CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MARCH 29, 2017
MEN'S TENNIS
Calvin 6, Spring Arbor 3
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin men's tennis team remained perfect at home in 2017 on Wednesday. The Knights topped the visiting Cougars, 6-3. Calvin improved to 9-3 on the year and Spring Arbor moves to 7-13.
"I am really happy with how we played today," said Calvin head coach John Ross. "I was really pleased with how we started in doubles play. We kept fighting and were able to pick up three really big points. Spring Arbor is a really good team and we knew that this was going to go down to the wire."
Spring Arbor came into the match 3-0 against MIAA competition this year and was riding a two-match win streak.
Doubles play played a key role in cooling off the Cougars. Senior Anthony Vroon (Grand Rapids, Mich./South Christian) and sophomore Jason Wolters (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) tallied the first point of the day with an 8-2 victory at No. 3 doubles. The Knights rallied from behind at No. 1 doubles with junior Matt VanWinkle (St. Joseph, Mich./St. Joseph) and senior Taylor Asfour (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) and at No. 2 doubles with freshman Rodrigo Castellanos Vaca Guzmán (Tarija, Bolivia/Felipe Palazon) and junior David Brown (Lake Zurich, Ill./Lake Zurich) to win 9-7 on both courts.
The Cougars made it a 3-1 match with a victory at No. 2 singles.
Taylor Asfour recorded a victory over Sam Head at No. 4 singles, 6-4, 6-1.
After Spring Arbor won at No. 1 singles, David Brown clinched the match at No. 3 singles. Brown downed Vincent McShane, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, to claim the match for Calvin.
The Maroon and Gold finished the match with a comeback at No. 5 singles. Anthony Vroon fought-back and defeated Josh Scott in three sets to win, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Calvin returns to action on Saturday when the Knights open MIAA play against the Scots of Alma College.
MEN'S LACROSSE
Hope 14, Calvin 9
HOLLAND, Mich. - A late comeback push was not enough to keep the Calvin men's lacrosse team from falling at rival Hope 14-9 Wednesday night in a non-conference game at Van Andel Stadium.
Calvin (3-5) trailed 7-2 at halftime and 10-3 late in the third quarter.
The Knights then mounted a furious rally, scoring six unanswered goals including five in the fourth quarter to draw within a goal at 10-9 with 8:03 left to play.
Senior Joel Schaefer (Clarksville, Md./Annapolis Area Christian HS) ignited the rally with three straight goals. Schaefer's first goal came on a man-up opportunity with 6:19 left in the third quarter on a feed from senior Chris Griffin (Hartland, Mich./Howell HS). Schaefer and Griffin then teamed up for another man-up goal 21 seconds into the fourth quarter. Schaefer scored another goal three minutes later and the rush was on.
Calvin went on an a man-up opportunity moments later and the Knights made good on the chance as Griffin scored on a pass from freshman Griffin Sparling (Novi, Mich./Novi HS).
Sophomore Austin Bontreger (Fishers, Ind./Heritage Christian HS) scored with 9:31 left and junior Michael Winkler (La Quinta, Ca./Palm Desert HS) scored with 8:03 remaining.
Suddenly the Knights were within a goal at 10-9.
Calvin was able to fire two shots at the Hope net over the next three-and-a-half minutes but Hope goalkeeper Nick Schanhals came up with a pair of key saves.
The Flying Dutchmen followed with a pivotal goal with 2:42 remaining to take an 11-9 lead. Hope added three goals inside the final two minutes to seal the win.
"I told the guys at halftime, 'We just need to chip away one at a time. We have to worry about the next play.' We got down and weren't making some of the plays we normally make," said Calvin men's lacrosse coach Dave Hoger after the game. "We had to battle back. We started doing that. We had a couple of goals scored on us in the beginning of the second half, but we started fighting back. We started chipping away. We came up a little short at the end, but I was really proud of the effort our guys put forth."
Schaefer finished the game with three goals while Griffin had two. Sophomore Noah Nedd (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS), Bontreger, Winkler and Sparling all had one goal apiece. Griffin also finished with three assists while Sparling had one.
Junior Ethan Brown (Falmouth, ME/Falmouth HS) had a team-high five ground balls. Winkler caused three opponent turnovers.
Junior Austin Roden (Delaware, Oh./Delaware Christian HS) was 8-of-16 on faceoff opportunities.
Freshman Mitchell Caldwell (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing HS) recorded nine saves in goal for Calvin.
The Knights return to action on Saturday, hosting Northwestern University of Minnesota at 11 a.m. at Calvin's Zuidema Field.
Received on Wed Mar 29 23:23:52 2017
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