CALVIN KNIGHT SATURDAY SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 2, 2013
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
WEST OLIVE - In a matchup of nationally-ranked teams, the Calvin women's cross country team captured its eighth MIAA title in the last nine years with a first place score of 21 points. Ranked fifth nationally entering the meet, Calvin finished 15 points ahead of 22nd ranked Hope which hosted the meet at the West Ottawa Golf Course.
Calvin was able to pack five runners inside the top eight to hold off the Flying Dutch led by freshman Cassie Vince (Amherst, OH/Amherst HS) who ran stride-for-stride with Hope senior Sheri McCormack through the first four kilometers of the 6K race. Vince broke free with just under two kilometers remaining and pulled away for an 11-second victory finishing in a first place time of 21:36 while McCormack was second in 21:47.
Calvin senior Nicole Michmerhuizen (Holland/Holland Christian HS) took third in 22:13 followed by junior Kimby Penning (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) in fourth (22:18), senior Alyssa Oram (Cheboygan/Home Schooled) in fifth (22:31) and senior Rebekah Folkema (Renfrew, ON/Renfrew Collegiate Institute) in eighth (22:44).
Folkema's fifth place finish proved to be pivotal as she passed five runners including two from Hope in the final 100 meters to finish eighth.
The MIAA title is the 23rd overall in Calvin women's cross country history and the seventh under current head coach Brian Diemer. The final MIAA crown is based on the combined team finishes at a September MIAA Jamboree (one-third) and the MIAA Championships (two-thirds). Calvin took first place at both races.
"Winning an MIAA championship never gets old," said Diemer. "We knew that Hope would give us a run for our money and they did. Cassie Vince ran a very smart race and had the perfect sense to know when to kick for home. We also did a strong job of pack running. I thought Kimby Penning had one of the best races of her career today and Rebekah Folkema kind of sealed the win with her push at the end for eighth place but she could not have done it without some of her teammates behind her. Paige McGahan who finished 15th played a huge role in pushing some of her teammates on - including Rebekah - so that they could finish strong."
Diemer also praised the Hope squad. "Hope is very talented and ran well today," he said. "We will see each other again in two weeks at regionals and perhaps the week after that at nationals. We knew coming into the year that the two teams would push each other to be at their best. It's a healthy rivalry. We respect Hope and Hope respects us. If we can push each other to be better, that's a very good thing."
After the race, the all-conference awards were announced. The all-conference spots are determined by a cumulative point system earned by individual finishes at both the MIAA Jamboree and MIAA Championships.
Calvin landed five runners on the All-MIAA first team and four runners on the All-MIAA second team. Named to the first team from Calvin were Michmerhuizen, Oram, Penning, Folkema and Vince.
Named to the second team from Calvin were junior Sarah Danner (Watkins Glen, NY/Charles Dickerson HS), McGahan (Brighton/Brighton HS), freshman Lauren Brink (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS) and junior Kate Ardinger (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS).
Calvin is scheduled to host the NCAA III Cross Country Regional championships on November 16 at the Gainey Athletic Complex.
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
WEST OLIVE - The championship streak continues for the Calvin men's cross country program. For the 27th consecutive year, the Calivn men's cross country team has captured the outright MIAA title. The championship streak is the MIAA's longest string of outright conference championships.
Ranked 16th nationally, Calvin claimed the outright crown by taking first place at Saturday's MIAA Championships hosted by Hope at the West Ottawa Golf Course with a first place team score of 28 points. Hope took second with 59 points, edging Albion (61 points) by a two-point margin.
One streak that did come to an end was a 26-year streak of a Calvin runner taking first place at the MIAA Championships race. On Saturday, Albion senior Paul Lewis took first place in a time of 25:12 while Albion teammate Mitchell Klingler was second in 25:19.
Calvin's pack was strong however as the Knights placed seven runners in the top 11 including three in the top five.
Junior Josh Ferguson (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley HS) was Calvin's top finisher, placing third in a time of 25:42 while freshman Zac Nowicki (Comstock Park/Calvin Christian HS) was fourth in 25:45 and senior Philip Spitzer (Buckley/Buckley HS) fifth in 25:46. Sophomore Jeff Meitler (New Berlin, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran HS) was seventh in 25:57 followed by freshman Nathan Van Haitsma (Olympia, WA/Olympia HS) in ninth (26:00), senior Sam Kerk (Hartland, WI/Lake Country Lutheran HS) in 10th (26:03) and junior Steven Haagsma (Grandville/Calvin Christian HS) in 11th (26:03).
Hope's top finisher was junior Ben Zank (Midland/H.H. Dow) in sixth (25:58) while senior Sam Pedersen (Mount Prospect, IL/Mount Prospect HS) was eighth (25:58) and sophomore Joseph Beemer (St. Joseph/St. Joseph) 12th (26:07).
