CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 9, 2013
Men's Basketball Punches Sweet 16 Ticket With 67-58 Second Round Win Over
UW-Stevens Point;
Women's Lacrosse Falls in 4OT Thriller With Mount St. Joseph;
Nicole Michmerhuizen National Runner-Up in Women's 5K at Indoor National Meet
MEN'S BASKETBALL
(for a more indepth report, visit the Calvin website later this evening at:
www.calvin.edu/sports)
Calvin 67, UW-Stevens Point 58
STEVENS POINT, Wisc. - For the fifth time in school history, the Calvin men’s
basketball basketball team is headed to the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA III
Tournament. Calvin punched its ticket Sweet 16 with a 67-58 victory over
Wisconsin-Stevens Point Saturday night in a second round NCAA III Tournament
contest.
Calvin (26-3) will travel to top-ranked St. Thomas (28-1) next Saturday for
its next game.
In its victory over Wisconsin-Steven Point, Calvin received a game-high 21
points from sophomore guard Jordan Brink (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS). Brink
was 5-of-5 from three-point range in the win including 3-of-3 in the second
half. Senior Tom Snikkers (Jenison/Unity Christian HS) added a double-double
with 14 points and 11 rebounds while junior Tyler Kruis (Grand Rapids/Calvin
Christian HS) had 10 points. Junior Mickey DeVries (Lansing/Lansing Christian
HS) added nine points off the bench.
Calvin held a 38-31 rebounding advantage and committed just six turnovers. The
Knights led 29-25 at halftime and went on an 8-0 run around the 10 minute mark
of the second half to build a double-digit lead. Calvin will be making its
third appearance in the Sweet 16 under current head coach Kevin Vande Streek.
Calvin is now 3-0 in NCAA III Tournament play against Wisconsin Intercollegiate
Athletic Conference opponents.
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Mount St. Joseph 11, Calvin 10 (4OT)
CINCINNATI, OH - The Calvin women's lacrosse nearly pulled off its first
victory as a varsity program on Saturday afternoon as the Knights fought
valiantly before falling to the College of Mount St. Joseph 11-10 in quadruple
overtime.
The two teams were tied at nine through regulation, sending the contest into
overtime. In the second overtime, Mount St. Joseph (1-0) took a 10-9 lead with
1:30 remaining but Calvin sophomore Nikita Blaauwendraat (Princeport, Novia
Scotia/Cobequid Educational Centre) answered with a game-tying goal thirty
seconds later to tie the game at 10. The two teams battled through another
overtime and-a-half before the host Lions netted the game-winner midway through
the fourth overtime session.
"We made great strides from our first game of the year (a 16-4 loss at
Davenport Thursday)," said Calvin head coach Blake Boehm. "I thought we
competed extremely hard and tightened up some things both offensively and
defensively today. Even though the scoreboard did not come out in our favor
today, I'm very happy with our progress."
Mount St. Joseph led 6-3 at halftime but Calvin outscored the Lions 5-3 in the
second half.
Senior Katie Pranger (Denver, CO/Denver Christian HS) led the Calvin offensive
attack with four goals while Blaauwendraat and junior Michelle Holwerda (Grand
Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) had two goals apiece.
Sophomore Lissa Busscher (Holland/Holland Christian HS) and junior Christina
Howell (Dexter/Washtenaw Christian Academy) had one goal apiece. Sophomore
Karissa Reed (Greenville/Greenville HS) had a team-high three ground balls.
Sophomore Charlsie Cole (Lansing/Lansing Waverly HS) and senior Lauren
Spoelstra (Oakland, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) split time in goal with Cole
collecting one save and Spoelstra six saves.
Calvin will now prepare to host Alma Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. in a
non-conference game on March 12 at the Davenport University field.
WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD
NAPERVILLE, IL - Calvin junior Nicole Michmerhuizen ran the race of her life
Saturday afternoon, earning a national runner-up finish in the 5,000 meters at
the NCAA III Indoor Track and Field Championships at North Central College.
The Holland Christian High School graduate took second place with a
career-best (indoor) 5,000 meter time of 16:57.67. Michmerhuizen made a serious
bid for the win as she grabbed first place in the third lap of the race and
held the lead until the final 20 meters as pre-race favorite Christy Cazzola of
Wisconsin-Oshkosh put on a furious sprint to outlean Michmerhuizen at the
finish line, winning with a time of 16:57.58.
The second place finish by Michmerhuizen allowed Calvin to earn eight points
and finish tied for 23rd in the final team standings.
The finish was also a sweet one for Michmerhuizen as she had missed
All-America bids this past fall at the NCAA III Cross Country Championships and
at the NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships last spring in the 5,000
and 10,000 meters.
"It feels good," said Michmerhuizen. "I wanted this (type of race) for a long
time. It was nice to have a race at nationals go right for once and I have to
credit my coaches and all of my teammates and fans who came and supported me
today. I feel very blessed to have this experience and this kind of
opportunity."
The early tactical moves by Michmerhuizen were a key.
"Nicole ran a brilliant race," said Calvin co-distance coach Al Hoekstra. "We
told her that if the early pace was slow, that she should push forward and run
at a pace that she was capable of running. She doesn't have as good of a
finishing kick as some the other runners so it was important for her to get out
in front and she followed the game-plan perfectly."
Hoekstra also gave Michmerhuizen high marks for her finish. “What I am most
proud about is that Nicole did not quit even when she was passed with 20 meters
to go,” said Hoekstra. “She came back with a little surge and almost caught
Cazzola at the end and Cazolla is probably one of the top five or six distance
runners in Division III (women’s) history. Nicole will have no regrets
whatsoever when she looks back on this race. She did everything she could do to
give herself a chance to win.”
Brian Diemer stated that Michmerhuizen made a name for herself with her
performance.
“Nicole made a name for herself nationally today,” said Diemer who serves as
co-coach with Hoekstra.
“There were so many people in attendance who came up to me and said how
impressed with how gutsy a race she ran. We are all so proud of her.”
The All-America berth is the first for Michmerhuizen and is the first by a
female Calvin distance runner at the indoor national meet. She entered
Saturday’s race seeded fourth.
Received on Sat Mar 9 23:10:21 2013
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