CKSR (Swimming and Diving Teams Build Big Leads Through Day Two of MIAA Championships / Calvin Basketball Players Receive All-MIAA Honors)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 22, 2018

Swimming and Diving Teams Build Big Leads Through Day Two of MIAA Championships;
Calvin Basketball Players Receive All-MIAA Honors

MEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin men's swimming and diving team continued to ride a tidal wave of momentum in building its first place lead on day two of the MIAA Championships at the Venema Aquatic Center.

Paced by five event victories as well as plenty of supporting depth Thursday, Calvin has a first place score of 346 points, 77 points ahead of defending MIAA champion Albion College.

Calvin won both the 200 freestyle and 400 medley relays in NCAA III B' Cut qualifying times.

Junior Ben Holstege (Keswick, Va./Covenant HS) led off both relays in strong fashion. In the 200 freestyle relay, he clocked a time of 20.69 and was followed by freshman Julian Iturbe (Caracas, Venezuela/Colegio Emil Friedman), junior Skyler Fish (Ionia, Mich./Ionia HS) and junior Jared Britton (Falls Church, Va./George Mason HS). The quartet clocked in with an NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 1:21.91 to set a new Calvin record.

The Knights then posted a NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 3:20.28 to win the 400 medley relay, holding off a furious charge by Albion down the stretch. Ben Holstege led off the relay with an NCAA III B' cut and Calvin record time of 48.64. Senior Tanner Vincent (Novi, Mich./Novi HS) followed with the breaststroke leg, Britton swam the butterfly leg and Iturbe brought home the victory with the freestyle leg.

Ben Holstege led a 1-2-3 Calvin finish in the 50 freestyle, winning with an NCAA III B' Cut qualifying time of 20.64 with Brittton second (20.76) and Fish third (21.12). Sophomore Tristan Hazlett (Lutz, Fla./Home Schooled) was seventh (21.41). Freshman Colin Murphy (Troy, Mich./Brother Rice HS) also won the consolation final with a time of 21.65.

Vincent claimed a dramatic win in the 200 IM with an NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 1:51.96, holding off Hope's Dan Clyde who came in at 1:52.51. Sophomore Fear Churchwell (Athens, Ga./Clarke Central HS) took fifth (1:53.83). Freshman Ryan Gelderloos (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) won the consolation final with a time of 1:58.05.
In the 500 freestyle, Calvin took four of the top eight spots led by Iturbue who won the race with an NCAA III B' cut qualifying time of 4:31.87 with sophomore Tim Randall (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) second in 4:38.04. Sophomore Brian Goins (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester Adams HS) was sixth (4:49.15) and senior Max DeYoung (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Eastern HS) was seventh (4:53.81).

Calvin also racked up points in the men's one-meter diving competition as senior Michael Moentman (Solon, Oh./Solon HS) was second (460.20) and freshman Alex Bergsma (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) eighth (380.50).

"I'm very proud of our divers," said Calvin diving coach Aaron Paskvan. "I thought we had some good runs on our list and some good entries into the water. In our group meeting before tonight, we talked about having faith in the skills we have developed in training. I was very pleased with the way our men competed."

Calvin head swim coach Dan Gelderloos was also pleased with the overall performance of the men's team. "I thought our morning (prelims) session was strong and got us to where we needed to be tonight," said Gelderloos. "In the finals tonight, I don't think we could have done much better. I realistically think we got every single tenth of a second we could out of our team. That's a testament to the platform we build with our team. They are very comfortable because they know each other well. They love to work hard. They have their goals in a great perspective and they place value in the right things."

The MIAA Swimming and Diving Championships continue on Friday morning with prelims set to begin at 10 a.m.

