#20 Brown Loses Late Lead to #17 Johns Hopkins in 6-5 Loss

Sept. 30, 2007

Providence, RI - Despite holding a 5-3 lead midway through the fourth quarter, the 20th-ranked Brown men's water polo team (7-3) lost to #17 Johns Hopkins, 6-5, in the fifth-place game at the ECAC Championship at Bucknell's Kinney Natatorium. Junior Mike Gartner (San Jose, CA) led the Bears with two goals, while sophomore Kent Holland (Orinda, CA) made seven saves in the loss.

The loss left the Bears with a 1-2 record at the tournament, which featured a much stronger field than usual, with six ranked teams. The ECAC Championship features the eight teams from the previous season's Eastern Championship, and this year, six of those teams were ranked nationally entering the weekend, with a seventh receiving votes in the 20-team poll. Both of the Bears' losses this weekend, as with their previous loss, were to higher-ranked teams.

"We came to ECACs to see where we were as a team," said Brown Head Coach Felix Mercado. "Despite the losses, we're very excited about how well our performance bodes for the rest of the season."

The teams were tied, 3-3 at the half. The Bears won a defensive struggle for the next quarter and a half to take a two-goal lead, but the Blue Jays fought back to take the lead. Bruno put forth a few valiant efforts for the equalizer, but it was not to be.

Getting on the scoresheet with one goal apiece were senior co-captain Gerrit Adams (Winnetka, IL), junior Nico Fort (Miami, FL), and freshman Gordon Hood (Carlsbad, CA). Gartner also drew four ejections, bringing his weekend total to 18 in three games.

In other action at the tournament, #14 St. Francis defeated #13 Navy in the Championship Game, 8-7; #11 Bucknell defeated #18 Princeton, 11-8, in the third-place game; and George Washington took a 17-11 win over Harvard for seventh place.

After facing the toughest competition on the East Coast, Brown will travel west next week for six games in four days in California. Among the teams the Bears will face will be #3 UCLA, #5 Pepperdine, and #7 Long Beach State.