CSR (Calvin Sports Report for September 29, 2006)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2006

Volleyball Sweeps Past Kalamazoo and Tri-State;
Men’s Soccer Ties Adrian;
Cross Country Teams Run Well at Notre Dame Invite;
Men’s Golf Third at MIAA Outing #6

VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Kalamazoo 0 (30-27, 30-14, 30-12)
Calvin 3, Tri-State 0 (30-21, 30-17, 30-21)

KALAMAZOO – In a MIAA Triangular held at Kalamazoo, the Knights continued to prove themselves worthy of their recent break into national rankings as they improved to an impressive 16-1, 9-0 MIAA record by defeating both Kalamazoo College (6-9, 2-4 MIAA) and Tri-State University (6-13, 3-6 MIAA). Ranked 22nd in this week’s AVCA Top 25 Division III Poll, the Knights moved up from last week’s ranking of 24th.

Calvin won the first match of the evening in three games; after a close first game, the Knights took command to record a 30-27, 30-14, 30-12 victory. Calvin struggled in the first game, allowing Kalamazoo 12 kills, almost half of the Hornet’s match-total 28 kills. Also factoring in was a .170 hitting percentage in the first game that came from 11 attack errors. Calvin’s hitting percentage increased to .361 in the second game, and .520 in the third, while Kalamazoo’s statistic decreased to -.057 in the final game.

Junior Molly Krikke (Greenwich, OH/South Central) had an impressive 14 kills with a .565 hitting percentage and five blocks. Senior Kristen Kalb (Stow, OH/Stow Munroe Falls) also amassed 14 kills, and senior Katy Luimes (Caledonia, ON/Hamilton District Christian) added nine kills and eight blocks. Junior setter Katie Zondervan (Lakewood, CA/Valley Christian) dished out 37 assists and had nine digs. Freshman Kelsey Sears (Traverse City/Traverse City West) gathered eleven digs, while sophomore Lauren DeGroot (Tulare,CA/Central Valley Christian) had nine.

The Knights were much more consistent in the second match against Tri-State, winning 30-21, 30-17, 30-21. Calvin out-hit Tri-State by a 60-29 margin. Four Calvin players had kill-counts in the double digits as Kalb led with 14, Krikke and Luimes had 13 apiece, and senior Lorilyn Vogel (Orange City, IA/Unity Christian) added 12.

Kalb also contributed 10 digs, DeGroot had 18, and Zondervan, who gave out 49 assists in the match, had 17 digs.

Ending another successful week, the Knights look forward to two home conference matches next week as they host St. Mary’s on Wednesday and Adrian on Friday, with each match beginning at 7:00 p.m.

MEN’S SOCCER
Calvin 2, Adrian 2 (2 OT)

ADRIAN – Though the bright side of a tie is not adding another loss to the record, the Knights are experiencing the frustration of finishing multiple games with no out-right victor. The 2-2 double-overtime score this evening against Adrian (2-5-1, 2-1-1 MIAA) was Calvin’s third tie of the season as the Knights move to a 3-4-3 overall, 1-1-2 MIAA record.

Though the Knights drove in the first goal 20:50 into the game, the score was Adrian’s as Calvin unfortunately put the ball into its own net off of an Adrian corner-kick. Senior Maurice Wright (Wauwatosa, WI/Wauwatosa East) was Calvin’s bright spot this evening, scoring both of Calvin’s goals. His first occurred in the 26th minute of play off a sophomore Steve Holwerda (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) cross pass from the end line that set Wright up at the near post. At halftime, the score was tied 1-1.

Wright, who led with nine shots—five of which were shots-on-goal, came through again for the Knights in the early minutes of the second half, converting on another cross, this one from junior Phil VanRees (Muskegon/Western Michigan Christian), a pass Wright headed in for a goal. Adrian took away the Calvin 2-1 lead ten minutes later with Collin Harpst managing an unassisted goal. Neither team scored during the overtimes, though Calvin had four shots-on-goal during that time.

The outcome does not reflect the tremendous offensive pressure the Knights put on Adrian keeper Ryan O’Keefe. Calvin out-shot Adrian 37-12, with O’Keefe col Calvin keeper sophomore Matt Gardner (Worthington, OH/Thomas Worthington) saw only three shots on goal from the Adrian players and had two saves during a quite ugly game that saw 52 combined fouls.

