CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR OCT. 29, 2011
Men's Cross Country Captures MIAA Title/ Women's Cross Country Title Streak
Snapped;
Volleyball Wraps up Undefeated MIAA Regular Season
Women's Soccer Defeats Hope - Remains in MIAA Tournament Hunt;
Men's Soccer Falls to Olivet;
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
ALMA - The Calvin men's cross country team continued its MIAA title run on
Saturday while the Calvin women's team had its title streak snapped. At the
MIAA Championships on Saturday at Alma College, the Calvin men took first place
with 18 points to capture their 25th consecutive MIAA title. On the women's
side, Calvin was edged for the league title by rival Hope as the Flying Dutch
finished in first place with 43 points, three points ahead of Calvin. The Hope
win snaps Calvin's MIAA Championship streak of six years.
MEN'S RECAP
Calvin rolled to its 25th consecutive MIAA title behind a powerful performance
by front-man Dan Kerr. The senior from Petoskey fought off a challenge from
Hope's Nathan Love midway through the race to win in a time of 24:52.
Calvin took four of the top five spots and six of the top eight to gain the
win. Junior Matt VanderRoest (Ann Arbor/Ann Arbor Huron HS) followed Kerr in
second place with a time of 24:58 while junior Greg Whittle (Galesburg,
IL/Galesburg HS) was third (25:08) and senior Rhett Morici (St. Charles, IL)
fifth (25:25). Junior David VandeBunte (Byron Center/Byron Center HS) and
senior Alex Wrobel (Arden Hills, MN) also had strong days with VandeBunte
finishing seventh (25:29) and Wrobel eighth (25:35).
Junior Job Christiansen (New Ipswich, NH) added a 10th place finish (25:38)
while sophomore Sam Kerk (Hartland, WI) was 13th (25:50).
"We had an excellent race today," said Calvin head coach Brian Diemer. "Dan
Kerr was courageous and fought off a serious challenge during the race and then
his teammates filled the gaps nicely. We are definitley headed into the right
direction as we enter the month of November."
At the conclusion of the race, Kerr was named the MIAA's Most Valuable Runner,
marking the 25th straight year that a Calvin men's runner has received the
award. He was also named to the All-MIAA first team for a third straight year
as was VanderRoest. Also named to the All-MIAA first team from Calvin were
Whittle, VandeBunte, Morici and Christiansen while Kerk and junior Kevin
Peterson (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) were named to the All-MIAA
second team.
WOMEN'S RECAP
A well-executed race allowed Hope to surprise Calvin and capture its first
MIAA title since 2004. Calvin senior Jodi Hoekstra (Homer Glen, IL/Chicago
Christian HS) took first place individually with a time of 21:42 but the
Knights were able to place only three runners in the top 10 and only four in
the top 14. Meanwhile, Hope placed six runners in the top 13 to turn the tables
on the Knights, one year after Calvin had edged the Flying Dutch by two points
for the 2010 MIAA title.
Junior Alyssa Penning (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) was Calvin's
second finisher, placing fifth in a time of 22:19 while senior Kaitlin Diemer
(Caledonia/South Christian HS) was 10th in 22:29.
Sophomore Alyssa Oram (Cheboygan) was 14th (22:37) with senior Eva Kort
(Colorado Springs, CO) 16th (22:44). Rounding out Calvin's top seven were
sophomore Nicole Michmerhuizen (Holland Christian HS) in 20th (23:01) and
senior Samantha Westveer (East Kentwood HS) in 21st (23:01).
"My hat is off to Hope," said Calvin head coach Brian Diemer. "They ran a
well-executed race. We did not. We had some good things in our race but as a
team, it was not our best race of the season. I also want to credit Jodi
Hoekstra for another outstanding race. She has been near the top of her game
throughout the year and ran another fantastic race. Our goal now is to regroup
and get ready for the regional meet in two weeks."
