The US Merchant Marine Academy football team handed the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays their first loss of the 1999 campaign when they posted a 24-20 win on Tomb Field on Saturday, Sept. 25. The Mariners stand at 2-2 overall (1-1 FFC) following the win.

Johns Hopkins jumped out to an early 10-0 lead in the first quarter following a 76-yard scoring strike at 11:05 and a 25-yard field goal at 3:02. Senior quarterback Jeff Turpen (Horseshoebend, ID) fired his first touchdown pass of the day, a 35-yard strike to sophomore wideout Jay Debruhl (Camden, SC) with 1:38 left in the first quarter making the score 10-7. At the end of the first quarter senior linebacker and team captain Brian Aldridge (Carmel, NY) intercepted a pass from Johns Hopkins quarterback Rob Heleniak and returned it 34 yards to the Johns Hopkins eight-yard line. Turpen then had a four-yard touchdown run giving Kings Point their first lead of the game, 14-10, at the start of the second quarter. The score remained the same until the Blue Jays cut the advantage to one point on a 34-yard field goal midway through the third quarter. The Mariners answered with a 27-yard field goal by junior kicker Matt Warren (Centerport) at the start of the fourth quarter and the score was 17-13. On the ensuing kickoff, Blue Jays senior Harrison Bernstein ran back his second career kickoff for a touchdown, running 95 yards to paydirt, and giving Johns Hopkins a 20-17 edge. With under six minutes left in the game, Turpen led his troops down the field for the game-winning drive. Capping a 10 play, 79-yard drive, Turpen found Debruhl again, this time from 16 yards out to pull ahead 24-20. The Blue Jays hope for a comeback slipped away when senior Dan Quinn (Laural Springs, NJ) intercepted a pass on the Mariners' own 15-yard line, securing the win with 50 seconds remaining.

The Kings Point offense was paced on the ground by junior tailback Tori Fredericks (Durham, NC) who rushed for 92 yards on 23 carries. Turpen completed 12 of 23 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns. Turpen's second passing touchdown of the game tied a 12-year-old Academy record for career touchdowns (34) held by Skip Azzarita, who played for the Blue and Gray from 1984-87. He also ran for 82 yards on 11 carries and one touchdown. Debruhl finished the game with five receptions for 102 yards and two touchdowns.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Mariners got strong performances from senior linebacker Brian Aldridge (Carmel, NY) and senior strong safety Chris Rattigan (Sarasota, FL). Aldridge had 10 tackles (nine solo), two stops behind the line of scrimmage (11 yards), a sack (nine yards), a pass break-up, and the key interception. Rattigan also tallied 10 tackles (six solo) and had a break-up and tackle for a loss.

On special teams, the Blue and Gray received a spectacular performance from senior punter Tom Linter (Ramsey, NJ) who earned Freedom Football Conference honors as the Special Teams Player of the Week. Linter punted seven times for 339 yards, averaging 48.4 yards per punt with a long punt of 57 yards. Five of his punts in the game were inside the Johns Hopkins 11-yard line.

The Mariners will return to action next week. Homecoming at the Academy, when they take on FFC rival WPI at 2 p.m.

The Kings Point golf team posted a 365-385 win over Queens College on Wednesday, Sept. 22 freshman Dan Ashley (Paramus, NJ) had the best day for the Blue and Gray. The Blue and Gray cross country team traveled to New York University this past Saturday to race in a 27-team meet. Overall, the men's squad placed eighth with 199 points. Sophomore Sasha Voight (East Lansing, MI) had the top time for the team, placing 11th overall in 27:25 on the 8K course. The next-best finish for the Mariners came from junior Dave Thompson (Appleton, MN) who crossed the finish line in a time of 28:23 (32nd place). On the women's side, sophomore Brigitt Clausing placed 81st in a time of 21:38 on the 5K course. Both Voight's and Clausing's times were some of the fastest in Academy history.

The Mariners stand at 11-5 overall and a perfect 3-0 in Skyline Conference action after posting four wins last week. On Sept. 21, the Mariners hosted the College of Mt. St. Vincent for a Skyline Conference match. Sophomore middle hitter Lael Nicholls (Selah, WA) led the team to a 15-5, 15-3, 15-2 win after recording 20 kills and nine blocks. Junior setter Andrea Peer (Colorado Springs, CO) had 15 assists and four aces to help the Blue and Gray's effort.

