CSR (Calvin Saturday Sports Report For October 13, 2007

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR OCTOBER 13, 2007

Calvin Cross Country Teams Take First Place at Great Lakes Pre-Regional
Invitational;
Women's Soccer Moves Into Sole Possession of First Place of MIAA Standings;
Men's Soccer Widens MIAA Lead With Win over Kalamazoo;
Volleyball Hits 20-Win Plateau With 4-0 Performance at Millikin Fall Ball
Invitational

KENTWOOD -- Home course advantage has been an advantage thus far this season
for the nationally-ranked Calvin men's and women's cross country teams. For the
second time this year, both Calvin teams took first place on their home course
with the top-ranked Calvin men posting a winning score of 29 points and the
second-ranked Calvin women a winning score of 31 points at Saturday's Great
Lakes Pre-Regional Invitational held at Calvin's Gainey Athletic Complex. The
University of Windsor took second in the men's race with 45 points while DePauw
University took second in the women's race with 50 points.

Both Calvin teams also took first place at their own Calvin Invitational back
on September 15. Saturday's pre-regional invitational was part of a prelude to
the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional which Calvin will host November 10.

In the men's race Saturday, Calvin took six of the top 11 spots led by junior
Jed Christiansen who took first place with a time of 24:33, holding off a late
surge by Dave Weston from the University of Windsor who was second in 24:36.
Just 29 seconds seperated Calvin's next six runners as senior Tad Hulst was
fifth (24:56), senior Jon Gries sixth (25:01), junior Erik VanKampen 8th
(25:13, junior Nate DeHaan ninth (25:15) and senior Dan VandenAkker 11th
(25:25). Rounding out Calvin's top seven was sophomore George Visser in 25th
place with a time of 25:57.

Ranked third in the most recent Great Lakes Regional poll, Mount Union took
third in Saturday's race with a score of 95 points. Mount Union placed three
runners in the top 20 with Gary Bowman taking 13th (25:29), Kyle Basista 14th
(25:32) and Dustin Ford 18th (25:35).

In the women's race, Calvin placed five runners in the top 10 to finish 19
points ahead of DePauw, ranked third in the Great Lakes Region. Senior
Christina Overbeck led Calvin with a second place time of 21:33. Only 11
seconds seperated Calvin's next four finishers with junior Lauren Bergstrom
placing fourth 22:08, junior Jesi Hale sixth (22:10), junior Calah Schlabach
ninth (22:17) and senior Lynn Marsh 10th (22:19). Calvin also received strong
performances from sophomores Elizabeth Smit, Mary Tolsma and Jessica Koster
with Smit finishing 21st (22:59), Tolsma 24th (23:09) and Koster 26th (23:10).

DePauw put five runners in the top 10 with Lauren Reich taking third (21:57),
Taylor Penrod taking fifth (22:09), Alison Case 13th (22:24), Leigh Seigel 14th
(22:24) and LAura Ardington 15th (22:25),

Anderson senior Gwen Kemple won Saturay's race with an impressive time of
21:12. Kemple grabbed first place in the opening mile and continued to widen
her lead throughout the race. Kemple's final margin of victory was 19 seconds.

WOMEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 2, Saint Mary's 0
(written by Colin McWhertor '08)

GRAND RAPIDS -- A game after collecting his 100th career victory, Calvin head
coach Mark Recker got started on the next hundred with a 2-0 win against St.
Mary's Saturday afternoon at the Marvin A. Zuidema Field in Grand Rapids.
Recker was presented with a plaque marking the accomplishment from the team
tri-captains after the game.

His 101st victory was not an easy one however as the Belles' bunker-style
defensive play made it difficult for the Calvin to get much offense all day
long. The Knights caught an early break by scoring in the second minute of the
game when freshman Kellie Honderd (Unity Christian) tapped in a loose ball in
the box for her third goal of the season. Fellow freshman Carly Prins (Unity
Christian) got the assist on the play, upping her point total for the season to
21, highest on the team. Calvin could not extend the lead for the rest of the
first half as St. Mary's was able to hunker into its defensive zone, often
blocking potential Calvin shots before they ever reached the goal.

