Franklin & Marshall

Both the men’s and women’s swim teams won their meets against Franklin & Marshall on Saturday. The Jays and the Lady Jays are both off to strong seasons with a 3-0 start.

Women's soccer heading to Sweet Sixteen again

For the seventh year in a row, the Hopkins women’s soccer team has earned a berth in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. The team is also only four wins away from a D-III National Championship by way of successive home victories this past weekend. On Friday night, the team dismantled visiting Farmingdale State University 4-0 and then followed the blowout with a slower-paced victory over the State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo 3-1.

Women's soccer heading to Sweet Sixteen again

For the seventh year in a row, the Hopkins women’s soccer team has earned a berth in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen. The team is also only four wins away from a D-III National Championship by way of successive home victories this past weekend. On Friday night, the team dismantled visiting Farmingdale State University 4-0 and then followed the blowout with a slower-paced victory over the State University of New York (SUNY) at Geneseo 3-1.

Athlete of the Week: Jimmy Hammer - Men’s Basketball

As the men’s basketball season gets underway, senior Jimmy Hammer will be leading the way. The Blue Jays kicked off their season with the York College Coaches vs. Cancer Classic this past weekend, facing off with Lebanon Valley College and Keuka College. Hammer, a 6’2” guard from Collegeville, Pa., led the offense, scoring 17 points in the team’s 75-70 victory over Lebanon, before turning it on to pour in 22 the next day against Keuka, drilling six three-pointers and four free throws along with dishing out four assists to pave the way for the Blue Jays. Hopkins would win 71-55 to take the Classic title.

Bugarinovic, Jays take home first place

Men’s, women’s XC earn D-III NCAA berth

The Hopkins men’s and women’s cross country teams qualified to race in the NCAA D-III Cross Country Championships this past Sunday afternoon. The Lady Jays secured a coveted spot in the championship by winning the NCAA Mideast Regional Championships, while the men’s team placed third in the same tournament. The men’s win left them eligible to win an at-large bid — a bid granted to 16 of the top 32 teams in the championship.

Football bests Diplomats to stay unbeaten

In the final nineteen minutes of Saturday’s game against Franklin and Marshall, the Hopkins football team not only saved its undefeated season, but secured the Centennial Conference title as well as a bid to the upcoming NCAA playoffs. Capturing the Centennial Conference Championship marks the sixth time the Blue Jays have managed to do so in as many years. The Jays scored 23 unanswered points in a come-from-behind victory that ended 33-14 for their sixth straight conference title and tenth all-time. The game started with a huge play from sophomore Bradley Munday who returned the opening Franklin and Marshall punt 80 yards all the way to the six-yard mark. Junior Brandon Cherry punched through the defense and into the end zone on a three-yard score two plays later to give the Jays an early lead. Diplomats quarterback Matt Magarity marched his offense efficiently down the field two drives later before handing off to Diplomat running back Scott LaValva who found an opening against a tough Hopkins goal line defense for a short yardage touchdown to tie the game at seven. Both offenses cooled off during the remainder of the half, failing to complete any play longer than 15 yards. Midway through the third quarter, Franklin and Marshall moved to gain its only lead of the day when LaValva again found enough daylight to score from one yard out, bringing the score to 14-10. Then senior Braden Anderson and the Hopkins offense took over to shock the Diplomats with their big play ability. Anderson found Munday on a 59-yard touchdown pass to begin the comeback. The play was Munday’s third 50 plus-yard touchdown reception in as many games as he accumulated a career high 183 all purpose yards. He attributed most of his success to his quarterback. “I have been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time to have the opportunity to make plays,” Munday said. “But it wouldn't be possible without the breakout performances of Braden and the rest of the offense.” With momentum on their side, the Hopkins defense forced a quick three and out, punctuated by a huge tackle for a loss by junior safety Brady Watts, which gave the offense the ball back late in the game. Sophomore running back Dionisio Roman had three rushes for 18 yards before Anderson took matters into his own hands, beating defenders for a 54-yard touchdown sprint that extended the Jay lead to 24-14. Senior Hani Annabi and junior Curtis Antrum created havoc for Magarity and the Diplomat offense, forcing a fumble and an intercepted pass that set up what would eventually become the final touchdown of the game. With good field position after the pick, the Jays worked their way 49 yards for sophomore running back Stuart Walters to convert on a third down run all the way to the end zone to secure their lead at 31-14. With two minutes remaining and time now working against Magarity and the Diplomats offense, senior Michael Rocca sacked the quarterback in the endzone for a safety and the victory. Anderson ended the day 15-30 with 165 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions, adding a career high 73 yards on the ground including his 54-yard score, which was the longest quarterback rush since 2010. On the other side of the ball, sophomore Jack Toner had another solid game on defense, adding seven tackles with a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Magarity ended the day 9-18 for 105 yards including 90 rushing yards, while LaValva accounted for the scoring with two touchdowns on 71 yards. According to Munday, facing adversity against Franklin and Marshall will help the team’s postseason aspirations. “To regain the momentum and finish the game strong was exactly what we needed going forward to increase our confidence going into the NCAA playoffs," Munday said. With their regular season winning streak at 20 games, the Jays look forward to their game next week at McDaniel where they close out the season at Homewood Field before the playoffs begin.

