Knightfile »
Recent stories
Calvin women’s basketball team defeats Ferris State 65-56 in exhibition game
Friday, November 02, 2012
BIG RAPIDS - The Calvin women’s basketball team picked up a 65-56 exhibition game victory at Division II Ferris State University Friday night. Senior Carissa Verkaik (Holland Christian HS) had 16 points, sophomore Kayla Engelhard (Saginaw Valley Lutheran HS) 14 points and sophomore Breanna Verkaik (Holland Christian HS) nine points to lead the Knights.Calvin went 14-of-16 at the free throw line and pulled away over the final four minutes by nailing eight free throws. Calvin officially opens its season on November 16 against St. Thomas in a tournament hosted by Millikin University.
Women’s Basketball Team Picked to Win MIAA/Men’s Team Picked to Finish Third
Thursday, November 01, 2012
ROYAL OAK, Mich. – The defending champions in MIAA men’s and women’s basketball have been picked to repeat as champions for the 2012-13 season.Hope College has been picked as the preseason favorite to win the MIAA men’s basketball championship, while Calvin College is the preseason pick for the MIAA women’s basketball title. In the men’s poll, the defending MIAA champion Flying Dutchmen captured six first-place votes, while Calvin received two first-place votes. Adrian is picked to finish second in the poll, followed by Calvin. In the women’s poll, defending MIAA co-champion Calvin received eight of the nine first-place votes, while fellow defending co-champion Hope received the other. The Flying Dutch are picked to finish second in the poll, with Albion third.
2012-13 Calvin Women’s Basketball Preview
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
2012-13 Calvin Women's Basketball Schedule
By Mitch Blankespoor
The Calvin College women’s basketball team’s season is just over two weeks away, and the 2012-13 team is already hitting the gym.Coming off of a 28-2 campaign that led Calvin all the way to the national quarterfinals, the Knights were recently ranked preseason number one in the country by the Women’s Division III Basketball Newsletter. The Knights have since been ranked number one by both the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association of America and D3hoops.com. WDIII News also named Calvin senior Carissa Verkaik (Holland/Holland Christian) the preseason Women’s Division III National Player of the Year. A season ago, Verkaik was runner-up for Women’s Division III National Player of the Year.
John Ross Preseason Audio Interview
Women’s Basketball Team Named Preseason #1 by WDIII News - Carissa Verkaik Named Preseason POY
Monday, October 15, 2012
The Calvin women’s basketball team has been ranked number-one in the preseason issue of the Women’s Division III Basketball Newsletter. In addition, Calvin senior Carissa Verkaik has been named the preseason Division III Player of the Year by the publication. Verkaik was named the WDIII News 2012 Player of the Year after averaging 19.2 points, 8.8 rebounds and 4.3 blocked shots a game. She was also named a Division III All-American by both D3hoops.com and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association. Verkaik is one of three returning starters and 12 returning letterwinners for the Calvin women’s basketball team. The defending MIAA champions, Calvin reached the NCAA III quarterfinals in 2012, finishing with an overall record of 28-2.
Six Calvin Teams Receive MIAA Team GPA Award
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
The Faculty Athletic Representatives of the MIAA member colleges present the MIAA Team GPA Award every year. This award recognizes conference athletic teams for performance in the classroom of a 3.3 cumulative GPA or better (on a 4.0 scale). During the recently completed 2011-12 school year, six of Calvin’s athletic teams achieved this distinction. Five of Calvin’s women’s teams received the MIAA Team GPA Award while the men’s cross country team also achieved the feat. Calvin’s teams receiving the honor are as follows; women’s cross country team, women’s track and field team, women’s basketball team, women’s volleyball team, women’s tennis team, and men’s cross country team.
Calvin Lands 123 Scholar-Athletes on MIAA Academic Honor Roll
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
2011-12 MIAA Academic Honor Roll
The 2011-12 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Academic - Honor Roll has been announced by Commissioner David Neilson and 123 Calvin scholar-athletes have been named to the list. The honor roll recognizes scholar-athletes who achieve a minimum 3.5 grade-point average (on a 4.0 scale) for the entire 2010-11 academic year. A student needed to have won a varsity letter in a sport to be eligible. The MIAA Academic Honor Roll program was initiated in 1990 to recognize students at MIAA member colleges who excel both in athletics and in the classroom.
Women’s Basketball Team Finishes 11th in WBCA Top 25 Academic Honor Roll List
Saturday, July 21, 2012
The Calvin women’s basketball team finished as one of the top teams in Division III this past spring and now the Knights have finished as one of the top academic squads as well.Under the direction of head coach John Ross, the Knights have received the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 Academic Honor Roll Award. The Knights finished 11th amongst all Division III schools with a team GPA of 3.518. The honor comes on the heels of a 2011-12 season that saw the Calvin women’s basketball team reach the quarterfinals of the NCAA III Tournament and finish with an overall record of 28-2.
Calvin Finishes 24th in Final Learfield Director’s Cup Division III Standings
Thursday, June 07, 2012
Final Directors Cup Division III Standings for 2011-12
For the 17th consecutive year, Calvin has posted a top 25 finish in the final NCAA III Learfield Sports Directors Cup standings, finishing 24th in the nation in Division III in 2011-12 with a total of 483.50 points. Calvin is one of only six schools in the country to finish in the top 25 every year that the competition has been held at the NCAA III level. Joining Calvin in that elite group are Williams, Mass., Amherst, Mass., Middlebury, Vt., the State University of New York at Cortland and Emory, Ga. Combined, nine of Calvin’s 19 sports teams scored Directors Cup points during the 2011-12 academic year.
Carissa Verkaik Named to BCAM Women’s College Academic All-State Team
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
BCAM Academic All-State College Team
Calvin College junior Carissa Verkaik has been named to the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) College Academic All-State team. A native of Holland and a graduate of Holland Christian High School, Verkaik is receiving BCAM Academic All-State honors for the first time. The 2011-12 MIAA Player of the Year, Verkaik averaged 19 points and 8.9 rebounds during her junior season. This past season, Verkaik was named to the Capital One Division III Academic All-American 3rd team. She has also been a two-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll. Verkaik carries a 3.67 GPA and is majoring in elementary education. Other members of the BCAM Academic All-State Women’s College Team include Maria Blazejewski of Lake Superior State, Patty Rewa of Albion, Melissa Veltkamp of Cornerstone and Bethany Watterworth of Oakland.
Artist on the court
Sunday, April 01, 2012
When senior Courtney Kurncz came to Calvin as a freshman in the fall of 2008, the women’s basketball team was coming off a 15-9 season, a down year for the Knights over the past decade. In her first year, Calvin went 16-10. The next year, they were 24-5. Last year, the Knights went 25-5. This year, Calvin captured an outright MIAA regular season title and an MIAA tournament crown while carrying a 25-1 record into the NCAA III Tournament. Calvin has continued to improve over her career, and what perfect timing for a senior.
