CSR (Calvin Sports Report for April 19, 2008)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR APRIL 19, 2008

Bratt Resets Triple Jump Record at Wheaton Twilight Invitational - Calvin Women Win/Calvin Men Take Second;
Men's Tennis Edges Coe in Matchup of Regionally-Ranked Teams

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

WHEATON, IL -- The comeback trail continued for Calvin junior Julie Bratt Friday night at the Wheaton Twilight, Invitational. A native of Lynden, Washington, Bratt set a new school record in the triple jump on Friday night while posting an NCAA III provisional qualifying mark in the process. Bratt claimed first place in the triple jump with a leap of 37-5 1/2, breaking the previous Calvin record of 37-3 set by Lorilyn Vogel in 2006. A graduate of Lynden Christian High School, Bratt also cranked out a season-best mark of 17-4 1/2 in taking third place in the long jump.

A two-time All-MIAA selection, Bratt suffered a serious knee injury near the end of the 2006 season as a freshman and spent her sophomore year attempting to regain her earlier form.

Bratt's jumps on Friday night helped the Calvin women's track and field team claim first place at the 12-team invitational with 208.5 points, finishing more than 70 points ahead of defending indoor national champion Illinois Wesleyan.

Bratt's jumps were part of a banner night for the Calvin women's team as the Knights posted several NCAA III provisional or automatic qualifying marks. Coming up with NCAA III automatic qualifying times for Calvin were senior Sarah Wittingen (East Grand Rapids HS) and junior Lauren Begstrom (Rochester, MN) with Wittingen doing so with a first place time of 1:01.78 in the 400 meter hurdles and Bergstrom doing so in the 1500 metes with a time of 4:32.41.

NCAA III provisional qualifying marks were turned in by sophomore Leigha Oberle (Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the discus (143-8), sophomore Heather Koning (Kalamazoo Christian HS) in the 400 meters (57.04), junior Calah Schlabach (St. Michaels, AZ) in the 3,000 meter steeplechase (11:06.68), sophomore Elizabeth Smit (Kirkland, WA) in the 3,000 meter steeplechase (11:10.11) and senior Christina Overbeck (Seattle, WA) in the 5,000 meters (17:18.95). In addition, Calvin's 4x400 meter relay of Bergstrom, junior Kristen VanSickel (Pittsburgh, PA), Koning and Wittingen posted an NCAA III provisional qualifying time of 3:50.72.

Other notables included an outdoor season-best mark of 5-3 3/4 by freshman Rebekah VanDyk (Bellflower, CA) in the high jump, a season-best throw of 39-3 3/4 by junior Ashley Glover (Northview HS) in the shot put, a season-best jump of 17-1 1/4 by sophomore Amanda Leese in the long jump, a season-best mark of 127-8.by freshman Sarah Reasoner (Cambridge, MN) in the discus, a career-best throw of 110-3 by freshman Kim Wigboldy (Chandler, AZ) in the javelin, a season-best time of 59.46 by VanSickel in the 400 meters and a career-best time of 11:44.13 by junior Anne Fennema (Brookfield, WI) in the 3,000 meter steeplechase.

On the men's side, Calvin took second in a field of 12 teams with a team score of 149 points, finishing 44 points behind first place North Central College. Junior Nate DeHaan (South Christian HS) was one of the big stories for the Knights as he took first place in the 3,000 meter steeplechase with an NCAA III provisional qualifying and season-best time of 9:17.86.

Also posting an NCAA III provisional qualifying time for the Knights was senior Jared Cok (Bozeman, MT) who took third in the 400 meters with a time of 48.23. In addition, junior Jed Christiansen (Greenville, PA) had a provisional qualifying time of 14:44.10 in the 5,000 meters while junior teammate Erik VanKampen (Elmhurst, IL) just missed a provisional time, clocking in with a time of 14:48.17. In addition, senior Ryan Jensen (Grand Rapids Northview HS) took first place in the hammer throw with an NCAA III provisional qualifying throw of 174-9.

Other notables included sophomore Nate Musch (Ann Arbor Huron HS) taking second in the 110 high hurdles (15.92), sophomore Zach VanderLaan (Holt Central Lutheran HS) taking fourth in the 400 meter hurdles with a season-best time of 57.60, sophomore George Visser (Chicago, IL) taking second in the 3,000 meter steeplechase (9:36.15), a fourth place finish in the pole vault with a season-best effort of 14-3 1/4 by freshman Eric Michel (Naperville, IL), a third place mark in the javelin with a career-best throw of 140-10 by freshman Shane Pluger (McBain Northern Michigan Christian HS) and a season-best time of 1:55.66 by freshman Alex Wrobel in the 800 meters that was good for second place.

Wrobel then joined senior Joel Baker (Kalamazoo Christian HS), junior Brad STroner (Lakewood-Lake Odessa HS) and Cok to finish fourth in the 4x400 meter relay with a season-best time of 3:20.03.

