CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 20, 2016
Swimming and Diving Teams Claim MIAA Titles;
Women's Basketball Upsets Hope;
Men's Basketball Edged by Hope in Season Finale;
Men's Lacrosse Falls in Kentucky
WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin women's swimming & diving team won its 12th-straight MIAA title on Saturday evening. The championship is the 14th overall for the program. The Knights scored 233 points on Saturday for a four-day total of 787.5 points. Calvin finished 47.5 points ahead of second-place Kalamazoo.
"It is a heck of an accomplishment," said head coach Dan Gelderloos. "I couldn't be any prouder of the team. They have worked hard since day one. The fact that we got to know each other so well made us powerful and a strong team. We knew if we started strong early in the week that we could rebound from a dip in the week and have enough time to compete and flex our muscles."
The evening started with freshman Anna Serino (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) recording the third-fastest 1650 freestyle time in school history at 17:38.71. Serino finished in third place.
Senior Megan Schroder (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) had a stellar last night at the Venema Aquatic Center, Schroder recorded-the second-fastest 200 backstroke time in school history at 2:06.52, placing her in third. In sixth place was freshman Daniella Sugijanto (Walnut Creek, Calif./Northgate) at 2:15.37 and in eighth place was freshman Lauren Zeerip (Fremont, Mich./Fremont) at 2:19.30.
A school record that stood for 10 years fell in the 100 freestyle on Saturday in the 100 freestyle. Sophomore Abby VanHarn (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) won with a NCAA "B" cut time of 50.85. The previous record was held by Becky Weima in 2006 at 50.95. Sophomore Rachel Mattson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) finished in fifth place at 52.85.
In the 200 breaststroke, junior Adrienne Wesselius (Sioux Center, Iowa/Unity Christian) touched the wall in fourth place at 2:28.68. In eighth place was sophomore Klara Oh (Kent, Wash.) at 2:32.19.
Senior Alayna Gallegos (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville) made her final swim at Venema count, earning a medal with a third-place finish in the 200 butterfly at 2:10.83. Behind her was freshman Kendall Murphy (Modesto, Calif.) in fourth place at 2:13.10. Junior Karine Rose (Hilton, N.Y./Hilton) tallied an eighth-place finish at 2:23.93.
The Knights finished the Knight winning the 400 freestyle relay. The team of Megan Schroder, Rachel Mattson, Anna Serino and Abby VanHarn had a NCAA "B" cut time of 3:28.81.
MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
The Calvin men's swimming and diving team sealed its third straight MIAA title on Saturday night with a record-breaking set of performances on the final day of competition at the MIAA Championships.
Calvin finished the four-day conference meet with 951.5 points, nearly 200 points clear of second place Albion which picked up 766.5 points.
Senior Caleb Meindertsma ignited the evening by winning the 1,650 freestyle for the fourth consecutive year, clocking in with an MIAA and school record time of 15:42.35. Meindertsma's time eclipsed his previous school mark of 15:51.30 set in 2015 and the MIAA record of 15:51.00 set by Hope's Josh Grabijas in 2012.
Freshman Stephen Barrett was third in the 1,650 with a time of 16:37.54.
In the 200 breaststroke, senior Johnson Cochran won his third straight title in the event, placing third with an NCAA III B' cut time of 2:02.28. Sophomore Eli Holstege was sixth in 2:10.81 and junior Marshall Campbell seventh in 2:11.71.
Junior Brett Stoughton won his third straight league title in the 200 butterfly with a school record and NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 1:51.28. Stoughton's mark eclipsed his previous school record of 1:52.40 set a year ago. Stoughton was one of three Calvin swimmers in the top eight with sophomore Tanner Vincent taking fifth (1:55.87) and freshman Nathan Olberding placing sixth (1:57.31).
Calvin's 400 freestyle relay team of senior Brandon Muma, senior Mitch Schroder, freshman Andrew Kasper and freshman Jared Britton also won a league crown with an NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 3:01.63, crushing the Calvin record of 3:03.27 set a year ago.
The Knights also rolled up big points in the 100 free as Muma was second (45.83), Britton third (46.22), Schroder fourth (46.33), Kasper sixth (46.60) and sophomore Max DeYoung seventh (46.74).
In the 200 backstroke, sophomore Skyler Fish took second with an NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 1:50.86. His time eclipsed his own school record time of 1:51.97 set last year.
Calvin also picked up points on the three-meter diving board with sophomore Michael Moentmann placing fourth (467.40) and junior Dirk Tanis placing seventh (422.70).
"It was just a great team effort," said Calvin head swim coach Dan Gelderloos. "I'm really proud of each and every one of my guys. To win another league championship is special. I want to especially thank our senior class. They believed in the direction that this program was heading and three conference titles later, here we are."
