CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 17, 2013
Men's Basketball Falls in Heartbreaker at St. Thomas;
Carissa Verkaik Named D3hoops.com Player of the Year - D3hoops.com
All-American;
Women's Lacrosse Falls at Notre Dame of Maryland;
Track & Field Competes at Lynchburg College;
Softball Takes First Two Games of Year Including Upset Over Nationally-Ranked
Tufts;
Baseball Starts Out Tucson Trip 1-3
MEN'S BASKETBALL
St. Thomas 63, Calvin 62
(Story by Mitch Blankespoor)
ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Calvin College men’s basketball team’s season came to
its conclusion Sat., Mar. 16 on the campus of the University of St. Thomas.
The 12th ranked Knights gave the top-ranked Tommies all they could handle on
their home court, but fell 63-62. Calvin ends its season with a 26-4 record.
The Knights gained the lead early on consecutive baskets from senior forward
Tom Snikkers (Jenison/Unity Christian). A three-pointer from sophomore guard
Jordan Brink (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian) gave Calvin a 7-0 lead.
St. Thomas rallied back, and tied the game with a three pointer from sophomore
guard Marcus Alipate (Bloomington, MN/Jefferson).
Calvin responded with a 9-3 run concluding with a basket from Snikkers to put
Calvin ahead 18-12 with 9:12 to play in the first half.
St. Thomas counterpunched with an 8-0 run of its own to regain the lead 20-18.
The Tommies would hold this lead, and with a layup from senior forward Noah
Kaiser (Mendota Heights, MN/Henry Sibley) with eight seconds left to give the
Tommies a 31-26 lead at halftime.
“Their [St. Thomas] high pressure defense forced us [Calvin] to play a
half-step too fast in the first half,” said Calvin head coach Kevin Vande
Streek after the game. “We were forced into 12 turnovers in the first half.
We did a better job of protecting the ball in the second half.”
Not at the start of the second half, however. St. Thomas scored the half’s
first 10 points while Calvin turned the ball over on two of its first three
possessions. The Knights found themselves down 41-26 with 17:19 to play.
Then senior guard Bryan Powell (Wyoming/Wyoming Park) took over. After a pair
of free throws from junior forward Mickey De Vries (Lansing/Lansing Christian)
and a layup from junior center Tyler Kruis (Grandville/Calvin Christian),
Powell scored 11 straight points for the Knights including hitting three
consecutive triples to cut the Tommies’ lead to 43-40 with 13:34 to play.
Calvin would get within three points on two different occasions, but could not
cut the deficit any further. That is, until a couple of Calvin seniors had
something to say. A Powell layup followed by a Snikkers steal and layup gave
the Knights a 55-54 lead with 5:31 remaining.
St. Thomas would score the next six points en route to a 60-55 lead. Another
Powell three and a dunk from Dykstra in transition tied the game at 60 with
1:36 left in regulation.
On the next possession, Kaiser, who had only hit six three pointers the entire
season, found himself open on the wing. The lefty drilled the three to put the
Tommies up 63-60.
After two Powell free throws and a miss from St. Thomas, the Knights found
themselves with possession, down a single point with 20 seconds to play.
Just as he did against Adrian back on Jan. 26, Powell created some space for
himself, and rose up for a 17-foot jump shot. This one, however, bounced off
the front rim, then the backboard and out. The Knights’ bid for a trip to
Salem, VA, came up a single basket short.
Powell finished with a career high 31 points on 11-17 shooting. Powell became
the 22nd player in Calvin history to score 1,000 points in a career. He
concludes with 1,009 career points, 21st on the Calvin all-time list.
“With the way that they [St. Thomas] play defense, I knew that there was going
to be a lot of isolation,” Vande Streek said. “If Bryan [Powell] was hitting
shots, I knew he had a chance to score big.”
Snikkers finished with 11 points and three rebounds. He finishes with 1,464
career points, good for 8th place on Calvin’s all-time list.
Senior guard Will DeBerg (Edina) finished with 16 points to lead the Tommies.
Calvin outrebounded St. Thomas 33-28 in the contest, and also made three more
field goals (25-22). Both teams struggled from the charity stripe – St. Thomas
finished 9-22 while Calvin finished 4-10.
Seniors Matt DeBoer (Hudsonville/Covenant Christian) and David Rietema (Grand
Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) join Powell and Snikkers in finishing their
Calvin careers.
“I can’t say enough about this senior class” Vande Streek said. “Seeing them
come in as immature freshman to now being leaders and quality Christian men, I
couldn’t be prouder.”
As a program, Calvin suffered its first loss in the round of sixteen in seven
games. The senior class leaves the program with a record of 74-38.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The awards continue to roll in for Calvin senior Carissa Verkaik. On Saturday
afternoon, the Holland native was named the D3hoops.com Player of the Year. The
announcement was made at the NCAA III Women's Basketball finals Saturday
afternoon at Hope College by D3hoops.com's Pat Coleman.
In addition, Verkaik has been named to the D3hoops.com All-America first team,
marking the third straight year she has done so. She was also a third team
D3hoops.com All-American in 2010.
It concludes an eventful week for Verkaik who was named the recipient of the
Jostens Trophy on Friday, a State Farm Division III All-American on Thursday as
well as a finalist for the State Farm Division III Player of the Year Award
(set to be announced on April 8). She was also named the D3hoops.com Great
Lakes Regional Player of the Year earlier in the week.
This year, she averaged 20.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks a game.
