CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOV. 10, 1007
2007 NCAA III Great Lakes Regional Cross Country Recap
Written by Calvin Sports Information Director Jeff Febus
CALVIN CROSS COUNTRY TEAMS CAPTURE REGIONAL TITLES
GRAND RAPIDS - The nationally-ranked Calvin men’s and women’s cross
country teams once again used home course advantage to their advantage. On
Saturday, both teams captured Great Lakes Regional titles on their home course
to punch their tickets to next weeks’s NCAA III Championships at St. Olaf
College in Northfield, Minnesota.
Competing at the four-year old Gainey Cross Country Course, the top-ranked
Calvin men’s team took first place with a team score of 27 points while the
second-ranked Calvin women’s team recorded a first place score of 46 points.
The top two teams in the men’s race and the top two teams in the women’s
race earned automatic qualifying berths to next week’s national meet. The
11th-ranked Polar Bears of Ohio Northern earned the second men’s berth with a
second place score of 114 points. Anderson was third (125 points), Heidelberg
fourth (128 points) and Mount Union fifth (143 points). By placing in the top
five, all three schools are eligible for at-large berths to the NCAA III
Championships.
On the women’s side, seventh-ranked Case Western Reserve held off
13th-ranked DePauw for the second qualifying spot with the Spartans scoring 73
points and the Tigers 80 points. Along with Kenyon (4th place) and Oberlin (5th
place), DePauw is now eligible for an at-large berth to the NCAA III
Championships.
The NCAA National Cross Country committee will award 16 at-large berths to the
national meet. Teams must finish in the top five at a regional meet in order to
be considered.
In the men’s race, junior Jed Christiansen led a 1-2-3 Calvin finish as he
clocked in with a first place time of 24:51 while senior Tad Hulst was second
(24:54) and senior Jon Gries third (24:58). Christiansen is the eighth
individual in Calvin men’s cross country history to capture a regional
individual title, joining Tim Finnegan (2006 & 2005), Hendrik Kok (2003 &
2002), Dan Hoekstra (2000 & 2001), Ray VanArragon (1994), Thad Karnehm (1991),
John Lumkes (1990) and Adam Suarez (1988 & 1989) to have previously done so.
Junior Erik VanKampen also took sixth place for Calvin, recording a time of
25:06 while junior teammate Nate DeHaan was 15th in 25:27 as just 36 seconds
separated Calvin’s top five. Rounding out Calvin’s finishers were senior
Dan VandenAkker in 23rd place (25:42) and junior Tim Langenberg in 30th place
(25:48). The regional title was Calvin’s 11th in a row.
Sean Hudson of Anderson made a bid for a top three individual finish, running
with Calvin’s pack of three for most of the race before settling for a fourth
place time of 25:02. Ohio Northern senior Jimmy O’Brien, a two-time 800 meter
national champion in track and field, flashed his speed over the final mile,
moving up to a fifth place time of 25:04. Rounding out the top 10 were Joel
Bendtsen of Denison in seventh (25:09), Dominic Smith of Case Western Reserve
in eighth (25:12), Dusty Kime of DePauw in ninth (25:14) and Kyle Basista of
Mount Union in 10th (25:15).
In the women’s race, Case Western Reserve senior Esther Erb turned in a
superb effort, leading from start-to-finish to win with a time of 21:13, just a
second off the course record of 21:12 set by Anderson’s Gwen Kemple earlier
this year. Kemple ran up front with Erb for the first two miles before settling
back into a comfortable second place position, finishing with a time of 21:31,
14 seconds ahead of Calvin senior Christina Overbeck who was third. Saint
Mary’s senior Megan Gray grabbed an individual qualifying berth with a
fourth place time of 21:48.
Calvin placed five runners in the top 13 including seven in the top 25 to win
by a comfortable margin. Junior Lauren Bergstrom was Calvin’s second
finisher, placing eighth with a time of 22:02. Sophomore Jessica Koster also
had a big effort for the Knights, finishing 10th in a time of 22:05 while
senior teammate Lynn Marsh was 12th (22:08) and junior Calah Schlabach 13th
(22:11). Rounding out Calvin’s finishers were junior Jesi Hale in 18th place
(22:20) and sophomore Elizabeth Smit in 25th place place (22:45). Calvin’s
regional title was its first since 2002.
Case Western Reserve was able to hold off DePauw for the second qualifying
berth behind a late charge from its fifth runner Joy Zhu who made up several
spots in the final 200 meters to place 31st with a time of 23:00. In addition
to Erb, Kristen Bowhers grabbed a top-10 finish for the Spartans, finishing
seventh with a time of 22:01 while Britta Kumley was 16th (22:13) and Andrea
Fischione 20th (22:23) to complete Case Western’s top five.
DePauw was led by Lauren Reich who was fifth (21:55). Taylor Penrod was also
15th (22:12), Laura Ardington 18th, (22:19) Alison Case 21st (22:24) and Julie
Theibert 25th (22:36) for the Tigers.
Filling out the top 10 individual finishers were Lauren Brady of Kenyon who
was sixth (22:01) and Joanna Johnson of Oberlin who was ninth (22:03).
The top 35 finishers in the men’s race and the women’s race were all named
to their respective Great Lakes All-Region teams.
