CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 25, 2012
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
By Andrew Knot
Calvin 65, Hope 43
The Knights left no doubt about the MIAA Tournament championship with a 65-43
victory over rival Hope on Saturday. The MIAA Tournament title is Calvin’s
second straight including its sixth overall. Calvin outscored Hope 17-0 to open
the game and did not allow the Flying Dutch to score a field goal until the
9:09 mark of the first half. The Knights (25-1) receive the MIAA’s automatic
bid to the NCAA III Tournament next week. The NCAA III Tournament field will be
announced on Monday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.
In Saturday’s win over Hope (22-5), Calvin came out of the gate with
undeniable force on both ends of the floor. Freshmen Kayla Engelhard set the
tone on the game’s opening possession with a steal of Liz Ellis. Engelhard’s
fast break lay-up jumpstarted a Knights scoring run that left the fans of the
Maroon and Gold gathered inside Van Noord Arena pleasantly stunned.
Carissa Verkaik fueled the Knights offense in the early-going. Verkaik knocked
down a turn-around jumper and then assisted Jill Thomas in transition to have
the Knights on top 8-0, forcing a timeout from Hope Head Coach Brian Morehouse.
Out of the timeout, Verkaik continued to make her mark on the game, this time
on the defensive end. On consecutive defensive possessions, Verkaik swatted
Hope shots to keep the Dutch scoreless. Off a baseline triple from Thomas, the
Knights were on top 17-0 before Hope’s Maddie Burnett hit a mid-range jumper to
end the Dutch’s scoreless streak over halfway into the first half.
Even with Hope on the board, the Knights continued to roll. Engelhard sank a
three-pointer off a skip pass and Thomas followed that up with another baseline
three-ball to move the score to 26-3 with less than six minutes remaining. The
Knights coasted into halftime on top 32-11.
The second half resembled the first in its early stages. Engelhard drilled a
jumper and Verkaik blocked Ellis on the perimeter in less than two minutes.
Hope was able to cut the deficit to 15 points four minutes into the half with a
flurry of three point plays from Maddie Burnett and Courtney Kust.
Despite some improvement in the Hope attack, Calvin was able to hold the Dutch
at bay. Engelhard had seven points in the first 10 minutes of the second half,
including a running and-1 hook shot. Midway through the half, the Knights led
by seventeen.
From there, the Knights would cruise to a convincing victory b a final score
of 65-43. Leading the way for Calvin was Verkaik with 15 points, 19 rebounds
and nine blocks, one shy of a triple double. Joining her in double figures
were Thomas and Engelhard as Thomas netted 13 points and Engelhard 12.
Hope was led by Maddie Burnett and Courtney Kust with 12 points apiece.
Calvin limited Hope to 22.2 percent field goal shooting and held a 55-47
rebounding edge.
“We really stepped it up defensively tonight,” said Calvin Coach John Ross
after the game. “Our focus was really good.”
“We definitely came to play. Our defense set the tone,” added Verkaik.
Calvin is now 31-14 all-time in the MIAA Tournament including 8-0 in MIAA
Tournament games at Van Noord Arena.
The Knights will be making their 13th appearance in the NCAA III Tournament
including their sixth under ninth-year head coach John Ross. Calvin is 15-12
all-time in NCAA III Tournament play.
JOHN ROSS POST GAME AUDIO INTERVIEW:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/audio/12/WBBall/JohnRossMIAATournamentfinal.mp3
LEAH MATTSON POSTGAME AUDIO INTERVIEW:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/audio/12/WBBall/LeahMattsonMIAATournamentFinal.mp3
COURTNEY KURNCZ POSTGAME AUDIO INTERVIEW:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/audio/12/WBBall/CourtneyKurnczMIAATourneyFinals.mp3
JILL THOMAS POST GAME AUDIO INTERVIEW:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/audio/12/WBBall/JillThomasMIAATourneyFinal.mp3
WOMEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
The Calvin women’s track and field recorded a first place total of 161.5
points on Saturday at the Michigan/Indiana Indoor Track and Field Invitational.
Calvin finished 50 points ahead of second place Hope and 50.5 points ahead of
third place Adrian.
Sophomore Nicole Michmerhuizen got the running portion of the meet off with a
bang for the Knights by winning the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:51.57. She
was part of a strong distance contingent for Calvin in the meet as senior Jodi
Hoekstra won the mile run with a time of 5:04.82.
Calvin also flashed promise in the sprints as sophomore Stephanie Bennett won
the 200 meters 26.38 with sophomore teammate Julie Busscher third (26.88). In
the 60 meter dash, Bennett took second (8.18) while Busscher was fourth (8.25).
In the 60 meter hurdles, senior Lindsey VanderBrug claimed first place with a
time of 9.54.