On Thursday, Sept. 23, Kings Point posted a 15-13, 17-15, 15-3 win over Skyline rival St. Joseph's to improve to 3-0 in Conference action. The Mariners came back from a 13-9 deficit to win the first game by a 15-13 score, and in the second game, the Blue and Gray again came from behind for a win. Trailing 14-11, the Mariners went on a roll and extended the game to a 17-15 outcome. In the third game, Kings Point dominated and posted a 15-3 win. Nicholls had 15 kills and nine digs in the match. Junior captain Angelina Fuschetto (Muncie, IN) had nine kills, five service aces, and six digs and sophomore Kelly Glanding (Newark, DE) tallied seven kills in the Mariners effort.

Kings Point's most challenging day came as they hosted a tri-match on Plebe Acceptance Day at the Academy and faced two strong teams from William Paterson and Vassar. In the first match, Nicholls tallied 14 kills, eight defensive digs, and three aces as the Blue and Gray defeated William Paterson 15-12, 15-7, and 15-8. Fuschetto tallied seven kills and eight digs, and Glanding had six kills, three aces, and eight digs. In the second match, again Kings Point played well and earned a 16-14, 15-1, 15-4 decision over the Vassar College Brewers. Nicholls paced the team with 20 kills, three aces, seven digs, and seven blocks.

The Kings Point water polo team hosted the Collegiate Water Polo Association's Regional competition in O'Hara Hall Pool on Saturday and Sunday. At noon on Saturday, the Blue and Gray faced Division I powerhouse UMass-Amherst and fell by a 20-11 score. Feshmen Matt Deboer (Ann Arbor, MI) and Cory Gustafson (Ojai, CA) scored four goals and two goals respectively.

The second game of the day, was by far the most exciting match-up of the season to date. The Mariners were facing an 11-6 deficit against Fordham University and fought back to tie the game and force three overtimes before falling by a 17-16 score. "The team showed a lot of heart and emotion coming back in the game....it was a great game," stated Mariners' head coach Joe Linehan. Deboer had five goals in the loss, three of which came in the fourth quarter and the overtime periods, and Gustafson tallied four goals.

On Sunday, Kings Point fell by a 24-12 score to Iona, the third Division I team the Mariners faced during the weekend. The Blue and Gray fell behind by a 10-3 score and couldn't muster a comeback. Deboer led the offense again with three points. Deboer scored three points, and freshman Colin Adler (Houston, TX) had a two-point goal, as did Cory Gustafson.

The Kings Point Waterfront was back in action this past weekend, Sept. 25-26 hosting the MAISA Clinic and Regatta and the Kings Point Laser Open. The MAISA Clinic and Regatta is a race for new sailors while the KP Laser Open was a qualifer race for the MAISA Men's Singlehanded Championships taking place on Oct. 23-24 at St. Mary.

The three Mariners that competed in the KP Laser Open were junior Allan Terhune (Beachwood, NJ), sophomore Matt Schubert (Annapolis, MD) and sophomore Chris Breland (Rockwall, TX). The trio fared well in the Open finishing sixth, seventh, and eighth respectively overall, but none were able to make the qualifying spots of the top four places. Terhune was only nine points out of the last qualifying spot going into the 18th race, but St. Mary's Brent Janson and Dave Perkowski were able to sustain their advantage over the New Jersey native, Terhune. Breland had a strong finish, placing fifth, sixth, third and second in his last four finishes. Kings Point will have one more weekend to qualify for the Men's Singlehanded Championship when they host the MAISA Singlehanded Qualifier on Oct. 9-10.

The MAISA Seminar and Regatta was hosted by Kings Point and was attended by six colleges (Columbia, SUNY Maritime, Loyola College, University of Pennsylvania, Stevens Tech, and Georgetown). The event was an informal combination of clinic and racing (with coaches). Kings Point's Assistant Director of Sailing, Tim Herzog, ran the event with the assistance of the Mariners co-captain senior Casey Williams (Wilson, WY), sophomore Eben Samuelson (Columbia, ME) and junior Erika Weber (Phoenix, AZ). St. Mary's All-America crew, Courtney Cook ('97) also assisted the event. A total of 11 boats participated and competed in the one division event. Day one was sailed in FJs and then Kings Point unveiled the Academy's newest fleet, the Vanguard 15s on Sunday.

