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Carissa Verkaik Named Recipient of Jostens Trophy - Second Calvin Player to Do So
Friday, March 15, 2013
Calvin College senior Carissa Verkaik Verkaik has been named the recipient of the prestigious Jostens Trophy which is presented by the Rotary Club of Salem, Va. The Jostens Trophy is awarded to an outstanding Division III men’s and women’s basketball player who excels on the floor, in the classroom and in the community. Verkaik is the second individual in Calvin women’s basketball history to receive the award as Lisa Winkle was also so honored in 2007. Calvin is the first school to have two Jostens Trophy recipients in women’s basketball.
Carissa Verkaik Named State Farm Division III All-American/Finalist for Player of Year by WBCA
Thursday, March 14, 2013
For the second consecutive year, Carissa Verkaik has been named a Division III State Farm All-American by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. In addition, Verkaik has been named one of three finalists for the State Farm/WBCA Division III Player of the Year Award. The other two finalists are Sam Barber of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and Kate Nielson of Simpson College. State Farm and the WBCA present the player of the year award annually to the top player in each of five WBCA membership divisions (NCAA Divisions II, III, NAIA, junior/community college and high school), while the State Farm Wade Trophy is presented annually to the NCAA Division I player of the year. The winners will be announced during the third annual WBCA Awards Show on Monday, April 8, in New Orleans. This event is part of the WBCA National Convention and is held in conjunction with the NCAA® Women’s Final Four®.
Carissa Verkaik Named D3hoops.com Great Lakes Region Player of the Year
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
D3hoops.com Great Lakes All-Region Team
For the third straight year, Calvin College senior Carissa Verkaik has been named the D3hoops.com Great Lakes Region Player of the Year. A native of Holland and a graduate of Holland Christian High School, she has also been named to the D3hoops.com Great Lakes All-Region first team for the fourth straight year. She was recently named the MIAA’s Most Valuable Player for the fourth straight year. She averaged 20.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks a game. She completed her career as Calvin’s all-time leader in points (2,236), rebounds (1,071) and blocked shots (440). She is now currently ranked third on the all-time NCAA III women’s basketball list in blocked shots and 14th in points.
Calvin Holds MIAA Commissioner’s Cup Standings Lead
Monday, March 11, 2013
Calvin College holds the lead in the latest set of MIAA Commissioner’s Cup standings as well as in the standings for the MIAA Men’s and Women’s All-Sports Awards. Calvin has a first place total of 147 points in the MIAA Commissioner’s Cup standings with Hope second with 126 points. In the men’s individual (all-sports) standings, Calvin has 68 points with Hope second with 56 points. In the women’s individual (all-sports) standings, Calvin has 79 points with Hope second with 70 points. This year, Calvin has captured nine MIAA regular season championships, winning league titles in men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s golf, men’s and women’s basketball and women’s swimming and diving.
Carissa Verkaik Named Finalist for Jostens Trophy
Monday, March 04, 2013
D3hoops.com Announcement of Jostens Trophy Finalists
For the second consecutive year, Calvin College senior Carissa Verkaik Verkaik has been named one of 11 women’s finalists for the Jostens Trophy which is presented by the Rotary Club of Salem, Va. The Jostens Trophy is awarded to an outstanding Division III men’s and women’s basketball player who excels on the floor, in the classroom and in the community. The Salem Rotary Club Jostens Trophy Committee employs a numerical rating to narrow the list of finalists so that the decision can be made on the most objective basis possible.Last year, Aris Wurtz of Ripon and Taylor Simpson of Chicago took home the trophies. A native of Holland and a graduate of Holland Christian High School, Verkaik has been a leader on the basketball court, in the classroom and in the community. As a basketball player, she was recently named the MIAA’s Most Valuable Player for the fourth straight year. She averaged 20.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks a game. She completed her career as Calvin’s all-time leader in points (2,236), rebounds (1,071) and blocked shots (440). She is now currently ranked third on the all-time NCAA III women’s basketball list in blocked shots and 14th in points.
Women’s Basketball Team Ends Season With 64-62 First Round NCAA III Tournament Loss To St. Thomas
Friday, March 01, 2013
By Mark DeHaan
MOUNT VERNON, IA - The Calvin women’s basketball team traveled to the campus of Cornell College for its first round matchup of the NCAA DIII Tournament Friday evening. Facing the University of St. Thomas in a rematch of the first game of the year, the Knights looked to knock off the Tommies for the second time in as many attempts while avenging a quarterfinal loss to St. Thomas in last year’s tournament. Calvin defeated St. Thomas 78-72 earlier this year, while in last year’s tournament, the Knights fell to the Tommies 83-72. In the end, it was the Tommies who would again get the best of the Knights in the tournament, hitting a go-ahead three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to claim a 64-62 victory and knock Calvin out of the tournament for a second straight year.