Calvin head coach Brian Diemer has been at the helm of all 27 MIAA titles during the current championship streak and on Saturday he was pleased. "In many ways this was one of our best team performances of the year," said Diemer. "Josh Ferguson had perhaps the best race of his colleigate career and Philip Spitzer was terrific. I thought Jeff Meitler also took a big step forward too along with some of our other runners. I like what I see with this team. We are coming together at the right time."
After the race, the all-conference awards were announced. The all-conference spots are determined by a cumulative point system earned by individual finishes at both the MIAA Jamboree and MIAA Championships.
Calvin landed five runners on the All-MIAA first team and four runners on the All-MIAA second team. Named to the first team from Calvin were Ferguson, Nowicki, Spitzer, Van Haitsma and Meitler.
Named to the second team from Calvin were Kerk, junior Jacob Kuyvenhoven (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS), sophomore Brett Habura (Washingtonville, NY/Washingtonville HS), freshman Jonathan Schaap (Mahomet, IL/Mahomet-Seymor HS) and senior Gabe Gunnink (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS).
Named to the All-MIAA first team from Hope was Zank and Pederson while senior James Rogers (Saginaw/Valley Lutheran HS) and Beemer were named to the All-MIAA second team.
Calvin will now prepare to host the NCAA III Regional meet on November 16 at the Gainey Athletic Complex.
MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 4, Alma 0
ALMA - Calvin clinched a share of its seventh consecutive regular season MIAA title on Saturday, defeating Alma 4-0. The Knights improve to 12-5-0 overall and to 11-2-0 in the MIAA, three points ahead of Hope with one regular season game left to play.
Calvin also clinches the top seed for next week's MIAA Tournament as the Knights own a tie-breaker edge over Hope. Calvin will host an MIAA Tournament semifinal game next Thursday at Zuidema Field.
Prior to that, Calvin will face Albion next Tuesday at 3 p.m. in the regular season finale for both teams. Albion is currently in fourth place in the MIAA standings, holding on to the last MIAA Tournament berth by one point over Kalamazoo and Alma which are now tied for fifth place.
Hope will be the number-two seed for the MIAA Tournament while Olivet will be the number-three seed.
In its win over Alma on Saturday, Calvin grabbed an early 1-0 lead on a goal by senior Zach Willis (Wyoming/Unity Christian HS). The goal came in the ninth minute of play.
Calvin the put its foot down on the accelerator in the second half, scoring three goals with sophomore Sam Hanover (DeWitt/DeWitt HS) scoring in the 51st minute off a feed from sophomore Taylor Pruis (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS). Willis then scored his second goal of the game and his seventh of the year, banging in a rebound in the 72nd minute.
With just over eight minutes remaining, junior Travis Vegter (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) scored his team-leading 25th goal of the year. Vegter has now scored at least one goal in seven straight games.
The assist by Pruis in the second half was his team-leading 15th assist of the year. His assist total is the third-highest single-season total in Calvin men's soccer history.
Calvin held a 29-18 shots at goal advantage. Junior Andrew Claucherty (Sterling Heights/Bishop Foley HS) had seven saves in nets for the Knights while posting his fourth shutout of the year.
MIAA MEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 11-2-13 GAMES
Calvin 11-2-0 (33 points)
Hope 10-3-0 (30 points)
Olivet 8-5-0 (24 points)
Albion 5-6-2 (17 points)
Kalamazoo 5-7-1 (16 points)
Alma 5-7-1 (16 points)
Adrian 3-7-3 (12 points)
Trine 1-11-1 (4 points)
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 1, Olivet 0
By Mark DeHaan
OLIVET - Calvin women's soccer traveled to Olivet on Saturday to face the Comets. The Knights entered the contest at 11-2-1 in the MIAA and 14-2-2 overall while Olivet was 4-10-0 in the league and 7-10-0 overall.
Calvin claimed a hard-fought 1-0 victory, and with the win and a Hope 2-0 win over Kalamazoo, set up a big matchup against Hope at Calvin on Monday. Calvin and Hope are both tied for first place with 37 points apiece. Alma continues to remain one point behind with 36 points. A win by either Calvin or Hope would give either school the outright title. A Calvin-Hope tie and an Alma win however would allow Alma to slip past both schools and claim the outright MIAA title for its own.
In Saturday's match at Olivet, the Knights owned much of the early possession but struggled to find any openings on net.
Calvin's first opportunity came in the 32nd minute when Heidi Scholten (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) received a through-ball that sent her one-on-one with the Olivet keeper. Charging off her line, the Comets goalie deflected the Scholten shot just enough to send it wide of the frame and keep the game scoreless.
Calvin then got on the board in the 37th minute. Setting up for a corner kick, sophomore Sydney Kinney (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) sent a curling ball in toward the near post that bounced through all the Olivet defenders and found the back of the net for a 1-0 Knights advantage.
Calvin took the 1-0 lead into halftime as well as an 8-0 shots advantage.
Out of the break, the Knights continued to hold a majority of the possession but couldn't find the final pass to set up another strong opportunity.
