CSR (Calvin Saturday Sports Report For November 8, 2008)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOV. 8, 2008

MIAA Volleyball Tournament Canceled;
Women's Soccer Captures MIAA Title;
Men's Soccer Falls in Regular Season Finale To Trine;
Swimming & Diving Teams Split Dual Meets at Wheaton

MIAA Volleyball Tournament Canceled

(from the MIAA publicist’s office)
ROYAL OAK – The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association announced
Saturday that it has cancelled the MIAA volleyball tournament, which had
initially been postponed until Tuesday, Nov. 11.

Commissioner David Neilson announced the cancellation after consulting with
the NCAA, which had initially allowed an exception to its requirement that the
MIAA’s automatic qualifier be determined by Sunday’s deadline. After
revisiting the matter, the NCAA determined that the MIAA must abide by the
original timeline.

“As a result of the virus at Hope College, which has now led to the
cancellation of the tournament, the as per written policy, the automatic
qualifier is awarded to the regular season champion, Hope College,” Neilson
said.

Calvin will now play a waiting game to see if it receives an at-large bid to
the NCAA III Tournament. Calvin is currently 26-4 overall, ranked 14th
nationally and third in the Great Lakes Region.

The NCAA is expected to announce its pairings for the Division III volleyball
tournament on Sunday, Nov. 9.

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Calvin 3, Alma 0
By Chaz Amidon

GRAND RAPIDS – Bouncing back from a 2007 MIAA Tournament that ended on a
sour note, the No. 4 Knights sealed their fourth consecutive league title with
a 3-0 win over Alma in Saturday’s championship bout.

Calvin, a team that has allowed only one goal in conference play this season,
blanked the visiting Scots for the second time this fall en route to earning an
automatic bid for next week’s NCAA-III Tournament, which begins next
Thursday, Nov. 13.

“They play hard, they play consistently, they play with a desire, a passion,
to be excellent in what they do,” said women’s soccer coach Mark Recker of
his championship squad. “When you have that as a coach, you can’t beat
it.”

The Knights (17-2-1) have now claimed four straight league crowns – a
dynastic streak that began in 2005 when Calvin and Hope each went 15-1 during
the regular season to share the title.

Since then, the double-round robin format has been tossed aside in favor of a
single-round robin regular season followed by a single elimination tournament.
Calvin defeated Hope in the 2006 tournament final and lost to Albion in a
shootout in last year’s title tilt, though the Knights recorded enough points
to remain ahead of the Britons in the final standings.

“It really is a challenge to have consistency over a number of years,”
said Recker. “I think every one is special, especially when you have a group
of players who, in their own way, decided that they wanted to be the best
defenders in the league.”

After a scoreless first half, Calvin was ignited by Carly Prins
(Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) just six minutes following the break, as the
sophomore midfielder toe-punched a drop pass from Emily Ottenhoff (Palos
Heights, IL/Chicago Christian HS) that rocketed past Alma goalkeeper Katie
Weicksel.

Senior Elizabeth Ribbens (Tinley Park, IL/Victor J. Andrew HS), who is the
MIAA leader in total points in conference play, (27), notched her 12th goal of
the season in the 59th minute, depositing a cross-field shot into the corner of
the Scots’ net after being sprung on a breakaway opportunity.

“I think we just have a good rhythm going together,” said Ribbens. “We
really had to work up toward this point, but we really understand each other
and where we’re going to be – just working more as a unit than as
individuals.”

Sophomore Elaine Schnabel (Chesterton, IN/Chesterton HS) registered her third
goal of the tournament with under ten minutes left in regulation, firing in a
low liner that was sent from Prins near the left corner of Alma’s box.

Calvin outscored its league opponents 13-0 throughout the tournament –
including 6-0 and 4-0 wins against Saint Mary’s and Adrian, respectively –
and 27-1 during the eight-game regular season.

The Knights’ burgeoning offense has averaged 4.0 goals-per-game over their
past six contests, paling a 2.5 goals-per-game average in their first six of
the 2008 season.

