CSR (Calvin Saturday Sports Report for February 14, 2009)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 14, 2009

Men's Basketball Captures Share of MIAA Title;
Women's Basketball Stretches Win Streak To Four;
Another NCAA III Time for Indoor Track;
Hockey Team Defeated at ACHA North Region Tourney;
Men's Tennis Team Defeats GRCC & Spring Arbor

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 72, Olivet 61

Knights avenge conference loss, clinch share of MIAA title
By Bruce Van Baren

OLIVET – Calvin avenged its only loss of the conference schedule with a
72-61 win Saturday at Olivet’s Cutler Events Center.

The Knights (16-6, 11-1 MIAA) clinched a share of their first MIAA
championship since 2006. Calvin also secured the top-seed for the MIAA
tournament.

“It’s very satisfying because last year we didn’t cut down any nets: no
conference tournament and no conference championship,” coach Kevin Vande
Streek said. “We’re pretty excited to come back and get it done this year.

Calvin suffered a let down against Olivet after its thrilling road win at
Hope, losing its only conference game to the Comets 60-57 on January 21.

“It’s probably a good thing we’re playing Olivet as opposed to someone
else,” Vande Streek said. “After an emotional win (over Hope), it gave us
just a little extra motivation to say we’ve got a little pay back for
them.”

Calvin won either the conference tournament or the conference championship
seven out of the previous eight years before being shutout from the hardware a
year ago.

“It’s nice to finally take care of business,” Tyler Zoerhof (Holland
Christian) said. “We’ve kind of messed up towards the middle of the season
the past couple years.”

Zoerhof sparked Calvin’s stagnant offense in the second half. Zoerhof’s
layup capped the 13-4 run that gave the Knights the lead for good. Zoerhof hit
a shot-clock beating three-pointer, blocked a shot and had a fast break layup
on the run.

“We were just getting frustrated as a team,” Zoerhof said. “I was trying
to be a senior and show some leadership. I just tried to stay fundamental. We
got a couple of easy baskets and quick turnovers which helped us.”

Zoerhof matched his season-high in scoring with nine points and grabbed six
rebounds.

“I thought he played outstanding,” Vande Streek said. “He did a nice job
defensively and on the board against Brandon McClary, one of the best (players)
in conference. I thought down the stretch, the last ten minutes, he was really
good.”

Calvin exploded to take a 31-17 lead in the first half. Calvin’s leading
scorer and last week’s MIAA player of the week John Mantel (Chelsea HS)
exited after picking up two quick fouls in the first four minutes and did not
play the rest of the half.

 Caleb Veldhouse (Sioux Falls Christian) stepped up in his absence hitting a
pair of three-pointers to give Calvin its largest lead. Veldhouse led the
Knights for the second straight game with 14 points.

The Knights’ complacency allowed Olivet to erase a 14-point deficit in the
first half. Andy Clark ignited the Comets with five first-half three-pointers.
Clark’s season-high 17 points all came in the first half and gave Olivet a
36-35 halftime lead.

“I think we all got caught standing around watching Caleb,” Zoerhof said.
“Caleb was shooting really well. We got real stagnant on offense and ended up
taking bad shots. They also picked up their defense.”

Olivet closed the half on a 19-4 run. Calvin scored only one field goal over
the eight minute stretch.

“Caleb got it going for a stretch there, but that seemed to be the end of
our offense,” Vande Streek said. “We stood and watched instead of working
hard. In the second half we did a much better job moving and working.”

Dustin Smith (Hamilton) scored 11 points and Mantel added 10 points in a
season-low 18 minutes. Zoerhof had nine points, Matt Veltema (Calvin Christian)
had eight points and Danny Roodts (Niles HS) had seven points. Mike Zwier
(Tri-Unity Christian) led Calvin with eight rebounds.

Calvin held Brandon McClary, the MIAA’s second leading scorer (he recently
moved past Adrian’s Desmond Young), to 14 points and nine rebounds. McClary
averages 21 points-per-game at home. Clark led the Comets with 17 points. Joe
Post and Michael McClary each added nine points.

Calvin will host the MIAA tournament for the first time inside VanNoord Arena.
Calvin is 5-1 at home this season.

“It’s a huge advantage for us to have the home crowd,” Zoerhof said.
“It’s tough for teams to travel and play back to back games while
staying in a hotel.”

Calvin will host a first-round tournament game on February 25. If the Knights
win, they will host the tournament semifinals on February 27 and the finals on
February 28.

NOTES: Olivet is the only men’s basketball team to win inside the VanNoord
Arena… Calvin is ranked fourth in the second set of regional rankings released
Wednesday… John Mantel was the MIAA player of the week for the third time this
year… Calvin has out-rebounded its opponent in every MIAA game.

OTHER MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES SATURDAY

Albion 78, Kalamazoo 70
Hope 55, Alma 53
Adrian 80, Trine 69

MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-14-09 GAMES

Calvin 11-1
Albion 9-3
Hope 9-3
Adrian 5-7
Olivet 5-7
Kalamazoo 4-8
Alma 3-9
Trine 2-10

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Calvin 82, Olivet 59
By Chaz Amidon

GRAND RAPIDS – Oddly enough, the Knights have been trying to rehash the way
they played at the beginning of season.

With the return of Marcia Harris, along with a nearly impassable full-court
defense, they’re almost there.

