MIAA Swimming & Diving Wrap-up/McDonald Named WBB POW

MIAA SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS DAY THREE FINAL RECAP

EAST GRAND RAPIDS -- Hope swept both ends of the MIAA Swimming and Diving
Championships Saturday night at the East Grand Rapids High School Natatorium as
the men took first place with 581 points, 42 points ahead of second place
Kalamazoo while the Hope women took first place with 587 points, 165 points
ahead of second place Calvin. Calvin took fourth in the men's competition wiht
a team score of 291, five points behind third place Albion.

The men's title by Hope was its first since 1995 and snapped Kalamazoo's
eight-year stranglehold on the league title. The women's title for Hope was
its second straight.

For a time, it appeared that the men's competition might come down to the final
event of the meet as Hope held just a one-point edge (389-388) over Kalamazoo
after the 1,650 freestyle had been completed. Hope stretched its lead to 22
points with a 1-3 finish in the 200 backstroke led by a win by senior Ian Kobes
with an NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 1:54.54 that allowed him to capture
the event for a fourth straight year. The Flying Dutchmen took control of the
meet in the next event -- the 100 freestyle -- as they took four of the top six
spots led by senior Chris Hamstra's NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 46.52.
The strong Hope finish gave the Flying Dutchmen a 70-point lead over Kalamazoo
that would prove to be too big to overcome.

Kobes was one of five individuals who successfully defended their titles from a
year ago on Saturday night as Calvin junior Peter Boumgarden (Naperville, IL)
repeated in the 200 butterfly (1:56.17), Kalamazoo senior Scott Whitbeck
repeated as league champion in the 1,650 freestyle (15:59.64); Kalamazoo junior
Andrew Kurtz repeated in the 200 breaststroke (2:05.48, B' cut) and Kalamazoo
diver Tony Holt repeated as league champ on the three-meter diving board
(543.75). Whitbeck's time in the 1,650 freestyle was an NCAA III automatic
qualifying time as well as a new league record time, shattering the previous
record of 16:13.00 established by Kalamazoo's Judsen Schneider in 2000 by
nearly 14 seconds.

The 400 freestyle relay featured three NCAA III B' cut qualifying performances
with the Hope team of Hamstra, Jeff Heydlauff, Dave Ornee and Kurt Blohm
winning in 3:05.67 with Kalamazoo second in 3:07.92 and the Calvin quartet of
freshman Peter Tuuk (Grand Rapids Christian HS), senior Brad White (Traverse
City), freshman Matt Herrema (Grand Rapids Christian HS) and Boumgarden took
third in 3:08.24.

Earlier in the evening, Calvin sophomore Luke Bagnall (Marshalltown, IA) capped
an outstanding three days of competition with a fourth place finish in the 200
backstroke with a career-best time of 1:59.69. White was third in the 100
freestyle with a time of 46.93 while junior Ryan Preston (Richmond, IN) was
sixth in the 200 breaststroke (2:13.20). Boumgarden's victory in the 200
butterfly was a testament to perseverance and determination. Swimming without
the benefit of a taper, Boumgarden trailed heading into the final 50 but dug
down to find an extra gear to pass Stover and then blast his way home through
the final lap.

In the women's competition, Hope captured four events Saturday night with
Michelle Smith and Audrey Arnold defending their respective titles in the 1,650
freestyle (17:48.47, B' cut) and 200 backstroke (2:08.92, B' cut). Other Hope
winners included Lisa Smith in the 200 butterfly (2:10.45, B' cut) and its 400
freestyle relay team of Lisa Ekdom, Erika Steele, Haley MArtin and Lisa Smith
in an NCAA III B' cut and MIAA record time of 3:32.46. Like the men's 400
freestyle relay, the women's race also featured three B' cut time as Kalamazoo
took second (3:34.94) and Calvin third (3:36.85). Calvin's relay was made up
of freshman Rebekah Weima (Grand Rapids Christian HS), sophomore Abby Johnson
(Grand Haven HS), freshman Liz Ingebrigtsen (Bensenville, IL) and senior
Brittney Stevens (Mankato, MN).

