CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 15, 2016
Swimming and Diving Nationals Preview;
Tuesday Spring Sports Roundup;
Niko Giantsopoulos Signs Professional Contract
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
GREENSBORO, NC - The Calvin men's and women's swimming and diving teams will open competition at the NCAA III Swimming and Diving Championships on Wednesday in Greensboro, North Carolina. The Calvin men's team has sent a record 12 individuals to the national meet while the Calvin women's team has seven individuals competing.
Live results throughout the week will be available at: http://www.collegeswimming.com/results/53000/
Live video will be available at: http://www.ncaa.com/liveschedule
The Schroder family will be represented in both the Calvin men's and women's teams at the national meet. For more on that story, visit the Calvin website at: http://calvinknights.com/sports/mswimdive/2015-16/releases/20160315xengst
Calvin senior Caleb Meindertsma will be competing close to his home state of Virginia. For more on his story, visit the Calvin website at: http://calvinknights.com/sports/mswimdive/2015-16/releases/20160313kh7fdx
Meanwhile Calvin sophomore Abby Van Harn will compete at her first national meet this week. Her story can be found online at: http://calvinknights.com/sports/wswimdive/2015-16/releases/20160314xmc6tf
SOFTBALL
Calvin 10, Ripon 2
Calvin 14, Macalester 3
CLERMONT, Fla. - The Knights improved to 4-2 on the year with two victories on Tuesday afternoon under the Florida sun. Calvin started the day with a 10-2 victory over Ripon and finished the day downing Macalester, 14-3. Calvin has now won four-straight games.
"Today we had two great team wins," said head coach Tim Syrek. "We carried over our momentum from yesterday and we have kept improving every day. It is always great to see the team having fun out there and enjoying themselves. We did a really good job batting today and everybody did their part today."
The Knights jumped on the Red Hawks early in the first game of the day. Senior Lydia Gildea got the ball rolling in the first inning with a triple down the right-field line, scoring sophomore Jessica Brasser and freshman Maddie DeGroot, Gildea would score on a wild pitch.
In the third inning, Jessica Brasser sent home sophomore Kimiko Hinatsu on a sacrifice fly.
Ripon broke up the no-hitter bid of freshman Anna Gernant in the third inning. Gernant struck out eight of the 19 batters she faced on Tuesday.
In the bottom of the third, the Knights added four more runs. Senior Ashley Riemersma blasted the ball to the outfield for a double that scored freshman Maggie Kaercher, Riemersma would cross home plate on a walk with the bases loaded. Jessica Brasser sent the ball to left for a double, sending home DeGroot and Hinatsu.
Freshman Kristen Newman doubled in Anna Gernant to start the scoring in the fourth inning. Maddie DeGroot singled up the middle to score Newman from third.
Freshman Kayla Carter recorded her first hit as a Knight ripping the ball down the left field line for a single.
Nine Knights recorded a hit against the Red Hawks, Anna Gernant had a game-high three hits in three at bats. Jessica Brasser led Calvin in the first game with three RBI.
Calvin wasted no time getting on the scoreboard against Macalester. The Knights scored six runs in the first inning. Jessica Brasser doubled to left center scoring Maddie DeGroot. Lydia Gildea then singled in Jessica Brasser. Anna Gernant crushed over the fence for a three-run homerun, scoring Kaley Frank and Lydia Gildea. Junior Caitlin Bell scored freshman Abby Colon.
In the second inning, Abby Colon singled to right center to send home Kaley Frank.
Maddie DeGroot started the scoring in the third inning, sending in Caitlin Bell. Lydia Gildea scored Jessica Brasser and freshman Rachel Borden with a single up the middle.
Maddie DeGroot recorded her second homerun of the season in the fourth inning, also scoring Caitlin Bell. For the second straight inning, Lydia Gildea singled up the middle, this time she helped Jessica Brasser and Kimiko Hinatsu cross home plate.
Junior Paige Groom and freshman Makela Chapman helped preserve the victory with five combined strikeouts.
