CSR (Jill Capel Named MIAA MVP In Women's Soccer/Recker Coach of Year/Winkle Pre-Season All-American

Calvin Sports Report for November 10, 2006

Jill Capel Named MIAA MVP In Women’s Soccer * Mark Recker Named MIAA Coach of the Year; Lisa Winkle Named Pre-Season All-American by D3hoops.com

WOMEN'S SOCCER

For the second straight year, Jill Capel has been named the MIAA’s Most Valuable Player in women’s soccer, and, for the second straight year, Calvin head coach Mark Recker has been named MIAA Women’s Soccer Coach of the Year.

Now in his sixth year as head coach of the Knights, Recker led Calvin to its second consecutive MIAA title this fall as the Knights finished 11-0-0 in conference play while also establishing a Calvin single-season record for victories. Ranked second nationally, Calvin is currently 20-0-0 heading into a second round game with Kenyon College on Saturday scheduled for 1:00 p.m. In his six years at Calvin, Recker has produced a won-loss record of 91-24-7 for a winning percentage of .765. Recker is a native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of both Grand Rapids Christian High School and Calvin College (1981).

A native of Hudsonville and a graduate of Unity Christian High School, Capel has scored 14 goals and collected 11 assists for a team-leading 39 points. In addition, Capel has been named to the All-MIAA first team for a fourth straight year. Of her 14 goals, eight have been game-winners.

Joining Capel on the All-MIAA first team for a fourth straight year is Calvin senior forward Sarah Weesies. A native of Kalamazoo and a graduate of Kalamazoo Christian High School, Weesies has 11 goals and 11 assists this fall for a total of 33 points.

Weesies and Capel are two of just nine players in the history of the MIAA to have earned All-MIAA first team accolades in women’s soccer four straight years. They are also part of five Calvin players to have done so as Tara Dyk and Cara Jansen accomplished the feat from 1995-to-1998 and Tricia Dyk did so from 1999-2002.

Also named to the All-MIAA first team from Calvin this year is senior defensive back Tricia DeVries. DeVries is receiving All-MIAA first team honors for the second time in her career. A four-year starter, DeVries hails from Grand Rapids and is a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School. DeVries helped key a Calvin defense this fall that has allowed only five goals this year including only one in league play. Calvin’s defense is currently ranked fifth nationally in goals-against-average (0.25) and sixth in shutout percentage (0.75).

Also receiving honors from the Calvin defense is sophomore defensive back Ashley Bolen who has been named to the All-MIAA second team. She is joined on the All-MIAA second team from Calvin by senior midfielder Leah Scholten, sophomore midfielder Elizabeth Ribbens and freshman midfielder Emily Ottenhoff.

Bolen is from Urbana, Illinois. She is a graduate of Urbana High School. Bolen has been a stalwart on defense and also helped trigger Calvin’s offensive attack as she has four assists on the season.

Scholten is from Hudsonville and is a graduate of Unity Christian High School. Scholten missed most of the 2005 season due to injury but has returned in 2006 to appear in 19 of Calvin’s 20 games and net two goals, four assists and eight points.

Ribbens is from Tinley Park, Illinois. She is a graduate of Victor J. Andrew High School. Ribbens has scored nine goals and picked up eight assists this season for a total of 26 points to rank third on the Calvin team in scoring behind Weesies and Capel.

Like Ribbens, Ottenhoff is from the Chicago suburbs as she hails from Palos Heights, Illinois. She is a graduate of Chicago Christian High School. Ottenhoff has produced seven goals and two assists this fall for a total of 16 points. Three of her goals have been game-winners. She has also successfully converted two penalty kicks this season.

Also receiving honorable mention recognition from the MIAA coaches are seniors Noell Berghuis (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) and Laura Rooks (Holland/Holland Christian HS), sophomore Juliana Litts (Alexandria, VA/Thomas Jefferson HS) and freshmen Natalie Veurink (Spring Lake/Western Michigan Christian HS), Kayla Sulzer (St. Charles, MO/St.Charles HS) and Alyssa Bergsma (Walker/Calvin Christian HS).
 
LISA WINKLE NAMED PRE-SEASON ALL-AMERICAN BY D3HOOPS.COM

Calvin College Senior Lisa Winkle has been named a pre-season All-American by D3hoops.com. A native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of South Christian High School, Winkle has been named to the D3hoops.com pre-season All-America fourth team.

Earlier this fall, Winkle was named a pre-season All-American by the Women’s Division III Newsletter.

A three-time first team All-MIAA selection, Winkle averaged 15.7 points and 9.8 rebounds a game last year. She is currently second on the Calvin career rebounding list (720 rebounds) and fourth on the Calvin career scoring list (1,273 points).

The Calvin women’s basketball team is scheduled to open its season on November 17 when it faces Johnson and Wales at a tournament hosted by Elmhurst University.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Fri Nov 10 12:18:15 2006