Kalamazoo received an individual victory from freshman Elizabeth Garlow in the
200 breaststroke as she clocked in with an NCAA III B' cut time of 2:26.10.
Calvin's Brittney Stevens pulled off a bit of a surprise with a powerful final
lap to nip Sarah Nowak of St. Mary's for second place as Stevens clocked in at
2:31.24 after barely qualifying for the finals in the morning prelims. Stevens
was part of three individuals from Calvin in the top six in the event as
freshman Alex Wilson (Ellsworth, OH) took fourth (2:32.01) and freshman Barbra
Frazier (Port Huron) sixth (2:33.51).

The big highlight of the evening for the Calvin women came in the 100 freestyle
as Weima (Grand Rapids Christian HS) captured the league title with an NCAA III
A' cut qualifying and MIAA Record time of 51.38 to edge Erika Steele of Hope
who also clocked an A' cut time of 51.59. In the morning prelims, Steele had
clocked an MIAA record time of 51.99, only to see Weima break it in the next
heat with a time of 51.60. Both swimmers then upped their performance in the
finals.

In the 200 butterfly, Calvin's Abby Johnson made a bid to defend her title in
the event as she led for all but the final lap as she finished third in a NCAA
III B' cut time of 2:11.09. The 1650 freestyle also proved to be profitable
for the Knights as senior Ginni Baker (Kalamazoo Christian HS) took fourth
(18:37.04) with sophomore Lynn Visser (Jenison HS) taking fifth (18:38.87).
Both times were season-best efforts.

FINAL TEAM SCORES FOR MEN'S MIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Hope 581
Kalamazoo 539
Albion 296
Calvin 291
Olivet 242
Alma 149

FINAL TEAM SCORES FOR WOMEN'S MIAA CHAMPIONSHIPS

Hope 587
Calvin 422
Kalamazoo 318
Olivet 250
Alma 207
Albion 193
St. Mary's 180

MCDONALD NAMED MIAA PLAYER OF WEEK IN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

For the third time this year, Calvin College junior Kristin McDonald has been
named MIAA Player of the Week in women's basketball.

A native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of Grand Rapids West Catholic High
School, McDonald scored 48 points last week in helping lead Calvin to a pair of
victories last week and gain its first MIAA title since 1999.

In a 68-59 victory at Albion Tuesday night, McDonald scored 26 points and
picked up three steals and three rebounds. In an 81-72 victory at Adrian
Saturday, McDonald popped in 22 points including six three-point field goals --
all of which came in the first half. The Calvin victory over Adrian allowed
the Knights to capture the outright MIAA title as they finished 13-1 in the
final MIAA regular season standings, one game ahead of 12-2 Hope. The MIAA
title is the 10th in Calvin women's basketball history.

On the week, McDonald was 15 of 23 from the floor including 8 of 11 from beyond
the three-point arc. She also connected on 10 of her 11 free throw attempts,
was credited with nine assists, seven steals and five rebounds.

McDonald finished the MIAA season second in the league scoring race (15.9 ppg)
while leading the league in assists (3.79 apg) and finishing second in
three-point field goal percentage (.579). In addition, she finished fifth in
free throw percentage (.795) and eighth in steals (1.57 spg). She is currently
ranked among the nation's leaders in three-point field goal percentage and
three-point field goals made per-game.

As the top seed for this week's MIAA Tournament, Calvin will host eighth-seeded
Olivet Tuesday night in a first round game at 7:30 p.m.. Calvin holds
homecourt advantage throughout the single-elimination tournament provided it
continues to win. The MIAA Tournament semfinals are scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
with the championship game set for Saturday at 3:00 p.m..

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sun Feb 22 21:33:57 2004