“All year long we’ve generated a large degree of opportunities,” said
Recker. “We’ve been talking about execution lately. When we’ve had more
opportunities in front of the goal, we’ve been able to put them away
better.”

Winners of 13 straight, Calvin will advance to the NCAA-III Tournament for the
fourth consecutive season. The Knights edged Capital University – a 5-3
shootout victory in Springfield, Ohio – in the first round of the 2007
tourney before bowing out to Wittenberg in a shootout loss, 3-1, in the second
round.

An unblemished conference record of 11-0-0 and a strong non-conference
schedule could bode well for the Knights when the national bracket is drawn up
early next week.

Calvin finished 0-2-1 against ranked opponents this year, though the two
losses were each decided by one goal as the Knights dropped a 3-2 contest
against No. 8 Washington (St. Louis) and a 2-1 double overtime thriller to No.
22 Wheaton, the three-time defending national champion.

The Knights will have at least five days until the start of the NCAA-III
Tournament.

“The team is so great to be around,” said Prins, who netted her seventh
goal of the year on Saturday. “We all want the same thing. We want to go hard
and do the best in every game.”

FINAL MIAA WOMEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS

CALVIN 11-0-0
ALMA 7-3-1
HOPE 7-3-0
ALBION 5-3-1
ADRIAN 4-4-2
OLIVET 3-5-1
KALAMAZOO 2-6-1-
SAINT MARY'S 1-8-0
TRINE 0-8-0

MEN’S SOCCER
Trine 2, Calvin 1 (OT)
By Bruce VanBaren

GRAND RAPIDS -- Trine scored in the first minute and the final minute of
Saturday’s MIAA regular season finale at Zuidema Field. Trine’s 2-1
overtime win snapped Calvin’s 13-game undefeated streak and 26-game league
undefeated streak.

The Knights already clinched their second straight MIAA championship and the
NCAA automatic qualifier. Seeding for the NCAA tournament will be determined on
Monday.

“If anything this is a wakeup call that when we get opportunities (we have
to) put them away,” coach Chris Hughes said. “This might be the slap that
we need to make sure that we’re ready to go for tournament time.”

A driving rain for much of the day made for sloppy field conditions.

“We had to adjust,” Hughes said. “It was a wet and rainy day out. But
both teams had to adjust. It played to the favor of Trine. We had heaven knows
how many opportunities in front of the net and you have to put it away.
That’s what it is. They got their (two) opportunities in front of the net
and they put it away.”

Rudy Cantrell rocketed a volley past Calvin goal keeper Darrin Cline just 47
seconds into the game. A long pass from the midfield forced a Calvin defender
to head the ball out of the penalty box. The header set Cantrell up just
outside the 18-yard line, giving the Thunder a 1-0 lead.

“It didn’t (phase us),” Hughes said. “We knew we had 89 minutes to
find the back of the net. We’re strong enough to get that done.”

Luke Holtrop tied the game in the 60th minute. Holtrop headed in a perfectly
placed cross from Alex McKenzie for his third goal of the year. Calvin held a
20-6 shot advantage in the game, including a 14-4 advantage in the second
half.

Calvin had two shots hit the cross bar and one shot hit the left post. Kyle
Billen’s header in the sixteenth minute appeared to go in, but was cleared
from the goal mouth by the Trine defense in the 29th minute.

Brad Heethuis narrowly missed on a similar play in the 78th minute with his
header clipping the cross bar after Trine goal keeper Cory Sarason put a hand
on the shot. Sarason had six saves and allowed the only goal for the Thunder in
the second half. Ricky Witte had one save in the first.

The Knights poured on shots as the clock ticked under two minutes remaining in
regulation. Justine Ahearne hit the left post after Sarason deflected his first
shot back at him. Heethuis narrowly missed a game winner as the final seconds
ticked off the clock.

“We hit everything today but the back of the net,” Hughes said. “The
(Trine) goalie was just standing in the right spot a couple of times. We had a
couple point blank shots and he was sitting there to make the save. You have to
give him credit for stepping up.”