Kings Point will split their team in three on Oct. 2-3 when the Blue and Gray compete at Navy, Coast Guard and SUNY Maritime. The Danmark Trophy will be up for grabs at Coast Guard and the women look to qualify for the Women's Singlehanded Championships when they represent Kings Point at the MAISA Women's Singlehanded Qualifier at Navy. In addition the freshman women will compete in 420s at SUNY Maritime at the Freshman Groundbreaker.

The soccer team accomplished a feat on Wednesday, Sept. 22 that very few collegiate programs can say they have done. Kings Point traveled to maritime and Skyline Conference rival, SUNY Maritime on the Academy's training vessel Growler, a 65-foot yard-tug boat. Instead of the usual method of travel, which would entail the Mariners to take a team bus and fight rush hour traffic around New York's five buroughs, the squad took a 15-minute boat ride across the Long Island Sound to reach their destination with a little style. The sea-worthy athletes helped with the precheck of the vessel and with the casting-off procedures. The team was not only hitching a ride, but serving as crew members on the voyage by helping with all the docking procedures.

The rocking of the boat from the windy weather did not affect the Mariners scoring style at all, as it took only one minute for the maritime-athletes to get rid of their "sea-legs" and get on the scoreboard.

From the starting kickoff, senior Shea Pribyl (Overland Park, KS) and junior Chris Drew (Cranston, RI) began the march down the field finding junior Johnny Stocker (Cheyenne, WY) sneaking through Maritime's defense to make the game 1-0. After the Mariners initial strike, it seemed as if Stocker's goal would be the only score of the game. Both team's defenses and midfielders dominated the remainder of the half and most of the second period until Kings Point went on a scoring spree notching three goals in a 10 minute span. At 19:51 of the second half, freshman forward, Suni Sukduang (Rochester, NH) fed junior Justin Facciolo (Tampa, FL) on the left side to up the advantage to two in favor of the Mariners.

Stocker and Pribyl each added another goal on the afternoon and the Mariners won the game 4-0. Senior goaltender Ariel Torres faced only six shots on goal and posted four saves in his third full shutout of the year.

Saturday, Sept. 25 was a day that many Kings Point soccer fans will remember. The Mariners, which were 10th in the metro region upset the #5 College of New Jersey, Saturday by a score of 3-1.

The Mariners got on the scoreboard first coming from a penalty kick by Stocker with 14:18 left in the first period. Six minutes later, Facciolo added another penalty kick to up the Mariners score to 2-0. Kings Point's final goal of the afternoon came from junior Mike St. Louis (Franklin, MA) who broke free on a fast break and beat CNJ's goalkeeper one-on-one giving the Blue and Gray a 3-0 lead at intermission.

The Lions were able to break through the Mariners defense and score only once. Junior Louis Scerbo (Succasunna, NJ) assisted sophomore Steve Jenks (Marlton, NJ) for CNJ's only score of the game.

Kings Point's senior netminder Ariel Torres faced 12 shots on goal making six spectacular saves, including a CNJ penalty kick with 2:38 remaining in the game, to give the Mariners its sixth consecutive win of the year. In a pivotal portion of the game, Torres jammed one of his fingers and was forced to leave the game. Backup goaltender, Kyle Miller (Denton, TX) entered the match and made a diving save to keep the Mariners lead intact. Torres returned after only being sidelined for three minutes.

Junior goalkeepers Christian Groenveld (Succasunna, NJ) and Ryan Hayword (Danbury, CT), who entered in the second half, each posted one save in CNJ's effort. The Mariners improved to 6-3 (2-1 Skyline Conference), while College of New Jersey falls to 3-2-2.

The Mariners will go for their seventh straight win on Thursday, Sept. 30 at home versus SUNY Old Westbury. The Skyline Conference match will start at 4 p.m.