CALVIN KNIGHT WEEKEND SPORTS WRAP FOR NOV. 19, 2017
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
ELSAH, Il. - The No. 12 Calvin men's cross country team proved worthy of its national ranking, placing 12th at the NCAA III Cross Country Championships Saturday morning.
The Knights posted a team score of 353 points, finishing six points ahead of Williams College.
Calvin ran strong through the first three miles of the hilly 8K course as the Knights sat in fifth place according to the electronic chip timing system used at the meet. Calvin was unable to maintain that pace over the final stretch however, settling on its final 12th place finish.
The finish was an improvement of seven spots from Calvin's 2016 national finish when it placed 19th at the NCAA III Championships.
Senior Andrew Philipose (Mount Prospect, Il./John Hersey HS) led the way for the Knights on Saturday with an NCAA III All-America finish, placing 16th with a time of 24:40. The All-America run was the third for Philipose in his distance running career, joining his All-America runs in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters last May at the NCAA III Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Senior Mark DeJong (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) made a bid for an All-America berth early, running alongside Philipose for the first half of the race before falling back to a finish of 113th (25:34).
Sophomore Tyler Johnson (Springfield, Il./Pleasant Plains HS) was Calvin's second finisher, placing 74th with a time of 25:21.
Senior Andrew Rylaarsdam (Grandville, Mich./Calvin Christian HS) closed out his collegiate career by placing 138th in 25:43. Junior Nathanael Dick (Grand Rapids, Mich./Home Schooled) was 138th in 25:47.
Freshman Justin Varineau (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) made his nationals debut by placing 176th in a time of 25:53.
Junior Jamison Koeman (Whitinsville, Mass./Whitinsville Christian HS) rounded out Calvin's finishers, placing 212th in a time of 26:12.
"We had a solid race," said Calvin head cross country coach Brian Diemer. "We were hoping for a little higher finish and for most of the race we were right on track to do that. We just were unable to hold on enough over the final third of the race. It was a very challenging course with a lot of hills. We knew that going in. Individually it was great to see Andrew Philipose become a cross country All-American. He was right up there with some of the same guys he has gone up against in track nationals and he ran well. It was also good to move up seven spots from last year (team finish). We are headed in the right direction as a program."
Darin Law of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire won the individual title on Saturday with a time of 24:03. North Central won the team title with a team score of 57 points.
Calvin was making its 33rd overall appearance at the NCAA III Championships which is tied for third on the all-time NCAA III Men's Cross Country list.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
ELSAH, Il. - The Calvin women's cross country team placed 31st at the NCAA III Cross Country Championships on Saturday, posting a team score of 672 points.
Ranked 20th nationally heading into Saturday's competition, the Knights were a surprise entrant into the national meet as they claimed an automatic bid to the NCAA III Championships with a second place finish at last week's Great Lakes Regional meet, claiming the second place and automatic qualifying spot by four points.
Beset by injury for most the year, the Knights still ran bravely on Saturday.
Junior Katie Diekema (Kenmore, Wash./Ingelmoor HS) was Calvin's top individual finisher on the 6K course , placing 125th in a time of 22:24.
Sophomore Michelle Koetje (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) was Calvin's second finisher, placing 157th (22:38).
Senior Katie McLain (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian HS) was 194th (22:54), junior Catherine Croft (Grand Rapids, Mich./Coopersville HS) 218th (23:05) and sophomore Sarah Ball (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) 235th (23:16).
Rounding out Calvin's finishers were senior Marissa McGahan (Brighton, Mich./Brighton HS) in 242nd (23:24) and senior Hope Gaffner (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian HS) in 247th (23:29).
"It was a tough race and we knew it would be that way," said Calvin head cross country coach Brian Diemer. "The hills might have gotten to us a little bit but I'm proud of this team. I'm proud that they were willing to fight to get back to nationals and run with the best teams in the nation."
Khia Kurtenbach from the University of Chicago won Saturday's individual race with a time of 20:39.
Johns Hopkins won the team title with a team score of 96 points.
The Knights were making their 28th appearance at the NCAA III Cross Country Championships which is tied for second on the all-time NCAA III women's cross country list.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Illinois Wesleyan 94, Calvin 82
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin men's basketball team fell 94-82 to Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon.
With the loss, the Knights drop 0-2 on the season, while IWU improves to 3-0.
Despite a mid-game push by the Knights, Calvin was unable to answer IWU's solid shooting performance. The Knights shot 47.8% from the field, while IWU shot 44.8% including a 48.4% from behind the three-point arc.