Are the Sacramento Kings playoff-bound?

The last time the Sacramento Kings played in a playoff game, Thunder forward Kevin Durant was still in high school. The Kings own the second longest active playoff drought of eight seasons, dating back to 2006. So any success the team finds is, with good reason, met with skepticism. But this season looks like it could be different. The Kings own a relatively impressive 5-3 record, good for the fifth seed in the brutally tough Western Conference. Until a strange loss against the injury-ridden Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday, the Kings managed to go on a five-game winning streak against some formidable opponents like the Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers and the Denver Nuggets. Last season, the Kings had an abysmal record of 28-54 despite some impressive individual statistics. DeMarcus "Boogie" Cousins, the erratic franchise centerpiece, was doing "Boogie" things, posting career highs in minutes, points, rebounds, assists, steals and field goal percentage. His stat line of 22.7 points and 11.7 rebounds was topped by just one player: Cavs forward Kevin Love. But he was still considered immature, with a league-high 16 technical fouls. Traded mid-season, forward Rudy Gay had a revival of sorts, averaging 20.1 points per game. Guard Isaiah Thomas was turning into a promising player, with 20.3 points and 6.3 assists per game. So when the team lost Thomas to the up and coming Suns, with just guard Darren Collison to replace him, they were expected to, if anything, just regress further. Now, they look to be once again in the running for the post-season. Cousins looks like he is maturing (finally) into the team leader. He has vowed that he will cut his technical fouls to just five for the season. During the FIBA World Cup, Cousins took a hard elbow from Raptors center Jonas Valanciunas, which he took exception to, and almost retaliated. Almost. A year ago, Valanciunas might have been holding a bag of ice over his eye. Cousins is celebrating for his teammates from the bench, and even calming the coach down over his foul call. Is this real life? Not to mention that he's also producing. He's been averaging 23.0 points and 11.1 rebounds over just 30 minutes of playing time. He's actually playing consistent defense, and has generally looked unstoppable. Gay, whose last two teams have thrived more in his departure than with him, is playing efficient basketball and simply sinking a lot of buckets. He's averaging 22.3 points, including an incredible 40-point performance over the greatly improved Blazers defense. He might just be able to play up to his $19 million contract. (Okay, maybe not.) Collison, unlike Thomas, is the pass-first point guard that the trigger-happy duo of Gay and Cousins need. Collison is playing the best basketball of his life, hitting clutch pull-up jumpers over Clippers guard Chris Paul and his old team. While his 40 percent field goal percentage still leaves much to be desired, his 14.7 points and 6.3 assists may be more than what even the Kings themselves were looking for. The team has a relatively nice mixture of young players like rookie Nik Stauskas and guard Ben McLemore, and veterans like forwards Reggie Evans and Carl Landry. Landry is coming into form after some disappointing seasons sitting on the bench with injuries. Stauskas has had a disappointing start but is a proven commodity who will find his place on the team. New owner Vivek Ranadivé and the front office want to win now. Ranadivé is an enthusiastic owner, sometimes to his own detriment; he's made suggestions of playing 4-on-5 defense with a cherry-picker. They've been trying to trade for Celtics guard Rajon Rondo and Pistons forward Josh Smith for some time, and recent rumors suggest Rondo might be going to the Kings in a mid-season trade. Any team that's trying to trade for Smith is a team that is desperate for some wins. And for Sacramento, that might not be all that bad. No one's saying the Kings are going to be the 2015 NBA Champions. They won’t be. But with the Thunder's misfortunes and a few under-performing teams, they just might be able to slip into the playoffs with the eight seed. Considering the disappointment that the Sacramento Kings have been over the last decade, that's better news than anyone could have hoped for.

