MAY 13, 2002
BASEBALL
Calvin College senior Matt Schmitz has been named MIAA Pitcher of the Week. A
native of Ionia and a graduate of Ionia High School, Schmitz played a key role
in helping the Knights gain a three-game sweep of Hope and capture its second
MIAA title in the last three years.
In a 7-2 win over Hope last Wednesday, Schmitz pitched a scoreless seventh
inning to preserve a the victory in the opener of a critical doubleheader. In
game two, Schmitz came on in the third inning with Calvin trailing 4-2 with one
out and two runners in scoring position. Schmitz was able to get out of the jam
and went on to toss 4.2 innings of spotless relief as the Knights came back for
the 5-4 win, capturing the MIAA title in the process. Schmitz picked up the
pitching victory to run his season record to 5-2 while lowering his earned run
average to 3.77. In conference play, Schmitz raised his record to 1-0 while
lowering his earned run average to 1.80. Schmitz also finished the league
season with two saves, leaving him tied for second in the statistical category.
Schmitz is the third Calvin pitcher to receive MIAA Pitcher of the Week
accolades as senior Mike Ott and freshman Jim Deters also received the award
earlier in the year.
MIAA ALL-SPORTS STANDINGS (In Conjunction With Release From MIAA Office)
Calvin has finished second in all three categories of the final MIAA All-Sports
standings behind Hope College. Hope took first place in the (overall)
Commissioner's Cup standings with 175 points, nine points ahead of second place
Calvin (166). In the women's all-sports standings, Hope (94) finished eight
points ahead of second place Calvin (86). In the men's all-sports standings,
Hope edged Calvin by point, finishing with 81 to Calvin's 80.
The MIAA presents separate awards for the best cumulative finish in men's and
women's sports as well as an award for the best cumulative finish in all league
sports (men and women). The separate awards are known as the Men's All-Sports
Award and the Women's All-Sports award while cumulative award is know as the
Commissioner's Cup.
The final standings for the all-sports awards were determined on the basis of
each college's standings in eight of nine sports for men and eight of nine
sports for women. These point-totals were added together to determine the
winner of the Commissioner's Cup.
The Commissioner's Cup (MIAA All-Sports Award) has been presented since
1934-35. Hope has won the award 24 times, followed by Albion (14), Kalamazoo
(13), Calvin (8) and Alma (5).
This is the second consecutive year that Hope has won all three awards * the
Commissioner's Cup and the Men's and Women's All-Sports Award.
The final standings for all three awards along with a list of the 2001-2002
MIAA Championships can be found at:
http://www.hope.edu/pr/athletics/championships/results1.html
Calvin captured seven MIAA titles in the 17 sports that it competes in during
the 2001-2002 academic year. Calvin teams that captured MIAA titles this year
included: men's and women's cross country; men's basketball; women's swimming &
diving; men's and women's track & field, baseball. The seven MIAA titles marked
the highest total by any MIAA school during the 2001-2002 academic year.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK & FIELD
A number of Calvin athletes competed at last chance invitationals hosted by
either the University of Michigan or Butler University over the weekend.
At the Len Paddock Invitational hosted by the University of Michigan, Calvin
received a pair of standout performances in the pole vault as senior Rachel
Veltkamp (Grand Rapids Christian) matched a Calvin record in the event with an
NCAA III automatic qualifying and season-best height of 12-6 in the women's
competition which was good for second place while senior Jason DeVries (Unity
Christian) came up with an NCAA III provisional qualifying and career-best mark
of 15-9 in the men's competition which placed him fifth.
In the women's shot put, junior Mandy VanDenBosch (Grand Rapids Christian)
posted a mark of 40-9 while sophomore Katie Corner (Catholic Central) had a
career-best mark of 40-8 ¾. Corner also took sixth in the discus with a mark of
146-2.
On the men's side Calvin received a strong performance from its 4 x 400 meter
relay of senior Keith VanGoor (Midland Park, NJ), freshman Reuben Sportel (South
Christian), freshman Chris Friebel (Shelby, OH) and junior Steve Abbring
(Highland, IN) as it clocked in with a season-best time of 3:17.97.
At the Butler Invitational Saturday, Calvin senior Peter Armstrong (Lacey, WAI)
produced an NCAA III provisional qualifying time of 3:55.44 in the 1,500 meters.
Senior Joel Klooster (Chatham, ON) and sophomore Hendrik Kok (Lynden, WA) also
had NCAA III automatic qualifying times in the 5,000 meters as Klooster won the
event with a time of 14:28.66 while Kok was second in 14:31.01. In the women's
5,000 meters, sophomore Jessie Lair (Southfield Christian) took first with an
NCAA III automatic qualifying time of 17:27.24. Junior Rachel Baber (Brandon,
WI) also had an NCAA III provisional qualifying and season-best time of 37:49.54
in the taking third in the 10,000 meters.
A group of Calvin athletes will now prepare for a last-chance invitational at
Baldwin-Wallace College in Berea, Ohio, this week.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon May 13 2002 - 22:24:38 EDT