CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 1, 2010
Women's Tennis Captures MIAA Tournamen Title;
Men's Tennis Third at MIAA Tournament
Softball Upsets Adrian - Finishes Tied for Sixth Place in MIAA Standings;
Baseball Splits With Trine as Spoelstra Bids for No-Hitter for Second Straight
Weekend
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Calvin 6, Hope 3
HOLLAND - Two years ago the Calvin women's tennis team could smell an MIAA
Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA III Tournament. A year ago the Knights
could taste it. On Saturday, the Knights were able to take a great big juicy
bite of an MIAA Tournament title and with it, their first-ever trip to the NCAA
III Tournament.
Calvin punched its ticket to the NCAA III Tournament with a 6-3 victory over
rival Hope in the MIAA Tournament Championship final on Saturday afternoon at
West Ottawa High School. The victory came one year after Calvin had been
defeated by Hope 5-4 in the MIAA Tournament final after holding a 4-2 lead
earlier in the match. Saturday's win also came two years after a 5-4 loss to
Albion in the (2008) MIAA Tournament finals in a match that Calvin led 4-3 but
could not close out.
On Saturday, Calvin (18-3 overall) fell behind 2-1 after doubles play but then
clinched the victory behind a roaring round of singles play as the Knights
ripped off four singles victories in a span of 45 minutes. The singles wins
came from junior Melissa Oosterhouse (No. 1 singles), junior Kaitlin Spoelhof
(No. 2 singles), senior Elisabeth Geenen (No. 3 singles) and senior Rachel
Strikwerda (No. 4 singles) with Strikwerda's win clinching the match. Junior
Michelle Busscher (Whitehall/Western Michigan Christian HS) then added a win at
No. 5 singles for good measure to close out the delicious victory.
"The disappointments of the past two years don't even compare to the
excitement we feel after winning today," said Calvin women's tennis coach Jerry
Bergsma after the match. "The disappointments from the past motivated this
group to keep working hard. To see it come together today after learning from
the past two years is all you can ask for as a coach. It is extremely
satisfying."
Calvin opened the match with a stirring 8-3 win by Spoelhof (Holland/Holland
Christian HS) and Oosterhouse (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) at No. 1
doubles but Hope rallied back with 8-5 wins at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles.
Placed in a familiar position - a 2-1 deficit after doubles - Calvin regrouped
and built momentum in a snowball like fashion.
"We met briefly after doubles and it wasn't like we were happy to be down 2-1
but we knew that one of our strengths was our singles play," said Bergsma. "We
just got on a roll in singles. There was no hiccup at all. It was really fun to
see."
At the conclusion of the match, Oosterhouse was named the MIAA's Most Valuable
Player - becoming the first Calvin women's tennis player to receive the award
since Tawnie Knottnerus shared the honor in 1984. Strikwerda was also honored
with the MIAA's Karen Caine Scholar Athlete Award - an award instituted in 2007
to honor former long-time Adrian women's tennis coach Karen Caine. Strikwerda
is the first Calvin women's tennis player to receive the award.
In addition, Oosterhouse was named to the All-MIAA first team for the third
straight year while Spoelhof was so honored for the second straight year.
Geenen was named to the All-MIAA second team for a fourth straight year.
The MIAA Tournament title is Calvin's first since 1982. It also marks the
first time that Calvin swept through the MIAA regular season undefeated and
captured the MIAA Tournament title in the same year.
Calvin will learn of its NCAA III Tournament destination when the field is
unveiled on May 10.
MIAA TOURNAMENT NOTES....Oosterhouse finished undefeated against MIAA
competition this spring and is 23-1 in singles play this year with her only
loss coming in the ITA Regionals back in October...Geenen is now 19-4 at No. 3
singles this spring....Spoelhof is 15-7 at No. 2 singles....Strikwerda is 18-3
at No. 4 singles...Busscher is 16-5 at No. 5 singles...Bergsma is taking his
second Calvin varsity sports team to the NCAA III Tournament as he served as
the interim head coach for Calvin's 2001 women's volleyball team that won the
MIAA Tournament and advanced to the NCAA III Tournament...Bergsma was also an
assistant coach on several Calvin women's volleyball teams that advanced to
NCAA III Tournament play in the 1990s....
MEN'S TENNIS
Calvin 5, Albion 4
(written by sports information student assistant Mitch Blankespoor)
KALAMAZOO – Calvin’s men’s tennis team took to the courts one final time this
season. After a 5-3 defeat at the hands of rival Hope Friday afternoon, the
Knights found themselves in the third place match versus the Albion Britons; a
team Calvin had defeated 6-3 at Strikwerda Tennis Center earlier this season.
