Each week, The Sun will publish a Q&A with a college lacrosse player or coach to get you more acquainted with his/her team. Today's guest is Johns Hopkins senior attackman Kyle Wharton, who is tied for second on the No. 4 Blue Jays in goals (14) and ranks fourth in points (18).
How has the season been unfolding for you on a personal level?
I'm always looking to get better. As a whole, regardless of how I'm playing, I'll take what we are and where we're standing right now even if I wasn't playing or had zero goals. I'm really excited about getting further into the season here. Hopefully, we can make a run at this championship.
What do you think about your reputation as a sniper?
I would say any kind of positive reputation is a good one, I guess. It's not upsetting by any means.
Last spring, you scored a goal against Towson, and the ball tore a hole in the netting. What's it like to have what many are saying is the hardest shot in the country?
I'm not sure that I do, but I've always prided myself in getting out there and putting the extra work into my shot ever since I started lacrosse. It's something I've always been working on. I hope I can make some more shots, but [that reputation] is not a bad thing.
On the ESPN broadcast of Sunday's win against North Carolina, one of the analysts mentioned that coach Dave Pietramala had talked to you about not playing in a phone booth. What did that mean?
It was about me needing to do a little bit more, other things within the game. I'm definitely working on those things. That's been a common theme throughout my career at Hopkins.
After failing to score goals against Syracuse and Virginia, how good was it to score three against North Carolina?
It was good. Actually, I didn't score a goal that counted against Syracuse and Virginia. I scored in the overtime [against Syracuse] that didn't count, and then against Virginia, I scored a goal, but Coach had called timeout. It was more of a mental thing, getting back on track, and it felt good to get the first goal of the game and move forward.
You've had a few weeks to review the goal that was waved off against Syracuse. Do you think it should have counted?
I actually haven't watched it, and I don't think I ever will. That game's over with, and we're moving on. It didn't count, so I don't really to think about it anymore. We can't harp on the Syracuse game and whether we won or lost that game because in the end, we lost.