CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR AUGUST 8, 2017
Men's Soccer Ranked Second in Preseason Poll;
Men's Basketball Finishes Third in NCAA III Attendance;
Baseball Announces Recruiting Class for Upcoming Season
MEN'S SOCCER
The Calvin men's soccer team is ranked No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches (formerly the NSCAA) Division III preseason Top 25 poll.
Defending national champion Tufts University (Mass.) is the top-ranked team in the poll. The Jumbos edged Calvin 1-0 in double-overtime in the national championship final last December.
Under the direction of head coach Ryan Souders, the Knights finished 23-3-0 overall in 2016, winning MIAA regular season and MIAA Tournament titles along the way. The MIAA regular season crown was the 10th straight for the Calvin men's soccer program including the fifth under the guidance of Souders.
After winning the 2016 MIAA Tournament title, the Knights went on a five-game winning streak in the NCAA III Tournament, defeating Ohio Northern, Carnegie Mellon, Messiah, Franklin and Marshall and Brandeis along the way. All five games were played away from home.
The five-game NCAA III Tournament win streak allowed the Knights to reach the national semifinals of the NCAA III Tournament for the second straight year and the national championship final for the third time in school history.
Calvin is expected to return several letterwinners from its 2016 squad including eight players that received either first or second team All-MIAA honors last fall.
Calvin is scheduled to open its season at home on September 1 when it hosts non-conference rival Ohio Wesleyan University at Zuidema Field. The Battling Bishops were one of three teams to defeat the Knights in 2016 and like Calvin, also reached the 2016 NCAA III Tournament.
Calvin will open defense of its MIAA regular season title on September 13 when it travels to Trine University for a 4 p.m. conference match.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Calvin College is once again among the NCAA III leaders in men's basketball attendance. Calvin finished third in this year's standings with an average of 1,338 fans per game. MIAA rival Hope repeated as the NCAA III attendance champion in men's basketball as it averaged 2,319 fans a game during the 2016-2017 season. Wisconsin-Eau Claire was second with an average of 1,550 fans a game.
Overall, Calvin drew 15,273 fans over 11 home dates.
Calvin holds the NCAA III single-season record with an average of 4,018 fans established during the 1992-93 season. Calvin also holds the NCAA III single game attendance record with 11,442 fans for its January 29, 1997 game against Hope at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids.
The full attendance figures for all three divisions of NCAA men's basketball for the past year can be found on the NCAA web site at: http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/Reports/attend/2017.pdf
BASEBALL
The Calvin baseball team has announced 20 newcomers for the upcoming 2018 season. To read more on the Calvin baseball recruiting class, visit the Calvin website at: http://calvinknights.com/sports/bsb/2017-18/releases/20170803fqm0mv
Received on Tue Aug 8 21:24:42 2017
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