CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 5, 2016 (Part Two)
Tennis Teams Fall to Kalamazoo in MIAA Tournament Semis;
All-MIAA Tennis Teams Announced;
Track and Field Teams Grab Early Leads at MIAA Championships
WOMEN'S TENNIS
Kalamazoo 5, Calvin 1
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Calvin women's tennis season came to an end on Thursday afternoon at Stowe Stadium. The Knights fell to Kalamazoo, 5-1. Calvin finishes the season with a 13-7 record.
"You have to give Kalamazoo credit," said Calvin head coach Kevin Van Haitsma. "We fought hard today and we had a really good season. We were top-three in the MIAA and we really had some solid performances this year. I am really proud of the team for everything they accomplished this year.
The Hornets struck first on Thursday, taking No. 1 doubles, 8-1 and No. 2 doubles, 8-4.
At No. 3 doubles, junior Liz Turner and sophomore Lark Foote edged out a 9-8 (7) victory over Alexandria Oswalt and Eloise Germic.
Junior Ellie Benzel fell to the four-time MIAA MVP Sarah Woods, 6-1, 6-1.
Sophomore Jessica Bouma was defeated at No. 3 singles by Maria Franco, 6-3, 6-0.
The Hornets clinched the match with a 6-1, 6-2 victory at No. 4 singles.
The Knights were fighting on the other courts that were called.
Sophomore Claire Spoelhof was leading in the second set, 5-7, 5-4. Freshman Alyssa Bowman was leading Katie Clark at No. 5 singles, 7-6, 1-0. At No. 6 singles, sophomore Kari Kroeze was fighting back but trailing, 3-6, 3-4.
Ellie Benzel and Claire Spoelhof were honored after the match for being All-MIAA selections.
MORE WOMEN'S TENNIS
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Two members of the women's tennis team received All-MIAA honors from the league on Thursday. Junior Ellie Benzel has been named to the All-MIAA first team while junior Claire Spoelhof has been named to the All-MIAA second team.
Benzel is a native of San Dimas, California, this is the second-straight year she has earned All-MIAA honors, with a second team selection in 2015. This year, Benzel went 6-2 in MIAA play at the No. 1 singles flight. She went 9-10 overall on the year at No. 1 singles.
"I am very happy that Ellie is being honored with first team All-MIAA," said head coach Kevin Van Haitsma. "She had a great year for us going 6-2 in the MIAA in both singles and doubles. Her level of play has improved each year she has been here. She has been a great leader for our team and is very coachable. This helps show the type of player she has become."
Spoelhof is from Holland, Michigan, is receiving All-MIAA second team honors for the first time in her career. She went 11-10 this year in singles play, with a 9-8 record at No. 2 singles. Spoelhof went 5-3 in MIAA play this season in singles.
"Claire has been a great player for us this year," said Van Haitsma. "She really worked hard in the off-season and raised her level of play this year. She played at a consistently high level all through the year. This is the first All-MIAA selection for Claire, I'm thrilled she is being recognized for the hard work she has put in."
The junior duo had a strong MIAA season at No. 1 doubles. The two recorded a 6-2 record in the MIAA, including an 8-3 victory over Nancy Benda and Marie Holaway of Hope, who were ranked the fifth-best team in the region at the time.
The Calvin women's tennis team finished the 2016 regular season with an overall record of 13-6 and a third-place finish in the MIAA at 6-2.
MEN'S TENNIS
Kalamazoo 5, Calvin 0
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Calvin men's tennis season came to a finish on Thursday afternoon at Stowe Stadium. The Knights fell to Kalamazoo, 5-0. Calvin finishes the season with an 11-6 record.
"I am really proud of the guys," said head coach John Ross. "We were a really young team this year and we made it to the MIAA Tournament. There is a lot to be proud about with this team."
The Hornets struck first on Thursday, taking all three doubles points.
Matt VanWinkle and Taylor Asfour fell to Branden Metzler and Elan Dantus, 8-2.
Senior Matt Buesing and sophomore David Brown fell at No. 2 doubles, 8-2.
At No. 3 doubles, Jason Wolters and Andrew Airgood lost 8-2.
Matt Buesing fell to No. 18 Branden Metzler at No. 1 singles, 6-0, 6-0.
The Hornets clinched the match at No. 6 singles. Junior Anthony Vroon fell, 6-1, 6-1.
Matt Buesing was honored after the match for being All-MIAA selection.
MORE MEN'S TENNIS
RAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Senior Matt Buesing was named to the All-MIAA second team in men's tennis on Thursday afternoon. This is the second-straight year that Buesing has received second team honors.