Carissa Verkaik Named MIAA’s Most Valuable Player in Women’s Basketball For Fourth Straight Year
Monday, February 25, 2013
ROYAL OAK, Mich. – The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association has announced its All-MIAA women’s basketball team for the 2012-13 season. Calvin center Carissa Verkaik was named the MIAA’s Most Valuable Player for an unprecedented fourth consecutive season. Verkaik, a senior from Holland (Holland Christian HS), became the MIAA’s all-time career scoring leader this year, finishing with 1,219 points in 64 league games. She led the league this year in scoring (20.8 points per game in conference play), rebounding (8.7 per game), blocked shots (3.4 per game) and free throw shooting (.942). She also became just the third player in MIAA women’s basketball history to be named to the all-conference first team all four years of her career.In addition, Verkaik and Calvin sophomore Kayla Engelhard (Unionville/Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) were both named to the All-MIAA first team. Verkaik is receiving All-MIAA first team accolades for the fourth straight year. She is the third individual in MIAA women’s basketball history to do so and all have come from Calvin. The other two are 2007 Calvin graduate Lisa Winkle and 2009 Calvin graduate Marcia Harris. Engelhard meanwhile is receiving All-MIAA honors for the first time in her career. Engelhard is averaging 9.3 points and 3.2 rebounds a game this year. Meanwhile, Calvin senior Julia Hilbrands (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) was named to the All-MIAA second team. Hilbrands averaged 7.9 points and 5.9 rebounds a game this year coming off the bench. Calvin is scheduled to travel to Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, this weekend. Calvin will take on the University of St. Thomas in a first round game Friday night at Cornell College.
Women’s basketball headed to NCAA III Tournament regional at Cornell College
Monday, February 25, 2013
The Calvin College women’s basketball team is headed to Mount Vernon, Iowa, for an NCAA III region hosted by Cornell College. Calvin (23-3) will face St. Thomas (22-5) in a first round game at 6 p.m. (EST) while host Cornell (24-1) will face St. Scholastica (13-14) in the other first round contest at 8:30 p.m. (EST). Friday’s winners will play Saturday night at 8 p.m. (EST). The Calvin/St. Thomas game will feature a pair of familiar opponents as Calvin and St. Thomas have met twice in a span of less than a year. St. Thomas defeated Calvin 83-72 in overtime in the 2012 national quarterfinals in Chicago, Illinois. The two opponents then met each other in the 2012-13 season opener in November at a tournament hosted by Millikin University with Calvin prevailing 78-72. Calvin, ranked third in the most recent poll by d3hoops.com, has made quarterfinal appearances in 2005, 2007 and 2012. St. Thomas fell to George Fox in last year’s national semifinals. Calvin is 18-14 all-time in NCAA III Tournament play. Calvin will be making its seventh NCAA III Tournament appearance under head coach John Ross.
Regional Tournament Website
TICKET INFORMATION:
General admission is $6 for adults, $3 for senior citizens, students and children.
Calvin women’s basketball falls to Hope in MIAA Tournament Championship Game 62-59
Sunday, February 24, 2013
By Mark DeHaan
The MIAA Tournament Championship pitted the #3 Calvin College Knights and #2 Hope Flying Dutch in the third installment of the rivalry this season. It was the eighth time the two teams have met in the Tournament Championship, with Hope holding a 5-2 edge but losing the last two championship contests. After forty hard-fought minutes, it was the Flying Dutch who came out on top, utilizing strong team defense to earn a 62-59 victory. Calvin will now play a waiting game to see if it receives an at-large bid to the NCAA III Tournament next week. The NCAA III Tournament field will be announced on Monday at 2:30 p.m. at: http://www.ncaa.com Calvin was led in defeat by senior Carissa Verkaik with 24 points and 13 rebounds as she notched her 47th collegiate double-double in the process.
Women’s Basketball To Face Hope in MIAA Tournament Final Saturday After Semifinal Win Over Trine
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Story By Mark DeHaan/Photo By Sandy Palmatter
Coming off just its second loss of the season at the hands of rival Hope, the #3 Calvin women’s basketball team looked like a team with something to prove in its MIAA Tournament semifinal against Trine Wednesday evening. The Knights took the early lead and did not look back, building a double-digit advantage and cruising to the 83-48 victory. Calvin advances to the MIAA Tournament Championship game on Saturday and will host rival Hope at 3 p.m. at Van Noord Arena. Senior Carissa Verkaik led all scorers with 18 points while adding 11 rebounds. On her first rebound of the game, Verkaik became Calvin’s all-time leader in rebounds. Verkaik now holds the all-time records in points, rebounds, and blocked shots. Verkaik also boosted her career scoring total to 2,190 points, moving her into 19th place on the all-time NCAA Division III scoring list. Sophomore Hannah Acre chipped in nine points for the Knights while Tripp, sophomore Abby VanderWoude and senior Julia Hilbrands all scored eight points with Hilbrands grabbing eight rebounds as well.The game also marked a milestone for Calvin seniors Kelsey Irwin, Carissa Verkaik, Julia Hilbrands and Ally Wolffis as it marked the 100th victory at Calvin for the quartet. All four players have been four-year varsity players. In doing so, the group becomes the first set of players in Calvin women’s basketball history to win 100 games in a career. During their time at Calvin, the seniors have posted a won-loss record of 100-14.
General Admission tickets for Saturday’s game will be on sale at Calvin’s website (http://www.calvin.edu/boxoffice), and at the Calvin Box Office Thursday and Friday, February 21 and 22, from 9:00am to 5:00pm. Tickets will also be sold at the Arena starting at 1:00pm on Saturday. All tickets will be General Admission.
Ticket Prices: General Admission tickets are FREE for MIAA students with student ID. General Admission tickets are $3.00 for any college faculty/staff and students, High School students and
children, and $5.00 for all others. There is no limit on the number of tickets to be purchased.
3 sisters make Calvin team a family