The second half went much the same as the first, with Calvin clinging to the
1-0 lead until late in the game. In the 84th minute, junior Elizabeth Ribbens
(Tinley Park, IL) scored on a one-timer inside the left post off of a great
centering pass from junior Liz VanRees (Western Michigan Christian) to put
Calvin up 2-0 and ice the game. For Ribbens, it was her seventh goal of the
season, now giving her 20 points, good for second on the team.

Calvin once again had little trouble in goal as sophomore's Alyssa Bergsma
(Calvin Christian) and Kayla Sulzer (St. Charles, MO) played the first and
second halves respectively. Neither keeper had to make a save as Calvin
controlled the ball in St. Mary's territory for most of the game. Tne Belles
had only three total shots compared to Calvin's 20, seven of which were on
goal.

With the win, Calvin improves to 10-3-1 overall and more importantly 5-0-0 in
the MIAA with three games before the MIAA tournament. St, Mary's falls to
2-2-2 in the MIAA and 6-3-5 overall. Calvin is now in sole possession of first
place in the MIAA standings, two points ahead of Hope and five points ahead of
Albion and Kalamazoo

Calvin will play its final regular season home on Tuesday, Oct 16th, when it
takes on Olivet at the Zuidema Field in a 4:00 pm contest.

MIAA Standings for Women's Soccer through 10-13-07

                W L T PTS
Calvin 5 0 0 15
Hope 4 1 1 13
Albion 3 1 1 10
Kalamazoo 3 1 1 10
Saint Mary's 2 2 2 8
Adrian 2 4 0 6
Alma 2 4 0 6
Olivet 1 4 1 3
Tri-State 0 5 0 0

MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 3, Kalamazoo 0
(Written by Bruce VanBaren '09)

GRAND RAPIDS -- Prior to Saturday’s matchup with second place Kalamazoo,
Coach Chris Hughes said his team needed to find its momentum earlier, even as
soon as the whistle blows each half.

Today, Calvin’s league-best offense scored seven minutes into the game and
18 seconds into the second half to seal a 3-0 win. The win puts Calvin six
points ahead of Albion, Hope and Kalamazoo in the MIAA standings. Albion
defeated Hope 1-0 in overtime on Saturday to create a three-way tie for second
place in the MIAA standings.

“It’s a good win, anytime you’re going against a solid team like
Kalamazoo it feels good,” Hughes said.

Nick Capisciolto (Hudsonville/ Unity Christian) put Calvin up 1-0 with a
penalty kick goal in the seventh minute. The penalty came after Dan Van Slyke
(Grove City, PA/ Trinity Christian) was tripped up in the box after a run down
the sideline.

“ VanSlyke had a great game on the outside for us,” Hughes said.
“That’s where we’re trying to build some of our game [on the
outside]. I’m really trying to perfect that first 15-25 minutes of the game.
 If we can get our game established early, it’s going to be huge.”

Just 18 seconds into the second half, Michael Holwerda (Grand Rapids/ Grand
Rapids Christian) sprung from the midfield line on a break away to give Calvin
a more comfortable 2-0 lead.

“It feels good when you’re putting the ball in the net and some of our
offensive players are really stepping up,” Hughes said. “Michael Holwerda
is feeling it right now; he’s feeling pretty good about his game right
now.”

Calvin’s defense has also been stepping up, having allowed a league best two
goals.

A big reason why, last week’s MIAA Player of the Week Darrin Cline
(Grandville/ Grandville) who saved a Kalamazoo penalty kick with 34 minutes
remaining in the game.

“As the other team shot the ball I was pretty relaxed knowing Cline was
probably going to get something on the ball and he did and it makes a coach
feel good,” Hughes said. Heading into the game, Cline was ranked 15th in the
nation with a .440 goals against average.

