CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEB. 17, 2016
Swimming and Diving Teams Take Early Lead at MIAA Championships Behind Record Relay Performances / Women's Basketball Downs Alma / Men's Basketball Edges Adrian
WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin women's swimming team started the 2016 MIAA Championships in record-breaking fashion. The Knights finished the first night of competition in first place with 40 points.
Since we started doing this Wednesday format it has by far been the best start we have ever had in school history," said head coach Dan Gelderloos. "Two MIAA records, two school records, and eight people punching their tickets to nationals most likely, I can't get any better than that. Now it is time to regroup and get back to business tomorrow morning."
The team of senior Megan Schroder (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian, freshman Anna Serino (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney), freshman Kendall Murphy (Modesto, Calif.) and sophomore Abby VanHarn (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) won with a time of 7:31.21.
The Knights broke a school record that has stood since 2007 at 7:33.23 and broke a Calvin-held MIAA Championships record from 2009 at 7:39.12.
"It is an amazing feeling," said Megan Schroder. "It just shows that we have a strong team and we are in it to win it. The team got pumped up watching it and I am so proud to be a part of it."
In the women's 3-meter prelims, Calvin sent three divers to the finals. Sophomore Sarah Bradley (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) stands in second place with a score of 455.35, in fourth place is sophomore Nicole Langerak with a score of 409.05 and in fifth place with a lifetime best score of 385.60 is junior Hilary Glover (Wyoming, Mich./Calvin Christian).
Standings
1. Calvin College 40
2. Hope College 34
3. Kalamazoo College 32
4. Albion College 30
5. Alma College 28
6. Olivet College 26
MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin men's swimming team started the 2016 MIAA Championships in record-breaking fashion. The Knights finished the first night of competition in first place with 40 points.
Since we started doing this Wednesday format it has by far been the best start we have ever had in school history," said head coach Dan Gelderloos. "Two MIAA records, two school records, and eight people punching their tickets to nationals most likely, I can't get any better than that. Now it is time to regroup and get back to business tomorrow morning."
The team of senior Brandon Muma (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Eastern), senior Mitch Schroder (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian), sophomore Max DeYoung (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Eastern) and freshman Andrew Kasper (Batava, Ill./Marmion Academy) won the 800 freestyle relay with a time of 6:43.04.
Calvin had previously held the 800 freestyle relay record in the MIAA. The Knights set the record in 2014 at 6:45.68 with the team of Andrew Mitchell, Aaron Venema, Mitch Schroder and Alex Baumann. That was also the school record.
It is an amazing feeling," it just shows that we have a strong team and we are in it to win it. The team got pumped up watching it and I am so proud to be a part of it.
"Tonight was a strong start," said Mitch Schroder. "We have to carry this momentum. It is pretty cool setting the records."
Standings
1. Calvin College 40
2. Albion College 34
3. Kalamazoo College 32
4. Hope College 30
5. Olivet College 28
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 91, Alma 56
The Calvin women's basketball team pulled away for a 91-56 victory over the visiting Alma Scots Wednesday evening. Ranked 23rd nationally, the Knights improve to 19-5 overall and to 13-2 in the MIAA.
Calvin outscored the visiting Scots 34-4 in the third quarter to take control of the contest.
Alma (9-15 overall, 4-11 MIAA) connected on 9 of its first 11 field goal attempts, en route to taking a 23-21 lead after one quarter of play. Calvin responded with a 12-2 run to close out the first half however that included three pointers from junior Anna Timmer (Caledonia/South Christian HS), sophomore Ali Spayde (Lewis Center, Oh./Worthington Christian HS) and senior Tiffany Karger (Cedar Springs/Cedar Springs HS).
Calvin's defense turned up the pressure in the first four minutes of the third quarter as the Knights collected eight steals while building a 54-34 lead and never looking back from that point on.
Timmer led the Knights with 19 points and six rebounds while Spayde had 13 points and Karger and senior Kally Verkaik 12 points apiece.
Karger was 4-of-8 from three-point range while Spayde had three triples and Verkaik a pair of trifectas.
As a team, Calvin was 11 of 27 from three-point range for a 40.7 percent three-point clip.