Harris scored a game-high 18 points, Brook Van Eck added 12 points and 10
rebounds, and Calvin routed Olivet 82-53 to register its fourth consecutive
win.

“This is the time that we want that momentum,” said Harris. “It feels
great. You can’t be any happier when the team is playing together and
everyone’s getting to play.
 
“Obviously, we’re beating good teams and it’s nice to have that much
momentum.”

The win signified the Knights’ second-longest winning streak of the year.
They began the 2008-09 season with a perfect 5-0 record before falling to No. 7
Thomas More back on Nov. 29.

Calvin then went 1-3 in December until Harris suffered a medial meniscus tear
that sidelined her for nine games. Since her return on Feb. 7 – a 88-81 win
over Adrian in which she totaled 28 points in only 16 minutes – the Knights
have gone 3-0, winning by an average of 22 points-per-game.

Harris is now averaging a team-best 19.8 points-per-game, including 21.7
points through her previous three games.

She sunk four consecutive free throws midway through the first half to ignite
a 10-0 Calvin run, which gave the Knights a double-digit lead they would not
surrender throughout.

Harris also finished 10-of-12 from the free throw line, where Calvin shot
16-of-20 (80 percent) to preserve its league-best proficiency (74.4 percent).

“It’s a little awkward still,” said Harris, who played only 17 minutes.
“I’m sure you can tell because sometimes I don’t know where I’m going
and neither does my body. I think I’m getting there.”

The Knights doubled their 10-point halftime lead just six minutes after the
break. Kacy Cryderman punctuated an 8-0 Calvin run with 13:00 remaining in
regulation, and Harris muscled in a transition lay-up to give the Knights their
first 29-point lead with 7:21 left.

Calvin forced the Comets to commit 18 first-half turnovers, most of which were
caused by the Knights’ unrelenting full-court press. Kristi Brummel, Leah
Morrison and Emily Ottenhoff each swiped three steals.

“It takes a long time to learn it,” said coach John Ross. “We’ve got
to do a better job at getting the right personnel out there, but it’s coming
along.”

Ottenhoff chipped in 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting, Brummel added eight points
and Sarah Partridge and Lauren Roodvoets contributed six points apiece.

Calvin (14-8, 8-6) will now travel to Angola, Ind. to wrap up its season
series with Trine (12-11, 9-6)), the third-place team in the MIAA.

OTHER MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL SCORES FOR 2-14-09

Albion 95, Saint Mary’s 63
Hope 102, Adrian 53
Trine 66, Alma 55

MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-14-09 GAMES

Hope 13-1
Saint Mary’s 12-3
Trine 9-6
Calvin 8-6
Albion 7-7
Adrian 6-8
Alma 6-8
Olivet 3-11
Kalamazoo 0-14

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD

ALLENDALE – The second day of competition of the Grand Valley State Big Meet
Invitational resulted in yet another NCAA III provisional qualifying time for
the Calvin women’s track team as the distance medley unit of junior Liz Smit
(Kirland, WA), junior Heather Koning (Kalamazoo Christian HS), sophomore Alison
Tuuk (Grand Rapids Christian HS) and senior Lauren Bergstrom (Rochester, MN)
posted an NCAA III indoor provisional qualifying time of 11:56.17 on Saturday,
missing an automatic qualifying time by less than three seconds.

The relay was one of several notable performances for Calvin as junior Jessica
Koster (Grand Rapids Christian HS) won the women’s open 5,000 meter run
(17:55.59), senior Julie Bratt (Lynden, WA) was fifth in the triple jump
(36-5).

On the men’s side, freshman Nick Kramer (Dyer, IN) won the men’s open
3,000 meters (8:44.12) while junior Aaron Goodman (Milwaukee, WI) won the open
men’s 5,000 meters (15:28.23).

Calvin’s distance medley relay team of sophomore Alex Wrobel (), senior
Jared Cok (Bozeman, MT), freshman Colin Vance () and senior Nate DeHaan (South
Christian HS) also took fourth with a time of 10:15.18.

Both Calvin teams will now prepare to compete at the Grand Rapids Open hosted
by Grand Valley State next Friday at 5:00 p.m.

HOCKEY TEAM FALLS AT ACHA NORTH REGIONAL

The Calvin hockey team’s bid for a seventh consecutive trip to the ACHA
Division III National Tournament came to an end on Saturday evening as the
Knights were defeated by Delta Community College 4-1 inside the Southside Ice
Arena.

With a bid to the national tourney on the line, the two teams fought to a
scoreless draw through one period. Delta CC outscored Calvin (16-8-2) 3-1 in
the second period however and added an insurance goal in the third.

Calvin’s lone goal came from freshman Scott Plakmeyer with freshman Reed
Loney and sophomore Eric Doezema drawing assists on the play.

Calvin will now close out its season next weekend, competing at the Michigan
Collegiate Hockey Conference Tournament at the Patterson Ice Arena in Cascade.

MEN’S TENNIS

The Calvin men’s tennis team opened its season with a pair of victories
inside the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center as the Knights defeated Grand
Rapids Community College 8-1 and Spring Arbor University 9-0.
Calvin is back in action next Friday and Saturday when it competes at a
weekend tournament that will included Grand Rapids Community College, Aquinas
and Hope.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sun Feb 15 00:16:09 2009