CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR DECEMBER 18, 2015
Basketball Teams Prepare for Saturday Non-Conference Tilts;
Swimming and Diving Teams Move Up in National Rankings;
Taylor Pruis Receives Academic Honors From NSCAA
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The Calvin women's basketball team will host the defending national champion Saints of Thomas More College on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.
The last time the Thomas More women's basketball team visited Van Noord Arena, the Saints were making snow angels in the blue and white confetti covering the arena floor after claiming the 2015 NCAA III National Championship.
Thomas More completed the 2015 season with an unblemished 33-0 record. The Saints have not taken their foot off the gas pedal in the early stages of the 2015-16 season as they will enter a Saturday matchup with Calvin ranked number-one nationally and owners of a 7-0 record.
Under the direction of head coach Jeff Hans, the Saints have produced an overall won-loss record of 98-3 over the last three-and-a-half years.
Saturday's matchup will feature a pair of nationally-ranked teams as Calvin (7-1 overall) is ranked 11th by D3hoops.com and 12th in the USA Today Sports Division III Top 25 poll conducted by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
A year ago, Calvin reached the national quarterfinals before bowing to George Fox University. George Fox was then defeated by Thomas More in the 2015 Division III National Championship game. The loss was the only defeat of the year for George Fox (32-1).
Calvin features a balanced scoring attack led by sophomore point guard Ali Spayde who averages 16.4 points and 3.5 assists per game. Junior forward Anna Timmer is also having a strong year averaging 14.6 points and 8.9 rebounds a game while sophomore forward Bre Luurtsema averages 9.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.9 assists per contest. Senior Kally Verkaik adds 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds a game and senior guard Abby Springer 7.4 points and 5.3 assists per contest.
The Knights are led by head coach John Ross who has fashioned an overall won-loss record of 286-62 for a winning percentage of .822 that ranks him sixth among all active NCAA Division III women's basketball coaches.
Hans is in his fifth season as the head coach of the Thomas More women's basketball program. He has fashioned an overall won-loss record of 123-8 for a winning percentage of .939.
The Saints are led by 2014-15 Division III National Player of the Year Sydney Moss. A 5-10 guard, Moss missed the opening five games of the 2015-16 season but has since returned to average 17.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.
Sophomore point guard Abby Owings is another player to watch. She and Moss were both members of the 2015 NCAA III Finals All-Tournament team. She averages 18.7 points and 5.1 assists per contest. Sophomore Nikki Kiernan averages 14.4 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest while 6-0 freshman guard Madison Temple averages 11.3 points a game and is connecting on 44.0 percent of her three-point field goal attempts.
Saturday's game will feature the fifth meeting between Calvin and Thomas More in women's basketball with all five meetings coming during the tenure of Calvin women's basketball head coach John Ross. The series began during the 2004-05 season with Thomas More claiming a 74-64 win in the season opener for both teams in a tournament hosted by Capital University. In the first round of the 2007 NCAA III Tournament, Calvin recorded a 53-38 win in a game played at Wilmington College. During the 2008-09 season, Thomas More defeated Calvin 73-60 at the Thomas More Julie Costello Classic. Calvin and Thomas More met again in the 2012 Julie Costello Classic in Crestview Hills, Kentucky. Calvin claimed an 84-75 overtime win in that matchup, overcoming a 69-59 deficit in the final 1:53 of regulation to force overtime.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
The Calvin men's basketball team will travel to Anderson University tomorrow afternoon for a 4 p.m. non-conference contest. Calvin will enter the game with a record of 4-4 while Anderson is 4-3.
Saturday's game marks the fifth meeting between Calvin and Anderson in a series that began during the 2011-12 season and sees Calvin holding a 3-1 series lead. Anderson won the first meeting, defeating Calvin 73-60 at Anderson in November of 2011. Calvin returned the favor in 2012, defeating the Ravens 98-56 at Van Noord Arena. In November of 2013, Calvin secured a 72-58 win at Anderson. Last year, Calvin opened its season with a 108-98 win over the Ravens at Van Noord Arena.