Alma was led by Kassidi Adams Tara Padgett with 15 points apiece
"Give Alma credit tonight for coming out with a lot of energy and putting us back on our heels early on," said Calvin women's basketball coach John Ross. "Alma shot the ball extremely well in the first quarter but we showed good resolve to weather the storm and find our footing. We started to hunker down on defense and once we did that, it got our offense going."
Calvin will now prepare to host rival Hope on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Van Noord Arena. Hope clinched the outright MIAA regular season title Wednesday evening with a victory at Kalamazoo. Saturday's game between Calvin and Hope will be televised live to a West Michigan regional audio via WGVU TV 35/52.
MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-17-16 GAMES
Hope 15-0
Calvin 13-2
Trine 9-6
Adrian 8-7
Olivet 8-7
Albion 5-10
Alma 4-11
Saint Mary's 1-14
MEN'S BASKETBALL
By Gina de Haan
Calvin 72, Adrian 68
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - After the Calvin men's basketball team dropped its second consecutive conference loss this past Saturday, head Coach Kevin Vande Streek was confident that his team would get back to work and focus on Wednesday night's game. The Knights fell to first place Alma last week and again this past Saturday to Kalamazoo, losing both games by more than a 10-point margin, but bounced back and earned a crucial victory Wednesday on their home court.
In their second-to-last conference contest of the regular season, the Knights, who held a 9-14 overall record with a 4-8 conference mark prior to the game, played host to the Adrian College Bulldogs, who entered 12-11 overall, with a 5-7 MIAA record.
This game was the second matchup of the season between the two teams, with Adrian claiming the first game 85-61 after outshooting the Knights 62.1% to 34.5% in the second half.
Wednesday night, Calvin edged its guests in the final minutes of the competitive contest by a score of 72-68, keeping itself in contention for the four-team MIAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs were first to get on the board when Isiah Crofford scored a layup just over a minute in. Cam Denney answered quickly by knocking down a three-pointer to give the Knights a 3-2 lead.
The teams would then exchange points and possession of the lead over the next couple minutes. After Adrian's leading scorer Christian Covile drained a triple, juniors Michael Wilks and Nate Drews scored to tie the game at nine just over five minutes into the game.
Eight minutes into the first half, Covile went on a nine-point run to give his team a 22-12 advantage as the midpoint of the half neared.
Wilks broke the Knights' dry spell, capitalizing on a three-point play to cut Adrian's lead to 7. However, Covile continued to be an unstoppable offensive force, hitting a three-pointer and a jump shot. Rickey Jackson Jr. followed, scoring another Adrian three-point basket to make the score 30-15.
Senior Jordan Daley halted the Bulldogs' momentum with a made layup, but Travon Johnson responded with two points for Adrian, maintaining his teams' 15-point lead with 7:51 remaining in the half.
The Knights called timeout and then scored the next eight points out of the break, courtesy of three-point baskets by sophomore Mike Siegel and Nate Drews plus another layup from Daley, which brought the score to 32-25.
With 4:29 to play in the half, the Bulldogs had rebuilt their double-digit lead (37-27), but the Knights battled back once again. Drews drained a triple, Nick
Kronemeyer put in a layup and Cam Denney made a pair of free throws, cutting Adrian's lead to three (37-34) with 2:40 left before halftime.
However, the Bulldogs held the Knights scoreless for the remainder of the half while scoring eight points themselves off a jump shot and a pair of three-pointers. Heading into the locker room at the break, Adrian possessed a 45-34 lead over its host.
At halftime, the Knights were shooting 40.0% from the field (12-30) and 3-point range (4-10) while the Bulldogs shot 50.0% (18-36 FG, 8-16 3-pt).
Covile was a driving force behind Adrian's offense in the first half of play, putting up 24 first half points, while Drews led the Knights in scoring with 10 points.
In the second half, the Knights found their groove and outscored their guests by 15.
Michael Wilks started of the second half scoring, draining an early three-pointer to cut Adrian's lead to eight. Back-and-forth scoring followed, until two consecutive buckets by Adrian's Johnson made the score 52-41 in favor of the Bulldogs.