The Knights hung with Illinois Wesleyan for most of the first half, as the lead changed hands 11 times before the Titans began to pull away. With just under eight minutes remaining in the first half, Illinois Wesleyan went on a 9-0 run to take a 33-24 lead. Freshman Luke Morrison (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) broke up the Titans' scoring streak, but the home team used seven free throws to build its lead to 14. A three-pointer by sophomore Alex Bos (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) made the score 38-27 with 3:28 left to play before halftime. IWU responded with a 7-2 run to lead by 16, but Calvin answered with a late first-half push. The Knights claimed the last six points of the half as Luke Morrison and senior Michael Wilks (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) scored in the final two minutes before halftime. Calvin held the Titans scoreless for nearly two minutes. At halftime, IWU held a 45-35 lead.
Calvin carried its momentum into the second half, going on a 9-0 run to make it a one-point game. Wilks contributed five points to the offensive effort, while junior Austin Bykerk (Jenison, Mich./Unity Christian) added four points. IWU responded with a seven-point stint to earn a 52-44 advantage. A layup by sophomore Derrick DeVries (Grand Rapids, Mich./Covenant Christian) was answered by a Titans' triple. After another Knights' bucket that cut IWU's lead to seven, but a quick five points by the Titans forced a Calvin timeout, the scoreboard reading 60-48. IWU used its momentum to widen its lead to a comfortable 19 points as the midpoint of the half neared.
The Knights chipped away at the Titans' large lead, but their efforts came up short as there wasn't enough time on the clock. With 46 seconds left to play, DeVries made a layup to make it a 10-point game, but the Titans scored the following three points and rolled to a 94-82 win.
Calvin had a well-balanced scoring effort in the loss. DeVries and Bykerk led the Knights' offense with 15 points apiece. Wilks followed with 13 points, while Luke Morrison and Carlos Amoros-Gutierrez (Wyoming, Mich./Wyoming) finished with 12 and 11 points respectively. The Knights scored 42 of their 82 points in the paint. Bos led the Knights with six rebounds, while Tony Canonie (South Haven, Mich./South Haven) dished out a team-high five assists.
The Knights are back in action next Tuesday when they will face Wheaton (Ill.) in their home opener. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
Capital 63, Calvin 55
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - The Calvin women's basketball team fell in the consolation game of the University of Rochester Chuck Resler Invitational on Saturday afternoon. The Knights were topped by Capital, 63-55. Calvin moves to 0-3 on the year, with Capital improving to 1-1.
The Knights opened the game with a 4-0 run with the help of two layups from sophomore Kara Minderhoud (Grand Rapids, Mich./Covenant Christian). Calvin pushed the lead up to 9-3 with 5:39 left in the first quarter on a jump shot from Becca Richards. The Crusaders cut the Calvin lead to two, before the Knights went on a 5-0 run in the final minute. Calvin held an 18-13 lead after the first quarter.
With 9:14 left in the second quarter, Rachel Warners put the Knights up 20-15 with a layup. Capital responded with a 9-1 run over the next seven minutes to take a 24-21 lead. Senior Ali Spayde (Lewis Center, Ohio/Worthington Christian) tied the game at 29 right before halftime on a layup.
The Maroon and Gold opened the second half with a layup from junior Rachel Warners (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) to give the Knights the lead, however that proved to be the final time that Calvin held the lead. Capital pushed the lead up to 39-32, with 2:51 remaining in the third quarter. Calvin did not go away and trimmed the Capital lead to 40-39 with 1:05 left in the third quarter. A late three-point basket gave Capital a 43-39 lead heading into the final quarter.
The Knights held tough in the fourth and cut the deficit to 50-49 with 5:31 remaining. The Crusaders closed the final two minutes on an 8-4 run to win 63-55.
Ali Spayde led all players with 21 points on Saturday. She also led the Knights with three assists and two steals. She scored her 1000th point at Calvin on Saturday.
Rachel Warners had nine rebounds for Calvin.
The Knights return to action on Friday against St. Olaf.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Calvin 206, Olivet 69
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The No. 17 ranked Calvin women's swimming & diving opened the MIAA season on Saturday afternoon. The Knights won 12 events and downed the Comets, 206-69.
"It was a good weekend for us, I thought that we net our goals today," said head coach Dan Gelderloos. "We were trying to be thankful and celebrate eight weeks. We have had a really healthy eight weeks. We can probably rattle off 10 other things that went in our favor these eight weeks. We wanted to put our stamp on that and limit the distractions. We knew coming in, this is no offense to Olivet that the atmosphere was going to be low and we wanted to hold ourselves to it and stay in it as much as possible and I think we did for the most part. Finally, we wanted to try to give thanks towards our teammates and towards the way we prepare and towards the way we raced and put an emphasis on giving thanks."
