CKSR (NCAA III Swimming and Diving Championships Day Four Report / Spring Sports Roundup)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 19, 2016

NCAA III Swimming and Diving Championships Day Four Report;
Spring Sports Roundup

MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING

GREENSBORO, NC - The Calvin men's swimming and diving team used three NCAA III Honorable Mention All-America performances on Saturday night to earn its first Top 20 team finish at the national meet since 2003. Calvin finished the four day competition with 60 points, tying for 15th place in the final team standings - its highest finish since 2003 when the Knights placed 12th.

Seniors helped lead the way on Saturday for the Knights. In the 1,650 freestyle, senior Caleb Meindertsma (Annadale, Va./Trinity Christian HS) took 11th with a time of 15:50.80 to earn the second honorable mention All-America berth of his career in the event. Senior Johnson Cochran (Mount Vernon, Oh./Mount Vernon HS) then took 12th in the 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:02.23 for an honorable mention berth. Cochran nearly made the finals in the 200 breaststroke for the third straight year but finished ninth in the prelims, finishing less than three-tenths of a second out of eighth place.

Calvin's 400 freestyle relay team of senior Brandon Muma (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Eastern HS), senior Mitch Schroder (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS), freshman Andrew Kasper (Batavia, Il./Marmion Academy) and freshman Jared Britton (Falls Church, Va./George Mason HS) grabbed an honorable mention berth as well, placing 16th with a time of 3:03.75.

Over the course of the day Calvin set two school records as Muma broke a record in the 100 freestyle while sophomore Skyler Fish (Ionia/Ionia HS) established a new school mark in the 200 backstroke prelims with a time of 1:50.76, breaking his own record time of 1:50.86 set earlier this year. Muma's school record came in the prelims while leading off Calvin's 400 freestyle relay as it clocked a time of 45.76, breaking the previous Calvin record of 45.77 set by Andrew Mitchell in 2014.

Fish finished 24th in the morning backstroke prelims but did not advance. Britton placed 38th in the morning prelims of the 100 freestyle with a time of 45.85 while Kasper was 42nd (46.03)and Muma 45th (46.41).

"We had several good performances throughout the meet and we gave it everything we had," said Calvin men's swim coach Dan Gelderloos who sent Calvin's highest-ever contingent from the men's team to a national meet this year. "For our underclassmen, this was a great learning experience and for our seniors, you can never be sad ending your career at a national championship competition."

Cochran closed out his Calvin career as a five-time NCAA III All-American in individual events, matching 2005 Calvin graduate Peter Boumgarden for the most individual NCAA III All-America berths in Calvin men's swimming and diving history.

"Johnson has had an incredible career," said Gelderloos. "He has been part of a senior class that has lifted our program to a different level. We will miss each and everyone of our seniors."

Denison captured the men's overall national title, posting a final team score of 455.50 points, placing 37 points ahead of conference rival Kenyon.

WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING

GREENSBORO, NC - The Calvin women's swimming and diving team completed a strong four days of competition at the NCAA III Championships on Saturday, finishing 16th in the final team standings with 60 points. It marks the second time in the last four years that the Knights have finished in the top 20 as they also placed 13th in 2013.

Sophomore Abby Van Harn (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) led the Calvin charge on Saturday with an NCAA III All-America finish in the 100 freestyle with a school record time of 50.43. Van Harn lowered her own school record in the morning prelims with a time of 50.50 and then lowered the record again in the evening finals as she made a late bid for the win before finishing a half-second behind first place finisher Hannah Lobb of Kenyon.

Van Harn also anchored Calvin's 400 freestyle relay team that placed 14th with an NCAA III honorable mention All-America time of 3:28.11.

In the morning prelims, the Calvin relay shattered a school record with a time of 3:27.57 that was just two-tenths of a second away from eighth place and a spot in the championship finals. The relay team of senior Megan Schroder (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS), sophomore Rachel Mattson (Ann Arbor/Ann Arbor Huron HS), freshman Anna Serino (Pinckney/Pinckney HS) and Van Harn shattered the previous Calvin mark of 3:28.04 that had stood since 2007.

