From: Jeff Febus (jfebus@calvin.edu)
Date: Thu Feb 13 2003 - 23:44:16 EST
CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 13, 2003
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
MIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS-DAY ONE REPORT
HOLLAND -- The first day of competition of the MIAA Championships proved to be a
nip-and-tuck affair for the Calvin women's swimming and diving team as the
Knights pulled into a narrow first place lead, compiling a team score of 181
points, seven points ahead of second place Hope.
An MIAA record performance by freshman Abby Johnson of Grand Haven High School
highlighted the evening for Calvin as she captured the 200 IM with an NCAA III
automatic qualifying time of 2:09.32, just five-hundreths of a second ahead of
defending champion Audrey Arnold of Hope who took second in 2:09.37. Johnson
entered the race as the top seed by more than four seconds after posting an MIAA
record time of 2:09.45 in the morning prelims. Heading into the final turn of
Thursday's championship final, Johnson trailed Arnold by a fraction. Johnson
then put on a furious sprint in the final 25 yards to claim the victory by an
eyelash.
"That was about as exciting as it gets," said Calvin men's and women's swim
coach Dan Gelderloos. "I can't say enough about Abby's competitive desire in
that race. She may be only a freshman but she swam like a seasoned veteran down
the stretch."
Johnson's performance was one of three individual first place finishes by the
Calvin women on Thursday as senior Katie Nagelkirk of Holland Christian High
School captured first place in the 50 freestyle for the third straight year
while junior Sara TerHaar of Bradenton, Florida, won the three-meter diving
competition with an NCAA III conditional qualifying score of 423.20. Nagelkirk
won the 50 freestyle with an NCAA III conditional qualifying time of 24.21while
TerHaar led a 1-3-4-5 Calvin finish in the diving competition that vaulted the
Knights into first place as a team.
Following TerHaar from Calvin on the three-meter board was freshman Julie
Erickson (Libertyville, IL) who took third (342.95), sophomore Anna Battoclette
(Cincinatti, OH) in fourth (342.70) and freshman Julie Offringa (Unity Christian
HS) in fifth (317.60).
"Our diving performance was huge," said Gelderloos. "We were counting on our
divers to bring home some points and they delivered."
Calvin's 200 freestyle relay team of Nagelkirk, freshman Jen Kool (Holland
Christian HS), junior Brittney Stevens (Mankato, MN) and senior Anne Kuiper
(Houghton High School) took first place with an NCAA III conditional qualifying
time of 1:38.74, marking the fourth straight year that Calvin has won the event
at the league meet.
Calvin's depth also showed up in the 500 freestyle as Stevens took fourth
(5:20.15), senior Jenny Los (Holland Christian HS) fifth (5:21.54) and freshman
Lynn Visser (Jenison HS) eighth (5:22.97). In the 200 IM, Kuiper added a fourth
place swim (2:14.89) while Calvin's 400 medley relay team took second with a
school record and NCAA III conditional qualifying time of 4:07.23.
"Overall I was very pleased with the performance of our women's team today,"
said Gelderloos. "We are ahead of pace of where I had us originally scored.
The challenge for us now is to stay in the game tomorrow and stay within
striking distance. We'll have to scrape and claw for every point we can get to
do that."
Gelderloos also had words of praise for Nagelkirk's consistency in the 50
freestyle. "I know Katie was hoping for a faster time but she picked up the
first place finish that we so badly needed as a team," said Gelderloos. "For
her to win an event three straight years is a significant accomplishment."
On the men's side, Calvin found itself in third place with 124 points, 27 points
behind second place Hope and 90 points behind defending champion Kalamazoo.
Sophomore Peter Boumgarden of Naperville, Illinois, had a standout performance
for the Knights in the 200 IM, taking second with a school record and NCAA III
conditional qualifying time of 1:54.92, finishing two-tenths of a second behind
winner Vic Stover of Kalamazoo. Boumgarden's time was more than a half-second
faster than his previous school record established the year before.
Boumgarden's performance was also part of a 2-3 Calvin finish in the event as
senior Ryan Johnson of Grand Haven High School took third with an NCAA III
conditional qualifying time of 1:56.02. Adding depth for Calvin in the race
were freshman Luke Bagnall (Marshalltown, IA) in eighth (2:01.22) and sophomore
Dan VanderHeide (Grand Rapids Christian HS) in 11th (2:06.14).
"Peter and Ryan were awesome in the 200 IM," said Gelderloos. "To see two of
your guys right at the front battling like they did was exciting to see."
Also shining for Calvin were senior A.J. Penninga of Grand Rapids Christian High
School in the 500 freestyle and junior Brad White (Traverse City) in the 50
freestyle as Penninga took third in the 500 free with a school record itme of
4:38.37, lopping more than three seconds off the previous school mark while
White took third in the 50 free with an NCAA III conditional qualifying time of
21.36.
Freshman J.D. Schaumberg (Zionsville, IN) added a fifth place finish in the
one-meter diving competition with a score of 370.8. Also scorinhg points were
senior Dan Hekman (Calimesa, CA) and sophomore Peter Daining (Grand Rapids
Christian HS) in the 500 free as Hekman was seventh (4:46.28) and Daining 12th
(5:04.83).
In addition, Calvin's 200 freestyle relay took third with a time of 1:25.41
while its 400 medley relay team took second with an NCAA III conditional
qualifying of 3:27.88.
Action continues with preliminary heats Friday morning with championship finals
scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. The MIAA Championships are being held at the
Holland Aquatic Center.
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