Hoekstra was named the MIAA's Most Valuable Runner for the second year in a
row. She joins Amy Kuipers, Lisa Timmer and Jessie Lair as one of four runners
in Calvin women's cross country history to receive MIAA Most Valuable Runner
honors twice.
Hoekstra was also named to the All-MIAA first team for the third straight year
and was joined on the All-MIAA first team from Calvin by Penning and Diemer
with Penning receiving the honor for a second straight year. Oram was named to
the All-MIAA second team.
VOLLEYBALL
By sports information student assistant Andrew Knot
The Knights completed a perfect regular season with a three-set sweep of
Adrian on Saturday.
The first set was never in doubt as Knights opened up an early 11-2 lead, with
Rebecca Kamp recording four kills in the first 13 points. Late in the set,
Ellie Diepersloot earned a kill to give Calvin a 20-5 lead. Rebecca Ratkov
followed that up with a kill and Julia Hilbrands closed out the set with a
short roll shot to win the set for the Knights by a final score of 25-7.
In the second set, Calvin opened up another early lead. Renee DeHaan and
Hilbrands combined for a team block to give the Knights an early 10-5 lead.
Erin VanderPlas knocked a kill on the back line to increase Calvin’s lead to
18-8. Emily Crowe then banged a kill off the block for a kill and Morgan Hahn
answered with a similar kill to put the Knights up 21-9. DeHaan closed out the
set with a kill up the middle to give Calvin a 25-12 victory.
The final set proved to be more competitive. Ratkov and Megan Rietema
connected on a quick up the middle to give Calvin an 11-6 lead but the Bulldogs
closed the score to 12-10. Ratkov and Stacey Kamp answered defensively with a
block on the outside to once again increase Calvin’s lead. Rebecca Kamp then
ran a slide and crushed a kill cross court to put the Knights on top 16-12.
Late in the set, Rietema tipped with her off hand to put the Knights within
three points of taking the match and Calvin closed out the set the 25-18
victor.
Rebecca Kamp finished with 14 kills while Lizzie Kamp had nine kills. Megan
Rietema had 41 assists and Kelly Gordon 11 digs.
“We got everyone playing time and didn’t let up at all,” said Coach Amber
Warners after the game, her team’s last of the regular season.
“We are starting to focus on peaking at the right time,” she added as her team
enters postseason play.
The Knights will play for a spot in the MIAA championship game next Friday
when it hosts Trine University in the second semifinal match at Calvin’s Van
Noord Arena. Hope will face Alma in the first semifinal at 5:30 p.m. with the
Calvin/Trine match set for approximately 7:30 p.m.
FINAL 2011 MIAA REGULAR SEASON VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS
Calvin 16-0
Hope 14-2
Alma 11-5
Trine 9-7
Kalamazoo 9-7
Saint Mary's 6-10
Adrian 5-11
Olivet 2-14
Albion 0-16
WOMEN’S SOCCER
HOLLAND – Although next Tuesday’s game against Kalamazoo will go in the books
as an MIAA regular season contest, the match will have a post-season feel to
it. The Calvin women’s soccer team made sure of that on Saturday with a 3-2
victory at rival Hope to keep the Knights in the thick of the hunt for one of
the final two MIAA Tournament spots. Adrian has already secured the MIAA
regular season title while Alma has locked down the second place spot.
Meanwhile, Calvin, Kalamazoo and Hope are all locked in a three-way struggle
for the final two spots for the four-team MIAA Tournament scheduled for
November 3 and 5.
Calvin (10-9-0 overall, 10-5-0 MIAA) is now tied with Hope (12-6-0 overall,
10-5-0 MIAA) for fourth place in the MIAA standings with Kalamazoo just three
points ahead at 11-4-0 in league play. A Calvin victory on Tuesday against
Kalamazoo would secure the Knights a spot in the MIAA Tournament.
