Calvin fall sports roundup
The Calvin men’s soccer team held a top 10 national ranking through mid-October. Under the direction of veteran head coach Ryan Souders, the Knights opened their MIAA campaign with victories over Trine and Hope. The Knights also claimed victory over nationally ranked opponents from Redlands, Ohio Wesleyan and Transylvania. Another early-season highlight was the welcoming back of the members of its 2009 and 2011 national runners-up teams on Calvin’s Homecoming Weekend. The men’s soccer team concluded the regular season with an overall record of 14-2-2 and won its 16th straight MIAA title with a 6-1-0 league mark.
Led by head coach Emily Ottenhoff, the Calvin women’s soccer team jumped out to a 12-0-0 start and was ranked in the top 10 nationally in mid-October. The Knights shut out their first 12 opponents to set a new Calvin single-season record for consecutive shutouts. The Knights were also 4-0-0 in league play including a 1-0 rivalry win at Hope College in early October. Another early-season highlight was a 2-0 win over a nationally ranked team from the University of Chicago. The women’s soccer team concluded the regular season with an overall record of 15-0-1 and won its third straight MIAA title with a 7-0-1 league mark.
The Calvin women’s volleyball team was off to a 15-3 record including a 4-0 mark in the MIAA. Led by head coach Amber Warners, the Knights were ranked in the top 10 nationally in mid-October. In late September, the team enjoyed a three-set win over rival and nationally ranked Hope at Van Noord Arena. In early October, Calvin treated New York City alumni to three victories at the NYU Showdown in Brooklyn. While there, Calvin defeated 10th-ranked NYU, 19th-ranked MIT, and a strong team from Swarthmore College. The Calvin women’s volleyball team was 23-3 at the conclusion of the regular season and captured its 12th MIAA title in the last 13 years, finishing 8-0 in conference play.
The Calvin women’s cross country team held a top 25 national ranking throughout the fall. Led by first-year head coach Nicole Kramer, the Knights took second at their own Calvin Knight Invitational in early September and then took fifth in a field of 36 teams at the NCAA III Pre-National Invitational in East Lansing, Michigan, in early October. The team finished second to first place Hope at the MIAA championships in late October.
The Calvin men’s cross country team has held a national ranking throughout the fall. Also led by first-year head coach Nicole Kramer, the Knights took first place at their own Calvin Knight Invitational in early September. The Knights then took 11th in a field of 36 teams at the NCAA III Pre-National Invitational in East Lansing in early October. The Calvin men’s cross country team captured its 35th consecutive MIAA crown, taking first place at the MIAA Championships with 27 points, four points ahead of rival Hope. The championship streak is the longest active MIAA conference championship streak.
The Calvin men’s golf team was in the top four of the MIAA standings this fall and in strong position to qualify for the MIAA Spring NCAA Qualifier Tournament, which takes the top four teams from the MIAA fall season. Led by head coach Brian Bolt, the Knights took first place at the Irish Hills Invitational hosted by Adrian in mid-September and then hosted the MIAA Fall Tournament in mid-October in nearby Wyoming, Michigan.
Led by head coach Jerry Bergsma, the Calvin women’s golf team took fifth in the MIAA fall season, finishing just five strokes out of a top-four team finish and a berth in the MIAA Spring NCAA Qualifier Tournament. Junior Chandler Sjoerdsma (Riverside, Calif.) took second in the final MIAA individual standings and was named to the All-MIAA First Team for a third straight year. Senior Jericha Sharphorn (Hudsonville, Mich.) was named the recipient of the MIAA Sportsmanship Award.
Under the direction of head coach Kattie Carpenter, the Calvin women’s triathlon team was in position to gain its third trip to the NCAA Division III Collegiate National Championships in November in Tempe, Arizona. An early-season highlight was taking first place in the collegiate competition of the Reeds Lake Triathlon in nearby East Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Knights later took sixth at the Millikin D3 Invitational and competed at the Division III West Region Qualifier in Stockton, Missouri.