CKSR (Calvin Knight Sports Report for February 4, 2012)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 4, 2012

MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 77, Kalamazoo 65
By Mark DeHaan

Coming off a big win over Albion that put the team in a tie for third place,
the Knights traveled down to Kalamazoo to face off against the Hornets at the
Anderson Athletic Center. Calvin responded with its second road of the win,
defeating the Hornets 77-65. The victory was the 400th of head coach Kevin
Vande Streek’s collegiate career. In 22 years at the collegiate level, Vande
Streek is 400-213. Earlier this year, Vande Streek collected his 300th victory
at helm of the Calvin men’s basketball program. Prior to coming to Calvin,
Vande Streek spent six years coaching at the University of Sioux Falls men’s
basketball.

Calvin jumped out to an early 11-3 lead on a pair of jumpers by junior Tom
Snikkers and a three-pointer by senior Brian Haverdink. With just over eight
minutes remaining, Calvin extended its lead to 24-15 on a dunk by sophomore
Nate Van Eck.

Up five at that point, single free-throws by Van Eck and freshman Tyler
Dykstra kept the Knights in the lead as a pair of three-pointers by Kalamazoo
cut Calvin's lead to 34-33 at halftime.

The Knights were extremely balanced at the break, with nine players in the
scoring column and none tallying more than six points. Calvin was shooting
55.6% at half, and limited its turnovers to only four in the opening period.

Kalamazoo senior forward Joe Prepolec hit the first shot of the second half to
give the Hornets the brief 35-34 lead before a 6-0 run by the Knights, capped
by a jumper by junior Matt DeBoer, gave Calvin a 40-35 lead.

The Hornets then cut the Calvin lead to 40-38 before an 11-5 run by the
Knights extended their advantage to 51-43.

After a Kalamazoo layup, Calvin went on another 6-0 run to build its largest
lead of the game at 57-45.

The Hornets cut the Knights advantage to single digits a number of times the
rest of the way, but Calvin answered each time, pushing its lead to as much as
16 with just over a minute remaining on its way to a 77-65 victory.

Leading Calvin on offense was sophomore Tyler Kruis with 16 points while
junior Bryan Powell added 15 points and six rebounds. Snikkers had his second
straight game with a double-double as he chipped in 12 points and led the team
with 10 rebounds and six assists. Snikker's scoring total brought the junior to
1000 points for his career. DeBoer also ended with a solid game of nine points
and five boards.

The Hornets were led on offense by junior Eric Fishman who scored a game-high
18 points. Sophomore Mark Ghafari added 11 points while Prepolec chipped in 10
points and nine rebounds.

“You think about us trying to get in the (MIAA) tournament now, with only four
teams in. That’s what we've been after, to have two tough road wins is really
big,” said Head Coach Kevin VandeStreek. “As a coach, you talk about each game
being a big game, but these certainly were, and we're going to have another one
on Wednesday against Alma.”

Calvin, now 11-10 and 6-4 in conference, will host Alma Wednesday night for an
8 p.m. contest.

MIAA MEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-4-12 GAMES

Hope 10-0
Adrian
Trine
Calvin 6-4
Albion 4-6
Alma 3-7
Kalamazoo 3-7
Olivet 2-8
 

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
By Andrew Knot
Hope 59, Calvin 55

HOLLAND – Calvin’s bid for an undefeated season ended in Holland on Saturday
with a 59-55 loss to rival Hope.
 
Unlike January’s game in Grand Rapids, Calvin couldn’t get out to a hot start
on Saturday. The suffocating Dutch defense forced fourteen Calvin turnovers and
the Knights fell down by a score of 8-4 early.
 
But Calvin was able to fight back. Point guard Kirstin Tripp, steady on the
ball all day, knocked down a triple at the top of the arc and Jill Thomas found
Breanna Verkaik at the top of the key, where she drilled another three to put
the Knights on top 16-10. But Hope was able to chip away at Calvin’s lead and
take a 26-24 advantage into halftime.
 
The Flying Dutch started the second half even hotter than the first. Hope
opened up a ten point advantage just minutes into the half. With twelve
minutes remaining, the Knights trailed by eleven points.

