CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 14, 2013
Women's Cross Country Captures Knight Invite Title;
Men's Cross Country Third at Knight Invite;
Volleyball Defeats Mount St. Joseph & Otterbein to Finish 4-0 at Wittenberg Fall Classic
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
By Mark DeHaan
Calvin College hosted the Knight Invitational Saturday morning at the Gainey Athletic Complex. With the top seven runners all finishing in the top 20, the women's cross country team was able to blow away the competition, finishing with a team score of 40 while second place University of St. Francis totaled 101 points.
The Knights were led by freshman Cassie Vince, who also paced the pack. Vince ran a 17:40.2 5k, beating out the second overall finisher from Kenyon by 13 seconds. Senior Nicole Michmerhuizen was next to come in for Calvin, taking fourth overall in 18:08.2.
Strong pack running was also key to the Knights success. Calvin placed five more runners in the next 15 spots. Senior Alyssa Oram came in seventh overall in 18:18.3. Junior Rebekah Folkema came in as Calvin's fourth runner in 13th overall in a time of 18:31.9, while junior Kimby Penning's time of 18:34.4 was good for 15th overall.
Junior Sarah Danner was 17th overall in 18:37.4 while senior Lizzy Vannette was 19th overall in 18:45.8. Junior Kate Ardinger was just behind Vannette, finishing in 18:45.9.
"It is very nice to have the youngster, Cassie Vince, join us. She is a special runner - she has a lot of talent but she also shows a lot of maturity," said head coach Brian Diemer. "Nicole, a month ago, she wasn't able to run, so she has taken a very big step back. We just have to make sure that she takes the steps (back) slow enough that she doesn't overdo. The pack of women led by Alyssa Oram is really strong."
Added assistant coach Al Hoekstra: "I think the women's team, they're in for a very, very good, solid year. How good that is, well, we're going to see. I think we can be a contender before the season is over."
Rounding out the top five team scores were Case Western Reserve University with 134, Kenyon College with 136, and DePauw University with 167.
The Knights now look forward to the MIAA Jamboree on September 28. The race is to be run at Adrian College.
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
By Mark DeHaan
After graduating a very strong senior class last year, the Calvin men's cross country team was faced with some questions heading into the 2013 season. Hosting the Knight Invitational Saturday morning at the Gainey Athletic Complex, the Knights were able to answer a few of those questions as the team saw three freshman finish in the top seven. Calvin finished third overall with a team score of 142. Top NAIA schools University of St. Francis and nearby Aquinas College finished first and second with scores of 42 and 74, respectively.
Freshman Zac Nowicki was the first across the line for Calvin, taking fourth overall in 25:15.3.
Calvin then saw a gap of runners before a pack of Knights crossed the finish line. Junior Josh Ferguson was the second Knight to finish, taking 32nd overall in 25:57.8. Junior Jacob Kuyvenhoven and senior Phil Spitzer took 34th and 35th overall, finishing in 25:58.3 and 25:59.1, respectively.
Senior Sam Kerk was the fifth runner for Calvin, finishing in 26:02.9 for 37th overall. On his heels was freshman Jonathan Schaap, who took 38th overall in 26:03.1. Rounding out Calvin's top seven was freshman Nathan VanHaitsma who ran a 26:09.4, good for 41st.
"The guys went out too hard," said assistant coach Al Hoekstra. "We have talent, and I think we're going to have a good year. We're very, very young, and I see some very good things happening - we just got a little excited today."
"We're a young team and our seniors have had a little bit of a challenge with some injuries," said head coach Brian Diemer. "When we come together, along with our young pack of freshmen, the future looks really bright."
Manchester University took fourth overall with 147 points while Case Western Reserve University took fifth with 169 points.
The Knights now have two weeks before their next meet, when they will travel to Adrian College for the MIAA Jamboree on September 28.
VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Mount St. Joseph 0
Calvin 3, Otterbein 0
SPRINGFIELD, OH - Calvin completed a perfect weekend at the Wittenberg Fall Classic with three set victories over Mount St. Joseph and Otterbein on Saturday. Ranked number-one in the country, Calvin is now 12-0 on the year and finished 4-0 at the weekend tournament.
Calvin opened Saturday with a 25-11, 25-16, 25-17 win over Mount St. Joseph. The Knights hit .467 as a team led by junior Ellie Diepersloot who cranked out a blistering percentage of .875, registering seven kills on eight attack attempts. Sophomore Maggie Kamp had 11 kills and senior Megan Rietema 31 assists and nine digs. Senior Kristen Zietse added eight digs while junior Elise Biesboer had two service aces.
On Saturday evening, Calvin recorded a 25-12, 25-19, 25-22 over eighth-ranked Otterbein. The win marked Calvin's fifth victory up the year against a nationally-ranked opponent. Maggie Kamp had 11 kills, Rietema 10 kills, 32 assists and nine digs while Zietse had 13 digs. Biesboer also had 10 digs while freshman Laura Danhoff and junior Emily Crowe chipped in with eight and seven kills respectively.
Over the course of the tournament, Calvin hit .347 as a team to lead all nine teams competing. Calvin also led all of the teams in the tournament in kills-per-set (15.00), assists-per-set (14.17) and blocks-per-set (1.92).
Calvin and Hope finished as the only two teams with perfect 4-0 records at the tournament. The all-tournament team will be announced later on the Wittenberg Fall Classic website at: http://wittenbergtigers.com/sports/wvball/2013-14/Tournaments/Fall_Classic
Calvin and Hope will now prepare for a showdown against each other on Tuesday night at Calvin's Van Noord Arena. Both teams will head into the match with overall records of 12-0. Calvin is currently 4-0 in the MIAA while Hope is 3-0. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Received on Sat Sep 14 20:58:57 2013
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