CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 12, 2015
Men's Swimming and Diving Builds Lead at MIAA Championships;
Women's Swimming and Diving in Three-Way Battle for MIAA Lead;
Women's Tennis Opens 2015 Season With Win Over Cornerstone;
Calvin/Hope Women's Basketball Rivalry Featured by D3hoops.com
MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
HOLLAND - The Calvin men's swimming and diving team holds a 51-point lead through day two of the MIAA Swimming and Diving Championships at the Holland Aquatic Center. The Knights have a total of 302 points with Kalamazoo second with 251 points, Albion third with 212 points, Hope fourth with 191 points, Olivet fifth with 70 points and Alma sixth with 47 points.
The Knights used depth, strong distance swimming and a first place finish from its 400 medley relay team to build its first place total. Seeking its second consecutive MIAA Championship, Calvin claimed a win in the 400 medley relay with an NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 3:21.71. The relay included Travis Vincent, Johnson Cochran, Brett Stoughton and Mitch Schroder.
Calvin's 200 freestyle relay team of Schroder, sophomore Eli Holstege, freshman Skyler Fish and senior Alex Baumann took third in 1:24.13.
The Knights also used a 1-2 finish in the 500 freestyle as junior Aaron Venema repeated as league champion in the event, winning in an NCAA III B' cut time of 4:36.46 while junior teammate Caleb Meidertsma was second in 4:39.46. Baumann was sixth (4:47.71) and freshman Max DeYoung eighth (4:51.19). Freshman Zach Reau also won the consolation finals with a time of 4:48.22.
Calvin also went 3-4-5 in the 200 IM with freshman Tanner Vincent placing third (1:53.92), junior Johnson Cochran fourth (1:54.20) and senior Travis Vincent fifth (1:55.69).
Calvin freshman Michael Moentmann took fourth on the three-meter board with a score of 453.50, qualifying for the upcoming NCAA III Regionals in the process. In the Wednesday prelims, Calvin sophomore Dirk Tanis qualified for the regional meet. Tanis placed sixth with a finals score of 436.15 while freshman Brian Bolton was eighth (357.05). It marked the first time that Calvin had placed three divers from its men's team in finals.
"The competition has been very tough. It's one of the deeper fields that we have had in the MIAA in quite some time," said Calvin diving coach Aaron Paskvan. "It was exciting to see Michael and Dirk get their qualifying (regional) scores."
In the 50 freestyle, Calvin's Eli Holstege took third (21.20) while Schroder was seventh (21.61).
"We're placing well but we don't have the same energy right now that we did a year ago," said Calvin head swim coach Dan Gelderloos. "In some ways we are a victim of our own success and it's difficult to match the intensity we had at last year's conference meet. We have to keep plugging away and look for that one race that sparks our team. There is still a lot of meet left for our guys and things we can accomplish."
Action continues on Friday morning with prelims at 10 a.m.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
HOLLAND - The Calvin women's swimming and diving team is performing well but the Knights still must make up ground in order to claim an 11th consecutive MIAA title. Through day of the conference meet, the Knights are in third place with 253 points with host Hope on top with 262 points and Kalamazoo second with 254 points.
Calvin led until the final two events on Thursday as Hope piled up 47 points on the three-meter diving board and then picked up another six points on Calvin with a win in the 400 medley relay.
Calvin opened the meet in strong fashion, claiming second in the 200 freestyle relay in an NCAA B' cut qualifying time of 1:35.31 with Kalamazoo out-touching Calvin by two-tenths of a second. Calvin's relay team consisted of junior Megan Schroder, freshman Rachel Mattson, freshman Abby VanHarn and sophomore Nicole Karl.
In the 500 freestyle, freshman Ana Estrella claimed a win in the consolation finals with a time of 5:19.83.
In the 200 IM, Calvin placed three individuals in the top six as senior Lexi Scott battled for the win but was touched out at the wall, finishing second in a time of 2:08.93. Senior Erika Waugh was right behind, taking third with a career-best time of 2:09.53. Freshman Klara Oh added a sixth place swim in a time of 2:13.54.
In the 50 freestyle, Calvin again took three of the top six spots as VanHarn was third (24.21), Mattson fourth (24.40) and Karl sixth (24.64).
In the three-meter diving competition, Calvin had three individuals in the top seven led by freshman Nicole Langerak who was fourth (436.00), freshman Sarah Bradley sixth (414.90) and senior Rebecca Mumby seventh (385.05). Langerak and Mumby have both qualified for the upcoming NCAA III Regional meet February 27 and 28 at the University of Chicago.
"I was proud of our divers," said Calvin diving coach Aaron Paskvan. "There were a couple of instances where we just missed a thing here or there. That's the difference between a place sometimes. For our freshmen, this is a whole new environment and they're learning on the fly. They are doing well."
Calvin closed out Thursday's competition with a second place finish in the 400 medley relay as the quartet of Waugh, Scott, junior Alayna Gallegos and VanHarn clocked in with a time of 3:53.72.
"We've got some ground to make up but we are swimming well," said Calvin head swim coach Dan Gelderloos. "We have a good opportunity to make a move with some points on Friday. It's a three-way battle for the title so we'll have to stay hungry but I like the spirit of this team."
Action continues on Friday morning with prelims set to begin at 10 a.m.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Calvin 8, Cornerstone 1
The Calvin women's tennis team picked up an 8-1 victory over visiting Cornerstone University Thursday night inside Calvin's Huizenga Tennis and Track Center.
The Knights swept all six singles flights and two of the three doubles flights. Cornerstone's lone point came at No. 2 doubles as the tandem of Ashley Greene and Heidi Boesl edged Calvin's duo of Ellie Benzel and Kari Kroeze 8-6.
Calvin's No. 1 doubles team of senior Megan Visser and sophomore Claire Spoelhof claimed an 8-4 win over Cornerstone's team of Allison Rusticus and Janie Silvers.
With only five players, Cornerstone was forced to forfeit a point at No. 3 doubles.
In singles, Visser was a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Boesl at No. 1 singles and Spoelhof a 3-6, 6-0, 10-7 winner over Silvers at No. 2 doubles.
Benzel won 6-1, 6-1 over Rusticus at three singles while Jessica Bouma was a 6-3, 6-0 winner at four singles.
Senior Ali Roode claimed 6-2, 6-0 win over Cornerstone's Nicole Huizenga at five singles with Calvin freshman Kari Kroeze claiming a forfeit win at six singles.
Calvin returns to action February 21 when it hosts Aquinas at 10 a.m. inside the Huizenga Tennis and Track Center.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The Calvin/Hope women's basketball rivalry is the subject of D3hoops.com's "Around the Nation" feature this evening. The story can be found online at: http://d3hoops.com/columns/around-the-nation/2014-15/d3-top-rivalry-from-womens-angle
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