Calvin also came close to an All-America finish on the three-meter diving board as sophomore Sarah Bradley (Wheaton, Il./Wheaton North HS) finished ninth in the afternoon prelims with a score of 418.95, just 1.03 points out of the eighth and final qualifying spot for the championship finals. Bradley held a spot in the top eight going into her final dive of the preliminary round of 11 but slipped back just enough to fall into ninth and into the consolation finals.

In the consolation finals, Bradley placed 14th with a final score of 412.10 to claim an NCAA III Honorable Mention All-America berth - the first of her collegiate career. Her total was more than 37 point improvement from her score at the 2015 national meet on the three-meter board and a move up of five spots in the final individual standings.

"I am proud of Sarah," said Calvin diving coach Sarah Bradley. "She has made great strides and improvement and I have no doubt that she will continue to improve next year. She is very gifted and a hard worker and we are looking forward to continuing the process of competing at a national level next season."

For head swim coach Dan Gelderloos, the week marked four days of energy for his women's team. "Our women were on fire this week," said Gelderloos. "They never cease to amaze me with their belief and will to achieve. Individually Abby had a tremendous four days but so did the other six women that represented our team. I'm excited for the future and already looking forward to next year."

Emory University took home the team national title with 560 points with Kenyon placing second with 476.

LACROSSE
Otterbein 9, Calvin 6

WESTERVILLE, Oh. - The Calvin women's lacrosse team fell 9-6 at Otterbein University on Saturday afternoon. The Knights are now 2-3 on the season.

Calvin was outshot by the host Cardinals (2-5) 30-12 and fell to an early hole as Otterbein scored the first three goals of the game.

Calvin answered with late first half goals by junior Emily Cefaratti (Hinsdale, IL/Hinsdale Central HS) and sophomore Amanda Davio (Okemos/Okemos HS) to cut the deficit down to 3-2 but Otterbein answered with a late goal to take a 4-2 halftime lead.

The Knights tied the game with early second half goals by freshman Kelly Pepper (Wyckoff, NJ/Indian Hills HS) and sophomore Emma Hall (Harare, Zimbabwe/Chisipite HS) with the goal by Pepper coming on a free position attempt.

Otterbein answered with back-to-back goals to take a 6-4 lead with 15:15 left. Playing down a player, Calvin was able to claw to within a goal at 6-5 as Cefaratti scored unassisted with 14:29 remaining.

The Cardinals took back control however with a three-goal flurry in a span of five minutes to give Otterbein a 9-5 lead. Pepper scored on a free position shot with 6:38 remaining with Calvin down a player due to a yellow card but neither team would score again.

Calvin freshman goalie Ellis Chalfant (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis Country Day School) was strong for the Knights, collecting a career-high 14 saves. Cefaratti had eight ground balls.

The Knights struggled to maintain possession, turning the ball over 28 times. The Knights were also just 16-for-27 on clearing attempts.

Calvin will now prepare to host the College of Mount St. Joseph next Saturday at noon at East Grand Rapids High School.

BASEBALL
Trinity (Connecticut) 6, Calvin 4

AUBURNDALE, FL - The Calvin baseball team dropped its final game of its spring trip to Florida, falling 6-4 to Trinity College of Connecticut in a game shortened by rain. No other details on the game were available.

MEN'S GOLF
On spring break in southern CA the men's golf team had the unique opportunity to play Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego.

Torrey Pines is a 36 hole municipal facility owned and operated by the city. There are two courses, north and south. The south has been host to many PGA tournaments including the 2008 US Open when Tiger Woods beat Rocco mediate on the first sudden death hole after an 18 hole playoff. Tiger played all five days with a significant knee injury that required surgery.

The guys loved the experience, and a few wrote about their favorite holes.

To read more, visit the Calvin website at: http://calvinknights.com/sports/mgolf/2015-16/releases/20160319pj35a8
Received on Sun Mar 20 00:18:22 2016