April 8, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

At a Glance: Johns Hopkins opens up a four-game road swing on Wednesday night at UMBC. The Blue Jays are looking to get back in the win column after dropping two straight. The Retrievers have won their last two outings, after dropping seven in a row.

Against the Retrievers: UMBC leads the all-time series, which began in 1976, 12-6-2. However, Johns Hopkins has won three straight and five of the last six meetings. Last season, the Blue Jays used a seven-goal spurt midway through the game to help put the Retrievers away en route to a 15-9 win at Homewood Field.

Last Time Out: Johns Hopkins led Vanderbilt 9-5 with 19:01 to play in the second half, but the Commodores scored four unanswered to knot the game at 9-9 and force overtime. Hopkins struck first in the extra period on a goal by senior Lauren Schwarzmann but a Cara Giordano goal would again tie the game and force sudden-victory overtime. Carter Foote's goal at 2:43 sent Vanderbilt storming onto the field with an 11-10 win.

Helpers: Nine different Blue Jays had tallied an assist so far this season, with sophomore Brett Bathras leading the way with a career-high 15 assists. Sophomore Danielle Ensley ranks second with six assists, also a career-high. Bathras now has 20 career assists, ranking 13th in school Division I history.

Youth Serves: So far this season, sophomores and freshmen have been doing the majority of the scoring for the Blue Jays. The two classes have scored 42 of the Blue Jays last 68 goals (61.7 percent). On the season, the classes of 2010 and 2011 have contributed 67 of the team's 117 goals or 57.3 percent of the scoring.

Century Club: Senior Lauren Schwarzmann totaled five points in Hopkins win over #19 Denver on March 30, scoring four goals and dishing one assist. Her free position goal, her fourth of the game, at 11:10 in the second half gave Schwarzmann 100 career points. She is just the ninth player in Johns Hopkins Division I history to reach the 100 career point mark and now has 107 points for her career.

Senior Kadie Stamper is looking to join that club as she enter's Wednesday's game with 98 career points.

Scouting the Retrievers: UMBC is riding a two-game winning streak after wins over Stony Brook and Howard last week. The win over Stony Brook ended a seven-game losing skid for the Retrievers.

Senior Ali Levendusky was named America East Women's Lacrosse Player of the Week on Monday. She scored a team-high 11 goals and 13 points last week, leading the Retrievers to back-to-back victories. She added seven ground balls and three draw controls, and she tallied the game-winner in both contests. Levendusky has scored at least three goals in 11 out of 13 games this season, and she leads the America East with 44 goals, the ninth-highest single-season total in school history and the most by a Retriever since Renee Tirocchi scored 47 in 2001.

Tough Row to Hoe: Johns Hopkins has had a tough row to hoe this season. To date, the Blue Jays opponents boast a combined record of 118-65 (.645), including two unbeatens (Princeton, Northwestern). Hopkins strength of schedule ranks third in the nation, behind only Duke and Penn State. Seven of JHU's 11 opponents so far this season were ranked in the top 20 by the IWLCA at the time of the game.

Records Watch: Senior Kadie Stamper ranks second all-time in JHU history with 192 career draw controls, just 10 shy of tying the program's all-time record of 202 (Jamie Larrimore `02). Stamper also ranks ninth in school Division I history with 81 goals, 10th in points (98), eighth in caused turnovers (59) and ninth in ground balls (131).

Senior Lauren Schwarzmann ranks seventh in JHU DI history with 36 career assists. She is also 11th in career goals (71), ninth in points (107) and fifth in draw controls (80).

On the Road: Wednesday night's game kicks off a four-game road swing for the Blue Jays. Hopkins travels down I-95 to take on UMBC on Wednesday night before traveling to Charlottesville to face Virginia on Sunday. Trips to Northwestern and Penn State follow before the Blue Jays wrap up the regular season at home against Ohio State.

Tewaaraton Watch List: Senior middie Lauren Schwarzmann has been named to the 2008 Warrior Tewaaraton Trophy Watch List. She is one of 44 players named to the list. The Tewaaraton Trophy is presented annually to the top male and female lacrosse players in the nation.

Schwarzmann has tallied 14 goals and five assists in seven games after missing four due to illness. She has also scooped up seven ground balls, controlled 15 draws and is 5-of-8 on free position shots.

All-Time Record: The Blue Jays are in their 33rd season of lacrosse with an all-time record of 323-193-4 (.625). As a Division I program, Johns Hopkins boasts a 106-58 (.646) record in 10 seasons.

21 In a Row: Johns Hopkins has posted 21 consecutive winning seasons overall, including nine as a Division I program. Among DI schools, the Blue Jays streak of nine consecutive winning seasons is tied for eighth all-time. Among all divisions, Hopkins' streak of 21 consecutive seasons with a winning record ranks fourth all-time.

Snowed Out: Johns Hopkins was slated to host Ohio State on March 9 in both teams' American Lacrosse Conference opener. However, due to heavy snow in Ohio, the Buckeyes were unable to make the trip to Baltimore. The game has been rescheduled for Monday, April 28 at 3:00 pm as part of a double-header with the men's lacrosse team. The men will host Mount St. Mary's at 7:00 pm that night.

10th Anniversary: The 2008 season is the 10th anniversary of Johns Hopkins' move to the Division I level. The Blue Jays are 106-58 (.646) in 10 DI seasons. Hopkins was a Division III team from 1976 to 1998 and posted a 217-135 (.616) record. The Blue Jays made nine trips to the NCAA DIII tournament and won two MAC and four Centennial Conference titles.

We're Going Streaking: Six Blue Jays have active scoring streaks entering today's game. Senior Kirby Houck leads the way with a nine-game point streak. While sophomore Brett Bathras is on an eight-game point and assist streak. Bathras' streak of eight consecutive games with an assist is tied for the fourth longest in Hopkins Division I history.

Preseason Honors: Seniors Lauren Schwarzmann and Kadie Stamper, along with sophomore Sam Schrum have been named to the American Lacrosse Conference Preseason All-Conference Team. In addition, Stamper was named a preseason Third Team All-American by Inside Lacrosse. She earned All-America honors from Inside Lacrosse in 2005 and 2006.

Red, White and Blue: Senior Lauren Schwarzmann was named to the U.S. Developmental Team last August. She is the second player under head coach Janine Tucker in the last two years to represent the United States. Mary Key `07 was named to the Developmental Team in 2005 and 2006. Last fall, Key was named to the U.S. Elite Team.

Preseason Pickings: Johns Hopkins has been picked to finish second in the ALC behind three-time NCAA Champion Northwestern. The Blue Jays, who were the runners-up at the inaugural ALC Tournament last May, just edged out the Vanderbilt Commodores for the number two slot. Penn State is picked to finish in fourth, followed by Ohio State in fifth.