CKSR (Calvin Knight Weekend Sports Wrap For February 21, 2015)

CALVIN KNIGHT WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP FOR FEBRUARY 21, 2015 (PART TWO)

ACHA ICE HOCKEY

FARMINGTON - The Calvin ACHA men's ice hockey team is headed back to the ACHA Division III National Tournament for the first time since the 2007-08 season. The Knights punched their ticket to the national dance with a thrilling 2-1 victory over the three-time defending ACHA Division III National Champion Adrian College Bulldogs Saturday night at the Farmington Ice Arena.

With the win, Calvin claims an automatic berth to the national tournament scheduled to take place March 10-14 in Pellham, Alabama.

Calvin needed a pair of come-from-behind victories over the weekend to win the regional tournament. On Friday, Calvin trailed UM-Flint 4-2 but scored three goals in the third period including the game-winner by J.C. Conz with 1:18 left to claim the win.

In Saturday's regional final, Calvin trailed 1-0 but tied the scored on a power play goal by David Zwiers in the second period.

In the third period, Calvin fought off a series of penalties and then found a way to convert short-handed as Brent Harris stole the puck to create a two-on-one breakaway with teammate Jordan Duncan. Harris was able to lift a pass that Duncan batted out of the air into the back of the Adrian net to give the Knights a 2-1 lead.

Goalkeeper Alex Zion then stood firm over the final 10 minutes, recording 31 saves on the night to preserve the win.

"I couldn't be happier of more proud of this group," said Calvin head coach Mike Petrusma. "It's a young group of guys sprinkled in with a handful of veterans. The chemistry with this team has been very high all year and when we got down, this team showed resiliency."

Prior to its trip to the national tournament, Calvin will play in the Michigan Collegiate Hockey Conference tournament semifinals next Friday at the Georgetown Ice Arena at 8 p.m.

WOMEN'S TENNIS

The Calvin women's tennis team picked up a 6-3 non-conference victory over Aquinas College Saturday inside Calvin's Huizenga Tennis and Track Center. The Knights are 2-0 on the season.

A year ago, Calvin dropped an 8-1 decision to Aquinas but on Saturday, the Knights turned the tables with a strong run of singles play.

Aquinas took a 2-1 lead after doubles play with senior Megan Visser and sophomore Claire Spoelhof teaming up for an 8-3 win at one doubles for Calvin's lone doubles point.

Calvin then rallied to take five of the six singles flights to clinch the match.

Visser dug down and won a 7-6, 7-5 match at No. 1 singles over Akita Bhatia. Sophomore Ellie Benzel was a 6-2, 7-5 winner over Tiffany Tuori at No. 3 singles.

Freshman Jessica Bouma then claimed a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Marjeanne Bothma at No. 4 singles. Senior Ali Roode was a 6-3, 6-1 winner over Jenelle Miller at No. 5 singles and freshman Kari Kroeze defeated Brit Mayer 6-4, 6-0 at No. 6 singles.

The lone singles point for Aquinas came from Anna Musienko at No. 2 singles as she defeated Spoelhof 6-3, 6-1.

"This was a great team win for us today," said Calvin women's tennis coach Kevin VanHaitsma. "Aquinas is a very strong team that beat us 8-1 last year. We got a big win from our #1 doubles team. They played one of the best matches they have played together. Ellie got the momentum going in singles with a win versus a player she lost to a year ago. Megan had a great win against their number 1. Jessica pulled out a nice three-set win, then Ali and Kari came away with the final 2 points to give us the win. This was one of best matches for our program in the last couple of years."

Calvin will now break until next Friday when it travels to Wheaton (IL) for a non-conference match.

MEN'S TENNIS

GREEN BAY, Wisc. - The Calvin men's tennis team opened its dual match portion of its schedule with 9-0 victories over Dominican (IL) and Ripon College Saturday. Calvin is 2-0 on the year.

Picking up singles victories for Calvin in the win over Ripon were Tom Griffin, Matt Buesing, Matt VanWinkle, Taylor Asfour, Anthony Vroon and Christopher Dausman.

VanWinkle and Asfour won a 9-8 decision at one doubles, Griffin and Buesing won an 8-0 decision at two doubles and Jare Doezema and Vroon won at three doubles.

Calvin is back in action on March 11 when it hosts Cornerstone at 6 p.m.

MEN'S LACROSSE

LISLE, IL - The Calvin men's lacrosse team opened its 2015 campaign with a 20-1 loss at Benedictine University on Saturday.

Calvin's lone goal was scored by Tyson Butler. Calvin trailed 5-1 after one period of play and 13-1 at halftime.

Benedictine held a 58-6 shots at goal advantage. Joel Schaefer led Calvin with four ground balls.

Calvin is scheduled to take on Defiance next Saturday.

