November 15, 2005
Jill Capel Named MIAA MVP in Women's Soccer * Mark Recker Named MIAA Co-Coach of the Year
GRAND RAPIDS * Calvin College junior midfielder Jill Capel has been named the MIAA's Most Valuable Player in women's soccer. In addition, Capel has been named to the All-MIAA first team for the third straight year. She is joined on the first team by teammates Sarah Weesies and Elizabeth Ribbens.
A native of Hudsonville and a graduate of Unity Christian High School, Capel is the fifth individual in Calvin women's soccer history to receive MIAA MVP honors. Other Calvin players named MIAA MVP include Kristin Penzotti (1994), Tara Dyk (1997), Tricia Dyk (2001 & 2002) and Sarah Weesies (2003).
Capel collected her second straight MIAA scoring title this fall, racking up 49 points on the strength of 18 goals and 13 assists in league play. Of her 18 goals in conference games, five were game-winners.
A junior forward, Weesies was part of a potent one-two scoring punch for the Knights this fall as she finished second in the MIAA scoring race with 45 points after scoring 17 goals and collecting 11 assists. Of her 17 goals in conference play, six were game-winners. Weesies is from Kalamazoo and is a graduate of Kalamazoo Christian High School.
Ribbens is a freshman forward from Tinley Park, Illinois. She is a graduate of Victor J. Andrew High School. Ribbens netted eight goals and recorded nine assists in conference play this fall to finish fourth in the MIAA scoring race with 25 points.
Calvin has also placed three individuals on the All-MIAA second team as senior Kara Zuidema, junior Tricia DeVries and freshman Ashley Bolen were all so honored.
A midfielder, Zuidema hails from Escondido, California. She is a graduate of Escondido Calvin Christian High School. Zuidema picked up 17 points in league after scoring seven goals and collecting four assists to finish 10th in the MIAA scoring race. DeVries and Bolen are both defensive backs and were part of a Calvin defense the led the MIAA in defensive scoring average as the Knights allowed just three goals in league play and posted 14 shutout victories. DeVries is from Grand Rapids and is a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School. She also picked up one goal this year. Bolen is from Urbana, Illinois. She is a graduate of Urbana High School. Bolen also picked up two goals and four assists in league play and took the bulk of Calvin's corner kicks.
Receiving honorable mention recognition from the MIAA coaches are seniors Linda Heilman (Byron Center/South Christian HS) and Karla VanBeveren (Ancaster, ON/Hamilton District Christian HS) and freshmen Juliana Litts (Alexandria, PA/Thomas Jefferson HS) and Michelle Koele (Denver, CO/Denver Christian HS).
Calvin head coach Mark Recker has also received post-season honors as he has been named MIAA Co-Coach of the Year along with St. Mary's head coach Caryn MacKenzie. It marks the first time that Recker has been named MIAA Coach of the Year.
Under Recker's leadership this fall, Calvin captured a share of its first MIAA crown since 1997, finishing 15-1-0 in league play and tied for first with Hope. Calvin also gained its first NCAA III Tournament bid since 1998 and bowed out of the national tournament in the first round in a penalty kick shootout with 12th-ranked Ohio Wesleyan after the two teams had battled to a 2-2 overtime tie. Calvin finished the year with a 16-3-2 overall record.
CALVIN SWIMMING AND DIVING RECAP FOR EMU QUANDRANGULAR
The Calvin men's and women's swimming and diving teams posted several strong performances at a quadrangular held last Saturday at Eastern Michigan University.
Both Calvin teams were scored into dual meets with Case Western Reserve, Kalamazoo and Denison.
In the women's competition, Calvin defeated Case Western Reserve 181-60 and Kalamazoo 191-46 while falling to Denison 134-105. The Calvin women are now 6-1 in dual meet competition this year. In the meet against Denison, Calvin trailed by just nine points with two events left in the meet but could not come from behind to defeat a Big Red team that took third at the 2005 NCAA III Championships.
On the men's side, Calvin fell to Case Western Reserve 130-107 and to Denison 176-64 but defeated Kalamazoo 151-89. The Calvin men are now 2-5 in dual meet competition this year.
In the women's competition, junior Becky Weima (Grand Rapids Christian HS) highlighted the afternoon with first place performances in the 100 freestyle (52.66) and 200 freestyle (1:53.33) events. Her time in the 100 freestyle was an NCAA III conditional qualifying time while her time in the 200 freestyle was an NCAA III automatic qualifying performance.
Freshman diver Eric Deur (Holland Christian HS) was also a double-winner for the Knights, winning the one-meter (223.05) and three-meter (249.70) competitions. Senior Julie Erickson (Libertyville, IL) also took second on the three-meter board (205.00).
Other individual winners for the Calvin women included senior Abby Johnson (Grand Haven HS) in the 200 IM (2:13.93) and junior Alex Wilson (Ellsworth, OH) in the 200 breaststroke (2:28.59). Sophomore Kat Vinson (Kaneohe, HI) and freshman Jordan Scott (Oakville, ON) also turned in notable performances as Vinson was second in the 50 freestyle (25.24) and Scott second in the 200 backstroke (2:13.94).
In the men's competition, Calvin junior Andrew Resseguie (Holland Christian HS) sparkled, winning the 50 freestyle (21.84) and 100 freestyle (48.02). Both times were season-best efforts. In the 1,000 freestyle, freshman Keith Conrad (Wheaton, IL) took third with a time of 10:21.38.
Both Calvin teams return to action on Saturday with MIAA dual meets at rival Hope with competition scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Tue Nov 15 14:40:20 2005
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