CALVIN KNIGHT SATURDAY SPORTS REPORT FOR SEPT. 13, 2014
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
The Calvin women's cross country team hosted the Knight Invite on Saturday morning at the Gainey Athletic Complex.
Despite the soggy conditions, the Knights took the top three spots as they dominated the field en route to a team total of 27 points. Second place University of St. Francis finished with 109 points while Aquinas College was third with 124 points.
Sophomore Cassie Vince led the pack from the start, running a 17:50.0 to beat out the field by 20 seconds.
Sophomore Lauren Strohbehn was second with 18:10.7 while junior Sarah Danner came in at 18:13.6 to claim third.
Coming in at 18:43.3, senior Kimby Penning took eighth while senior Paige McGahan rounded out the scoring at 19:01.2 in 13th place.
Also finishing top 20 was sophomore Jessie Mulder with a time of 19:01.2 in 14th place and sophomore McKenzie Diemer at 19:09.6 in 20th.
"We really kept our gaps relatively small. We know we have Cassie Vince way out front, she did a tremendous job of running, keeping focused on a very soggy, saturated course. Sarah Danner and Lauren Strohbehn worked together, they're giving that next 1-2 punch," said head coach Brian Diemer. "We really look strong - we have a lot of depth - and we're very excited about where this season is going from here. I think our dreams are staying alive, and we're going to start building on them. It's not time to wake up yet."
The Knights now look forward to the MIAA Jamboree on September 27. The Jamboree will be hosted by Kalamazoo College.
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
by John Leerar
GRAND RAPIDS - The Calvin men's cross country team competed Saturday on its home course at the Gainey Athletic Complex. The Knights placed first with a total of 55 points.
The second-place finish of sophomore Zac Nowicki (Comstock Park/Calvin Christian HS) paced the Knights.
"Zac really wants to be an All-American this year," said head coach Brian Diemer. "I think that he showed today that he has the capacity to do that. He just needs to keep gaining strength, especially mental strength. He's our lead dog, and he is showing that we can count on him."
Junior Andre Otte (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and senior Stephen Haagsma (Grandville/Calvin Christian HS) rounded out the Calvin runners in the top ten, finishing ninth and tenth respectively.
Other athletes scoring for Calvin included junior Jeff Meitler (New Berlin, Wisc./Milwaukee Lutheran HS) and freshman Andrew Philipose (Mount Prospect, Ill./John Hersey HS).
Rounding out the top seven on the team were junior Ethan Anderson (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area HS) and senior Stephen Tubergen (Mount Prospect, Ill./John Hersey HS).
Coach Diemer had nothing but positive things to say about his team after the race. "We have a bunch of guys who will never say quit. Everybody ran with a purpose today and finished strong. It was fun to see."
The Knights return to action on September 27, when they travel to Kalamazoo College for the MIAA Jamboree.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Wheaton 1, Calvin 0
By Mark DeHaan
The Calvin women's soccer team hosted Wheaton College on Saturday for its final non-conference matchup of the season.
Looking to bounce back from a pair of defeats earlier in the week, the Knights faced a tough challenge in the Thunder, who were ranked fifth in the country entering the game.
Standing up to the challenge for the majority of the game, the only thing that separated the teams at the end of 90 minutes was a goal for Wheaton in a scramble in front of net.
The first half saw the two sides fight back and forth for control of the game. In the opening 15 minutes, the Thunder dictated the tempo, tallying three shots and three corner kicks.
The next 15 minutes then saw Calvin put pressure on Wheaton's defense. Sophomore Kailey Jo had a header on goal that was saved by the Thunder keeper in the 28th minute.
The rest of the half was then fought in the midfield, and after 45 minutes, the teams were deadlocked in a scoreless tie.
Wheaton outshot Calvin 6-3 in the opening half while each team had three corner kicks.
In the second half, the Thunder saw increased pressure, and in the 63rd minute, Wheaton broke through for a goal.
In a scrum off a corner kick, a shot by Wheaton got past the Knights keeper but was stopped by a defender on the goal line. Despite stopping the initial shot, Calvin could not stop the second as Wheaton forward Anna Seabolt cleaned up and put the rebound into the back of the net for a 1-0 Thunder lead.
Looking to quickly respond, the Knights saw their closest shot on goal in the 74th minute. Collecting a ball just above the Thunder box, junior Paige Capel turned and put a shot toward goal that rolled just wide of frame.
In the remaining time, Calvin could not equalize with Wheaton and the Thunder came away as 1-0 winners.
