April 5, 2007

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Sneak Peak: Johns Hopkins hits the road this weekend to take on #19 Vanderbilt in an ALC tilt in Nashville. The Blue Jays have had a week to rest after a 15-13 win over the Denver Pioneers. The Commodores are coming off an 18-12 victory over the New Hampshire Wildcats.

Against Vanderbilt: Hopkins and Vanderbilt have met five times and the Blue Jays lead the series 4-1. The Commodores won the first ever meeting on February 24, 2002, but Hopkins has won four straight. Senior attacker Mary Key has tallied 11 points (5g, 6a) in her career against the Commodores. Senior middie Steph Janice has seven career points, including four in last season's meeting, against Vanderbilt.

300 and Climbing: Senior attacker Mary Key joined some elite company on March 14 when she became the 15th player in NCAA Division I history to reach 300 career points mark. With 337 career points, she currently ranks sixth all-time and is now six points shy of tying Karen Ema (Delaware `84) for fifth all-time.

Century Club: Senior attacker Mary Key is also climbing up the NCAA Division I career assists list. She now ranks third all-time with 131 and is just one shy of moving into a tie for second all-time with Kelly Amonte (Maryland `96).

Rare Company: Freshman attacker Sam Schrum joined some rare company this season. She scored a goal in each of her first eight career games, joining Hopkins All-Americans Jamie Larrimore (`02), Heidi Pearce (`04) and Mary Key (`07) as the only players in school Division I history to score a goal in each of their first five career games.

April Reign: April has been a good month for the Blue Jays under head coach Janine Tucker. Hopkins is 74-27 (.733) in games played in April under Tucker.

Top-Freshmen: Hopkins entered the season with one of the most highly touted recruiting classes in the nation. Inside Lacrosse ranked the Jays Class of 2010, fifth. Freshmen attackmen Brett Bathras and Sam Schrum and defender Angela Hughes were all named "Players to Watch". In addition, freshman middie Kim Dubansky was named a "Blue Chip" recruit.

The freshmen class has made an immediate impact for the Blue Jays this season. Schrum ranks second on the team with 18 goals and third with 23 points. She is also third in draw controls (21) and fourth in ground balls (17). In addition, Bathras, Hughes, Dubansky and Danielle Ensley have all tallied points so far this season.

Record-Breaker: Senior Mary Key has left her mark all over the Johns Hopkins Women's Lacrosse Record Book, but she's not done yet. She entered the 2007 season with 14 school records to her name. She added three more records to her resume in the Blue Jays win over Oregon on March 21. Key broke the school Division I career record for goals and the single-game record for points. She also broke Hopkins all-time career assists record.

Key is on pace to break yet another career record this season. With 206 goals, she is just three shy of tying Jenn Ward's all-time record of 209.

Records Watch: Fifth-year senior Sarah Walsh and junior Kadie Stamper are also leaving their marks on the Hopkins record book. Walsh currently ranks eighth all-time with 56 career assists and is nine shy of tying seventh-place Danielle Maschuci (`00). She ranks eighth in Hopkins Division I history with 81 goals, fourth in assists and sixth in points (137).

Stamper ranks fourth all-time with 128 draw controls and is one shy of tying third-place Sonia Dickson (`95). In school D-I history, Stamper ranks 10th in goals (62), second in draw controls and tied for ninth in caused turnovers (49).

In addition, junior middie Lauren Schwarzmann jumped into the top-10 in career assists. She now ranks tied for seventh with 28 assists.

All-Time Record: Hopkins, now in its 32nd season of women's lacrosse, enters today's game with an overall record of 312-183-4 (.629). When it defeated American 15-7 on March 26, 2006, Hopkins became just the seventh Division I school to win 300 or more games. Hopkins was the 15th school in any division to reach the 300-win mark. The Blue Jays made the move from Division III to Division I in 1999 and is 95-48 (.664) in eight-plus D-I seasons.

Home Sweet Home: Hopkins plays its home games at historic Homewood Field, celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2007. The Blue Jays have enjoyed much success at Homewood, especially of late. Hopkins is 5-1 at home this season and is 28-7 (.800) dating back to April 25, 2003. Since moving to Division I in 1999, the Jays are 57-22 (.721) at home. In 31-plus seasons at Homewood, Hopkins posts a record of 176-77-2 (.694).

500 and Counting: Today's game at Vanderbilt will mark the 500th in the program's history. Only 13 programs in NCAA history (Division I and III) have played 500 or more games. In addition to Hopkins, Princeton, Lafayette and Richmon will hit the 500-game mark this weekend.

Tewaaraton Trophy Nominee: Hopkins senior attacker Mary Key has been named to the 2007 Tewaaraton Preseason Watch List. A nominee the past two seasons, Key led the nation in scoring in 2005 and 2006. The list will be voted upon by coaches and narrowed as the season progresses, ultimately reaching a final list of 5 women who constitute the award's finalists.

Poll Position: Hopkins opened the season ranked #10 in the IWLCA and Inside Lacrosse Media preseason polls. The Blue Jays dropped a notch in the polls this week to #13.

Eight of Hopkins opponents opened the season ranked in the top-20 of the IWLCA preseason poll, including five who were ranked in the top-10. While two other Hopkins opponents, Denver and Oregon, have moved up into the top-20 this season.

The Blue Jays face a ranked opponent for the seventh time this season and sixth consecutive game when they take on the #19 Vanderbilt Commodores today.

Preseason Pickings I: The Blue Jays were picked second in the 2007 ALC Preseason Poll as voted on by the league's coaches. Hopkins just edged out Penn State. Defending ALC and NCAA Champion Northwestern was picked #1.

Preseason Pickings II: Senior Mary Key and juniors Sarah Gallion, Lauren Schwarzmann and Kadie Stamper were named to the 2007 ALC Preseason Team as decided on by the league's coaches.

Inside Lacrosse also named two Blue Jays to its preseason All-America Team. Key was named first team, while Stamper was named to the second team.

I'm Honored: Senior attacker Mary Key was named both the Nike/Inside Lacrosse and WomensLax.com Player of the Week on March 26. Freshman attacker Sam Schrum earned American Lacrosse Conference Player of the Week honors on March 12. In addition, Key has been named to the womenslacrosse.com Honor Roll three times so far this season.

Streaking: Senior Mary Key enters today's game with a 60-game point streak, the longest in Hopkins Division I history. The streak dates back to her first game in a Blue Jays uniform - February 29, 2004. It is also the longest active streak in NCAA Division I. Patricia Sutton of Holy Cross had a streak of 68 straight games that was snapped on Wednesday.

One other Blue Jay enter today's game with a point streak - junior Kadie Stamper who has six goals in the last two games.

150 and Counting: The Blue Jays win over Oregon on March 18, 2006 was the 150th career win for head coach Janine Tucker. Coach Tucker is just the 12th coach all-time to reach the 150-win plateau and just the sixth active coach with 150 wins. Tucker now posts a record of 163-64 (.718). Navy head coach Cindy Timchal is the all-time wins leader with 336.

A Key to Our Success: Senior Mary Key has been instrumental in the Blue Jays success since she stepped foot on the Homewood campus. She has tallied a point in every game of her career and scored in all but two of those games. With 337 career points in just 60 games, Key is averaging 5.62 points per game for her career. So far this season, Key has tallied 75 points in just 10 games (7.50 ppg).

Hopkins is 41-17 when Key scores a goal. When she scores three or more goals, the Blue Jays are almost unbeatable at 33-7.

Player Notes of Interest in PDF version.