A graduate of Holland Christian High School, Verkaik completed her career as
Calvin’s all-time leader in points (2,236), rebounds (1,071) and blocked shots
(440). She is now currently ranked third on the all-time NCAA III women’s
basketball list in blocked shots and 14th in points.
She helped Calvin post an overall record of 100-16 during her four-year
collegiate career which included three MIAA regular season titles and four
trips to the NCAA III Tournament including a berth in the national
quarterfinals in 2012. This year Calvin finished 23-4 overall including 15-1 in
conference play as the Knights gained a share of the MIAA regular season title
and later earned a bid to the NCAA III Tournament.
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Notre Dame (MD) 8, Calvin 2
Baltimore, MD - In an early morning contest, Calvin dropped an 8-2 decision to
Notre Dame College of Maryland. Calvin trailed 7-0 at halftime and then came
back to score a pair of second half goals.
Scoring for the Knights were junior Michelle Holwerda (Grand Rapids/Grand
Rapids Christian HS) and sophomore Lissa Busscher (Holland/Holland Christian
HS)). Holwerda is now second on the Calvin team in scoring with five goals
while Busscher has three.
Notre Dame (2-1) held a 17-14 shots at goal advantage although Calvin outshot
the host school 12-3 in the second half. Junior Mary Hoogstra (Grand
Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) had eight ground balls for the Knights while
senior goalkeeper Lauren Spoelstra (Oakland, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) had eight
saves.
Calvin (1-4) is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Randolph-Macon
for a 4 p.m. match.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
LYNCHBURG, VA - The Calvin men's and women's track and field teams competed at
the Lynchburg College Open on Saturday.
The Calvin men's team took third with 75 points while the Calvin women's team
took sixth with 39 points.
Top marks for the Calvin men included senior Greg Whittle (Galesburg,
IL/Galesburg HS) winning the 5,000 meters (15:34.74) and senior Job
Christiansen (New Ipswich, NH/Mascenic Regional HS) winning the 10,000 meters
(31:18.23). Sophomore Steven Haagsma (Grandville/Calvin Christian HS) also took
second in the steeplecahse with a time of 9:37.77.
On the women's side, junior Alyssa Oram (Cheboygan) took second in the steeple
(11:45.92), senior Kaylea Brase (Lino Lakes, MN/Centennial HS) took second in
the 1,500 meters (4:46.46) and sophomore Kate Ardinger (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy
Christian HS) took third third in the 5,000 meters (18:38.06).
Full meet results can be found online at:
http://www.calvin.edu/sports/womens/track/Results/2013/2013%20lynchburg%20college%20open%20men%20and%20women.pdf
SOFTBALL
Calvin 6, Thomas College 0
Calvin 6, Tufts University 4
CLERMONT, FL - The Calvin softball team opened its season with a bang,
defeating Thomas College of Maine 6-0 and nationally-ranked Tufts University
6-4.
In the win over Thomas, Calvin received a two-hit shutout from junior pitcher
Caitlin Callow (Rochester/Muskegon Catholic Central HS) while freshman catcher
Lydia Gildea (Gobles/Gobles HS) belted a two-run RBI double while sophomore
Merin Cok (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and junior Ashley Jakus
(Muskegon/Muskegon Reeths-Puffer HS) had two hits apiece.
In the victory over eighth-ranked Tufts, junior Lina Avila (Lakewood,
CA/Valley Christian HS) stole the show, belting a two-run homer in the first
and tossing a complete game victory in the pitching circle. Calvin added four
runs in the in the second inning and held on from there to gain the win.
The Knights are scheduled to take on Trinity College (CT) and Washington and
Jefferson (PA) in single games on Monday.
BASEBALL
Calvin 7, Bethany Lutheran 4
Bethany Lutheran 14, Calvin 8
Augsburg 6, Calvin 5
Augsburg 16, Calvin 10
TUCSON, AZ - Calvin split a doubleheader on the first day of its spring trip
in Arizona, defeating Bethany Lutheran 7-4 in the opener before falling 14-8 in
the nightcap.
In game one, junior righthander Jeff Victor (Holland/Holland Christian HS)
picked up the win to improve to 1-1 on the year. Senior Ben Cok (Grand
Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) went 2 for 3 ast the plate with a double,
triple and three runs batted in. Junior catcher Kyle Spoelma (Grand
Rapids/South Christian HS) went 2 for 4 with a double and two runs scored. As a
team, Calvin had 11 hits.
In game two, junior Grant VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS) took the
loss to fall to 0-1 on the year. Sophomore Garrett Harder (Fenwick/West
Michigan Lutheran HS) went 2 for 3 with a double and a run scored. Freshman
Jordan VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS) also collected two runs batted
in as Calvin collected 12 hits as a team.
On Saturday, Calvin faced Augsburg College (MN) in a pair of games and dropped
both contests. Calvin lost the opener 6-5 and then dropped game two 16-10.
Calvin is now 1-5 on the year.
In the opener against Augsburg, sophomore Grant VanPutten (Holland/Holland
Christian HS) had a single, RBI and a run scored while freshman Michael Kamp
(Homer Glen, IL/Chicago Christian HS) had an RBI triple. In game two, VanPutten
went 2 for 3 with a double while freshman Jalen Bouma (Ann Arbor/Ann Arbor
Huron HS) went 2 for 4 with a double and a triple. Cok also had a double and
three runs batted in.
Calvin will face Williams (Mass.) in a single game on Monday at 10 a.m.
Received on Sun Mar 17 00:38:55 2013
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Sun Mar 17 2013 - 00:38:55 EDT