CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 4, 2015
Grant VanPutten Named MIAA Position Player of Week - Wins MIAA Batting Title / Holland Christian Quartet Lead Calvin Baseball Into MIAA Tournament Play / All-MIAA Honors for Women's Lacrosse, Women's Tennis and Men's Tennis Teams
BASEBALL
FREELAND, Mich. - The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association has named Calvin outfielder Grant Van Putten its Position Player of the Week and Adrian righthander Eric Schmidt its Pitcher of the Week in baseball for games played through May 3.
Van Putten, a senior from Holland (Holland Christian HS), hit .654 (17-for-26), scored five runs and had four RBI in seven games for the Knights last week. He went 4-for-4 twice during a weekend series with MIAA champion Adrian that helped him secure the conference batting championship (.471 in conference play). He also set an MIAA record for hits in a season with 49 in conference play, led the league in runs scored with 32, and stole two bases to give him an MIAA career-record 62 steals. Van Putten is being honored as Player of the Week for the first time this season and second time in his career.
VanPutten is just the second MIAA batting champion in Calvin baseball history. Calvin's Jon Mulder was the first, sharing the award with Jim Pobursky of Olivetin 1965 with a .425 batting average.
VanPutten's was one of four Calvin players to finish in the top 10 of the MIAA batting race with senior Peter Cupery (Holland/Holland Christian HS) finishing second (.467), sophomore Nate DeZwaan (Holland/Holland Christian HS) finishing eighth (.381) and sophomore Colton Wolfe (Eaton Rapids/Eaton Rapids HS) finishing 10th (.356). Senior Ben Wohl (Canton/Plymouth HS) finished 12th with a .347 average.
As a team, Calvin led the MIAA in batting average at a .342 clip. The average is the fourth-highest single-season team batting average in MIAA baseball history.
MORE BASEBALL
By Mark DeHaan
Take a look at Calvin's statistics and you will quickly notice that Peter Cupery, Nate Schepers, and Grant VanPutten were key to the Knights' success on the diamond this season. The trio, all seniors and products of Holland Christian High School, led Calvin to a regular season record of 20-19 and a conference record of 17-11.
For more on the Holland Christian quartet, visit the Calvin website at: http://calvinknights.com/sports/bsb/2014-15/releases/201505042afwnz
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
The Calvin College women's lacrosse team has placed three individuals on the All-MIAA first team and three on the All-MIAA second team.
Madeline Baas
Baas is a freshman midfielder from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School. Baas started all eight conference contests, collecting 12 ground balls and winning 18 draw controls. Baas also added two goals and three assists, and committed just seven turnovers. Baas is being honored as a member of the All-MIAA second time.
Emily Cefaratti
The sophomore attack from Hinsdale, Illinois, and Hinsdale Central High School was the driving force behind Calvin's first MIAA title. Cefaratti led the Knights in nearly every major statistical category, tallying 44 goals, seven assists, and 38 ground balls. Her 44 goals was the highest total in the conference this season. Cefaratti scored eight goals against Kalamazoo College, setting a new Calvin single-game goal record, and was later named MIAA player of the week. She is being honored as an All-MIAA performer for the second straight year, although this marks her first appearance on the All-MIAA first team.
Amanda Davio
A native of Okemos, Michigan, and product of Okemos High School, Davio made an immediate impact in her first collegiate season. The freshman was Calvin's second scoring threat, scoring 31 goals, contributing seven assists, and collecting 34 ground balls. Davio was a key part of the Knights mid-season comeback win against Albion College, scoring three goals in the final three minutes, including the game-winner, as Calvin rallied from a 14-10 deficit to win 15-14. She was twice named the MIAA player of the week. Davio is being named to the All-MIAA first team.
Carolyn Forbes
Forbes is a junior attack from Farmington Hills, Michigan, and graduate of Marian High School. Forbes provided scoring depth and consistency for the Knights, scoring 20 goals and adding three assists in conference play. She twice netted four goal games, against Trine and Olivet, while adding three-goal performances versus St. Mary's and Alma. Forbes is being named to the All-MIAA second team, and is being recognized for the first time in her career.
Paige Noordyke
A product of nearby Grand Rapids Christian High School and native of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Noordyke has been named a member of the All-MIAA first team. The senior midfielder scored four goals and added four assists, collected 18 ground balls and forced 11 turnovers. Noordyke saw her best performance come against rival Hope, in which she scored three goals, collected two ground balls, won two draw controls, and caused four turnovers. She is being honored as an All-MIAA performer for the first time in her career.
Karissa Reed
A native of Greenville, Michigan, and graduate of Greenville High School, Reed has played in all 47 contests of the women's lacrosse team's three year history, and has started 46. She was the Knights third leading scorer with 28 points on the strength of 21 goals and seven assists. Reed was second on the team with 37 ground balls, and caused a team-leading 14 turnovers while winning 26 draw controls. Reed is being named to the All-MIAA second team for the second straight year.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Two members of the Calvin women's tennis team have received All-MIAA honors. Senior Megan Visser has been named to the All-MIAA first team while sophomore Ellie Benzel has been named to the All-MIAA second team.
A native of Kalamazoo and a graduate of Kalamazoo Christian High School, Visser recently concluded her Calvin career with an 11-11 singles record during the 2014-15 season including 4-4 against MIAA foes while playing all of her matches at No. 1 singles throughout her four-year Calvin career..
Visser is making her first appearance on the All-MIAA first team after receiving All-MIAA second team accolades the last three years.
"Megan is a player that has improved every year she has been at Calvin," said Calvin women's tennis coach Kevin VanHaitsma. "I'm excited for her to receive this honor after being a second team selection the last three years. This really represents the type of player she has been for our program over the last four years. Megan has been an amazing consistent player in her day-to-day approach. She really became more aggressive over the last couple years and became capable of playing more offense. She brought the same energy and focus every match she played. She is one of few at Calvin to play at No. 1 singles all four years and I'm thrilled she was recognized by the MIAA coaches as being one of the top six players in our conference.
Benzel is from San Dimas, California. She is a graduate of San Dimas High School. She is receiving All-MIAA second team honors for the first time. This year, Benzel posted a singles record of 15-7 this year including 6-2 against MIAA opponents while playing at No. 2 singles.
"Ellie has had a really terrific year for us," said VanHaitsma. "After player No. 4 singles last year as a freshman she stepped up to the No. 2 spot this year because of how much she has improved. Ellie is a very tough competitor and just finds ways to win. She plays a very physical game and her ability to become more consistent this year really took her game to the next level. Her all-around game has matured with more options. I'm excited she was recognized by the conference for the type of great season she had"
The Calvin women's tennis team finished the 2015 season with an overall record of 12-8 and finished third in the league with a 6-2 conference mark.
MEN'S TENNIS
Calvin College junior Matt Buesing has been named to the All-MIAA second team in men's tennis.
A native of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, Buesing was 7-8 in singles play this year including 5-5 at No. 1 singles. He was 2-4 against MIAA competition this spring.
During the season, he was named MIAA Player of the Week once and was part of a Calvin team that finished tied for second in the final MIAA regular season standings. The Knights posted an overall record of 9-9.
"This is a very nice honor for Matt," said Calvin men's tennis coach John Ross. "He stepped into a much bigger leadership role for our team this spring and was willing to take that No. 1 singles challenge. We had a huge turnaround this season as a team and Matt played a key role in that."
Buesing is receiving All-MIAA second team honors for the first time.
Received on Mon May 4 22:54:14 2015
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