Jessica Brasser had a game-high four hits and three runs against Macalester. She reached base safely on all six at bats on Tuesday with five hits and one walk.
Lydia Gildea finished with five RBI.
Calvin returns to action on Thursday when the Knights will face Smith and Macalester.
BASEBALL
Calvin 10, Stockton 8 (10 innings)
AUBURNDALE, FL - The Calvin baseball team extended its win streak to three games with a come-from-behind 10-8 victory over Stockton College (N.J.) in 10 innings Tuesday afternoon.
Calvin (3-4) trailed 7-0 before rallying for the win.
The Knights scored three runs in the top of the sixth to trim the deficit to 7-3. Freshman Steven Seager (Plantation, FL/Plantation HS) drove in one run with a double and junior Colton Wolfe (Eaton Rapids/Eaton Rapids HS) belted a two-run homer, his third of the spring.
Trailing 8-3, Calvin scored three times in the eighth with senior Jordan VanderWall (Wyoming/South Christian HS) striking the key blow with a two-run RBI single. The Knights then tied the game in the top of the ninth as junior Matt Kotva (Elkhart, Ind./Concord HS) drove in Mike Kempton (Edwardsburg/Edwardsburg HS) with a run-scoring single.
In the 10th, freshman Jonathan Keane (Brookfield, Wisc./Brookfield Central HS) and Kempton both came up with RBI singles.
Senior Kyle Wasserberger (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS) closed out the game with three shutout innings to garner the win.
Calvin collected 14 hits in the win. Kotva went 4-for-5 at the plate with a pair of doubles. Kempton and sophomore Ryan Stewart (Detroit/Parkway Christian HS) had two hits apiece.
Calvin will now break until Thursday when it takes on Curry College in a doubleheader slated to start at 9:30 a.m.
MEN'S LACROSSE
Calvin 20, Oglethorpe 3
BROOKHAVEN, GA. - The Calvin men's lacrosse team claimed a 20-3 non-conference win at Oglethorpe University Tuesday evening. The Knights are now 3-2 on the season.
Calvin led 6-1 at halftime then outscored the host Stormy Petrels 6-2 in the third quarter and 8-0 in the final quarter to seal the win.
"Both teams played with a lot of class tonight," said Calvin men's lacrosse coach Luke Griemsman. "I give a lot of credit to Ogelthorpe who never gave up. Our team has a lot to clean up, and after a slow start, the final two quarters were closer to the type of lacrosse we are striving to play."
Sophomore Nate Ray (Northville/Northville HS) led Calvin with four goals and an assist. Sophomore Michael Winkler (La Quinta, Ca./Palm Desert HS), freshman Jonathan Miller (Boise, ID/Ambrose School) and freshman Hunter Naggs (Cedarburg, Wisc./Cedarburg HS) all had three goals apiece.
Freshman Seth Galyon (St. Anthony, MN/Concordia Academy) had two goals and four assists. Freshman Max Foster (Bloomfield Hills/Brother Rice HS) and junior Joel Schaefer (Clarksville, Md./Annapolis Area Christian HS) had two goals each. Freshman Austin Bontreger (Fishers, Ind./Heritage Christian HS) also had a goal.
Freshman Tristan Parece (Kelowna, B.C./Kelowna Secondary HS) had six saves in goal. Sophomore Ethan Brown (Falmouth, ME/Falmouth HS) had seven ground balls.
Calvin returns to action on Friday when it takes on Piedmont College at 4 p.m.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Calvin 5, William Smith 4
Calvin 9, Goucher 0
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Calvin women's tennis team was able to overcome the heat and two tough opponents on Tuesday. The Knights improved to 4-2 on the season with a 5-4 victory over William Smith and a 9-0 victory over Goucher.
"Today was a very tough day," said head coach Kevin Van Haitsma. "I am really proud of the team for fighting so hard today in really tough conditions."
The Knights started the day by dropping two points in doubles play at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to William Smith. The team of junior Liz Turner and sophomore Lark Foote won at No. 3 doubles, 8-2.