On Saturday, the Knights prevailed, defeating the Britons 5-4 in dramatic
fashion to claim third place in the MIAA Tournament.
The doubles matches started out very well for Calvin. Each team opened up the
eight game pro set with breaks. The third doubles team of Andrew DeVlieger
(Grand Rapids/Northpointe Christian) and Jon Goorhouse (Holland/Holland
Christian) won 8-6 defeating Tucker and Dave Blake. The second doubles team of
Andrew Rescorla (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville Community HS) and Brian DeMaagd
(Grandville/Calvin Christian HS) found themselves in a 0-40 hole with DeMaagd
serving tied at six all. Calvin’s doubles team fought off triple break point
and broke the next game to beat the Briton team of Brent Parshall and Johnny
Vinson 8-6. Just after Rescorla and DeMaagd got off the court, the first
doubles matchup was going into a tiebreak. Preston Phillips and Roland
Eldridge were up a break early in the pro set, lost that break, and then broke
back to force this tiebreaker. The Briton team of Ben Miller and Danny Frank
pulled out the pro set 9-8 (3).
Because of Mother Nature, the matches were played indoors on only four courts.
The first four singles spots played while the fifth and sixth singles flights
had to sit and wait. The first four matches proved to be the Knights downfall.
Albion’s Ben Miller, who was later named the All MIAA 1st team, beat Andrew
DeVlieger 6-1, 6-2. Roland Eldridge fell to Danny Frank 6-1, 6-3. Brent
Parshall beat freshman Preston Phillips (Bexley, OH/Bexley HS) 6-4, 7-6 (6).
The lone win from the first four flights came from lone senior Andrew Rescorla
who beat Tucker Blake 6-2, 6-4 to finish out a brilliant college career.
The fifth and six singles flights took to the court with Calvin down 4-3. The
Knights needed both matches to win. Brian DeMaagd beat Johnny Vinson 6-1, 6-1.
Vinson switched racquets during that match because his normal racquet had a
cracked frame. Freshman Phil Reinkin (Morton, IL/Morton HS) then pulled out
one of the best matches of the season defeating Chris Topping 0-6, 7-6 (8),
6-4. This gave Calvin the win 5-4.
“I knew I could beat him after I won that tiebreak” Reinkin said after the
match.
Calvin head coach John Ross was thrilled with the win after the match. “It
was a great way to end the season,” said Ross. “The freshmen pulled through
for us at the end winning two must win matches. We got about all we can out of
these guys losing our top four players from last year’s team.”
This win puts Calvin 15-9 to end the season, avoiding the double-digit loss
total. Roland Eldridge and Andrew DeVlieger received second team all MIAA
honors.
“I thought we represented Calvin and Matt (DeVlieger) very well this season.
He is proud of the way we played,” Calvin first singles Andrew DeVlieger said.
In the championship final, Kalamazoo defeated Hope 5-0 to earn the MIAA’s
automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament.
SOFTBALL
Calvin 2, Adrian 1
Adrian 4, Calvin 3
ADRIAN - The Calvin softball team closed out its 2010 campaign on a high note,
upsetting regionally-ranked Adrian to gain a doubleheader split in its regular
season finale. Calvin upset the host Bulldogs 2-1 in the opener of a
doubleheader Saturday and then fought valiently before falling 4-3 in game two.
With the split, Calvin moved up into a tie for sixth place in the final MIAA
standings at 6-10 in league play. Calvin's conference finish was an improvement
of two spots from a year ago while its conference win total was an improvement
of six wins from its 2009 league campaign. At 11-24 overall, Calvin also upped
its final season win total by seven over its 2009 win total.
Of Calvin's six conference wins this spring, two were against teams heading to
the four-team MIAA Tournament next week as the Knights not only defeated second
place Adrian (12-4 MIAA) but also third place Trine (11-5 MIAA). Calvin also
nearly knocked off league champion Alma (14-2 MIAA) in its MIAA season opener
before falling 4-3 after leading early in a contest played back on March 31.
In Saturday's game one win, Calvin rode the right arm of freshman Shelby Mast
(Hudsonville/Hudsonville HS) and the powerful bat of junior Sass VanRooyen
(Beamsville, ON/Smithville District Christian HS) as Mast struck out seven
batters and walked just one in seven innings of work while VanRooyen smacked
her second home run of the spring - a solo shot in the top of the sixth - that
gave Calvin a 2-1 lead. Adrian (27-9 overall) took a 1-0 lead with an unearned
run in the bottom of the first but Calvin came back to tie the game in the
third on a hit and two Adrian errors. VanRooyen then led off the sixth with a
homer to left-center that put the Knights on top. Adrian later placed the tying
run on second base in the bottom of the sixth and seventh innings but Mast
(10-18) was able to bear down and extinguish the scoring threat each time.