FINAL MIAA MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING CHAMPIONSHIPS TEAM SCORES
Calvin 951.5
Albion 766.5
Hope 624
Kalamazoo 558
Olivet 206
Alma 13
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin 88, Hope 77
By Gina de Haan
On Saturday afternoon at Van Noord Arena, the No. 23 Calvin women's basketball team faced off against No. 3 Hope College in the 115th edition of the storied rivalry series.
The Dutch, who clinched the MIAA title on Wednesday with an 83-47 victory over Kalamazoo, were looking to earn a win to cap off their season with a sweep of the conference. Hope entered the contest with a perfect 24-0, 15-0 MIAA record, while the Knights, who had already claimed the second place in the MIAA, held a 19-5 overall record with a 13-2 conference mark.
After struggling to get shots to fall in the first matchup of the season, the Knights found their groove Saturday afternoon on their home court and handed Hope its first loss of the season by a score of 88-77.
In the victory the Knights shot 48.2-percent from the floor, 54.5-percent from three-point range and 71.0-percent from the free throw line.
Anna Timmer scored the first bucket of the game, but was soon answered by Hope's Elizabeth Perkins who sank a jumper. Kally Verkaik put the Knights back on top with a made layup and Ali Spayde furthered the Knights' momentum, driving to the hoop and scoring another two points.
Hope began to heat up in the second quarter, scoring four points before senior Abby Springer would get a layup to fall for the Knights.
As the midpoint of the quarter neared, Tiffany Karger drained a triple to earn back the lead, sparking the Knights. After a bucket by Hope's Gaddy, Calvin stepped up its defensive pressure, earning back-to-back steals that led to fastbreak layups by Goldthorpe and Bre Luurtsema to give the Knights a 22-19 edge over their guests.
Calvin would close out the half strong, outscoring Hope 8-2 in the final 3:50. Anna Timmer hit a three-pointer and a jumper while Goldthorpe added another triple to give the Knights a 33-27 lead heading into the halftime break.
Following a made free throw by McAfee, Karger knocked down her third three-pointer of the afternoon. Calvin possessed a 43-36 lead with five minutes left to play in the third.
After Hope's Gaddy sunk a free throw, the Knights scored the next seven points off of a jumper from Luurtsema, a pair of made FTs by Timmer and a three-pointer from Spayde.
In the final 5 minutes of the quarter, the Knights only outscored the Flying Dutch 14-12, but held a nine-point lead heading into the final quarter.
In the first two minutes the fourth quarter, the Flying Dutch cut Calvin's lead to five (57-52). However, Kally Verakik had an answer for Hope, scoring two consecutive buckets, a three-pointer followed by a layup in the paint, to put the Knights up by double digits once again.
In the final two minutes of the contest, Hope was able to cut the point deficit to six with the help of three-pointers by Anderson, Gaddy (2) and Mandy Traversa.
However, Abby Springer displayed solid free throw shooting, going 6-8 from the line in the final two minutes of play. Timmer, Spayde and Verkaik also knocked down free throws in the last minute to clinch the victory for their team.
"I thought that this was by far the best game that we've played," said Calvin head coach John Ross. "I give our players credit from the way we bounced back since the last Hope game."
Calvin was led in scoring by Anna Timmer who finished with 18 points, shooting 100-percent from three-point range and the free throw line (5-7 FG, 2-2 3pt, 6-6 FT). Tiffany Karger finished with 16 points, which came by way of five three-pointers and one free throw.
"I feed off my team, especially the starters. If they're going, that gets me going," said Karger, a senior who played in her final game at Van Noord Arena on Saturday afternoon. "We wanted to go out with a bang, and I think we did."
Lauren Goldthorpe scored 13 points and was 3-3 from behind the three-point arc. Kally Verkaik and Bre Luurtsema recorded 11 points and eight rebounds apiece. Abby Springer had a solid all-around game, logging 10 points, eight assists, two blocks and two steals.
"After last game (against Hope), we knew that we didn't play to our full potential and we knew there were a lot of things we needed to work on to get there," said senior Kally Verkaik. "A big thing is our self-confidence and I think we really improved that a lot. We just really focused on playing our game, our defense and offense."
Hope was led in scoring by Angelique Gaddy who scored a career-high 22 points. Maura McAfee finished with a double-double, scoring 15 points and snagging 12 rebounds. Elizabeth Perkins chipped in 12 points.
The Flying Dutch outrebounded the Knights 45-35, including 18 offensive rebounds that led to 17 second-chance points.
Hope head coach Brian Morehouse emphasized Calvin's offensive performance in the victory. "The bottom line is that they scored 88 points and if they score 88 points they're not going to lose."
"The great thing about this game is that you don't get to bring what happened in previous years or previous games to this game. The fact that they didn't shoot well in game one made it look like we beat them worse than we did. They had a lot of the same shots today as they did in game one. The difference was that they didn't miss them," said Morehouse.