Athlete of the Week: Hannah Kronick - Women’s Soccer

Few Hopkins athletes have ever earned the accolades or garnered the respect from teammates and opponents alike that senior Hannah Kronick, a star forward on the women's soccer team, has. As the all-time Lady Jay and Centennial Conference record-holder by a wide margin in both points and goals, Kronick is one of the best players the conference has ever seen. Kronick’s consistent excellence in her four years here has led opposing defenses to pay fastidious attention to her. And yet, Kronick has still managed to rack up 37 points this year in 20 games for the Lady Jays. Even more impressive, Kronick has shined brightest in the biggest moments for the Lady Jays throughout the season. Though Hopkins fell on penalty kicks to Swarthmore in the Centennial Conference Championship on Sunday, Kronick scored both goals and kept Hopkins in the game until the very end, displaying the flair for the dramatic that has characterized her Hopkins soccer career. Despite the loss on Sunday and the failure to earn an automatic bid, the Lady Jays’ 16-3-1 record for the season was good enough to earn them an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament, keeping Kronick’s legendary career alive.  The All-American was gracious enough to answer a few questions for The News-Letter as this edition’s Athlete of the Week.

Garnet fly past Jays in CC Championship

After suffering a heartbreaking loss to close out the regular season, the Hopkins women’s soccer team traveled north to Gettysburg, Penn. to participate in the Centennial Conference Playoffs. The Lady Jays earned a place in the semi-finals against the Ursinus Bears to begin their playoff run. On the heels of the tough home loss to Gettysburg to conclude regular season conference play, the team's first loss in 13 games, the Lady Jays entered the postseason hungry to regain their winning ways. They finished second place in their conference at an overall record of 15-3 and looked to capture the championship for consecutive years after winning handily last year. Building upon a nearly perfect history of performing the best when the stakes are the highest, the Lady Jays pulled out a close 2-1 victory over the Bears. Although the game took place within Ursinus’s own state of Pennsylvania, the Lady Jays owned a home field advantage of sorts. They had already won on the home turf of the Bears less than a month beforehand, and they also benefitted from being an hour closer to Gettysburg than their opponents. The Lady Jays, as they often have this year, started the game quickly. All-star senior forward Hannah Kronick initiated the scoring in the 25th minute after cutting through a group of Bears defenders on an unassisted, point-blank shot that found the back of the net. It was good enough for her 13th goal of the season, cementing her status as the top scorer within the conference for the season. The first half continued to develop in favor of Hopkins, as the team launched 13 shots on goal during the period. Ursinus keeper Courtney Sullivan was tested time and again, yet she held up valiantly besides allowing the lone first half goal by Kronick. The second half started in the same manner, as it only took roughly 10 minutes for the Lady Jays to put points on the board yet again. In the 56th minute, sophomore midfield facilitator Ana Bengoechea sent a pass to senior forward Amanda Masse near the Ursinus penalty box. Without much hesitation, Masse took the ball and ripped it past Sullivan to solidify the lead for the Lady Jays. Outside of these initial 10 minutes, however, proved much more competitive for both sides. Ursinus outshot Hopkins 7-5 and made junior goalie Sarah Benett work for another possible shutout on the season. This, however, would not be possible. In the 83rd minute, Bears freshman midfielder Katherine Bell snagged a failed Hopkins clearance on an Ursinus corner. Taking Benett and the defense slightly off guard, Bell scored from the top of the box and shrunk the Hopkins margin to just one. The freshman’s second goal of the season was not enough, though, and the Bears could not find an equalizer before the clock expired six minutes later. This victory paved the way for the 10th straight conference finals appearance for Hopkins and set the stage for a rematch with Swarthmore on the following day. In a match that came down to the wire, the Garnet came out victorious in a nerve-wracking penalty kick shootout. After failing to break the 2-2 tie through overtime, the Lady Jays were unable to solve Swarthmore goaltender Reba Magier during the penalty kicks, as she led the Garnet to victory and was eventually named MVP of the tournament. Kronick once again was the star for the Lady Jays, as she got the scoring started, taking a beautiful pass from sophomore midfielder Ana Bengoechea outside the top of the box and firing a dart past the outstretched arms of Magier. However, the Garnet responded shortly thereafter as forward Carolina Khanna boomed an arching shot past Benett to knot the teams at 1-1. The teams headed into their respective locker rooms tied at half time. The two sides wouldn't remain deadlocked for long, however, as Kronick broke the stalemate just eight minutes into the half, notching the seventh goal of her Centennial Conference playoff career and breaking the conference record for most career playoff goals. However, Kronick’s outstanding play was matched once again by the Garnet, who responded just 12 minutes later after a battle for possession in front of the Hopkins goal. As the teams struggled for possession, Swarthmore's Amanda Bosworth found the loose ball and slid a simple shot into the lower corner of the net to bring the game back even. Despite generating several more key scoring opportunities, the Lady Jays simply were unable to break the tie again during regulation. Benett stood tall in net once again for the Lady Jays, especially during the final 10-minute stretch where the junior goaltender made two unbelievable saves from point-blank range to keep the Lady Jays level. After an overall underwhelming overtime period that showcased strong defensive play from both sides, the championship match moved into penalty kicks. The two teams were once again tied at four goals each through five penalty kicks when the Garnet took a 5-4 lead after Clare O'Brien scored. With the game on the line, sophomore Vania Ludman had her shot blocked by Reba to secure the first conference championship in program history for Swarthmore, breaking the hearts of the Lady Jays. Despite the conference championship loss, the Lady Jays earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. For the seventh consecutive season, Hopkins will host an NCAA Regional Tournament at Homewood Field. The appearance in the NCAA tournament marks the 10th straight and 14th overall for the Lady Jays, who will host Farmingdale State, SUNY Geneseo and Frostburg State this upcoming weekend. Hopkins is scheduled to face off against Farmingdale State at 5:30 p.m. at Homewood Field on Saturday with the hopes of advancing to the regional final on Sunday.

