CKSR (Calvin Knight Sports Report for May 5, 2016 - Part One)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 5, 2016 (Part One)

Women's Lacrosse Defeats Hope - Advances to MIAA Tournament Finals;
Women's Lacrosse Players Receive All-MIAA Honors;
Noah Nedd Receives All-MIAA Men's Lacrosse Honors;
Colton Wolfe Named to CoSIDA Academic All-District Team in Baseball;
Softball Players Receive All-MIAA Honors;

WOMEN'S LACROSSE
Calvin 15, Hope 6

By Gina de Haan

On Thursday evening, the Calvin women's lacrosse team faced off against rival Hope College in the semifinal round of the MIAA Tournament.

A week prior, the Knights edged the Flying Dutch 8-7 in Holland.

Backed by a 6-0 first half scoring run and solidified by five unanswered second half goals, the Knights defeated the Flying Dutch 15-6 once again to advance to the MIAA Tournament finals.

Hope struck first, when Abigale Cassella scored 4:32 into the game. 4:08 later, Calvin's Amanda Davio (Okemos/Okemos HS) responded with an unassisted goal to even the score.

Minutes later, the Dutch would take the lead again after a goal by Hannah VanAlst.

The Knights answered with back-to-back unassisted goals by freshmen Lauryn Slachter (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and Kelly Pepper (Wycoff, NJ/Indian Hills HS).

However, the Dutch tied the score for the third time when Abigale Cassella found Emily Deane in front of the net for a goal. The scoreboard read 3-3 with 12:50 remaining in the first half.

Following Deane's goal, the Knights pulled away, scoring six unanswered goals.

To start the run, Kelly Pepper scored back-to-back unassisted goals and Emma Tilma (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) added another off an assist by Genevieve Schneemann (Farmington/Farmington HS).

With 8:02 remaining, the Dutch called timeout in an attempt to slow the Knights' momentum, but less than a minute after the break, Amanda Davio scored again to make the score 7-3.

Davio then assisted Emma Tilma for Calvin's eighth goal. Pepper netted the final goal of Calvin's run with 3:22 left in the half, her fourth unassisted goal of the game.

Emily Deane snapped the Knights' 6-0 run, scoring just over a minute before halftime. At the break, Calvin possessed a 9-4 lead over the Dutch.

Deane scored the first goal of the second half (assisted by Alexandra Webb) to cut Calvin's lead to four.

However, Hope was unable to narrow the gap any further as the Knights responded with five straight goals.

With 24:10 remaining, Emily Cefaratti (Hinsdale, Il./Hinsdale Central HS) boosted the Knights' into double digits, the scoreboard now reading 10-5. Five minutes later Cefaratti assisted Emma Hall (Harare, Zimbabwe/Chisipite School) for another Calvin goal. Davio followed with another point for the Knights to complete her hat trick. With 12:03 left to play, Tilma also earned a hat trick on a goal assisted by Pepper; a minute later Hall scored her second goal of the evening, assisted again by Cefaratti.

Alexandra Webb broke the Dutch's 18:45 scoreless streak, finding the back of the Calvin goal with 8:11 left in the match, but Calvin still held a 14-6 advantage.

With just over a minute left to play, Pepper scored her fifth goal (unassisted), which would be the final goal of the match. As time expired, Calvin was on top 15-6.

Both teams recorded 25 shots on goal. Calvin goalkeeper Ellis Chalfant (St. Louis, Mo./St. Louis Country Day School) made 15 saves in the victory while Hope goalkeeper Alexandria Watts recorded four.

Calvin capitalized on five of its eight free position shots, while Hope scored once out of its four attempts. The Knights were 19-29 on clear attempts, while the Flying Dutch completed 15-19 attempts. The Knights also surpassed their visitors in ground balls, scooping up 24 while the Dutch had 15.

"We had a hard week of practice, really worked on some things and we came out strong today," said head women's lacrosse coach Blake Boehm. "Hope matched our intensity, so it was close, as expected, those first fifteen minutes. Then our shooters started to put the ball away, finding the back of the net. Shooting accuracy was a big piece of this game as it has been throughout the season."

The Knights advance to the MIAA Tournament Championships where they will face top-seeded Albion College which earned an 8-7 come-from-behind victory over Kalamazoo College in the other Thursday semifinal game.

"Again, it's going to be a fast, tough game," said Coach Boehm. "Our roster is pretty low, so we have to rest and recover today and tomorrow and then really get after it on Saturday. We have to protect the ball, put accurate shots on goal, but also transition well. Our defense has held strong all season, especially in today's game, and we expect nothing less moving into next game."

The MIAA Championship will be played Saturday (May 7th) at Albion College. Game time is yet to be determined and will be announced late Thursday night on the MIAA website.

MORE WOMEN'S LACROSSE

Five members of the Calvin women's lacrosse team have received All-MIAA honors. Junior Emily Cefaratti and sophomores Amanda Davio and Alyssa Gagnon have been named to the All-MIAA first team. Sophomore Madeline Baas and freshmen Kelly Pepper have been named to the All-MIAA second team.

EMILY CEFARATTI

A midfielder, Cefaratti is receiving All-MIAA first team honors for the second straight year. She was an All-MIAA second team selection in 2014. A native of Hinsdale, Illinois, Cefaratti finished second in the MIAA in scoring this spring with 24 goals, 14 assists and 38 points in conference play. She was also 13-for-22 on free position shots while winning 12 draw controls and causing nine turnovers. She also scooped up 25 ground balls in league play. During the year, she was named MIAA Offensive Player of the Week once.