The Maroon and Gold Opened the meet with a victory in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of sophomore Katherine Kim (Novi, Mich./Detroit Country Day), freshman Jenea Born (Goshen, Ind./Goshen), freshman Kiara Bromley (Manistee, Mich./Manistee) and senior Rachel Alexander (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian) won at 2:03.95.
Junior Daniella Sugijanto (Walnut Creek, Calif./Northgate) was the fastest swimmer in the 200-yard freestyle at 2:05.50.
In the 100-yard backstroke, sophomore Abbey Wellman (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) had a winning time of 1:03.72. Wellman touched the wall first in the 200-yard I.M. on Saturday at 2:23.34. She was also victories in the 200-yard backstroke, with a winning time of 2:17.87.
Freshman Hannah Chao (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:10.96. Chao also won the 100-yard freestyle at 55.73.
The divers were busy on Saturday, freshman Joselyn Smith (Zeeland, Mich./West) won the 1-meter event at 237.52 and senior Sarah Bradley (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) won the 3-meter event at 254.47. The diving team of freshman Stephany Morrow (Eagle Lake, Minn./Mankato East), Joselyn Smith, freshman Hannabeth Magnussen (Oakdale, Calif./Ripon Christian) and Sarah Bradley also participated in the 400-yard freestyle relay.
Junior Elysa Wolf (Austin, Texas/Regents School of Austin) joined in on the winning, with a first-place time of 2:43.95 in the 200-yard breaststroke.
Sophomore Emily Gunderson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) clocked in a winning time of 1:01.92 in the 100-yard butterfly.
The Knights finished the day with a first-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of Jenea Born, senior Darbi Meyer (Granger, Ind./Mishawaka Penn), sophomore Emily Slenk (Zeeland, Mich./Holland Christian) and Emily Gunderson won at 3:55.02.
MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
Calvin 197, Olivet 70
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The No. 17 ranked Calvin men's swimming & diving improved to 2-2 on the year and 2-0 against NCAA Division III schools. The Knights sank MIAA-foe Olivet, 197-70. Calvin recorded 14 victories on Saturday.
"It was a good weekend for us, I thought that we net our goals today," said head coach Dan Gelderloos. "We were trying to be thankful and celebrate eight weeks. We have had a really healthy eight weeks. We can probably rattle off 10 other things that went in our favor these eight weeks. We wanted to put our stamp on that and limit the distractions. We knew coming in, this is no offense to Olivet that the atmosphere was going to be low and we wanted to hold ourselves to it and stay in it as much as possible and I think we did for the most part. Finally, we wanted to try to give thanks towards our teammates and towards the way we prepare and towards the way we raced and put an emphasis on giving thanks."
The Knights started the day with a victory in the 200-yard medley relay. The team of sophomore Sam Holstege (Keswick, Va./Covenant), sophomore Gabriel Kirk (Irvine, Calif./University), freshman Curtis DeZwaan (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian) and sophomore Jacob Deysher (Colorado Springs, Colo./Palmer Ridge) won with a time of 1:43.97.
In the 200-yard freestyle, junior Ben Holstege (Keswick, Va./Covenant) won at 1:46.58. He also won the 50-yard freestyle at 22.08 and reigned supreme on Saturday in the 500-yard freestyle at 5:10.57.
Freshman Levi Nelesen (Zeeland, Mich,/Holland Christian) was the fastest swimmer in the 100-yard backstroke at 56.89.
Sophomore Nick Pecoraro (Chicago, Ill./Nazareth Academy) won the 100-yard breaststroke with a time of 1:05.81. His second victory of the day came in the 200-yard breaststroke, where he clocked in a time of 2:26.64.
Freshman Ryan Gelderloos (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) joined in on the winning wave with a winning time of 2:14.19 in the 200-yard butterfly.
Senior Michael Moentmann (Solon, Ohio/Solon) won both diving events on Saturday. He won the 3-meter at 293.03 points and the 1-meter at 291.15.
In the 200-yard I.M., junior Jacob Lensing (Pella, Iowa/Pella Christian) recorded a winning time of 2:09.28.
The Maroon and Gold also won the 200-yard backstroke with freshman Lucas Holcombe (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) at 2:07.84.
Junior Jared Britton (Falls Church, Va./George Mason) was four seconds faster than the rest of the competition in the 100-yard butterfly, winning at 53.24.
The Knights closed the day with a first-place finish in the 400-yard freestyle relay. The team of senior John Kutschke (Manistee, Mich./Manistee), freshman Ryan Ruba (Ludington, Mich./Ludington), Nick Pecoraro and Levi Nelesen won at 3:24.43.
The Knights will rest and enjoy Thanksgiving and return to action on Nov. 30 for the three-day Knight Invite.
Received on Sun Nov 19 22:05:54 2017
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