In the 80th minute, freshman Kailey Jo (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) sent a cross into the Olivet box that slipped past the Comets keeper but also past the outstretched foot of Scholten in front of the net.
Minutes later, sophomore Paige Capel (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) made a run to the top of the box before ripping a left-footed shot that was saved by the Olivet goalie.
Fighting off the Comets for the final five minutes, Calvin closed out the 1-0 win.
The Knights outshot Olivet 17-4 in the match while holding an 8-2 corner kick advantage. Senior goalkeeper Ashton Hearn (Port Huron/Port Huron Northern HS) made two saves in net for Calvin to earn the win and the clean sheet. Hearn now has 29 career shutouts in goal.
The Knights now look forward to Monday when they will host the Flying Dutch of Hope for a game that will determine the top seed in the MIAA Tournament. Both Calvin and Hope are tied atop the MIAA standings with 37 points, with Alma in third at 36.
"We are trying to sustain a certain level of play and teams are elevating their game when we come to town, and I think that is what we're dealing with this second half of our schedule," said head coach Mark Recker. "Defensively, we'll have to be sharp (on Monday against Hope). We have to find a way to hold midfield. If we can, we keep them from having a staging area from where they can service balls to their speed on the flanks.
Calvin improves to 12-2-1 in league play and 15-2-2 overall while Olivet falls to 4-11-0 in the MIAA and 7-11-0 overall.
Monday's contest against Hope is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
MIAA WOMEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 11-2-13 GAMES
Calvin 12-2-1 (37 points)
Hope 12-2-1 (37 points)
Alma 12-3-0 (36 points)
Adrian 10-6-0 (30 points)
Saint Mary's 7-5-3 (24 points)
Kalamazoo (6-9-0 (18 points)
Olivet 4-11-0 (12 points)
Albion 1-13-1 (4 points)
Trine 1-14-0 (3 points)
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
ALMA - The Calvin men's and women's swimming and diving teams picked up MIAA dual meet victories at Alma on Saturday. The Calvin men defeated Alma 157.5-84.5 to move to 2-1 on the season while the Calvin women defeated Alma 163-63 to improve to 3-1 on the year.
In the men's competition, Calvin received victories from the following individuals:
*Freshman Brett Stoughton (Centerville, IN/Centerville HS) in the 1,000 freestyle (10:30.87) and 200 backstroke (2:02.12).
*Sophomore Aaron Venema (Grand Haven/Grand Haven HS) in the 200 freestyle (1:48.69).
*Sophomore Brandon Muma (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Eastern HS) in the 50 freestyle (22.85) and 100 freestyle (49.42).
*Sophomore Caleb Meindertsma (Annondale, VA/Trinity Christian HS) in the 400 IM (4:26.18).
*Freshman Dirk Tanis (Holland/Holland Christian HS) on the one-meter diving board (255.35) and three-meter diving board (207.95).
*Junior Andrew Vanderlei (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the 200 butterfly (2:00.97).
*Calvin's 200 freestyle relay team of freshman Eli Holstege (Kewsick, VA/Covenant HS), senior Peter Johnson (Home Schooled), Venema and senior Andrew Mitchell (Iron Mountain/Kingsford HS) also won in a time of 1:30.62 while its 400 medley relay team of Mitchell, sophomore Johnson Cochran (Mount Vernon, OH/Mount Vernon), Stoughton and junior Alex Baumann (Holland/Holland Christian HS) won in a time of 3:38.48.
On the women's side, the following individuals took first place:
*Junior Erika Waugh (Berne, IN/South Adams HS) in the 1,000 freestyle (11:16.73).
*Sophomore Michaela Rookus (Hudsonville/Hudsonville HS) in the 200 freestyle (2:01.13) and 200 backstroke (2:16.09).
*Senior Kristen Kinzer (Fort Wayne, IN/Homestead HS) in the 50 freestyle (26.19) and 200 IM (2:21.94).
*Junior Lexi Scot (Richmond, IN/Richmond HS) in the 400 IM (4:54.90).
*Freshman Adrienne Wesselius (Sioux Center, IA/Unity Christian HS) in the 100 freestyle (56.85).
*Junior Alex Dhaenens (Howell/Howell HS) in the 500 freestyle (5:43.47).
*Junior Rebecca Mumby (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS) on the three-meter diving board (234.20).
*Calvin's 200 freestyle relay team of Wesselius, junior Kathryn Wrobel (Arden Hills, MN/Mounds View HS), freshman Nicole Karl (Riverview/Riverview Community HS) and junior Betsy Otten (Sheboygan, WI/Sheboygan County Christian HS) also won in a time of 1:45.77 while its 400 medley relay team of Waugh, Scott, Kinzer and senior Margaret Rechel (Worthington, OH/Thomas Worthington HS) won in a time of 4:11.91.
Both teams will now prepare to compete next Friday in a triangular at home with Olivet Nazarene and Wayne State.
Received on Sat Nov 2 23:39:24 2013
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