Fueling the Fire: The meaning of rivalries

Ever since the beginning of time, the existence of rivalries has fueled counterparts across various spectrums to achieve more than they thought possible in order to defeat their adversary. From the competition between Athens and Sparta to an ongoing competition that someone has with their next-door neighbor, rivalries span various times and magnitudes to give us an external fuel that cannot be generated through self-motivation. Sports rivalries stand as the most prevalent and consistent forms of competition in the modern world, and nothing creates more excitement than when your team faces off against its long-time foe. I was raised in Baltimore and was bred as a die-hard Ravens fan that bleeds black and purple. This definitely confused nurses ever since my first skinned knee on the playground. For all of those who don’t know, the mere mention of the word “Steelers,” no matter what the connotation, burns the ears of all Ravens fans and lights a fire in their stomachs. If you’re a fan of Harry Potter, just think of Ben Roethlisberger as synonymous with Lord Voldemort. I’ve attended multiple Ravens vs. Steelers games, offered my fair share of criticism and slander at the brave yet stupid Steelers fans who show their faces at M&T Bank Stadium, shouted at Troy Polamalu until I lost my voice, rejoiced in the sweet victories and cried at the treacherous defeats. The series between these two teams holds a special place in my heart, with an exclusive corner reserved for Torrey Smith’s game-winning touchdown catch to give us a 23-20 win in 2011 at Pittsburgh’s field. It’s true when people say that Ravens fans love to hate the Steelers and vice versa, but the real question here is where does that glorified hatred come from? In the so-called rivalries of old (Athens and Sparta, Britain and France, the U.S. and Soviet Union), these actors have always been complete opposites, conflicting as a result of varying ideologies and reverse societal structure. Even the “old” sports rivalries, like that of the Celtics and the Lakers, encompass complete opposite teams in terms of location, ethnicity and style of play. When I think of the Steelers, I automatically objectify them as an image of hatred and disgust, and I never really stop to think what it is about them that I truly despise. After thinking deeply about it, it’s almost a nauseating realization that I hate them so much because of their eerie similarities to the Ravens. Both teams are hard-nosed, defensive-oriented and tough as Hell; have run and gun offenses; are located on the east coast; have dark colors; have intense fans who go balls to the wall and are consistent playoff contenders. Not to mention both teams thrive on the leadership of their defensive leaders.  This seems like an anomaly, and it may be as a result of some progressive societal underpinning that represents our modern world as a whole, but I won’t delve too deeply into philosophical notions so as to save you the boredom. As much as I don’t like them, I have to respect their style of play and the culture of their fans. In the big picture, the Ravens wouldn’t be who they are without the Steelers constantly nipping at their heels and making them pursue greatness. It all seems like some kind of sick joke orchestrated by a divine football god, where an unstoppable force and an immovable object will clash over and over again until their legacies fade into eternity, leaving only the memories of emotions from each unique matchup. It’s a strange feeling hating a group so much like yourself, and I guess the old saying rings true: “This town ain’t big enough for the both of us.”