BASEBALL

The Calvin baseball team has been picked to finish third in the MIAA preseason coaches' poll released on Friday.
Defending MIAA champion Adrian was picked as the preseason favorite followed by Hope in second. Albion was picked to finish fourth and Kalamazoo fifth.
Under the direction of first-year head coach John Rypel, Calvin will be seeking to continue the momentum it gained from a 28-16 campaign last spring that saw the Knights finish second in the league and reach the MIAA tournament finals. Calvin will be led by senior captains Grant VanPutten, Nate Schepers, Peter Cupery and Ben Wohl. An outfielder, VanPutten is a two-time first team All-MIAA selection and the Calvin record holder in stolen bases. Schepers and Cupery will help anchor the Calvin pitching staff with Cupery also providing a big bat in the lineup.
Preseason poll results (first-place votes in parenthesis): 1. Adrian (7) 7 pts. 2. Hope 13 (1). 3. Calvin 26. 4. Albion 28. 5. Kalamazoo 30. 6. Trine 34. 7. Alma 37. 8. Olivet 49.

WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

Members of the Calvin women's track and field team competed at the Grand Valley State Tuneup Invitational Friday night and the Knights had a number of top 10 finishes.

Top 10 finishes included:

*Senior Sarah Danner (Watkins Glen, NY/Charles Dickerson HS) winning the 5,000 meters (17:41.48).

*Freshman Jenna Dyksen (Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne HS) winning the triple jump (36-5 3/4), finishing ninth in the 60 meter hurdles (9.71) and fifth in the long jump (17-3).

*Senior Katie Ardinger (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS) finishing fifth in the mile run (5:05.28) and sophomore Lauren Strohbehn (Stillwater, MN/St. Croix Prepatory HS) placing seventh (5:06.88).

*Junior McKenzie Diemer (Caledonia/South Christian HS) placing second in the 3,000 meter run (10:15.20) and sophomore Hope Gaffner (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) placing sixth (10:42.95).

*Freshman Kayla VanLenten (Hawthorne, NJ/Hawthorne HS) finishing eighth in the high jump (4-10 1/2).

Calvin will compete at the Trine Invitational next Saturday.

MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD

Members of the Calvin men's track and field team competed at the Grand Valley State Tuneup Invitational Friday night and the Knights had a number of top 10 finishes.

Top 10 finishes included:

*Senior Josh Ferguson (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley HS) finishing second in the 5,000 meter run (15:19.62) with sophomore Jordan Kramer (Pewaukee, WI/Lake Country Lutheran HS) finishing ninth (16:02.38).

*Senior Erik Holstege (Keswick, VA/Monticello HS) finishing third in the 60 meter hurdles (8.33), eighth in the 200 meters (22.73)

*Junior Matt Oram (Toledo, OH/Toledo Christian HS) finishing 10th in the 800 meters (1:59.28).

*Sophomore Zac Nowicki (Comstock Park/Calvin Christian HS) finishing second in the 3,000 meters (8:36.82), junior Ethan Anderson (Stillwater, MN/Stillwater Area HS) placing third (8:38.84), senior Steven Haagsma (Grandville/Calvin Christian HS) finishing fifth (8:40.47) and freshman Andrew Phillipose (Mount Prospect, IL/John Hersey HS) finishing eighth (8:41.51).

*Sophomore Nathan Marcus (Holland/Holland Christian HS) finishing fifth in the pole vault (14-3 1/2) and sophomore Devin Schweigert (Whitehall/Whitehall HS) finishing ninth (11-4 1/2).

Calvin will compete at the Trine Invitational next Saturday.

The United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association has named its 2014 All-Academic team and individual recipients in women's cross country and the Calvin women's cross country team has received accolades on both counts.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Continuing a streak that began in 1987, the Calvin women's cross country team has once again been named a USTFCCCA All-Academic team recipient. Led by head coach Brian Diemer, the Knights posted a team cumulative grade point average this past fall of 3.50. In order to receive the award, teams must post a minimum team GPA of 3.10.
Individually, Calvin had seven members of its women's cross country team receive individual all-academic honors. Calvin joined Williams College as the only two schools to have seven individuals honored. Individuals needed to have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or greater through the most-recent semester and placed in the top 35 at the NCAA III Regional Championships.
The Calvin individuals that received the honor include seniors seniors Kimby Penning (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS), Sarah Danner (Watkins Glen, NY/Charles Dickerson HS), Kate Ardinger (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS) and sophomores Cassie Vince (Amherst, OH/Amherst HS), Lauren Strohbehn (Stillwater, MN/St. Croix Prepatory HS) and Hope Gaffner (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS).
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
The United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association has named its 2014 All-Academic team and individual recipients in men's cross country and the Calvin men's cross country team has received accolades on both counts.
Led by head coach Brian Diemer, the Calvin men's team posted a team cumulative grade point average this past fall of 3.42. In order to receive the award, teams must post a minimum team GPA of 3.10.
Individually, Calvin had three members of its men's team receive honors. Those three individuals include seniors Steven Haagsma (Grandville/Calvin Christian HS) and Josh Ferguson (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley HS) and freshman Andrew Rylaarsdam (Grandville/Calvin Christian HS).
Individuals needed to have compiled a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or greater through the most-recent semester and placed in the top 35 at the NCAA III Regional Championships.
Received on Sun Feb 22 00:16:47 2015