Freshman Alyssa Bowman would tie the match at two with a victory at No. 5 singles, defeating Connie Froass, 6-0, 6-2.
The Herons would push the Knights to the brink, picking up wins at No. 2 and No. 3 singles to lead, 4-2.
Sophomore Micaela Seazzu would notch a victory after dropping the first set to Katarina Kostovic at No. 4 singles, 4-6, 6-2, 10-6.
Junior Ellie Benzel tied the match at No. 1 singles, winning 6-7, 6-3, 10-5.
Sophomore Kari Kroeze clinched the match in a tight battle at No. 6 singles, defeating Sydney Ferry, 4-6, 7-5, 10-5.
The Knights found even more success in the evening against Goucher.
Calvin took all three doubles courts from the gophers and would then sweep the singles competition.
Junior Claire Spoelhof won at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-1. Sophomore Jessica Bouma was victorious at No. 2 singles, 6-1, 6-0. Micaela Seazzu earned a 6-2, 6-2, victory at No. 3 singles. At No. 4 singles, Kari Kroeze won, 6-2, 6-0. Liz Turner came out on top at No. 5 singles, 6-2, 6-1 and Lark Foote was the winner at No. 6 singles, 6-0, 6-1.
Calvin plays Wooster on Wednesday in Orlando, Florida.
MEN'S SOCCER
After a record-breaking soccer career at Calvin College, Niko Giantsopoulos is headed for a new adventure overseas.
Giantsopoulos has signed a professional soccer contract with the Devonport City Strikers of the Tasmanian Northern Premier League in Australia.
A three-time Division III all-region selection and a 2014 Division III All-American, Giantsopoulos has been in the process of seeking out professional opportunities in North America but chose to start his professional career in Australia.
"This is my first professional contract and, having talked to teams back in America, the positions offered were more as a back-up," Giantsopoulos explained to the Devonport Advocate newspaper earlier this week. "As a young goalkeeper, the one thing I wanted was to get games right away the opportunity presented itself here at Devonport."
A native of Markham, Ontario, Giantsopoulos closed out his collegiate career this past December by leading Calvin to the NCAA III Tournament semifinals in Kansas City, Missouri.
Over the course of the 2015 season, he posted 19 shutouts, establishing a new NCAA III single-season record. He finished the 2015 season with a final goals-against-average of 0.236 which ranked second in the final NCAA III statistics and established a new Calvin single-season record. He also led the nation in goalie minutes played (2292.28) and finished third in save percentage (.905). His efforts helped Calvin finish 24-1-1 overall as the Knights established a school record for victories in a season.
Giantsopoulos began his collegiate career at Adrian College where he spent two years, earning All-MIAA first team accolades and NSCAA Division III All-Central region honors in 2013. He transferred to Calvin in 2014 and made an immediate impact in his first year, posting a 0.52 goals-against-average along with 12 shutouts. He was later named to the All-MIAA first team, the NSCAA Division III All-Central Region first team and to the NSCAA Division III All-America third team as the Knights captured the MIAA championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA III Tournament.
This fall, Giantsopoulos was again a first team All-MIAA and first team All-Central Region region choice. During his two years as Calvin's starting goalkeeper, he posted a won-loss record of 40-3-4 including a 28-0 record in MIAA competition.
Giantsopoulos is the second member of the Calvin men's soccer program to sign a professional contract under the watch of head coach Ryan Souders as Joe Broekhuizen signed with the Dayton Dutch Lions of the United Soccer League (USL) in 2013.
"We are incredibly excited and proud that Niko has earned the opportunity to play at the next level," said Souders. "He has worked exceptionally hard for this opportunity and I'm glad that a professional club is seeing what the Calvin coaching staff has felt for some time. While we will certainly miss him in goal, it's an honor to have another Knight out in the professional ranks."
For more information on the Devonport Strikers, visit the team website at: http://www.devonportstrikers.com.au/
Received on Wed Mar 16 00:49:26 2016
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