CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR AUG. 17, 2015
Men's Soccer Team Pegged To Repeat as MIAA Champions;
Nine Calvin Teams Receive MIAA Team GPA Award;
Jeremy Crawford Named Associate Calvin Sports Information Coordinator
MEN'S SOCCER
FREELAND, Mich. - Calvin College earned the top spot in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) men's soccer preseason poll, voted on by the league's head coaches on Monday.
Calvin claimed the number one spot in the poll with seven first-place votes and seven points. Kalamazoo College came in second with 15 points and Hope College rounded out the top three with 21 points and the remaining first-place vote.
Alma College placed fourth at 28 points, Olivet College stood fifth with 30 points and Albion College held down sixth in the poll with 35 tallies. Adrian College with 42 points and Trine University at 46 markers rounded out the preseason poll.
In 2014 Calvin posted an overall record of 18-2-3 and reached the second round of the NCAA DIII Tournament. The Knights captured the MIAA regular season title with an unblemished conference record of 14-0-0. Calvin, under the direction of fourth-year head coach Ryan Souders, currently owns a streak of eight conference crowns that dates back to the 2007 season.
The defending league champions also rank No. 16 in the preseason Division III Top 25 poll conducted by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) earlier this month.
To read the 2015 Calvin men's soccer preseason outlook visit the Calvin website at: http://calvinknights.com/sports/msoc/2015-16/releases/201508171zjjkj
Poll Results (first-place votes in parenthesis):
1. Calvin - 7 points (7)
2. Kalamazoo - 15 points
3. Hope - 21 points (1)
4. Alma - 28 points
5. Olivet - 30 points
6. Albion - 35 points
7. Adrian - 42 points
8. Trine - 46 points
MORE MEN'S SOCCER
A group of Calvin men's soccer players had an exciting summer as members of the first-year minor league soccer program Grand Rapids FC that launched this past spring. To read the story, visit the Calvin website at: http://www.calvin.edu/news/archive/alums-kickoff-soccer-clubs-inaugural-season
CALVIN TEAMS RECEIVE MIAA TEAM GPA AWARD
The Faculty Athletic Representatives of the MIAA member colleges present the MIAA Team GPA Award every year. This award recognizes conference athletic teams for performance in the classroom of a 3.3 cumulative GPA or better (on a 4.0 scale).
During the recently completed 2014-15 school year, nine of Calvin's athletic teams achieved this distinction.
Six of Calvin's women's teams received the MIAA Team GPA Award while three of the men's teams also achieved the feat. Calvin teams receiving the honor are as follows; women's cross country, women's volleyball, women's tennis, women's swimming and diving, men's cross country, men's basketball, women's soccer, women's track and field and men's tennis.
Led by Brian Diemer, the women's cross country team continued a remarkable streak, earning a cumulative grade point average of 3.586. The Calvin women's cross country team is one of only two teams joining the Hope women's cross country team as the only teams to receive the award all 17 years it has been presented.
Dr. Amber Warners saw her women's volleyball team honored for the 13th time with a grade point average of 3.556.
The women's tennis team led by second-year head coach Kevin VanHaitsma received the award with a team GPA of 3.517.
Led by Dan Gelderloos, the women's swimming and diving team was back on the list with a team GPA of 3.471.
Under the direction of head coach Kevin Vande Streek, the men's basketball team hit the list with a 3.422 team GPA.
Under the direction of Mark Recker, the Calvin women's soccer team is receiving the honor for the second straight year, recording a team GPA of 3.416.
Bret Otte had his women's track and field team receive the award for the 10th straight year. Otte's women's track and field team posted an average of 3.381.
The men's cross country team was also under the leadership of Brian Diemer and earned the award for the ninth time with a team GPA of 3.428. John Ross saw his men's tennis team receive the award for the ninth time, recording a 3.379 GPA.
JEREMY CRAWFORD NAMED ASSOCIATE SPORTS INFORMATION COORDINATOR
Jeremy Crawford has been named assistant sports information coordinator at Calvin College. A native of Grandville, Mich., Crawford comes to Calvin from Michigan State University where he graduated in 2014.
Crawford graduated from Michigan State with a bachelor of arts in education. As a student, he worked in the Michigan State sports information department and served as a post-graduate intern during the 2014-15 academic year.
While working in the Michigan State sports information office as a post-graduate intern, Crawford served as the primary contact for women's tennis and the men's and women's swimming and diving program. He also served as the secondary contact for the women's basketball team. In addition, he was a statistician at Michigan State for ice hockey, soccer, field hockey, basketball, softball, baseball and tennis. He also was a timeout coordinator for live telecasts of Spartan athletics events and created graphics and templates for the Michigan State athletics social media sites.
At Calvin, Crawford will work underneath Calvin sports information coordinator Jeff Febus. "We are thrilled to have Jeremy join the Calvin College family," said Febus. "He brings great enthusiasm and a wealth of skills to the Calvin sports information office. He will do a terrific job in promoting our teams and student-athletes."
A graduate of Grandville High School, Crawford is also excited to be joining the Calvin College sports information office. "Having grown up in West Michigan, I know the excellence that Calvin's athletics program represents," said Crawford. "I am honored to be working for a great college and athletics department."
Received on Mon Aug 17 17:05:46 2015
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