In its victory over Hope Saturday, the Knights fell behind 1-0 on a goal just
6:44 into the match but Calvin came back to score the next three to take a 3-1
lead. Freshman Sam Osterhaven (South Christian HS) tied the game in the 11th
minute on a feed from junior Liz Cancel (Fraser HS) for her 10th goal of the
season. In the 12th minute, senior Kara Zondervan (Lakewood, CA) got loose for
her second goal of the season off a pass from Osterhaven. Sophomore Kelly Koets
(Calvin Christian HS) then scored in the 31st minute on a shot from 16 yards
out. The goal was the fifth of the year for Koets.
Hope came back to edge within a goal on a shot in the 39th minute but neither
team would score again as the Calvin defense held strong.
“Without a doubt, it was a quality win for our team,” said Calvin head coach
Mark Recker. “I thought were opportunistic on our scoring chances in the first
half and I thought our defense played well down the stretch which was huge. We
are grateful to be playing for a spot in the league tournament on Tuesday. It
should be an exciting game.”
Hope held a 13-12 shots at goal advantage while Calvin freshman goalkeeper
Lauren Merz (Western Michigan Christian HS) had two saves for the Knights.
Tuesday’s game between Calvin and Kalamazoo is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
Hope will also play at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, traveling to Saint Mary’s.
MIAA WOMEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-29-11
Adrian 13-2-0 (39 points)
Alma 12-3-1 (37 points)
Kalamazoo 11-4-0 (33 points)
Calvin 10-5-0 (30 points)
Hope 10-5-0 (30 points)
Saint Mary's 5-10-0 (15 points)
Olivet 3-12-0 (9 points)
Trine 2-11-2 (8 points)
Albion 0-13-1 (1 point)
MEN’S SOCCER
By sports information student assistant Mark DeHaan
Looking to earn the outright MIAA regular season title, Calvin men's soccer
hosted the Comets of Olivet on Saturday. Unfortunately for the Knights, that
goal would become more difficult when a red card in just the 19th minute of
play put them a man down, as well as a goal down.
The red card resulted in a penalty kick which was put into the back of the net
by Olivet's Fred Smyser to give the Comets a 1-0 lead. Despite being a man
down, the Knights played even with the Comets, matching them shot for shot.
Just minutes after the Olivet penalty kick, the Knights had a chance of their
own as junior Chris Nance made a beautiful cross-field pass to sophomore Zach
Willis. Willis then touched the ball back to junior Nick Holtrop who ripped a
shot toward net that was blocked and deflected wide.
The Knights would have one more strong chance before half as with 1:11
remaining senior Justin Ahearne made a run down the left side of the field and
put a cross across the mouth of the net. The ball would not be touched however,
and go past the far post and out of bounds.
Coming out of the break, the Knights continued to look for the equalizer,
pressuring the Olivet defense despite the Comets' one man advantage. Calvin's
best opportunity came with just over 30 minutes remaining in the game as
freshmen Dino Duratovic made a run and found himself one-on-one with Olivet
keeper Alex Lang. Duratovic would then touch the ball toward the far post, but
a sliding Lang would save the shot. This would be Calvin's best opportunity,
and the Knights would have a few more chances with under 10 minutes remaining,
but could not capitalize as the Comets would hold on for the win.
Despite being a man down, the Knights had a 18-16 shots advantage over the
Comets, with both keepers recording four saves. The game was very physical as
27 fouls were called while 5 cards were handed out.
“We were a step off, did not have a good match,” said Head Coach Chris Hughes.
“We had good effort, but our passes were off today.”
The Knights will have one more opportunity to clinch the MIAA regular season
title outright next Wednesday as they travel to Alma with the match starting at
3:00 p.m.
MIAA MEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-29-11
Calvin 10-2-1 (31 points)
Hope 9-3-1 (28 points)
Trine 8-4-1 (25 points)
Olivet 8-5-0 (24 points)
Albion 6-7-0 (18 points)
Adrian 3-9-1 (10 points)
Kalamazoo 3-10-0 (9 points)
Alma 2-9-2 (8 points)
Received on Sat Oct 29 23:38:58 2011
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