Both Calvin teams will now prepare to compete at the Grand Rapids Twilight Invitational on Wednesday evening at Houseman Field with action set to start at 5:00 p.m.

BASEBALL
Calvin 10, Adrian 2
Adrian 13, Calvin 5

ADRIAN -- A doubleheader split at Adrian College Saturday afternoon kept Calvin from retaking first place in the MIAA standings but still kept the Knights in the title hunt. Calvin opened the doubleheader with an impressive 10-2 win but then saw the tables turned in game two as the Knights were defeated 13-5.

Ranked 21st in this week's D3baseball.com poll, Calvin (19-6 overall) is now 11-4 in MIAA play, a game-and-a-half behind 13-3 Adrian with 9-4 Olivet nipping at the heels of the Knights. Calvin will host Olivet in a doubleheader on Tuesday beginning at 2:00 p.m.

In game one, Calvin used the powerful hitting of sophomore Matt Schepel (Grand Rapids Christian HS) and the stellar pitching of freshmen Peter Steiner (Chicago, IL) and Adam VanOpstall (Calvin Christian HS) to gain the win.

Schepel blasted a pair of home runs including a two-run shot in the third and a solo shot in the fourth. Schepel was one of four Calvin players to notch multi-hit games in the win as junior Jacob Vriesman (Denver, CO), Schepel and junior Chris Blacklidge (Comstock Park HS) had a pair of hits while senior Pieter Groot (Uxbridge, MA) was 3-for-4 at the plate with three runs batted in.

Calvin broke the game open with three runs in the second and five in the third. Steiner upped his season record to 5-0 by going six innings, walking three and striking out two with VanOpstall pitching a scoreless seventh in relief.

In game two, Adrian outhit Calvin 14-10 and broke open a one-run game with seven runs in the bottom of the fifth. Adrian hit a pair of homeruns including a two-run shot in the pivotal fifth.

Sophomore Drew Johnson (Boise, ID) was 3-for-3 for the Knights while Schepel went 2-for-3. Senior Alex Marcus (Willmar, MN) also had a triple and a run batted in.

Freshman Keith Spoelstra (Oakdale, NJ) took the loss to fall to 3-1 on the year. Spoelstra walked two and struck out one in 3.2 innings of work.

By going 4-for-6 Saturday afternoon, Schepel raised his season batting average to .526. Schepel is currently 41-for-78 at the plate with 34 runs batted in and 31 runs scored. He also has eight home runs, three triples, five doubles and a slugging percentage of .974. Schepel is currently ranked third nationally in batting average and fourth in slugging percentage.

MIAA BASEBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 4-19-08 GAMES

Adrian 13-3
Calvin 11-4
Olivet 9-4
Albion 9-11
Hope 6-10
Kalamazoo 5-9
Tri-State 5-14
Alma 4-7

MEN'S TENNIS

Calvin picked up a pair of victories over the weekend to raise its season record to 11-5. The Knights opened the weekend with a 5-4 victory over regionally-ranked Coe College of Iowa in a match played at Kalamazoo College Friday afternoon.

Calvin took two of the three doubles points in the win over Coe and then held on for the win by splitting the six singles points with freshman Andrew DeVlieger (Northpointe Christian HS) providing the clinching point with a three set win at No. 6 singles. Senior Ricky Tilton (Gap, PA) and junior Marcus Zeilstra (Oak Brook, IL) also claimed singles wins. Calvin is now 5-5 against regionally-ranked teams this year,

On Saturday, Calvin played host to Adrian and recorded a 9-0 conference victory over the Bulldogs at the Gainey Alex Complex. The Knights are now 4-1 in MIAA dual match play heading into a conference showdown at Albion on Tuesday. Albion is currently tied for second place in the MIAA standings with Calvin at 4-1 in league play.

Picking up singles victories for Calvin in the win over Adrian were Tilton at No. 1 singles, freshman Matthew DeVlieger (Northpointe Christian HS) at No. 2 singles, senior Mike Goorhouse (Holland Christian HS) at No. 3 singles, junior Andrew Rescorla (Zionsville, IN) at No. 4 singles, freshman Roland Eldridge (Charlotte, NC) at No. 5 singles and junior Nick Steenstra (Unity Christian HS) at No. 6 singles.

Tuesday's match at Albion is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Calvin-Coe Match Results at: http://www.calvin.edu/sports/mtennis/results/2008/calcoe.htm
Calvin-Adrian Match Results at: http://www.calvin.edu/sports/mtennis/results/2008/caladria.htm

MIAA MEN'S TENNIS DUAL MATCH STANDINGS THROUGH 4-19-08 MATCHES

Kalamazoo 5-0
Albion 4-1
Calvin 4-1
Hope 3-2
Alma 1-4
Tri-State 1-4
Adrian 0-6

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Apr 19 23:17:47 2008