CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 22, 2014
Men's Swim Takes 21st at NCAA III Championships - Cochran Claims All-America Honors in 200 Breaststroke / Lacrosse Teams Split Saturday Contest/Baseball Splits Twinbill with Hamilton/Track Competes at Rhodes College
MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Fueled by another All-America berth by sophomore Johnson Cochran, the Calvin men's swimming and diving team posted a top-25 team finish at the NCAA III Championships Saturday night. The Knights finished 21st in the final team standings with 42 points after Cochran claimed a fifth place finish in the 200 breaststroke with a school record time of 2:00.44.
The fifth place finish marked the second NCAA III All-America effort in as many nights for Cochran (Mount Vernon, OH/Mount Vernon HS) as he had taken third place in the 100 breaststroke Friday night.
Cochran entered Saturday's 200 breaststroke prelims seeded 20th in the event but came up with a school record time of 2:00.68, dropping nearly three seconds off his previous best. His prelim time was good for fifth place and advanced him into the championship finals where he made good again, lowering his school record another two-tenths of a second to become Calvin's first-ever All-American in the men's 200 breaststroke.
"My hat is off to Johnson Cochran," said Calvin head swim coach Dan Gelderloos. "I'm not sure I've ever seen an individual continue to drop times the way he has over the second half of the season, particularly in big meets. He's very talented, he's hard-working and he's very mature. I think all of those traits have been keys to his success."
Cochran was part of six Calvin swimmers making their first-ever appearance at the NCAA III Championships. Also competing were senior Andrew Mitchell (Iron Mountain/Kingsford HS), junior Alex Baumann (Holland/Holland Christian HS) and sophomores Aaron Venema (Grand Haven/Grand Haven HS), Mitch Schroder (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and freshman Brett Stoughton (Centerville, IN/Centerville HS).
All six individuals combined to score points for Calvin at the meet with Stoughton setting a new school record in the 200 butterfly during the week and Mitchell matching a nearly 20-year old record in the 100 backstroke.
In the Saturday morning prelims, Mitchell was 39th in the 100 freestyle (45.90) while the 400 freestyle relay team of Mitchell, Schroder, Stoughton and Baumann was 21st in 3:06.82.
"I think this meet was a huge stepping-stone for our men's program," said Gelderloos. "Like I said earlier this week, I think our guys had their eyes opened a bit during the first day-and-a-half and then they started to pick up the pace and continued to gain confidence. Just listening to them talking about the meet on the ride home tonight has me excited about next year already."
In the men's competition, Kenyon claimed the national title, edging conference rival Denison for the crown with 480 points while Denison was second with 472.
The NCAA III Championships were held at the IU Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI.
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Calvin 20, Georgetown (KY) 11
GEORGETOWN, KY - The Calvin women's lacrosse team opened its spring trip with a 20-11 victory over Georgetown College of Kentucky. The victory will go into the books as an exhibition game win as Georgetown is still in the process of becoming a varsity NAIA program.
Calvin led 9-4 at halftime and held control throughout the game as the Knights were credited with 11 assists on 20 goals.
Freshman Audrey Grabowski (East Grand Rapids/East Grand Rapids HS) led the with with six goals while freshman Emily Ceferatti (Hinsdale, IL/Hinsdale Central HS) had three goals. Sophomore Carolyn Forbes (Farmington Hills/Marian HS) had two goals and four assists while senior Michelle Holwerda (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) had a goal and four assists.
"Our objective was to come out strong and control middle of the field with draws, ground balls and transitions and I thought we did a good job of that today," said Calvin women's lacrosse coach Blake Boehm. "Georgetown had a late first half surge but we were able to regain control of the game. I was impressed with our passing. The fact that we had 11 assisted goals means we're seeing each other and playing as a team offensively."
Junior Delaney Callahan (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) got the start in goal and went the distance with support from a strong Calvin defensive effort.
Calvin returns to action on Thursday when it travels to Birmingham-Southern for a 7 p.m. match. The Knights will then journey back to Kentucky a week from today to face Transylvania University at 11 a.m.
MEN'S LACROSSE
Methodist 13, Calvin 6
WILMINGTON, NC - The Calvin men's lacrosse team dropped the opening game of its spring trip, falling to Methodist College 13-6 Saturday afternoon.
Calvin trailed just 3-2 after one quarter of play but the host Monarchs (3-4) exploded for seven goals in the second quarter to build a 10-4 halftime lead.
Methodist then outscored Calvin 2-0 in the third quarter and limited the Knights to a pair of fourth quarter goals to seal the win.
Calvin (2-4) received three goals and an assist from junior Tim Marco (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) while freshman Chris Griffin (Howell/Hartland HS) had two goals.
Junior Jonathon VanderLaan (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) also scored a goal for the Knights.
Methodist held a 43-26 shots at goal advantage. The Monarchs also collected 55 ground balls to Calvin's 34.
Senior Casey Harless (DeWitt/DeWitt HS) had 11 saves and eight ground balls for the Knights while sophomore Tyler DeKryger (Cadillac/Cadillac HS) had seven ground balls for Calvin.
The Knights are back in action on Tuesday, traveling to Randolph College of Virginia for a 5 p.m. game.
BASEBALL
Calvin 4, Hamilton (NY) 3
Hamilton 5, Calvin 4
(Written by Brian Exner)
AUBURNDALE, FL - The Knights continued to produce runs in a split decision with Hamilton College of New York on Saturday, winning by a score of 4-3 and losing 5-4 in an extra-inning effort. This leaves the Knights with a 5-3 record on the season.
In game one, early errors proved costly for the Knights as they trailed 3-2 after five, but a single by senior catcher Kyle Spoelma (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS), three straight bunts and two errors allowed Calvin to grab a 4-3 lead.
Junior Ben Guilfoyle (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield East HS) came in with two outs in the sixth to close the door on Hamilton and record the save. Junior Peter Cupery (Holland/Holland Christian HS) got the win as well as an RBI, and sophomore Travis Kraai (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) ended the game 2-3 with a double, two RBIs and a run scored.
In the second game, the Knights created a comfortable cushion with a four-run second inning fueled by a two-run RBI triple by junior Ben Wohl (Canton/Plymouth HS). Hamilton would score once in the fifth to close the the gap to 4-2.
Hamilton was able to string together four consecutive hits in a five hit sixth inning to push across two runs to tie the game at four. The Knights threatened in the bottom of the seventh when sophomore Jalen Bouma (Ann Arbor/Ann Arbor Huron HS) hit a two-out double down the line, but were unable to capitalize.
A lead off walk for Hamilton was later caught stealing at third by sophomore catcher J.R. Frederick (Valparaiso, IN/Chesterton HS), but a double pushed across a run in the top of the eight. The Knights were also unable to capitalize on a lead off walk in the bottom half of the inning and ended a four game winning streak.
The Knights will make up two conference games against Kalamazoo in Florida on Monday beginning at 11 a.m.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
MEMPHIS, TN - The Calvin men's and women's track and field teams competed at the Rhodes Invitational on Saturday. The Calvin men took fourth place with 89 points while the Calvin women took sixth place with 54 points. A full recap will be sent out later this weekend.
Full meet results can be found online at: http://calvinknights.com/sports/wtrack/2013-14/files/RhodesInv2014_results.htm
Received on Sat Mar 22 23:39:08 2014
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