Calvin had five hits in the win including two off the bat of freshman Aubree
Thompson (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS).
In game two, Adrian scored two runs in the second and two more in the sixth to
build a 4-0 lead. Calvin struck back with three runs in the bottom of the sixth
as VanRooyen drove in sophomore Kim VandenAkker (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids
Christian HS) with an RBI single and sophomore Marie Prins (Hudsonville/Unity
Christian HS) and senior Mandy Johnson (Grand Rapids/Northpointe Christian HS)
drive in runs on groundouts.
In the seventh, Calvin was retired in order to end the Calvin comeback bid.
Johnson (1-6) took the loss with Mast tossing five innings of relief.
VanRooyen finished the season with a six-game hitting streak and a .379 season
average. Prins finished the season with a seven-game hit streak and team-lead
.380 batting average.
Mast finished the season with 168 strikeouts in 189 innings of work. Her
strikeout and innings pitched totals were the most by a Calvin pitcher since
Shauna Koolhaas amassed more than 200 strikeouts and 200 innings pitched during
the 1998 season.
In conference play, Mast also finished with an MIAA-leading 76 strikeouts and
88.1 innings pitched.
FINAL 2010 MIAA REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
Alma 14-2
Adrian 12-4
Trine 11-5
Saint Mary's 10-6
Hope 10-6
Calvin 6-10
Olivet 6-10
Albion 3-13
Kalamazoo 0-16
MIAA TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS FOR MAY 6 & 7 at ALMA COLLEGE
#3 Trine vs #2 Adrian
#4 Saint Mary's vs #1 Alma
BASEBALL
Trine 4, Calvin 2
Calvin 5, Trine 4
ANGOLA, IN - Calvin split a doubleheader at Trine University on Saturday,
falling 4-2 in game one and them coming back to win the nightcap 5-4. In game
two, junior Keith Spoelstra (Oakland, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) flirted with a
no-hit bid for the second straight week. Spoelstra carried a no-hit bid into
the sixth inning until the Thunder broke up the bid with a one-out single.
Trine's Brad Laucher then connected on a two-run homer to cut Calvin's 4-0
lead in half. Calvin (14-19 overall, 11-13 MIAA) added an important insurance
run in the top of the seventh as sophomore Jake VanAlten (Holland/Holland
Christian HS) led off with a double and later scored on a sacrifice fly by
junior Andrew Bosma (Holland/Holland Christian HS) to put the Knights up 5-2.
Trine then put two runners aboard with no outs in the bottom of the seventh,
forcing Calvin to bring on sophomore lefthander Joe Lambers (Grosse
Pointe/Grosse Pointe South HS) in from the bullpen. Trine was able to score two
runs on a double by Justin Kurtz but Lambers was able to get three outs to pick
up his first career save and preserve the win for Spoelstra who upped his
season record to 5-3. Spoelstra struck out three and walked four in the win
while Calvin had eight hits. Junior Peter Steiner (Chicago, IL/Glenbrook South
HS) had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 while VanAlten was 2-for-3.
In game one, Trine (18-17 overall, 15-9 MIAA) scored two runs in the second
and two more in the fifth to build a 4-0 lead. Calvin answered with two runs in
the top of the sixth on sacrifice flies by Bosma and sophomore Scott Tipton
(Stow, OH/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy). In the seventh, Calvin placed two
runners aboard but could bring across another run as the Thunder held on for
the win.
Calvin had eight hits in the loss led by sophomore Tyler Berger (Grand
Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) who was 3-for-4 at the plate. Sophomore Jeff
Groenewold (Chicago, IL/Timothy Christian HS) took the loss for Calvin to dip
to 1-4 on the season.
Calvin returns to action next Tuesday when it takes on Aquinas in a
non-conference doubleheader at Fifth Third Ballpark. Tuesday's twinbill is set
to begin at 3 p.m.
MIAA BASEBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 5-1-10 GAMES
Adrian 20-4
Hope 16-8
Trine 15-9
Albion 14-10
Calvin 11-13
Olivet 8-16
Alma 6-18
Kalamazoo 6-18
Received on Sun May 2 01:50:49 2010
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