"I'm very proud of Matt for all his hard work and effort he has given us the last four years," said head coach John Ross. "He is very deserving of the award. He had a very nice singles record this year in conference and a great doubles record in conference. He will be missed next year."
A native of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, Buesing went 8-8 at No. 1 singles in 2016. He posted a 4-3 record in MIAA play. Buesing recorded a 12-5 record in doubles play, going 11-2 at No. 2 doubles, going 10-2 with sophomore David Brown.
The Calvin men's tennis team finished the 2016 regular season with an overall record of 11-5 and a fourth-place finish in the MIAA at 4-3.
WOMEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
OLIVET - After one day of competition at the MIAA Championships the Calvin women's track and field team has moved into first place in the team standings.
The Knights have built a day one total of 87.5 points with Hope second at 50.5 points.
Calvin crowned three event champions on Thursday.
Junior Michaela Meckes (Bay City/Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) repeated as league champion in the discus, winning with a throw of 132-8. She was part of a 1-2 Calvin finish as senior Emily Veenstra (Ellsworth/Ellsworth HS) was second with a career-best throw of 119-7.
Calvin also placed four individuals in the high jump led by freshman Erin Van Lenten (Hawthorne, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) who captured the league title with a jump of 5-1 1/4. Sophomore Sarah Cassel (Wheaton, Il./Wheaton North HS) was third (5-1 1/4), senior Ayooluwa Ayoola (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) sixth (4-11) and sophomore Kayla Ven Lenten (Hawthorne, J/Eastern Christian HS) seventh (4-9).
In the 10,000 meters, Calvin went 1-2 led by junior Hope Gaffner (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) who took home the gold medal with a first place time of 37:46.24 while sophomore Kate McLain (Kalamazoo/Kalamazoo Christian HS) was second (38:16.52).
In the hammer throw, sophomore Bethany Love (Kentwood/East Kentwood HS) was third (153-6), senior Stacie Mead (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Eastern HS) fourth (145-7) and Veenstra eighth (128-11).
In the long jump, sophomore Jenna Dyksen (Hawthorne, NJ/Eastern Christian HS) was second (17-10 1/4) while Ayoola was sixth (16-9 3/4) and freshman Madison Orth (Soldotna, Alk/Cook Inlet Academy) eighth (16-7 1/4).
In the pole vault, Kayla Van Lenten was fifth (10-2) and freshman Annalane Miller (Dexter/Dexter HS) sixth (9-10).
Calvin also advanced several individuals out of the track event prelims into Friday's finals highlighted by Dyksen who had a career-best time of 14.76 in the 100 meter hurdles.
Action continues on Friday with field events at 10 a.m. with track events to follow in the afternoon.
MEN'S TRACK AND FIELD
OLIVET - After one day of competition at the MIAA Championships the Calvin men's track and field team has moved into first place in the team standings.
Calvin has a first place total of 74.5 points with Trine second with 36.5 points and Hope third with 33.
The Knights crowned three individual event champions on Thursday as senior David Dadzie (Accra, Ghana/Ghana International School) won the javelin (172-0), senior Eric Jipping (Canton/Plymouth Christian HS) won the shot put (48-4) and senior Lucas Wolters (Vincennes, Ind./South Knox HS) won the pole vault (15-8 1/4).
Wolters and Jipping both repeated as MIAA champions in their respective events. Wolters was also part of a 1-2-5 Calvin finish in the pole vault as sophomore Jacob Stout (Escondido, CA/Escondido Calvin Christian HS) was second with a career-best vault of 15-1 while senior Collin Martin (Leslie/Leslie HS) was fifth (12-11 1/2).
Dadzie was one of two Calvin athletes to score in the men's javelin as junior Erick Holder (Marian, Ind./Eastbrook HS) was eighth (139-11).
In the long jump, freshman Lee Barents (Redlands, Ca./Arrowhead Christian Academy) was third 21-4 1/4), junior Jeiel Burrell (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) fourth (21-3 1/4) and freshman Isaac Chen (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) fifth (21-0).
Calvin then piled up more points in the 10,000 meters as sophomore Mark DeJong (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) was second (32:30.27), junior Matt Plantinga (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) fourth (32:57.56) and junior Andrew Rylaarsdam (Grandville/Calvin Christian HS) fifth (33:02.77).
Calvin also advanced several athletes to Friday's finals in sprint races, setting up the Knights for an exciting final day of competition.
"We had a good first day but we have a lot of work left to do," said Calvin men's track and field coach. "I like the way our guys competed. They went after things with enthusiasm. The goal now is to continue that enthusiasm tomorrow."
Action continues on Friday with field events at 10 a.m. and track events to follow in the afternoon.
Received on Thu May 5 23:46:21 2016
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