AMANDA DAVIO

An attacker, Davio is receiving All-MIAA first team accolades for the second straight season. She finished fourth in the league scoring race with 32 points on the strength of 24 goals and eight assists. She was 6-for-13 on free position shots and was credited with 12 ground balls and 10 draw controls. She also caused seven turnovers and an impressive shot percentage of 45.3 percent. During the year, she was named MIAA Offensive Player of the Week once.

ALYSSA GAGNON
A defender, Gagnon is from Minooka, Illinois. She is a graduate of Minooka High School School. Gagnon played a key role on a Calvin defensive unit that finished second in the MIAA in goals-against-average (5.50). In conference play she snared 14 ground balls, caused nine turnovers and won one draw control.

MADELINE BAAS

A midfielder, Baas is receiving All-MIAA second team honors for the second straight season. A native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School, Baas finished second in the MIAA in draw controls with 49 in league play. She also collected 17 ground balls, caused eight turnovers and had one goal and one assist.

KELLY PEPPER

An attacker, Pepper is from Wyckoff, New Jersey. She is a graduate of Indian Hills High School. In conference games, she finished tied for eighth in the MIAA in scoring with 24 points on the strength of 19 goals and five assists. She was 7-for-10 on free position attempts. She scored on a sterling 47.5 percent of her shots. Pepper also picked up seven ground balls, caused four turnovers and won four draw controls.

MEN'S LACROSSE

Calvin freshman Noah Nedd has been named to the All-MIAA second team in men's lacrosse. A native of Grand Rapids and a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High School, Nedd is the first player in Calvin men's lacrosse history to receive All-MIAA honors.

This season, Nedd tallied two goals and three assists in league play while scooping up 32 ground balls and forcing seven turnovers.

A short-pole midfielder, Nedd was credited with eight goals, eight assists and 83 ground balls in overall games.

Nedd helped the Calvin men's lacrosse team finish 6-10 overall and in sixth place in the league standings with a 1-6 conference mark. Calvin's win total this year was a program record and a four-game improvement over its previous record for wins in a season.

BASEBALL

Calvin College junior Colton Wolfe has been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District VI team in baseball.

A native of Eaton Rapids and a graduate of Eaton Rapids High School, Wolfe is the first player in Calvin baseball history to receive CoSIDA Academic All-District honors.

As a member of the CoSIDA All-District team, Wolfe advances to the national ballot and is now eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-America consideration.

A first baseman, Wolfe is batting .375 on the year with 10 home runs and 41 runs batted in. His home run and RBI totals this year are both new Calvin single-season records. At first base he has commited just two errors in 189 total chances for a fielding percentage of .989.

He currently ranks third on the Calvin career list for home runs (17) and second in runs batted in (88). Last year he was named to the All-MIAA first team and also received D3baseball.com Team of the Week honors once. He is also a two-time MIAA Position Player of the Week selection.

Wolfe is majoring in kinesiology and sports management at Calvin with a minor in business. He is a two-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and a four-time member of the Calvin Dean's List.

SOFTBALL

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Four members of the softball team received All-MIAA honors on Thursday afternoon. Senior Lydia Gildea and freshman Anna Gernant were named to the first team while senior Ashley Riemersma and freshman Maddie DeGroot were named to the second team.
"It is a great honor to have four All-MIAA recognized players," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "Even though these are individual awards, it shows the great progress our program made this season. Lydia and Ashley as repeat honorees is a testament to their hard work and dedication as they both finished their careers on a high note. Anna and Maddie both had outstanding freshman seasons and having two first year players recognized just shows how bright the future is for Calvin softball."
A senior from Gobles, Michigan, Gildea is receiving her second-straight All-MIAA honor with a second team selection in 2015. She led the MIAA with a school-record 48 RBI and seven homeruns. She finished the year with a .408 batting average for the fifth-best in the MIAA, she also had the second-highest slugging percentage at .691. In league play she finished with four homeruns, for the third-most in the MIAA.
A freshman from West Des Moines, Iowa, Gernant is receiving her first All-MIAA honor. She dominated the circle for Calvin in 2016, finishing the year with 151 strikeouts for the second-most in the MIAA. She led the MIAA with 72 strikeouts in the MIAA season. She averaged 8.93 strikeouts per game. Gernant finished 2016 with a 13-7 record. Behind the plate, Gernant recorded 33 hits, including six doubles and two homeruns.
A senior from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Riemersma is being honored by the MIAA for a second-straight year. The second-team honoree finished the year with 40 hits, including 10 doubles, two triples and three homeruns. She finished the season with a .370 batting average. She had 71 assists on the year, which is third-most in the MIAA.
A freshman from Hudsonville, Michigan, DeGroot is receiving her first All-MIAA honor. She finished the year with 47 hits, with nine doubles, four triples and five homeruns. She was fifth in the MIAA with 31 runs, fifth in hits, second in triples and fifth in homeruns.
The Knights finished the season with a 23-13 record overall and finished tied for fourth place in the MIAA with a 9-7 record. Calvin finished the season winners of 10 of their last 11 games and on a seven-game win streak.
Received on Thu May 5 22:37:51 2016