Johns Hopkins women find balance between academics and competing for national title
The Johns Hopkins University women's basketball has aspirations of winning a Division III NCAA championship. The Blue Jays are four wins away from accomplishing that feat.
"We've had such a long season but we've learned so much, we worked so hard," Hopkins guard Macie Feldman said.
While a title is at the top of minds, the players are balancing a rigorous academic curriculum with a heightened training schedule as they prepare for their second-straight round of 16.
"I was in class from 10:30-16:15, and then I came here right after, so yeah, it's super stressful this time of year," said Feldman, a junior neuroscience major who averages 10 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
March Madness takes on a whole new meaning when you are a student-athlete. They are looking for that one shining moment while also trying to ace their midterms.
"I actually have an exam on Thursday that I'm missing for travel so that's kind of a little stressful, but we have a lot of good resources here that help accommodate that," Feldman said.
Teammate Greta Miller says she is not sweating classwork right now because she graduated last December.
"So I just work all day and then show up to practice, and honestly it's super ideal," said Miller, who averages 8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. "It's like I'm in the WNBA, a little bit, it's like my job."
Hopkins (24-4) beat Carnegie Mellon, 68-58, on March 8 to advance to the round of 16 for the second year in a row. It will play at Scranton (Pa.) at 8 p.m. on Friday for a trip to the NCAA quarterfinals.
Michaela O'Neill leads Hopkins with 12.9 points per game, while Elisabeth Peebles is averaging 10.1 points per game.
The Blue Jays have set a program record for the most wins over a two-year period (50) and have advanced to the round of 16 in back-to-back years for the first time since 1997 and 1998.
"We're super close as a team this year," Feldman said. "You know it makes coming to practice, you know, eight months in a row, six days a week, it still makes it really fun to come in here and work with them."