Calvin narrowly defeated Trine in Angola, Indiana earlier this year. Darrin
Cline saved a penalty kick to preserve the 1-0 win.

“They played better the first game,” Hughes said. “They’ve got some
young kids that can play the game. They found away to put the ball in the back
of the net. Hat’s off to them. It’s a good way to finish their year.”

Trine broke the .500 barrier with the win and finishes 7-6-1 in the final MIAA
standings in either fourth or fifth place depending on Saturday’s late
results. Calvin finishes with a 12-1-1 record in the MIAA for the second
straight year.

NOTES: Calvin finishes with the MIAA’s top-ranked defense that allowed only
ten goals in league play… Calvin’s offense finishes second to Hope with 29
goals in league play… Hope’s game against at Alma is postponed… the Dutchmen
will seek an NCAA at large bid to get into the tournament… Alex McKenzie’s
assist to Luke Holtrop was his second of the year… Scott Hooker finishes with
18 points in MIAA league play, currently ranked first… Hooker finishes with
five goals in league play, currently in a three-way tie for first place with
Hope’s Jack Abe and Olivet’s Graham Lockwood…Hooker finishes with eight
assists in league play, currently ranked first… Darrin Cline leads the league
in minutes and save percentage with an .854 mark

MIAA MEN’S SOCCER STANDINGS

CALVIN 12-1-1-
HOPE 10-2-1
ALBION 8-6-0
OLIVET 8-6-0
TRINE 7-6-1
ADRIAN 3-11-0
KALAMAZOO 3-11-0
ALMA 2-10-1

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

WHEATON, IL – The Calvin men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams
split dual meets at Wheaton on Saturday with the women’s team edging Wheaton
122-115 while the Calvin men’s team fell to Wheaton 119-102.

The Calvin women’s swim team is now 3-1 in dual meet competition this year
while the Calvin men’s team is 1-2.
 
In the women’s competition, Calvin junior Maggie Vail (Portage/Portage
Northern HS) picked up an NCAA III conditional qualifying cut time of 2:26.10
in winning the 200 breaststroke. Vail also captured the 200 IM with a time of
2:14.66.

Other individual winners for the Calvin women included senior Cara VanWoerkom
(Wyoming/Calvin Christian HS) in the 50 freestyle (25.16) and senior Erica Deur
(Holland/Holland Christian HS) on the one-meter (268.20) and three-meter
(279.22) boards. Calvin’s 400 medley relay team of sophomore Monica Bressler
(Sandusky, OH/Perkins HS), junior Emily Roberts (Dekalb, IL/Dekalb HS), senior
Julie Wolfe (Westerville, OH/Westerville North HS) and VanWoerkom also took
first place with a time of 4:03.65.

Calvin’s diving squad was a big factor in Saturday’s win as the Knights
went 1-2-3 in both the one and three-meter boards. Following Deur on the
one-meter board were junior Casey Herman (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville HS) in
second place (245.20), sophomore Carmen Brummel (West Olive/Unity Christian HS)
in third place (22.55) and junior Joy Leach (Norfolk, VA) posting a score of
211.0.

In the three-meter competition, Herman was second (228.95) and Brummel third
(206.17).

In the men’s competition, Calvin senior Keith Conrad (Wheaton, IL/Wheaton
North HS) returned to his hometown to win the 1,000 freestyle (10:18.42) and
500 freestyle (5:08.64) and finish second in the 200 butterfly (2:05.87).

Senior Dennis Steenbergen (Aylmer, ON/London District Christian HS) won both
the one-meter (203.75) and three-meter boards (182.25).

In addition, Calvin’s 400 freestyle relay team of freshman Ethan Tatum
(Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS), junior Kurt VanAllsburg (Grand
Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS), junior Jon Herrema (Grand Rapids/Grand
Rapids Christian HS) and freshman Ross Battoclette (Cincinnati, OH/Clark
Montessori) took first with a time of 3:19.99.

Both Calvin teams return to action on Friday when they compete at dual meets
at Olivet beginning at 6:00 p.m.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Nov 8 22:22:26 2008