Kalamazoo struggled to gain any offensive momentum and any chance the Hornets
had to score was dampened when a Kalamazoo player was issued a red card,
forcing the Hornets to play a man short. Heading into the game, Kalamazoo was
second in the league in goals scored and goals allowed.

“We tried to stay disciplined this game,” Hughes said. “Kalamazoo plays
a style of soccer where they try to take you out of what you’re good at and
they did that a little bit in the first half and we were reacting to it. In
the second half we just tried to stay with what we’re good at and the goals
were going to come.”

Luke Holtrop (Hudsonville/ Unity Christian) blasted a Kurt Van Sickle (Grand
Rapids/ Forest Hills Northern) cross into the net to seal the victory in the
87th minute. Calvin advances to a league best 7-1-0, while Kalamazoo and Hope
both fell to 5-3-0 tied for second place with Albion who beat Hope.

The Knights have now won seven straight games by a combined 19-1 since falling
1-0 at Kalamazoo in their conference opener. Calvin is at Hope on Wednesday
with a scheduled 4pm start time. Calvin beat Hope 1-0 in Grand Rapids earlier
this season.

MIAA MEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-13-07

Calvin 7-1-0
Albion 5-3-0
Hope 5-3-0
Kalamazoo 5-3-0
Adrian 3-5-0
Olivet 3-5-0
Alma 2-5-1
Tri-State 1-6-1

VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Millikin 2
Calvin 3, Fontbonne 0

DECATUR, IL -- Calvin closed out the Millikin University Fall Ball
Invitational with a pair of victories Saturday afternoon, defeating host
Millikin 30-26, 30-26, 28-30, 25-30, 15-8 and Fontbonne (MO) 30-19, 30-14,
30-18.

At 21-3 overall, Calvin has now recorded 20 victories or more 12 straight
seasons. Ranked 15th in the most recent Division III Top-25 poll, Calvin held
off the upset-minded Big Blue of Millikin in its Saturday opener. Senior Molly
Krikke (Greenwich, OH) had a huge performance, racking up 18 kills and seven
blocks. Senior Kristen Kalb (Stow, OH) was next with 15 kills while freshman
Kim Wigboldy (Scottsdale, AZ) had 14 kills and junior Jessica Garlick
(Kalamazoo Christian HS) nine kills. Senior setter Katie Zondervan (Lakewood,
CA) amassed 64 assists for her second-highest single-match total of the season.
Zondervan also had a stellar serving performance with 10 service aces. In the
back row, junior Lauren DeGroot (Tulare, CA) had 19 digs and sophomore Kelsey
Sears (Traverse City West HS) 15 digs.

In the win over Fontbonne, Krikke again led the Knights with 15 kills while
sophomore Rachel DeYoung (Unity Christian HS) had 11 kills and Garlick eight
kills. Freshman setter Carolyn Nelson (Milan HS) received her first collegiate
start and tallied 57 assists along with eight digs. Sophomore Katie Corbett
(Stevensville-Lakeshore HS) chipped in with 12 digs while Sears had 15 digs and
DeGroot 16 digs. Normally a back-row player, senior Sarah Ernst (Fort Wayne,
IN) stepped into a hitter's role and chalked up 12 kills, 15 digs and a block.

Krikke and Garlick were both named to the all-tournament team with Krikke
receiving tournament MVP honors. Krikke has now earned three berths on
all-tournament teams this year as previously landed all-tournament spots at the
Capital University Tip-Off Tournament the Wittenberg Michigan-Ohio Border
Battle.

CURRENT CALVIN 20-WIN STREAK

YEAR OVERALL RECORD
1995 30-8
1996 24-9
1997 26-11
1998 20-13
1999 28-11
2000 27-8
2001 22-12
2002 26-7
2003 28-8
2004 28-9
2005 30-9
2006 34-2
2007 21-3

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Oct 13 19:27:49 2007