Aug. 5, 2004

After claiming a pair of Centennial Conference Championships last fall (football, field hockey) and having five teams advance to post-season play, the Johns Hopkins community has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new school year. Prospects for another successful fall are high as the football team will enter the season as a favorite to reach the NCAA Playoffs for the first time ever, while the men's soccer and volleyball teams will look to take the next step after falling in the Centennial Conference Championship matches last year.

Below is a capsule look at each of the fall teams and things to look for in 2004:

Football (10-1 in 2003)

• 2003 Centennial Conference Co-Champions •

• 2003 ECAC South Atlantic Champions •

Points to Ponder: The Blue Jays return 15 starters for head coach Jim Margraff (Johns Hopkins '82), the all-time winningest coach in school history. Hopkins is 19-3 in the last two years and 25-6 in the last three. Senior DB Matt Campbell and senior OL Matt Weeks both earned All-America honors from several organizations last season and will anchor the team. Senior RB Adam Cook enters his final season with a chance to become Hopkins' all-time leading rusher after setting a single-season record with 1,047 yards last season. He is one of nine returning starters to an offense that averaged 28.6 points and 386.6 yards per game. Campbell and headlines a unit that led the nation in pass efficiency defense and came up with 28 interceptions while allowing just two touchdown passes in 11 games. The Blue Jays didn't allow more than 14 points in any game in 2003 and five of 11 opponents failed to score an offensive touchdown.

Men's Soccer (18-3-1 in 2003)

• 2003 ECAC Mid-Atlantic Champions •

Points to Ponder: Johns Hopkins has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in every even-numbered year since 1994 and the Blue Jays have won the Centennial Conference title in every even-numbered year since 1996. Hopkins went 18-3-1 last year, tying the school record for wins in a season. The Blue Jays return eight starters from that team, including senior goalkeeper Gary Kane, Jr., an All-Centennial First Team selection in 2003 whose 0.69 career goals against average is tied for 23rd place in NCAA Division III history. Junior Adam Simon will lead the Hopkins attack after scoring eight goals and assisting on seven more for 23 points last season. The Blue Jay center midfield of sophomore Ben McAbee, who scored posted four goals and four assists while starting all 22 matches in his first season, and junior Manbaj Gill, who had two goals and three assists in the ECAC Tournament, should be very strong for Hopkins. Three starters from last year's backfield that tied the school single-season record with 14 shutouts also return.

Women's Soccer (13-6-1 in 2003)

Points to Ponder: Leo Weil, the only head coach in the 12-year history of the program, has guided the Blue Jays to the post-season every year since 1997 and the return of the team's top three scorers bodes well for another solid season. A young nucleus of goal-scorers in sophomores Lauren Baumann and Kaitlin Giannetti and junior Meg McIntosh and the return of junior goalie Joe Goebel provides balance at both ends of the field. Goebel, McIntosh and senior midfielder Kathleen Turley all return after earning First Team All-Centennial honors last season.

Field Hockey (12-9 in 2003)

• 2003 Centennial Champions •

• 2003 NCAA Second Round •

Points to Ponder: The Blue Jays will look to build on last season's late run when Hopkins won nine of its last 12 games to win the Centennial Conference Tournament and advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Junior Caite Kappel, who scored five goals last year and added two assists last year, will lead the Hopkins attack, while junior Meighan Roose will play in the center midfield for the Blue Jays. Roose, a Second Team All-South Region and All-Centennial selection in 2003, scored three goals, added six assists and tied for second in the league with eight defensive saves a year ago. Three other starters return, including junior goalkeeper Meredith Shifman, who made 160 saves last season, fourth-most in a single-season in Hopkins history.

Volleyball (23-9 in 2003)

Points to Ponder: Second-year coach Scott Pennewill tries to take the next step with the Blue Jays after an exciting debut in 2003. Pennewill guided the Blue Jays to a 23-9 record and a trip to the Centennial Conference Championship match (just the second in program history). Senior Betsy Baydala, who should become JHU's career leader in assists and digs this season, returns for her fourth season as JHU's setter. Junior Kate O'Callaghan, who finished second on the team in kills and digs, and sophomore Lizzie Kay, who led the team with a school-record 500 digs last season, join Baydala as the anchors of the team.

Men's & Women's Cross Country

Points to Ponder: Head coach Bobby Van Allen has quietly built a solid program in the competitive Centennial Conference and both the men and women should battle for a top four finish at the CC Championships this fall. On the men's side, none of the top eight JHU finishers from last season's conference championships were seniors, while the women had three freshmen among their top six at the CC Championships. At the NCAA Regional Championships last season the Blue Jay women grabbed a 12th-place finish.

Water Polo (17-15)

Points to Ponder: The Blue Jay water polo team will look to continue its success this fall after posting a 17-15 record in 2003, finishing fourth in the Division III Poll and 10th in the CWPA Top 10 Poll for all divisions. Hopkins will be led by senior Brian Mead, who last year was named to the CWPA Division III All-America First Team for the second straight season. The Blue Jays have been represented on the first team in each of the last five years. Mead will be joined by fellow seniors Parker Wilson, James Singleton, Dan Stillman and Mac Sanford as the Blue Jays again will face a challenging schedule against many of the top teams in both Division I and Division III.