MIAA MEN'S TEAM STANDINGS
Calvin 346
Albion 269
Hope 187
Olivet 96
Alma 90

WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The No. 20-ranked Calvin women's swimming & diving team posted a strong Thursday performance to lead after the second day of the MIAA Swimming & Diving Championships. The Knights have recorded 370 points heading into Friday, 114 points ahead of Hope College in second place with 256 points. The Maroon and Gold won two events on Thursday.
"I will tell you what, that was one of those special nights for us," said Calvin head coach Dan Gelderloos. "I do not think that you can get a whole lot better than that. We swam well, but it was more or less a culmination of what we build our foundation on as a team, relationships among the team, how comfortable we are with each other, how they like to work hard together and that paid off huge for us tonight."
The evening started with a victory in the 200-yard freestyle relay for the Knights. Sophomore Emily Gunderson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Pioneer) gave the Knights a slight lead after the first leg at 23.97. Senior Rachel Mattson (Ann Arbor, Mich./Huron) kept the momentum going with a split time of 23.42 to keep Calvin in front. In the third leg, junior Madelyn Smith (Allegan, Mich./Allegan) posted a time of 23.85. Senior Abby Van Harn (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) ended any hope for the field and clocked in a blistering 22.59 split. The Knights won with a time of 1:33.83, breaking the school and MIAA record. The school record was set in 2017 by these four women and the MIAA record was set in 2016 by Megan Schroeder, Rachel Mattson, Adrienne Wesselius, Abby Van Harn. The time is an NCAA B-cut time and is the eighth-fastest time in NCAA Division III.
Five Knights advanced to the 500-yard freestyle finals on Thursday. Junior Anna Serino (Pinckney, Mich./Pinckney) led the way with a second-place finish at 5:04.75. Junior Kendall Murphy (Modesto, Calif./Home School) posted a career-best time of 5:06.60 in third place, with the fifth-fastest time in school history. The eighth-fastest time in school history came from Madelyn Smith in fourth place at 5:09.30. In sixth place was sophomore Libby Engle (Troy, Mich./Troy) at 5:11.70 with the 10th-fastest time in school history. Freshman Robyn Ellens (Hamilton, Mich./Holland Christian) touched the wall at 5:19.71 in seventh place.
Calvin picked up some key points in the 200-yard individual medley, with three Knights in the finals. Freshman Hannah Chao (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) was the fastest Knight in third place at 2:09.98 with the ninth-fastest time in school history. In fifth-place was sophomore Abbey Wellman (Crown Point, Ind./Crown Point) at 2:13.02, who posted a career-best time in the prelims. Sophomore Emily Slenk (Zeeland, Mich./Holland Christian) picked up points in eighth place at 2:16.04.
The 50-yard freestyle finals race was painted with Maroon and Gold with four Calvin swimmer advancing to the finals. Abby Van Harn picked up her second gold medal of the day at 23.35, an NCAA B-cut time. She broke the MIAA record in the preliminary round at 23.17. Emily Gunderson finished in second place at 23.79, her prelim time of 23.73 in an NCAA B-cut qualifying time. Rachel Mattson finished in fourth place with the ninth-fastest time in program history at 24.03. Junior Alyssa Oezer (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) touched the wall at 24.58 to record a sixth-place finish.
"Day two was amazing," said Van Harn. "It went much better than I expected and anyone expected. I think that we are on a high and are excited to head into day three."
Calvin had four of the eight highest scores on the women's 3-meter boards on Wednesday night. Senior Sarah Bradley (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) led the Knights in third place at 440.30 points. Freshman Joselyn Smith (Zeeland, Mich./Zeeland West) posted a career-best 417 points to take fourth place and freshman Hannabeth Magnussen (Oakdale, Calif./Ripon Christian) also recorded a career-best score of 384.70 points in sixth place.
"I am feeling very well," said Calvin diving coach Aaron Paskvan. "We dove really well in finals tonight. The three ladies put their best foot forward and we had some nice entries, some cleaner ones than prelims, I was happy to see that. We had two-lifetime bests with Josie and Hannabeth and Sarah just came up short on that last entry. We are there; we know we can put that dive away."
Calvin closed the night with a second-place finish in the 400-yard medley relay. The team of Abbey Wellman, Hannah Chao, freshman Jenna Oezer (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) and Anna Serino finished at 3:55.07, with a season-best time.
The Knights return to the pool on Friday morning for the third day of the four-day MIAA Swimming & Diving Championships at the Venema Aquatic Center.
MIAA Women's Team Standings
1. Calvin College 370
2. Hope College 256
3. Albion College 184
4. Olivet College 109
5. Alma College 100
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association named Ali Spayde to the Women's Basketball All-MIAA First Team and Bre Luurtsema to the Women's Basketball All-MIAA Second Team on Thursday afternoon.
"In a Women's Basketball conference with two of top six ranked teams in the nation you have to have some very talented young women to compete at a high level," said Calvin head coach Chuck Winkelman. "I am grateful that the coaches in the MIAA have recognized the talents that Ali and Bre bring to our team. This is a tremendous accomplishment for both of them."
A senior from Lewis Center, Ohio, Spayde is claiming first team honors for the second-straight year.
Spayde led the MIAA in points with 303 and points per game at 18.9. She also led the MIAA in free throw percentage at 85.1. The Ohio native was also second in the MIAA in free throws (80) and field goals (96).
A senior from Holland, Michigan, Luurtsema is claiming All-MIAA honors for the third-straight season.
Luurtsema led the MIAA in four statistical categories in 2018 with 87 free throws, 64 offensive rebounds, 136 total rebounds and 8.5 rebounds per game. She was also fourth in total points with 219 and 13.7 points per game. Luurtsema was third in steals with 31 and fifth in assists with 53.
The Knights return to action on Friday at Hope.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association named Derrick DeVries to the Men's Basketball All-MIAA Second Team. This is the first time in his career that DeVries has been named to an All-MIAA team.
"Derrick had a really nice conference season," said head coach Kevin Vande Streek. "He made a big jump from his freshmen year because of a lot of hard work and we're glad to see it paid off."
A sophomore from Grand Rapids, Michigan, DeVries led the MIAA in three-point percentage at 46.4. He finished fifth in points at 258 and fifth in points per game at 18.4. DeVries was third in the MIAA with 41 offensive rebounds.
DeVries scored 20 or more points in seven MIAA games in 2018, including 29 points against Adrian on Jan. 27. He also recorded 10 rebounds in three MIAA games.
Received on Thu Feb 22 22:44:54 2018