The Ravens are looking to snap a two-game losing skid. Calvin is the second MIAA opponent that Anderson will have faced this year as the Ravens dropped an 82-63 decision to Trine University on December 9 at Anderson. Anderson predicates its offense around the three-point shot. The Ravens have attempted 186 triples and connected on 63 for a three-point shooting percentage of .339. Cole Hartman leads Anderson in scoring at 17.3 points a game while Nathaniel Acree comes in at 16.3 points per contest. Trevor Lucas averages 16.1 points a game and Stanley Duncan 12.0 points a game. In addition, Hartman hauls down a team-best 6.9 rebounds per contest.
Calvin has been led in scoring this year by senior Jordan Daley who averages 20.0 points a game. Senior Austin Parks averages 11.6 points and junior Cam Denney 11.0 points a game to round out Calvin's scoring leaders.
Anderson is under the leadership of fourth-year head coach Owen Handy. Handy is a native of Holland, Michigan. He is a graduate of Holland High School and of Wheaton College (Il.). At Holland High School, Handy played under then varsity basketball coach Mark Werley. At Wheaton, he became a student assistant coach and later served as an assistant coach for nine years at his alma mater, working under both Bill Harris and current head coach Mike Schauer before accepting the Anderson head job in time for the 2012-13 season.
Calvin is under the direction of head coach Kevin Vande Streek who is in his 20th year at the helm of the Knights. Vande Streek is 388-158 in 20 years as Calvin's head coach.
MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
The Calvin men's swimming and diving team continues to move up in the national rankings. Led by head coach Dan Gelderloos, the Knights are ranked 10th in the latest Division III Top 25 poll conducted by the College Swim Coaches Association.
The ranking marks a move up of two spots as the Knights were ranked 12th in the November poll.
Calvin recently completed a standout first semester campaign, taking first place at a November quadrangular including Albion, Carthage and Ohio Northern and a second place finish at its own Calvin Winter Invitational earlier this month. In addition, Calvin has produced a 2-2 dual meet record with its two defeats coming against nationally-ranked Division II opponents Grand Valley State and Wayne State. Calvin also picked up a dual meet victory against nationally-ranked Wheaton in November.
The CSCAA poll can be found online at: http://www.cscaa.org/news/20151216/division-ii-iii-cscaa-tyr-top-25
WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
The Calvin women's swimming and diving team continues to move up in the national rankings. Led by head coach Dan Gelderloos, the Knights are ranked 13th in the latest Division III Top 25 poll conducted by the College Swim Coaches Association.
The ranking marks a move up of 11 spots as the Knights were ranked 24th in the November poll.
Calvin recently completed a standout first semester campaign, taking first place at a November quadrangular including Albion, Carthage and Ohio Northern and a third place finish at its own Calvin Winter Invitational earlier this month. In addition, Calvin has produced a 3-2 dual meet record with its two defeats coming against nationally-ranked Division II opponents Grand Valley State and Wayne State. Calvin also picked up a dual meet victory against nationally-ranked Wheaton in November.
The CSCAA poll can be found online at: http://www.cscaa.org/news/20151216/division-ii-iii-cscaa-tyr-top-25
MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin College senior forward Taylor Pruis has received academic honors from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.
A native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School, Pruis was named to the NSCAA III Scholar All-North/Central Region first team list in the men's college division.
To be named an NSCAA Scholar All-Region honoree, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.30 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale). The player must also be at least a junior in academic standing and start more than 50 percent of all games and be nominated by an institution that is a current NSCAA College Services member.
This fall, Pruis was named to the All-MIAA first team for the third straight year. He was also named to the NSCAA III All-Central Region second team.
This fall, Pruis tallied nine goals, 12 assists and 30 points.
Received on Fri Dec 18 16:50:37 2015
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