SPORTS REPORT FOR SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2002
MEN’S BASKETBALL
ALMA – Calvin closed out a momentous final week of regular season play with a
69-55 triumph at Alma Saturday afternoon, allowing the Knights to finish the
MIAA regular season with a 9-3 conference record and claim an outright MIAA
championship. A week ago, the Knights dropped into second place with a
last-second loss to Albion. Calvin rebounded however to top league-leading Hope
Wednesday night and then moved into sole possession of first place on Saturday
as the Knights topped Alma and Hope dropped out of first place with a loss at
Albion Saturday.
The MIAA title is Calvin’s fourth straight including its 27th overall and its
22nd outright. It also marks the first time since 1977 that an MIAA team has
captured an outright MIAA title with a 9-3 conference record. The last team to
do so was a Calvin team led by Mark Veenstra who helped the Knights finish 9-3
in the MIAA during the 1976-77 season.
With the MIAA title, Calvin gains the top seed for next week’s MIAA Tournament
including a first round bye. The Knights will host the MIAA Tournament
semifinals February 22 as well as the championship game February 23.
After falling behind 16-13 midway through the first half in Saturday’s game at
Alma, Calvin (19-6 overall) proceeded to rip off a 29-11 scoring run to take a
42-27 halftime lead. Sophomore Kevin Broene (Grand Rapids Christian) nailed a
pair of triples in the Calvin surge and finished the first half with eight
points.
Alma (3-20 overall, 0-12 MIAA) would close to within single digits at 50-41
early in the second half but would get no closer as the Knights ripped off eight
unanswered points to build a 58-41 lead. Alma would get no closer than 12
points the rest of the way as the Knights closed out the win.
Broene led the Calvin scoring effort with a game-high 19 points while junior Rob
Dykstra (Tri-unity Christian) notched his second career double-double with 12
points and 10 rebounds while junior forward Jeremy Veenstra (Kalamazoo
Christian) had 12 points and eight rebounds to extend his double-figure scoring
streak to 43 games.
Alma was led in scoring by senior Spencer Wideman who tossed in 16 points while
freshman Joe Baysdell collected 10 points and five rebounds. Calvin finished
with a 40.3 percent field goal clip and held Alma to a 38.6 percent field
shooting performance. The Knights were also 13-of-17 (.765) at the free throw
line while the Scots were just 6-of-12 (.500) at the charity stripe. The
Knights also outrebounded Alma 48-29 including 14-5 on the offensive glass.
Calvin will now await its opponent for the MIAA Tournament semifinals Friday
night. Calvin will face either Albion or Adrian in the second semifinal game
February 22.
OTHER MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES SATURDAY
Albion 54, Hope 36
Adrian 101, Olivet 76
FINAL MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS
Calvin 9-3
Hope 8-4
Kalamazoo 8-4
Albion 7-5
Adrian 6-6
Olivet 4-8
Alma 0-11
MIAA TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS
First Round Games Wednesday, February 20
Alma (3-20) at Hope (17-8)
Adrian () at Albion ()
Olivet () at Kalamazoo ()
MIAA TOURNAMENT SEMIFINAL PAIRINGS FEBRUARY 22
Alma/Hope winner vs Olivet/Kalamazoo winner at 6:00 pm
Adrian/Albion winner vs Calvin (20 minutes after first game)
MIAA TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FEBRUARY 23 AT 7:30 pm
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin will hit the road for the MIAA Tournament after a disappointing 52-49
loss to Alma Saturday afternoon at the Calvin Fieldhouse.
The loss dropped Calvin into a fourth place tie with Albion at 7-7 in the final
MIAA standings but the Britons, due to a tie-breaker edge, gain the fourth seed
and homecourt advantage for a first round MIAA Tournament game with Calvin
Tuesday night. Tuesday’s first round MIAA Tournament game will begin at 7:30 pm
at Albion’s Kresge Gymnasium.
Calvin (12-12) overall could have assured itself of a winning season and the
fourth seed for the MIAA Tournament with a win over Alma Saturday but the
Knights faltered down the stretch as the Scots outscored Calvin 8-2 over the
final three minutes of play.
Calvin took a 47-44 lead on a layup by junior Tricia Dyk (Western Michigan
Christian) with 3:16 left to play but the Scots knotted the score at 47 apiece
on Janell Twietmeyer’s fourth three-point shot of the game. Twietmeyer’s triple
came with just under three minutes left to play. Twietmeyer then gave Alma the
lead at 49-47 on a pair of free throws with 2:08 left before Dyk answered with a
hanging jumper in the lane to tie the game at 49-49 with 1:44 left on the clock.
