ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Division III No. 8-ranked Johns Hopkins University water polo team splits its matches on the opening day of the season at the United States Naval Academy’s Navy Open, beating Austin College, 15-10, in the first match before falling to host the Midshipmen, 19-8, in a Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)-East Region clash in the nightcap.
The win over the Kangaroos was the first for first-year Blue Jay head coach Max Schlegel. Further, it marked the first-ever meeting between Hopkins and Austin College.
Kunwar led the Blue Jays with a game-high seven goals against Austin. Banks added three goals and two assists, while Ivanov chipped in three goals and four points. Junior Max Fleming made 10 saves and had three steals in his debut in the cage.
Against Austin, sophomore Jayden Kunwar scored just 35 seconds into the game, but the ‘Roos answered with three straight goals to go up 3-1 at the 2:22-mark. Senior Finn Banks scored twice in just 25 seconds to pull the Blue Jays even with 1:24 to go. Junior Olin Shipstead then put Hopkins on top with a man-up goal and Hopkins led 4-3 at the break.
Junior Nico Ivanov opened the second-quarter with back-to-back goals and the lead was 6-3 just 1:20 into the quarter.
Banks capped the six-goal run with a man-up goal to push the lead to four. Sam Skinner ended the run and made it a 7-4 game. But Hopkins responded with a 3-1 spurt to end the half and send Hopkins into the break with a 9-5 lead.
Kunwar and Ivanov scored just 19 seconds apart to start the third and stake JHU to an 11-5 lead. Evan Cueva answered for the ‘Roos, followed by a Robert Griffin strike and the lead was down to four with 2:55 to play in the quarter. The teams traded scores for the remainder of the game and Hopkins capture a five-goal victory for Schlegel’s inaugural victory.
In a MAWPC-East Region league game contested as part of the Navy Open, the Blue Jays and Midshipmen swapped scores over the opening five minutes of the game.
Trailing 4-3, Navy pushed ahead as Andrew Shasin scored with 2:34 to go in the opening quarter to spark a five-goal run that saw the Mids go up 8-4 by the 5:32-mark in the second quarter.
Kunwar ended the run with his score at 4:27, but Navy countered with nine straight goals to storm out to a 17-5 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Ivanov got Hopkins back on the board early in the fourth, but a Jamie Cassidy goal made it an 18-6 game midway through the quarter. Junior John Murphy and sophomore Jacob Whitaker then got back-to-back goals before one final Navy goal made it a 19-8 game.
Hopkins falls to 9-54 all-time against Navy as the Mids have won three of the last four meetings.
Ivanov had a team-best three goals against Navy and Banks handed out a team-high three assists to go with one score. Murphy had two points (one goal, one assist) and two steals, while Shipstead also had two points (one goal, one assist). Fleming made seven saves in the loss.
Release courtesy Johns Hopkins University Athletics Communications