The complete field for the NCAA III Championships will be announced Sunday
afternoon at 3:00 p.m. at: http://www.ncaasports.com
More information on the upcoming NCAA III Championships at St. Olaf College
can be found on-line at: http://www.stolaf.edu/athletics/07ncaaxc/
NCAA III Tournament Women's Soccer 2nd Round Match
Calvin 0, Wittenberg 0 (2 OT)
Wittenberg wins PK Shootout 3-1
SPRINGFIELD, OH -- A night after winning a penalty kick shootout, Calvin once
again found out how painful a penalty kick shootout loss can be. After 110
minutes of scoreless soccer in a second round NCAA III Tournament match,
12th-ranked Wittenberg defeated 18th-ranked Calvin 3-1 in a penalty kick
shootout. The host Tigers (18-2-3) advance to a sectional semifinal game
against Ithaca College of New York. Despite the penalty kick outcome,
Saturday's Calvin-Wittenberg match will officially go into the books as a 0-0
double-overtime tie.
Meanwhile, Calvin's season came to an end for the third straight year by way
of a penalty kick shootout as the Knights bowed out of the 2005 and 2006 NCAA
III Tournament in the same way.
In a first round NCAA III Tournament game against Capital University the night
before, Calvin converted all five of its penalty kick chances. On Saturday
night, Calvin converted only one. Wittenberg missed its first penalty kick
attempt, giving Calvin an opportunity to take an early lead but the Knights
missed on their first attempt. Senior Leah Scholten (Unity Christian HS)
connected on the only penalty kick for the Knights, tying the shootout 1-1 but
the Tigers scored on two of their final three attempts while Calvin misfired on
its final two.
"It's difficult to be knocked out on penalty kicks for the third straight year
but at the same time, it's also the third consecutive year that we have not
been defeated in the NCAA III Tournament," said seventh-year Calvin head coach
Mark Recker who is now 106-27-12 as the head coach of the Knights. "That's
something that this team can hang its hat on. Wittenberg is a very strong team
and I feel they will represent our region well."
Calvin was forced to play Saturday's game shorthanded as starting defensive
back Juliana Litts did not play because of an injury while starting outside
midfielder Natalie Veurink also saw limited time because of injury.
Nevertheless, Calvin's reserves stepped up to the plate, particulary freshman
Elaine Schnabel who moved from a normal midfielder's role into a starting
fullback on defense. "Elaine did a great job filling in for Juliana," said
Recker. "She has a tremendous competitive spirit and solidified our defense
against a very strong Wittenberg attack. I'm proud of the way she stepped up
this evening."
Calvin had a handful of strong scoring opportunities in regulation and in
overtime. Calvin's first strong scoring chance came on a corner kick struck by
junior Ashley Bolen midway through the second half with freshman Carly Prins
redirecting the strike just over the crossbar. Prins then came close with 10
minutes left on a header that sailed over the goalkeeper's head but was cleared
off the backline by a Wittenberg defense. With less than 20 seconds remaining
in regulation, Calvin nearly put one in the net as junior Elizabeth Ribbens
broke free up the wing with an inside-outside move and fed a cross to the far
side that freshman Stephanie Malburg (Forest Hills Northern HS) just missed
one-timing into an open goal.
In the first overtime, Ribbens nearly broke free for an uncontest shot in the
goal box was tripped up just before getting off a shot after breaking behind
the goalkeeper with the ball.
Saturday's game concluded the career for fifth-year Calvin senior Leah
Scholten (Unity Christian HS) who was a member of three MIAA championship teams
and three teams that advanced to the NCAA III Tournament. "At the beginning of
the season, I sat down with Leah and asked her to help teach our team not only
how to compete but also how to have joy on the field," said Recker. "With nine
freshmen and Leah the only senior on the roster, we needed her to accept that
role and she did embraced it. She also accepted the role without sacrificing
any of her performance on the field. I am extremely pleased with her play and
leadership this year and she will be sorely missed next fall."
Wittenberg finished Saturday's game with a 9-4 shots at goal advantage. Alyssa
Bergsma (Calvin Christian HS) had four saves for the Knights in one half of
action while sophomore teammate Kayla Sulzer had two saves. Megan O'Rourke had
one save for Wittenberg in goal.
MEN'S/WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING RECAP
The Calvin men's and women's swimming and diving teams had a busy weekend,
competing in a quadrangular Friday night at Eastern Michigan University and
then facing Wheaton and Grand Valley in a triagular on Saturday.
In the quadrangular Friday night, Calvin scored a head-to-head dual meet
against conference foe Olivet. The Calvin women defeated Olivet's women 200-30
while the Olivet men defeated Calvin's men 175-60. Complete results can be
found on-line at:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/wswimdiv/Results0708/CalvinOlivetResults.htm
On Saturday in a meet at East Grand Rapids, the Calvin women split a pair of
non-conference meets, falling to Grand Valley State 163-134 but defeating
Wheaton 164-129. In the men's competition, Grand Valley defeated Calvin 206-80
and Wheaton defeated Calvin 185-100. Complete results can be found on-line at:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/wswimdiv/Results0708/Results111007.htm
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Nov 10 22:07:35 2007
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