Spark

MEN’S BASKETBALL ADVANCES TO THE ELITE EIGHT

Led by head coach Bill Sall, the Calvin men’s basketball team reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA III Tournament for the first time since 2005. The Knights finished with a record of 25-5 and ranked sixth in the final D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. 

Calvin achieved its lofty standing despite playing the final four weekends of its season on the road. The trip began with a 73-66 overtime win at seventh-ranked Trine, allowing the Knights to gain a share of the MIAA regular season title with the Thunder. The following weekend, the Knights traveled back to Trine for the MIAA Tournament semifinals where Calvin bowed out of the conference tournament to rival Hope. But they still received an NCAA III Tournament bid, defeating number 17 Elmhurst in the first round to advance to the second round for a matchup with number 2 John Carroll in Cleveland. In front of a raucous John Carroll crowd, Calvin upset the Blue Streaks 71-66 for a berth in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA III Tournament. 

The Sweet 16 was held in Hartford, Connecticut. Calvin’s opponent was number 4 Randolph-Macon. Calvin put the defensive clamps on the Yellow Jackets to secure a 72-59 victory. The following night, the tournament trail ended with a 69-62 defeat in the Elite Eight against number 3 Trinity College. 

“It was a great run with a special group of young men,” Sall said. “This was a very joyful team to coach. We achieved a lot this year and making a run as deep as we did, while playing away from home for nearly a month, was one of those achievements. For our seniors, it was their third consecutive 20-win season and their second trip to the Sweet 16 round in the NCAA III Tournament. They have much to be proud of.” 

Senior Uchenna Egekeze and sophomore Jalen Overway both received post season Division III All-America honors.

MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING DELIVERS STANDOUT PERFORMANCES

Meanwhile, Calvin men’s swimming and diving, led by head coach Dan Gelderloos, made national waves in the pool, capturing its third MIAA title in four years and posting a program-best seventh-place national finish at the NCAA III Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina. 

At the national meet, Calvin piled up 13 All-America swims and 188 total points to post its second straight top-10 national team finish including the highest in program history. Senior David Bajwa was the biggest point producer, placing seventh in the 50-meter freestyle, sixth in the 100-meter backstroke, and fourth in the 200-meter backstroke, becoming the first individual in Calvin men’s swim history to record three top-eight individual swims at one national meet. 

Senior Julien Camy earned national runnersup honors in the 100-meter butterfly and All- America honors in the 200-meter butterfly. Calvin had four additional individual All-America swims and claimed All-America honors in four of five relay events. 

Over the course of the season, the men’s swimming and diving team broke nine school records. 

“We walked away from this season with many big moments and high-water marks for the future,” said Gelderloos. “I thought our senior leadership was outstanding and the buy-in from this team was terrific. We kept building positive momentum as the year continued. To finish the season the way we did at the national meet was very gratifying for our athletes and the coaching staff.”

ADDITIONAL HONORS

Calvin women’s swimming and diving finished 14th at the NCAA III Championships, where the team produced six All-America swims. Senior Maggie Farrell was the lone individual All-American as she placed fifth in the 100-meter butterfly. The Knights also achieved All-America distinction in all five relays, doing so at the national meet for the first time since 2009. 

Both Calvin hockey teams earned berths in the ACHA National Tournament. The ACHA D1 team advanced to the national tournament for the third time in four years. The ACHA D3 team won its tournament pool, including a 4-3 upset win over rival Hope, which allowed the Knights to move on to the national semifinals where they dropped a heart-breaking 3-2 decision to Grand Valley State in the closing minutes of the contest. 

With deep tournament runs in fall 2023, the Calvin men’s and women’s soccer teams both reached the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA III Tournament, while the men’s and women’s cross country teams posted top-25 finishes at the NCAA III Championships. In addition,
the Calvin women’s volleyball team reached the NCAA III Tournament for the 19th consecutive season. 

This spring, the Calvin softball team reached the regional finals of the NCAA III Tournament to round out the collection of notable team finishes for the 2023-24 athletic year.