Defensively, the Knights disallowed the Flying Dutch to gain sufficient momentum for any large scoring runs, keeping the ball out of the hands of Hope's key players.
"We trusted ourselves defensively," said Anna Timmer. "Last game we tried to do some different things, but we realized that we should be proud of the Calvin ball that we play. I think that showed, especially on the defensive end."
Timmer says the Knights plan to take the postseason one game at a time as they now have the "swagger and confidence" that they've been trying to find the whole season.
Calvin will face Trine (18-7, 10-6 MIAA) in the MIAA Tournament next week Friday, the 26th at Hope's DeVos Fieldhouse.
FINAL MIAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS FOR 2016
Hope 15-1
Calvin 14-2
Trine 10-6
Olivet 9-7
Adrian 8-8
Albion 6-10
Kalamazoo 5-11
Alma 4-12
Saint Mary's 1-15
MIAA TOURNAMENT PAIRINGS FOR FEB. 26 at HOPE
#3 Trine (18-7) vs #2 Calvin (20-5) at 1 p.m.
#4 Olivet (13-12) vs #1 Hope (24-1) at 5:30 p.m.
FEB. 27 FINALS - 5 p.m. at DeVos Fieldhouse
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Hope 65, Calvin 61
Calvin closed out its season with a hard-fought 65-61 loss to rival Hope Saturday afternoon at Van Noord Arena.
Calvin (10-15 overall, 5-9 MIAA) jumped out to a 13-7 lead in the opening moments of the game but Hope used a 7-0 run over the final 1:33 of the first half to build a 37-30 lead at the break.
Ranked sixth nationally, Hope (23-2 overall, 13-1 MIAA) built a nine-point lead in the opening moments of the second half before the Knights began to chip back into the deficit.
Calvin closed to within two at 43-41 on a three-pointer by junior Mike Siegel at the 13:54 mark and then crept to within a point on a three-point play by senior Jordan Daley that made the score 47-46 with 8:49 left.
Hope bumped its lead up to 54-47 with 5:36 to go on a triple by Chad Carlson but Daley scored four straight points to bring Calvin within three ast 54-51.
Inside the final minute of play, senior Austin Parks swished a triple that brought Calvin within four at 61-57. A pair of free throws by junior Cam Denney chipped the deficit down to three ast 62-59 with 13 ticks left on the clock but Hope responded with three free throws in the final 11 seconds including a pair of clutch tosses by junior Harrison Blackledge with 6.6 seconds left that sealed the win for Hope.
Calvin was led in scoring by Daley with 20 points while Denney had 14 and sophomore Tony Canonie 10. Hope received 11 points and 12 boards from senior Brock Benson while Blackledge had 11 points and sophomre Dante Hawkins 10.
Hope outrebounded Calvin 36-32, marking just the time that Calvin has been outrebounded this year. Free throw shooting also hurt the Knights as they connected on just 13 of 23 (.565) at the charity stripe.
With the victory, Hope wrapped up the outright MIAA regular season title, finishing one game ahead of Alma.
"I thought we played really hard this afternoon, we just aren't quite there," said Calvin men's basketball coach Kevin Vande Streek. "I want to give credit to Hope as well. They have a very good team and are deserving (league) champions."
With the loss, Daley and Parks complete their Calvin careers. Daley finished his four-year run with 1,067 points, good for 20th on the Calvin career scoring list. "I've been blessed to coach both of them," said Vande Streek of his senior co-captains. "I've been blessed to coach this team this year too. The results may not have always shown it but this has been a great group of guys to coach."
Saturday's game marked the 193rd meeting between the two rivals. Hope now leads the all-time series 100-93.
FINAL 2016 MIAA MEN'S BASKETBALL STANDINGS
Hope 13-1
Alma 12-2
Albion 9-5
Trine 7-7
Adrian 6-8
Calvin 5-9
Kalamazoo 2-12
Olivet 2-12
MEN'S LACROSSE
Centre 20, Calvin 5
DANVILLE, KY - Calvin dropped a 20-5 decision at Centre College Saturday afternoon. The Knights are now 1-1 on the young season.
Centre (1-0) held a 4-2 lead after the first quarter and then took control in the second quarter, outscoring the Knights 7-1 to take an 11-3 halftime lead.
The Colonels outscored Calvin 9-2 in the second half too close out the win.
Junior Chris Griffin and sophomore Nate Ray had two goals apiece to lead the Calvin offensive attack while freshman Noah Nedd scored a goal as well.
Freshman goalkeeper Tristan Parece collected 29 saves and also led Calvin in ground balls with seven.
As a team, Calvin was outshot 69-14 and won 8 of 27 faceoff opportunities.
Calvin returns to action next Saturday when it hosts Wabash College at Grand Rapids Christian High School.
Received on Sun Feb 21 01:04:35 2016
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