The Hopkins water polo team came in fifth place at the Southern Championship this weekend. The Blue Jays finished the season with a school record 25 wins and nine losses. Given their fifth place finish in the tournament, the Blue Jays will not advance to the CWPA Eastern Championship for the first time in seven years despite their strong overall record.
In the first game against the Mercyhurst Lakers, the team suffered a tough loss 11-8. Senior Kielan Crow had a strong game, however, scoring three goals, while senior Alex Whittam saw the back of the net twice. Senior Ross Schofield, sophomore Johnny Beal and junior Stephen Kingery each scored one goal apiece. Sophomore goalkeeper Danny Ovelar saved four goals in the first half while freshman keeper Erik Henrikson stopped five shots in the second.
In response to the frustrating loss, the Blue Jays dominated Salem International 21-5 the following day. Hopkins jumped into the first quarter and scored an impressive nine goals, compared to just one for the Tigers, and continued to stay in the lead throughout. During the game, Schofield scored his 100th goal, tying a school record set in 2004. For the game, Schofield scored a total of five goals. Whittam, Crow, juniors Thomas de Lyon Conor Fleming, and freshmen Garrett Davidson and Blake Range all chipped in two goals a piece.
Following the victory, the Jays then went on to top the Notre Dame (OH) Falcons 17-10. The victory put them in the fifth-place match.
In the match, the Jays took on George Washington, overpowering them in an extremely close match 16-15. The game went into double overtime, making for an exciting match-up against their long-time rival. Schofield and Crow scored six goals apiece while Kingery had a school-record-tying six assists.
Since the team has harbored what captain Crow refers to as "a fierce rivalry" the victory meant a lot to the team and boosted morale about not making the Eastern Conference this year.
Despite the early loss to Mercyhurst, the Jay's minds were eased by their performance against rival George Washington later on in the tournament. Beal noted, "The loss to Mercyhurst was a disappointment, but the way we rebounded from it was a tribute to our teams dedication. Even though we got knocked down early, we were able to pull ourselves together to finish the season with three good wins."
Sophomore Henry Pfleger summed up the feeling of the tournament when he said, "with our loss to Mercyhurst on Friday night, many thought we'd given up. But we did the opposite. We rebounded and went on to finish off the weekend with three wins"
