CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 15, 2014
Nicole Michmerhuizen Claims All-America Berth in 3,000 Meters at NCAA III Championships;
Lacrosse Teams Pick Up Saturday Victories;
Women's Tennis Falls to Davenport
TRACK AND FIELD
LINCOLN, NE - Calvin College senior Nicole Michmerhuizen claimed her second All-America berth in as many days at the NCAA III Indoor Track and Field Championships, placing fourth in the 3,000 meters Saturday afternoon with a time of 9:45.22.
Saturday's race marked the first year the NCAA has held the 3,000 meters indoors at its national meet.
A native of Holland and a graduate of Holland Christian High School, Michmerhuizen made good on her first national opportunity in the 3K as well. She entered the race seeded seventh but made an early push to grab the lead and push the pace.
Her strategy paid off as she took first place after the opening two laps and held a 40-meter lead until the final five laps.
"Nicole was in a field of speed demons so the strategy was to get her out as fast as she could and tire out the legs of some of her competitors," said Calvin distance coach Brian Diemer. "By doing that, she took away the 'kick' of some of the strong finishers in the field and it set her up to finish as high as she did."
Pre-race favorite Christy Cazzola of Wisconsin-Oshkosh won the race in a time of 9:38.72 but needed a furious sprint over the final lap-and-a-half to win the race.
Cara DeAngelis of Ohio Wesleyan took second (9:39.17) and Tricia Serres of Luther placed third (9:39.49). DeAngelis and Serres passed Michmerhuizen with roughly five laps to go but according to Diemer, she was not rattled.
"We told Nicole not to worry about getting passed later in the race," said Diemer. "We knew that she might get passed if she went out hard but by going out strong, she eliminated several of the other runners who might have passed her later on. She really made the field work hard and ran a courageous race."
Michmerhuizen's race came one day after she placed second in the 5,000 meters. Her back-to-back All-America efforts helped Calvin finish with 13 points in the team standings and tie for 17th place.
"To run the way she did in two grueling races on back-to-back days was truly remarkable," said Diemer. "Right now Nicole is in the best shape of her life both physically and mentally. She has trained to be one of the top distance runners in Division III and she has proven that she is just that."
The NCAA III Indoor Track and Field Championships were hosted by Nebraska Wesleyan on the campus of the University of Nebraska. The site of competition was the Bob Devaney Events Center. According to Diemer, the facility was first-class.
"It was an outstanding weekend of track and field and the facility here at Nebraska is state-of-the-art," said Diemer. "The hydraulic track inside this facility is like none other that I have been on and I know the athletes really appreciated the chance to compete inside such a top-notch arena. It was a special weekend not only for Nicole, but for everyone who had the chance to compete here."
Wisconsin-Oshkosh won the women's team national title with 67 points while Wisconsin-Lacrosse won the men's team title with 63.5 points.
Michmerhuizen was one of three MIAA athletes to collect All-America accolades at the meet as Trine's Trisha King took fifth in the women's 800 meters while Trine's Tyler Bourdo took fifth in the men's 400 meters.
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Calvin 15, Robert Morris 8
By Mark DeHaan
The Calvin women's lacrosse team hosted Robert Morris University of Illinois on Saturday afternoon at Davenport University, looking for the Knights second win of the season.
A hot start on a cold day allowed Calvin to build an early five goal lead, and the Knights never looked back en route to a 15-8 victory.
Calvin jumped out to a 5-0 advantage with 17:33 to go in the first half as a balanced attack, with four Knights scoring, set the tone of the game early.
The Eagles responded with two goals in a minute to cut the Knights lead to 5-2 with 15:07 remaining in the half.
Over the final 15 minutes of the half, the scoring was identical as the opening 15, and at halftime, the Knights led 10-4.
Calvin outshot Robert Morris 28-12 in the first half. Freshman Emily Cefaratti had three goal and two assists in the first half, while freshman Audrey Grabowski and junior Karissa Reed each added two goals.
Out of the break, the Eagles scored the first goal of the half before four straight goals by the Knights gave Calvin a 14-5 advantage with 21:31 to go in the second half.
Over the remaining time, the Knights held off Robert Morris despite being outscored, and Calvin secured its second win of the year by a score of 15-8.
Calvin outshot the Eagles 43-18 for the game and also forced Robert Morris into 25 turnovers.
Reed finished with four goals to lead the Knights, while Cefaratti totaled three goals and two assists and Grabowski chipped in three goals and an assist. Junior Lissa Busscher added two goals and senior Michelle Holwerda had two assists. Each scoring a goal was junior Nikita Blaauwendraat, sophomore Carolyn Forbes, and freshman Caroline Schneemann to round out the scoring. Senior Lauren Spoelstra made six saves in net to earn the win.
Mary Prunte paced Robert Morris with one goal and one assist. Four other Eagles each scored one goal for the team's total of five.
"Coming out, we knew we had to press the goal more, and so that was our game plan from the beginning - every opportunity we had we were looking to press the cage," said head coach Blake Boehm. "We knew to be effective that is what we needed to do, and the team responded well. Coming out (and going up) 5-0 was really outstanding."
The Knights have a quick turnaround as they will play Aquinas on Monday night at Davenport University. Monday night's contest is scheduled to be played under the lights, starting at 8 p.m.
MEN'S LACROSSE
Calvin 12, Houghton 5
STOW, OH - The Calvin men's lacrosse team picked up its second victory of the year, defeating Houghton College of New York Saturday afternoon in a game played at Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy.
Calvin is now 2-4 on the year.
Junior Tim Marco (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and freshman Chris Griffin (Howell/Hartland HS) had three goals apiece.
Freshman Joel Schaefer (Annapolis, MD/Annapolis Area Christian HS), freshman Mikal Wessell (Oviedo, FL/Ovideo HS) and junior Jonathon VanderLaan (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) had two goals apiece.
Senior Jon Ptashnick (New Baltimore, MD/Anchor Bay HS) had eight ground balls while junior Luke Bosscher (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) had five.
Senior Casey Harless (DeWitt/DeWitt HS) had seven saves for the Knights.
Calvin is back in action next Saturday when it travels to Methodist College (NC) for a 4 p.m. game.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Davenport 9, Calvin 0
The Calvin women's tennis team dropped a 9-0 decision to visiting Davenport University Saturday morning inside Calvin's Huizenga Tennis and Track Center.
Calvin's best chance for a point in doubles came at two doubles as the team of Bethany Zoerhof (Holland/Holland Christian HS) and Ellie Benzel (San Dimas, CA/San Dimas HS) came up just short 8-6.
Calvin's best chance at a win in singles came at one singles as junior Megan Visser (Kalamazoo/Kalamazoo Christian HS) fought hard before falling 6-2, 7-6.
Calvin (1-4) is back in action on March 24 when it takes on Elmhurst College in a match scheduled to be played in Orlando as part of Calvin's annual spring break trip to Florida.
Received on Sat Mar 15 23:45:24 2014
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