Nate Drews responded, hitting a three to cut the Bulldog's lead to single digits, five minutes into the second half. Covile answered with a made jumper, but Drews came back with another triple. Junior Michael Welch added two more points and the scoreboard read 54-49 with 12:45 left to play.
After turning the ball over, the Bulldogs called timeout in an attempt to slow the quickly approaching Knights.
Neither team would score for the next two minutes until Daley snagged a defensive rebound, was fouled and knocked down a pair of free throws. The Knights continued to roll as a Wilks hit a tough jumper to cut Adrian's lead to one point (54-53) with just over 10 minutes left to play.
Adrian wasn't ready to surrender its lead and scored the next three points, earning a four-point lead. Calvin continued to narrow the scoring gap as Denney put in a layup and sophomore Tony Canonie hit two free throws. Adrian led 58-57 with 7:30 left on the clock.
Two minutes later, Adrian's Anthony Cannon was fouled on his three-point shot, but missed all three of his awarded free throws. The Knights, still trailing by one, took advantage of this opportunity to take the lead. With just over five minutes remaining, Kronemeyer capitalized on a three-point play to give Calvin a 60-58 lead.
Michael Welch scored a couple of key baskets in the final minutes of the game, but the Bulldogs held strong, tying the game at 64 after another bucket by Covile.
Daley hit a free throw to put the Knights ahead, but the lead changed hands again after a layup by Adrian's Crofford. The Bulldogs called timeout with 1:07 left in the game, the scoreboard reading 66-65 in their favor.
Out of the break, senior Austin Parks nailed a clutch three-pointer to make the score 68-66, the Knights now holding the lead. Covile made a jump shot and was fouled, but failed to complete the three-point play.
The score was knotted at 68 in the final minute of play until Michael Wilks was fouled and sunk both of his free throws.
The Bulldogs had one final possession and put the ball in Covile's hands, but he was stopped by the Knights' defense.
Wilks snagged the rebound from Covile's missed layup, was immediately fouled and made both his free throws to seal the Knights' victory.
Wilks' perfect free throw shooting (5-5) was crucial in the Knights' victory, with four of the five points coming in the final minute of the game.
Nate Drews led the Knights in scoring with 16 points (5-11 FG, 4-7 3-pt, 2-2 FT), followed by Michael Wilks who finished with 14 (4-7 FG, 1-2 3-pt, 5-5 FT). Cam Denney chipped in 11 points and Jordan Daley nine.
Junior Nick Kronemeyer and Michael Welch added six points apiece, while Mike Siegel played some good minutes for the Knights, finishing with five points and led the Knights with eight rebounds.
After being down 15 in the first half, head coach Kevin Vande Streek was proud of his team for having the courage and heart to "will their way back into the game."
"We just kind of battled. It wasn't one guy that carried the load. Everybody who played contributed something pretty significant. It was a lot of fun," said Vande Streek.
Calvin's bench accounted for 33 of the team's points.
After struggling to get shots to fall in their past games, Vande Streek commented on the Knights' offensive effort. "It's amazing, the spirit, when you make some shots. You just start to make it a little and it raises everyone up a little bit."
Christian Covile finished with 33 points, although the Knights held him to just nine second half points.
"I thought we did a better job of getting up into him in the second half. I thought in the beginning we gave him a little too much respect from a quickness standpoint, afraid he was going to go by because we know he's a great player, a great athlete that can make jump shots," noted Vande Streek. "In the second half I thought we pressured with our feet, meaning we got up into him to start with. Jordan Daley and Nick Kronemeyer did a really nice job there."
The Knights will play their final regular season conference game on Saturday when they host rival Hope College (22-2, 12-1 MIAA). In the teams' first meeting of the season in late January, Hope edged the Knights by a score of 75-67. The 193rd edition of The Rivalry will tip-off at 3:00 p.m.
MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 2-17-16 GAMES
Hope 12-1
Alma 11-2
Albion 9-4
Trine 6-7
Adrian 5-8
Calvin 5-8
Kalamazoo 2-11
Olivet 2-11
Received on Thu Feb 18 00:20:57 2016
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Thu Feb 18 2016 - 00:20:57 EST