Calvin has a big game coming up next Wednesday as they head to Holland for a match-up against Hope, set to start at 4:00 p.m.

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY

NOTRE DAME, IN – The nationally-ranked Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams put on an impressive performance at the Notre Dame Invitational Friday afternoon on the Notre Dame Golf Course. Both teams competed in the Gold Division and in the men’s race, Calvin was victorious, finishing with a first place score of 31 points, finishing 65 points ahead of runner-up Wisconsin-Oshkosh. In the women’s race, Calvin took third with a team score of 130 points, finishing only one point behind Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne and seven points behind first place Indiana State.

Calvin senior Tim Finnegan (Los Alamos, NM) had a strong performance in the men’s race, taking second with a time of 24:43. Finnegan was one of five Calvin runners to finish in the top 10 as senior Harrison Jorritsma (Beamsville, ON) was fifth (25:01), sophomore Jed Christian (Greenville, PA) seventh (25:07), junior Tad Hulst (Zeeland HS) eighth (25:08) and junior Jon Gries (King of Prussia, PA) ninth (25:10).

Sophomore Erik VanKampen (Elmhurst, IL) was Calvin’s next finisher, placing 20th with a time of 25:35 while sophomore Nate DeHaan (South Christian HS) rounded out Calvin’s top seven by finishing 49th in 25:58. Senior Jessie Kleinjan (Chino, CA) also took 63rd (26:11) and junior Dan VandenAkker (South Christian HS) 79th (26:20).

In the women’s race, senior Camille Medema (Grand Rapids Christian HS) had another big performance as she took ninth in the 5K race with a time of 18:16. Junior Christina Overbeck (Seattle, WA) was Calvin’s next finisher, placing 18th with a time of 18:34. Rounding out Calvin’s top five ere sophomore Calah Schlabach (St. Michaels, AZ) in 25th (18:45), sophomore Lauren Bergstrom (Century, MN) in 34th (18:50) and senior Lydia Singer (Wilmington, DE) in 48th (19:03). Also finishing for Calvin were sophomore Anna Pranger (Centenniel, CO) in 56th (19:07), senior Laura Holtrop (Rockville, MD) in 70th (19:16), sophomore Anne Fennema (Brookfield, WI) in 73rd (19:19) and junior Lynn Marsh (North Vernon, IN) in 85th (19:27).

A group of Calvin runners will also compete at the Loyola Lakefront Invitational on Saturday in Chicago.

MEN’S GOLF

ADRIAN – Heading into the final stretch of the MIAA season, the Calvin men’s golf team came up with one of its finest efforts of the season, taking third at MIAA outing #6 with a team score of 302 strokes. Friday’s outing was hosted by Adrian at the Lenawee Country Club.

Hope took first at Friday’s outing with a team score of 288 followed by Tri-State in second at 299. Calvin finished one stroke ahead of fourth place Alma and two strokes ahead of fifth place Olivet.

Calvin remains in fifth place in the overall MIAA standings, 33 strokes behind fourth place Alma and 35 strokes ahead of sixth place Albion.

Calvin’s top individual finisher on Friday was senior Jeff TenBrink (Kalamazoo Christian HS) with a round of 73 that placed him a tie for sixth place. Freshman Aaron Hargett (Lakewood-Lake Odessa HS) was next with a round of 75 that was good for a tie for 13th place. Sophomore Brad Tindall (Vicksburg HS) also had a round of 76 (15th place) with freshman Jon Kuiper (Grand Rapids Christian HS) carding a round of 78 and freshman Kyle Harvey (Willard, OH) rounding out Calvin finishers with a 79.

Alma’s Kyle Travis captured medalist honors on Friday with a round of 70.

Calvin will play host to the next MIAA outing this coming Monday at the Watermark Country Club. The outing is scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.

MIAA OUTING #6 TEAM SCORES

Hope 288
Tri-State 299
Calvin 302
Alma 303
Olivet 304
Adrian 311
Albion 314
Kalama795
Tri-State 1797
Alma 1840
Calvin 1873
Albion 1908
Kalamazoo 1950
Adrian 1960

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Fri Sep 29 23:23:20 2006