Calvin also made a strong dent in the field events as freshmen Amy Sybesma and
Christina Geating went 1-2 in the high jump at heights of 5-1. In the pole
vault, Geating took third with a vault of 9-10. In the long jump, VanderBrug
took third (16-8) while junior Hilary Banning was sixth (16-0 ¼). Banning also
took second in the triple jump (33-11 ½) while Sybesma was fourth (33-1 ¼).
Calvin capped off the meet by winning the 4x400 meter relay as the quartet of
sophomore Olivia Butler, freshman Kelley Tuinenga, freshman Grace Stoffer and
senior Kaylea Brase took first with a time of 4:10.04, nipping a team from
Adrian by just over a tenth-of-a-second.
“I was extremely proud of the way our team competed,” said Calvin head track
and field coach Bret Otte. “We had people stepping up all over the place today –
whether it was in the field events, distance events, sprints, hurdles, you name
it. The other thing that was very good to see was the fact that we had some of
our younger athletes stepping up right along with our veterans. This team has
some real potential and we’re excited for the things that lie ahead.”
MEN’S TRACK AND FIELD
By Mark DeHaan
Calvin hosted the Michigan/Indiana Indoor Track and Field Invitational inside
the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center Saturday on the Sturrus Track. The Knights
faced off against mostly MIAA schools and one NAIA school.
The Calvin men were able to start out the meet with a victory in the shot-put
as junior Aaron Meckes threw a career best 54'0”. The throw places Meckes in
the top ten throwers in DIII in the nation. Looking forward, Meckes says that
consistency will be big for him in order to improve his throws.
“Consistency, definitely. I had a few throws today that were good in the
circle, but didn't quite get the release right, or had a good release but
didn't quite put it together in the circle. Just putting it all into one throw.”
Meckes also hopes to see some other national competitors in optional meets in
the future.
“Going down to Chicago and seeing some of the guys that will be a nationals in
two weeks would be really good for me, and push me to throw a little farther.”
Meckes also took fourth place in the weight throw, throwing a distance of
43'4.5”.
The Knights took first place in the high jump as sophomore Matt Christians
took the event with a height of two meters even.
In the pole vault, the Knights took second behind sophomore Evert Geerlings.
Geerlings jumped to a height of 14'2”, but could not clear 14'8”. Geerlings has
a chance at nationals during outdoor competition, and cites the continuous
training as a reason why he has that chance.
“Everyday we practice we come in to get better, and there is never a day off
here. Our confidence in ourselves is what’s going to get us over the top, not
just me but everyone on the whole team in general.”
In the first track event of the afternoon, Calvin finished 1-2-3-4 in the 5000
meter run, led by senior Rhett Morici who ran a 15:31.33. Morici was followed
in by junior Alex Van Haitsma, who ran a 15:36.47. Senior Jake Christiansen
came in next with a 15:41.76 while sophomore Phillip Spitzer ran a 15:47.96.
The Knights most thrilling win of the afternoon came in the distance medley
relay. Freshman Steven Haagsma started off the run with a strong showing at the
1200 meter distance, running it for the first time in his career and putting
Calvin into first at the end of his run. Calvin fell behind to third place
during the 400 and 800 meter sections before sophomore Josh Ferguson stepped in
to start the mile portion of the relay. With 400 meters to go, Ferguson found
himself still in third and behind by 40 meters to the teams of Hope and Adrian.
Over the next 200 meters, Ferguson reeled in Hope's runner to move into second
for the last lap. Still 20 meters behind, Ferguson noticed Adrian's miler
fading and took advantage to grab the lead with 100 meters to go. Over the
final 100 meters, Ferguson distanced himself from the pack, earning Calvin the
win by at least 10 meters.
“I could see they were fading,” said Ferguson. “I knew I had enough left (with
400 meters left) so I had to go for it. (My team) set me up really well. They
all ran really good races to put our whole team in a good position at the
end.”
In the mile run, Calvin junior Greg Whittle continued his strong season with a
national qualifying run. Whittle jumped out to a large lead over the first lap,
and wouldn't look back. Whittle cruised through his eight laps, finishing in a
time of 4:11.06, good for eleventh on the national qualifying list.
“The coaches told me to go from the gun,” said Whittle. “I probably went out a
little too fast, but the fans were awesome – lined all around the track – it
worked really well.”
In a separate heat, junior Matt Vander Roest ran a 4:21.54 and senior Dan Kerr
came in at 4:26.65 to earn second and third in the mile run overall.
In the final individual event of the day, Calvin took a 1-3 finish in the 3000
meter led by senior Nick Kramer, who finished with a time of 8:26.80. Sophomore
Sam Kerk was just beat out for second place by two-tenths of a second,
finishing in 8:45.13.
In the end, Calvin took the meet by amassing an overall score of 135 points.
Hope finished in second with 125 points, followed by Aquinas in third with
115.
The Knights continue their indoor season next week Friday night in Chicago at
the North Central College Last Chance Qualifier.
Received on Sun, 26 Feb 2012 00:36:31 -0500
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