Calvin winter sports teams sweep the league
For the first time in the history of Calvin athletics, all four varsity winter sports teams claimed MIAA championships in the same year. The women’s basketball team headlines the class, taking a perfect 27-0 record into postseason play.
Women’s basketball
The Calvin women's basketball team will host a four-team NCAA III Regional this weekend at Van Noord Arena. Calvin (27-0) will face Baldwin-Wallace (22-6) in a first round game Friday night at 7:30 p.m. (EDT) with UW-Oshkosh (24-3) facing North Central (22-5) in a 5 p.m. game on Friday.
The winning teams out of Friday's games will meet in the second round Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.
Calvin will be making its 16th appearance in the NCAA III Tournament including its eighth under current head coach John Ross. Calvin is 18-15 all-time in NCAA III Tournament play.
Men’s basketball
The Calvin men’s basketball team punched their ticket to the postseason thanks to a late run in the MIAA Championship game against Hope College, capped by a Jordan Brink jumper with five seconds left on the clock.
With the win, the Knights (21-6) are headed to the campus of Mount Union College for a first round NCAA III tournament game on Friday, March 6. The Knights will take on Oswego State of New York (19-9) at 5:30 p.m. Host Mount Union (22-6) will take on Neumann College (17-10) in the game to follow.
Calvin is making its 20th trip to the NCAA III Tournament including its ninth under current head coach Kevin Vande Streek. Calvin is 33-21 all-time in NCAA III Tournament play.
Women’s swimming & diving
The Calvin women’s swimming & diving team claimed its 11th consecutive MIAA title and its 13th in the history of the program—all under the watch of current head coach Dan Gelderloos. Calvin’s current string of league crowns is the longest streak in MIAA women’s swimming and diving history, surpassing the 10 consecutive titles recorded by Hope from 1980 to 1989.
The NCAA III Championships are slated to take place March 18-21 in Shenandoah, Texas. Senior Erika Waugh and freshman Sarah Bradley will represent the women’s team at the national meet. Waugh qualified in the 200 backstroke, and Bradley grabbed the seventh and last regional qualifying spot for divers.
Men’s swimming & diving
The Calvin men’s swimming & diving team captured its second consecutive MIAA title, finishing nearly 200 points clear of second place Kalamazoo College. Five Calvin swimmers are headed to the MIAA Swimming and Diving Championships. Qualifiers include juniors Caleb Meindertsma, Johnson Cochran and Mitch Schroder, sophomore Brett Stoughton and freshman Skyler Fish.
Meindertsma qualified in the 1,650 freestyle, and Cochran will compete in the 100 and 200 breaststroke. Cochran will also join Stoughton, Fish and Schroder in both the 400 and 200 medley relay. Fish will also swim in the 100 and 200 backstroke.
The NCAA III Championships are March 18-21 in Shenandoah, Texas.