Wheaton outshot the Knights 22-8 for the game, forcing Calvin's freshman goalkeeper Jenna Shelton into seven saves for the game.
"In the past couple days, we've made some decisions to go with a different strategy, and that strategy, today, really did its job," said head coach Mark Recker. "I think it was a good result for us because it showed that we can compete. That change of morale will be huge, and that's what we'll try to build on."
The Knights now look forward to Tuesday when they'll return to conference play against the Belles of Saint Mary's. Tuesday contest will be played at Zuidema Field, with kickoff scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 7, Cleary 1
HOWELL - The Calvin men's soccer team picked up its second consecutive victory of the season with a 7-1 triumph over Cleary College Saturday afternoon.
The Knights were led by senior Travis Vegter (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) who notched a hat-trick along with two assists.
Sophomore Stephan Hooker (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal early in the second half. Also scoring goals were junior Nolan DuBois (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS), senior Sean Broekhuizen (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS) and sophomore Matt Koster (Pittsburgh, PA/Eden Christian Academy).
DuBois and sophomores Isky VanDoorne (Calgary, AB/Western Canada HS) and Jay Noyola (Lansing/Lansing Christian HS) were also credited with assists for the Knights during the game.
Junior Niko Giantsopolous (Markham, ON/St. Augustine Catholic HS) got the win in goal for Calvin.
The Knights return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Alma for a 4 p.m. match.
VOLLEYBALL
SPRINGFIELD, OH - After dropping a pair of tough matches on Friday night, Calvin dug down deep and bounced back for victories over Ohio Northern and Otterbein on Saturday at the Wittenberg Fall Classic.
Calvin (11-2) opened the day with a 26-24, 25-23, 25-15 win over Ohio Northern University and then came up with a 25-21, 23-25, 25-23, 25-22 win over Otterbein.
In the victory over Ohio Northern, Calvin received 17 kills and 10 digs from junior Maggie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS) while senior Emily Crowe (Granger, IN/Mishawaka Penn HS) had 11 kills.
Senior Elise Biesboer (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS) had a career-high 24 digs while sophomore Kielley Lemkuil () had 15 digs as well.
Junior Jamie Kooiman (Eugene, OR/South Eugene HS) had 15 assists and freshman Megan VanSolkema (Escondido, CA/Escondido Calvin Christian HS) 18 assists.
Calvin's match against Otterbein featured back-and-forth action. In set one, Calvin trailed 19-14 but came back for a 25-21 win. In set two, Calvin held a 20-14 lead only to fall 25-23. In three, the teams traded leads until a late surge allowed the Knights to pull ahead for a 25-23 win. In set four, Calvin took an early lead and then held on tight to gain a 25-22 win and clinch the match.
Maggie Kamp had a big match once again with 22 kills and a .348 attack percentage. Senior Ellie Diepersloot (Madera, CA/Chowchilla HS) had eight kills while Biesboer racked up 21 digs while Kooiman had 20 assists and VanSolkema 12 assists.
Calvin is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Saint Mary's for a 7 p.m. conference match.
MEN'S GOLF
ADRIAN - The Calvin men's golf team moved into sole possession of second place in the MIAA standings with a second place finish at the second MIAA Jamboree of the season. Saturday's MIAA Jamboree was hosted by Adrian at the Lenawee Country Club.
Calvin fired a team score of 299 on Saturday, three strokes back of first place Hope. The Knights are 10 strokes behind the Flying Dutchmen in the overall team standings and two strokes ahead of third place Trine.
Senior James VanNoord (Troy/Troy Athens HS) led Calvin on Saturday with a round of 73 that was good for a tie for third place individually. Younger brother John VanNoord (Troy/Oakland Christian HS) had a 74 that was good for a tie for fifth place individually with freshman teammate Ben VanScoyk (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) who also carded a 74.
Junior Jason Ziegler (Mount Gilead, OH/Gilead Christian HS) had 78 and junior Justin Crow (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) an 85.
Calvin swings back into action next Thursday, competing at a league tournament hosted by Albion at the Medalist Golf Club at 1 p.m.
MIAA JAMBOREE #2 TEAM SCORES
Hope 296
Calvin 299
Adrian 303
Trine 307
Albion 311
Kalamazoo 317
Olivet 319
Alma 367
MIAA OVERALL MEN'S GOLF TEAM STANDINGS
Hope 595
Calvin 605
Trine 607
Adrian 609
Kalamazoo 626
Albion 629
Olivet 643
Alma 733
Received on Sun Sep 14 00:02:13 2014
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Sun Sep 14 2014 - 00:02:13 EDT