Calvin’s comeback attempt came off the hands of Thomas. She hit a three off a
skip pass from Carissa Verkaik. On the ensuing offensive possession, Verkaik
found Thomas yet again, this time in transition, beyond the arc. Thomas sank
the triple to cut the deficit to two. Tripp would bury another three ball
minutes later to shrink the score to 44-43.
 
With five minutes remaining, the rivals were square at 45. Julia Hilbrands
then gave the Knights their first lead since the first half at 47-45. But Hope
would answer with a barrage of three point plays. Liz Ellis made a three to put
the Dutch back on top at 48-47 and, in the next possession, Maddie Burnett
scored her first points on an and-one lay-up to give Hope a four-point lead.
 
From there, Calvin and Hope would trade points. Freshman Kayla Engelhard was
crucial in creating offense off the dribble, but the Dutch were clutch at the
free throw line. With fourteen seconds remaining, the Knights had a chance to
tie, Engelhard got to the lane but was unable to convert on a shot in traffic,
effectively putting a lid on the result.
 
Carissa Verkaik led the Knights in scoring and rebounding with fifteen points
and eight rebounds. Courtney Kust and Allie Cerone each had thirteen points for
the Dutch, while Rebekah Llorens contributed a double-double off the bench.
 
Calvin Coach John Ross credited Hope for their efforts in the victory.
 
“Hope played really, really, good defense like they typically do. There were
some really good players out there,” he said. “Hope is a good team and I give
their team credit for making things very difficult for us today.”
 
Carissa Verkaik remained adamant that the Knights would recover from the
loss.
 
“We’re not done yet. I think this game was a good heads-up for us,” she said.
 
Carissa Verkaik led Calvin in the scoring column with 15 points to go with
eight rebounds while Engelhard had 10 points. Courtney Kust and Allie Cerone
had 13 points apiece to lead Hope.
 
MIAA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-4-12 GAMES

Calvin 12-1
Hope 10-2
Albion 9-4
Saint Mary’s 7-6
Adrian 5-8
Alma 4-8
Olivet 4-8
Trine 4-9
Kalamazoo 2-10

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

The Calvin men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams closed out their dual
meet campaigns with victories over Olivet Saturday afternoon at the Venema
Aquatic Center. In the men’s competition, Calvin handed Olivet a 146-88 defeat
while the Calvin women defeated Olivet 114-78. The Calvin women finish their
dual meet season with a 7-2 record while the Calvin men finish 5-3 in dual meet
action.

Sophomore Andrew Krafft once again dominated on the diving boards,
establishing a new school records on the one meter board for six dives. On the
one-meter board, Krafft took first place with a score of 363.90, breaking his
previous record by nearly 20 points. It marked the third time this year that
Krafft has reset the Calvin one-meter record. Krafft also won the three-meter
board with a total of 354.75 points.
 
Junior Matthias Bares was also a double-winner for Calvin, winning the 1,000
freestyle (10:11.51) and 500 freestyle (4:57.03).

Other individual winners for the Calvin men included senior Ross Battoclette
in the 200 freestyle (1:46.00), junior Mark Rushlow in the 100 freestyle
(48.58) and senior Greg Gorham in the 100 breaststroke (1:00.82). Calvin’s 200
medley relay team of junior Stephen Kraft, Gorham, sophomore Peter Johnson and
Rushlow also won with a time of 1:36.94.

In the women’s meet on Saturday, sophomore Margaret Rechel was a
double-winner, taking first place in both the 100 freestyle (55.61) and 50
freestyle (25.29). Other individual winners included senior Bridget Scott in
the 1,000 freestyle (10:57.55), freshman Kathryn Wrobel in the 200 freestyle
(1:58.38), junior Stephanie Fox in the 200 IM (2:14.00), junior Samantha
Klaasen on the one-meter diving board (281.39) and senior Rachel Bos in the 100
butterfly (1:03.47). In the 200 medley relay, Calvin’s quartet of freshman
Erika Waugh, junior Elizabeth Counsell, junior Rachel Colasurdo and Fox won
with a time of 1:53.12.
 Both teams will now prepare for the upcoming MIAA Championships slated to be
held February 16-18 at the Holland Aquatic Center.
Received on Sat, 04 Feb 2012 22:21:23 -0500