Last weekend, the men’s track team set out to Haverford, Pa. to take part in the Haverford Invitational. The team had high hopes going into their final competition before the start of the second semester. The day surely lived up to their expectations.
The Hopkins men’s basketball team rode an already hot January (5-2) into their annual Wall-O’Mahony game against Muhlenberg College. With two straight wins over Ursinus and Washington College, the Blue Jays looked to extend their winning streak against the Mules.
This past Saturday, the Hopkins Lady Jays participated in the Philadelphia Invitational Fencing Tournament, emerging with a 3-2 record. The team defeated Drew, Haverford, and Lafayette, but fell to tough defeats against #7 Northwestern and #9 Temple.
While many of us were home relaxing over break, the Blue Jays women’s basketball team was dedicating hard work and time to stay sharp on the court. They had good reason for this as they went into the break with a 7-2 overall record and were undefeated against conference teams. Thanks to the team’s success before the break, players were motivated to stay in shape so they could continue their dominance with their return.
Intersession involved many victories for the Hopkins men’s fencing team. At the 2013 Hopkins Invitational in November, Hopkins earned wins over Army, Hunter and Yeshiva. At the Brandeis Invitational on Dec. 16, the team beat Boston College for their fourth straight win. Sophomores Mark Zimmermann and John Petrie led Hopkins in the Epee and Foil, respectively. They each achieved their 100th win of their careers.
Before winter break brought a four week break from games, the Hopkins men’s basketball team had an overall 4-5 record and a conference record of 2-2. Returning to practice on Dec. 29 was not ideal for the men, however it proved to be the right call, as the men hit the court on Jan. 3, exactly one month since their last game. Suffering a tough loss against Case Western provided the right incentive to spark a three game win streak, having two of those wins coming from conference matchups. The men were now 4-2 in conference and were showing potential as true conference contenders as they traveled to Carlisle, Pa. to take on the Red Devils of Dickinson College.
For the Hopkins wrestling team, the 2013-2014 season was a new beginning for everyone involved in the program. After a stellar season last year that saw the program produce All-American Paul Marcello, this season was a time for new people to fill into more prominent roles. As with all Hopkins sports teams though, the most important expectation for the season was team success; with the wrestling program, that expectation is always present.
The eighth-ranked Blue Jays faced a familiar rival against George Washington Colonials in the opening match of the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Championship. Going into the match, the Blue Jays led the season series between the squads three games to one.
At Hanover College, on the weekend of Nov. 23, the Hopkins men's cross country team competed in the NCAA Championships.
The Hopkins women’s cross country team took home its second national title at the NCAA Cross Country Championships at Hanover College on Saturday, Nov. 3.
On Nov. 30, the Hopkins women’s basketball team paid a trip to Messiah College for a post-Thanksgiving matchup. In a gritty, tough and tight battle, the Lady Jays came up just short dropping the game 70-66. While Hopkins was unsuccessful in claiming the win, the score tells the story of a team that would not give up even when faced with some major adversity.
Instead of going home for Thanksgiving break, the Hopkins men’s basketball team packed their bags and took their talents to southern California to compete in the Wells Classic. Arriving at the tournament with a 3-2 record, the Blue Jays were aiming to maintain a winning record. The team started their play on Friday night as the Blue Jays took on the Stags of Claremont Mudd-Scripps (CMS). Both teams were evenly matched as the game experienced 11 lead changes throughout.
Junior Jimmy Hammer, the basketball team’s talented guard has been selected as The News-Letter’s Athlete of the Week for his tremendous play through the beginning portion of the season. Hammer has played a major role in leading Hopkins to a 4-3 overall start against a very tough schedule thus far. He opened the season with one of the best games in the program’s history when he put up an astounding 38 points. The News-Letter caught up with Jimmy to ask him a few questions about how the team plans to stay on track as conference play continues.
In the most highly-anticipated game of the season, the bleachers at Homewood Field were packed with passionate fans as the eighth-ranked Hopkins football team welcomed the Wesley Wolverines in an NCAA first round playoff game. As the Jays took the field, the roaring crowd certainly gave them momentum heading into the critical playoff matchup. In a game that had five lead changes, unbelievable touchdowns and a lot of excitement, the Jays were eliminated from playoff contention as the Wolverines scored a crucial touchdown with 13 seconds to play.
Last week, the sixth ranked Hopkins Blue Jays faced off against the Williams Ephs and the Middlebury Panthers in NCAA tournament action. The Lady Jays triumphed 2-1 in a double overtime clash against #7 Williams in the Sweet Sixteen, but fell to #13 Middlebury in heartbreaking fashion, with the Panthers knocking Hopkins out of tournament play with a last minute goal to win 1-0.
Hopkins basketball opened up the 2013-2014 season with an impressive win over Moravian, led by a 36-point effort from junior guard Jimmy Hammer.
It has been a successful weekend for women’s cross country at Hopkins. In the NCAA Regional meet, the Lady Jays had four of the top five finishers, finishing with 26 points overall and a sixth straight regional championship. They also remained the top-ranked team in the nation for the 12th straight week.
There have been a plethora of words used to describe the 2013 Hopkins women’s soccer team. After this past weekend, they can add the word “sweet” to that list. For the sixth straight season, the Blue Jays punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 this past weekend by defeating Brooklyn College 6-0 on Saturday and York College 1-0 on Sunday. The Blue Jays played host to the NCAA regional for a sixth consecutive season.
Two wins, seven total goals on 56 shots and one game-winner in double-overtime highlighted the first weekend of NCAA action for the women’s soccer team.
Last season the Hopkins women’s basketball team finished a 16-11 season after being eliminated in the conference semifinals. Despite losing many of their top players from last year the team is very confident in themselves this year. They were picked fourth in the preseason conference poll, but the team hopes to make it all the way to the NCAA tournament.