Alma junior Shelly Ulfig was then fouled on a put-back attempt with 1:12 left
and converted her first free throw to put the Scots up 50-49. Calvin then
misfired on a shot with 12 seconds remaining and was forced to foul with nine
ticks on the clock. Alma junior guard Kristie Gehrs then stepped up and nailed
both ends of a bonus situation to put the Scots up 52-49. With time ticking
down, Alma’s Jillian MacDonald blocked a game-tying three-point attempt by the
Knights to secure the win for the Scots.
Calvin jumped out to an 18-11 first half lead and then held a 28-21 advantage on
a jumper by freshman Kristen McDonald (West Catholic) with 1:45 left in the
half. The Scots proceeded to outscore Calvin 6-2 over the final 1:27 of the
half to close to within 30-27 at intermission.
Alma (8-15) then ran off a 9-2 run to open the second half to build a 36-32
lead. Calvin would come back to take a 43-42 lead on a layup by senior Tara
Bergsma (Calvin Christian) with 7:10 remaining and followed with another layup
moments later to put the Knights up 45-42.
Calvin was led in defeat by junior center Emily Beard (Southfield Christian) who
collected her seventh career double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds while
Dyk and McDonald picked up eight points apiece. Alma was led by Twietmeyer’s
game-high 24-point effort by Ulfig scored 10 points and ripped down a game-high
15 rebounds.
Alma held a 38-31 rebounding advantage over the Knights and also outscored
Calvin 15-1 at the free throw line as the Scots were 16-of-22 (.727) at the
stripe while Calvin was just 1-of-2 (.500). Alma shot 31.4 percent overall
while Calvin shot 42.6 percent but just 33.3 percent in the second half.
Calvin will now face an Albion team that split with the Knights this year.
Albion captured the first meeting, winning 68-57 at Kresge Gymnasium with Calvin
winning the return meeting a week ago, 48-45 at the Calvin Fieldhouse.
OTHER MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES SATURDAY
Adrian 71, Olivet 62
St. Mary’s 66, Kalamazoo 53
Albion 58, Hope 46
FINAL MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS
Hope 12-2
Kalamazoo 10-4
Adrian 9-5
Albion 7-7
Calvin 7-7
St. Mary’s 5-9
Alma 4-10
Olivet 2-12
MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS
FIRST ROUND GAMES, FEBRUARY 19
Olivet (#8) at (#1) Hope
(#7) Alma at (#2) Kalamazoo
(#6) St. Mary’s at (#3) Adrian
(#5) Calvin at (#4) Albion
MIAA TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS, FEBRUARY 21
Olivet/Hope winner vs Calvin/Albion winner
Alma/Kalamazoo winner vs St. Mary’s/Adrian winner
MIAA TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, FEBRUARY 23 at site of highest remaining seed
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
A group of Calvin athletes competed at an indoor invitational hosted by the
University of Michigan Saturday afternoon and the Knights came up with a number
of fine individual efforts.
Highlighting the day for the Calvin men was senior Joel Klooster (Chatham, ON)
who claimed first place in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:34.63 while
sophomore Tim Avery (Rochester, NY) was seventh in 8:49.28 and senior David
Ritsema (Denver, CO) eighth in 8:52.37.
Senior Jason DeVries (Unity Christian) was eighth in the pole vault (4.27
meters) while junior Francis Ikwueme (Jos, Nigeria) was fifth in the long jump
(6.61 meters). In addition, junior Nick VanderPlas (McBain Christian) eighth in
the shot put (13.93 meters) and sophomore Joel Post (Demotte, IN) was eighth in
the 800 meters (158.69).
In the women’s competition, Calvin received strong performances from a quartet
of runners in the 3,000 meters as senior Erinn Boot (Kalamazoo Christian) was
second (10:38.77); senior Lindsay Carrier (Tri-unity Christian) was fourth
(10:45.68); senior Laura Medema (Grand Rapids Christian) was fifth (10:51.51)
and sophomore Jesse Lair (Southfield Christian) was sixth (10:57.14). In the
200 meters, Calvin went 5-6-8 with freshman Sue Abbring (Highland, IN) placing
fifth (26.91); junior Annie Vanderlaan (Grand Rapids Christian) placing sixth
(26.99) and freshman Anne VenHuizen (Manhattan, MT) taking eighth (28.65).
In the pole vault, senior Rachel Veltkamp (Grand Rapids Christian) was third
(3.36 meters) while sophomore Sarah Weedah (Manhattan, MT) was sixth in the
triple jump (10.01 meters) and freshman Naomi Kruis seventh (9.42 meters).
In the 400 meters, senior Mindy Worst (Grand Rapids Christian) was fifth
(1:02.15); sophomore Shawna Anderson sixth (1:04.62) and freshman Linnea Butler
(Olympia, WA) seventh (1:05.35).
Former Calvin national champion Lindsay Mulder -- competing unattached –
captured the long jump with a mark of 6.11 meters.
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