Welcome back to another edition of Hopkins Sports in Review! The Blue Jays have continued to find more success this Spring, highlighted by some premier wins in lacrosse, a strong start to the baseball season and even a conference championship.
Men’s Lacrosse: W (13 – 12)
The Men’s Lacrosse team continued their season with a matchup against the 18th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers at Homewood Field.
The Blue Jays did not come out of the gates strong; before the end of the first quarter, Hopkins found themselves down five goals to two. However, in what has become somewhat characteristic for this team, they rallied to tie the game early in the second quarter in large part due to a pair of unassisted goals scored by Hunter Chauvette. The tie wouldn’t hold for long, though, as the Cavaliers once again took the momentum heading into half-time by scoring three of the five final goals in the first half.
After the break, it seemed as if Virginia might continue to outpace the Blue Jays as they scored the first goal of the second half, but once again, Chauvette took matters into his own hands. The sophomore added three more goals as part of the 6 – 0 run made by Hopkins. Alongside him, Dylan Bauer and Matt Collison both contributed heavily with two goals and two assists, respectively, as Hopkins put the game out of Virginia’s reach.
With the victory, the Blue Jays were able to retain the Doyle Smith Cup (the trophy presented to the winner of the Hopkins – Virginia regular season match), while also making another strong statement in their pursuit of an NCAA tournament berth.
Women’s Lacrosse: W (19 – 10), W (14 – 13)
After a closely fought win at home against highly-ranked University of Pennsylvania, the Women’s team have embarked upon a four game road-trip against some of the toughest competition in the nation.
The first matchup of the week came against the Georgetown Hoyas in which they emerged victorious, 19 – 10. The Blue Jays emerged with their guns blazing, managing to score the first goal of the match within 30 seconds of the game’s start. Georgetown managed a response, levelling the game at one goal apiece, however this would not last long. Hopkins would blow the game open, scoring five straight goals stretching into the beginning of the second quarter.
From this point on, the game was never truly close. Georgetown made a couple of small runs to attempt to get back in the game, however it was ultimately in vain. Senior Ashley Mackin was the standout of the contest, scoring six goals and assisting seven times en route to a 13 point performance, one shy of the all-time Hopkins record.
The second game came against the 14th-ranked Stony Brook Seawolves, who were undefeated coming into the matchup. The contest initially looked to be dominated by the Seawolves as they took a commanding 8 – 3 lead towards the end of the second half. It looked as if they were pulling away for good midway through the third quarter, as the game stood at 13 – 8 heading into the fourth.
However, the Blue Jays would not be denied a victory. Sophomore Lacey Downey kickstarted the comeback with two goals in quick succession to begin the fourth quarter, pulling the Jays within three. It was then junior Ava Angello’s turn as she scored three of the final four goals, including the game winner with just one minute left. A truly incredible response by Hopkins!
Baseball: W (16 – 3), W (8 – 2), W (12 – 2)
Baseball season is officially back, and the team could not have hoped for a better start!
The team first took on the Cairn Highlanders in a game that was over almost as quickly as it began. After a scoreless first inning, Hopkins loaded on eleven runs over the next two, while Cairn only managed three runs. A strong sixth inning performance cemented the victory as Hopkins took an unassailable 16 – 3 lead.
The second game came against a struggling Messiah University who couldn’t overcome their misfortunes, ultimately falling 8 – 2 to the Blue Jays. Hopkins didn’t waste much time getting on the scoreboard as junior Alex Shane homered in the second at-bat of the day, followed by graduate student Caleb Cyr just two batters later. Shane would go yard again in the second inning, clobbering his second home-run of the game. Messiah attempted to make a ninth-inning comeback; however they fell short and only managed two runs.
The final game of the week saw Hopkins come up against Johnson & Wales University. Once again, the Blue Jays started off strong with a leadoff home-run from senior Dylan Whitney. They continued their run of dominance with some strong hitting in the fourth and fifth innings, combining for an additional nine runs. The high-powered offense was supported by a strong outing by graduate student Kieren Collins, who pitched six innings and struck out nine batters, only conceding one run. The 12 – 2 victory wrapped up a very successful week of action that has seen the team advance to a 5 – 0 record.
Women’s Indoor Track: Centennial Conference Championship
Hopkins finished up conference competition with a victory in the championship that saw them blow all opponents out of the water. This marks the 14th consecutive Centennial Championship won by the Blue Jays — an unprecedented level of historic dominance.
Among the impressive performances by Hopkins athletes, senior Sara Bartlett was awarded the Women’s Field Most Outstanding Performer as she left the tournament having accrued two gold medals. Additionally, senior Harrinee Senthilkumar won her second consecutive gold medal in the Mile Run, posting a personal best time of 4:59.17. Senior Annie Huang also won gold in the 400-meter Dash, recording a time of 58.41.
Overall, the Blue Jays scored 299.5 points, giving them a 195.5-point victory over the second placed Dickinson. Truly, a remarkable effort!
