CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 23, 2013
Counsell Claims One More All-America Spot on Final Day of NCAA III Swimming and Diving Championships/Women's Lacrosse Defeated by St. Vincent/Track & Field Roundup from South Carolina
WOMEN'S SWIMMING
SHENANDOAH, TX - Calvin College senior Elizabeth Counsell capped off her stellar four-year collegiate career with yet another All-America performance and a school record Saturday night at the NCAA III Championships.
Competing in her final collegiate event, Counsell took fifth in the 200 breaststroke with a school record time of 2:16.45. Seeded 17th heading into Saturday's prelims, Counsell ripped off the sixth-fastest time of the morning, recording a school record time of 2:17.81. The time was nearly two seconds faster than her previous school record of 2:19.56.
Counsell then found another gear in Saturday's final to move up one more place and drop another second from her school record set just a few hours earlier.
Counsell concludes her Calvin swimming career as a four-time NCAA III All-American, having finished seventh in the 200 breaststroke at the 2010 national meet and then placing second in the 100 breast and fifth in the 200 breast at this week's national meet while also swimming on Calvin's eighth place 200 medley relay team this past Wednesday.
"What a great way for Libby (Counsell) to finish her career," said Calvin head swim coach Dan Gelderloos. "She's had a very busy academic load of classes and several physical setbacks as an athlete but she's found a way to persevere despite having doubts. She deserves a lot of credit for sticking with things. It's a wonderful feeling as a coach to see a senior swim their best at a national meet."
Counsell's All-America performance Saturday helped Calvin finish 13th in the final team standings with 82 points.
Earlier on Saturday, Calvin's 400 freestyle relay team of senior Kristy Kinzer (Fort Wayne, IN/Homestead HS), senior Rachel Colasurdo (Chesapeake, VA/Home Schooled), freshman Michaela Rookus (Hudsonville/Hudsonville HS) and Counsell made a bid for a spot in the consolation finals but missed a spot by just over a second. Seeded 25th heading into the prelims, Calvin took 19th with a season-best time of 3:31.99, dropping more than a second off the relay's entry time.
"We had a very successful week," said Gelderloos. "We were hoping to score a few points and maybe come up with an All-America performance or two. Overall we did better than we expected and our athletes have much to be proud of."
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
St. Vincent 20, Calvin 8
Latrobe, Pa. - The Calvin women's lacrosse team dipped to 1-6 on the year with a 20-8 loss at St. Vincent College Saturday afternoon.
Calvin trailed 12-3 at halftime and was outscored 8-5 in the second half.
St. Vincent held a 42-24 shots at goal advantage including 26-9 in the first half.
Senior Katie Pranger (Denver, CO/Denver Christian HS) led Calvin offensively with four goals to bring her team-leading total to 17. Carolyn Forbes (Farmington Hills/Marian HS) also had three goals while sophomore Nikita Blaauwendraat (Princeport, Nova Scotia/Coequid Educational Centre) had one goal.
Senior Lauren Spoelstra (Oakland, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) had 15 saves in nets for the Knights.
Calvin is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to cross-town rival Aquinas for a non-conference match scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
COLUMBIA, SC - The Calvin men's and women's track teams concluded action at the Weems Baskin Inviational hosted by the University of South Carolina.
On the women's side, junior Julie Busscher had a solid day in the sprints, clocking a time of 12.83 in the 100 meters and 26.51 in the 200 meters. Sophomore Kelley Tuinenga later had a solid time of 1:08.64 in the 400 meter hurdles and then posted a jump of 5-1 in the high jump.
Sophomore Christina Geating then went 10-6 in the pole vault.
On the men's side, sophomore Erik Holstege had a strong performance in the 110 high hurdles, clocking in with a time of 15.93 while also jumping 20-5 in the long jump. Sophomore Calvin Kuyers also performed well in the 400 meter hurdles, recording a time of 56.70.
Freshman Jon Cok later posted a mark of 6-4 3/4 in the high jump.
Both teams will now prepare to compete at the Grand Rapids Open next Saturday at Houseman Field.
Received on Sat Mar 23 22:53:42 2013
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Sat Mar 23 2013 - 22:53:43 EDT