Calvin Men’s Cross Country Team Takes Second/Women’s Team 18th at NCAA III Championships
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Story and Photos by Mark DeHaan
TERRE HAUTE, IN - The Calvin men’s cross country team’s bid for a national championship came up just short on Saturday as the Knights took second place at the NCAA III Championships, just 21 points behind national champion North Central. With 1000 meters left to go, Calvin held a 34-point lead on the automatic chip timing board but the Knights were unable to hang on down the stretch as second-ranked North Central came up with a big stretch finish. Calvin’s total of 188 points was led by All-Americans Nick Kramer and Job Christiansen as Kramer was 26th and Christiansen 35th. On the women’s side, Calvin took 18th with 413 points. Sophomore Kate Ardinger was Calvin’s top finisher, placing 100th.
Women’s Basketball Holds Off St. Thomas 78-72 in Meeting Of Nationally-Ranked Teams
Saturday, November 17, 2012
DECATUR, IL - In a rematch of last year’s NCAA III quarterfinal contest, Calvin recorded a 78-72 victory over St. Thomas in a first round game of the Millikin Coaches vs Cancer Tournament. Calvin entered the game ranked #1 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll while St. Thomas came in ranked third. Calvin jumped out to a 42-26 halftime lead and later built a 48-30 advantage only to see St. Thomas roar back to within a point inside the final five minutes. Calvin surged ahead down the stretch however to pull away for the win. Senior Carissa Verkaik had 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting. She is now just two points away from becoming Calvin’s all-time leading scorer. Sophomore Kayla Engelhard also pumped in a career-high 21 points while senior Ally Wolffis had 10 points and senior Kelsey Irwin nine points. Calvin will now prepare for a 5 p.m. (EST) contest against seventh-ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point which will be a rematch of a second round NCAA III Tournament game from last year.
Calvin Men’s Basketball Team Opens Season With 84-53 Win Over Grace Bible College at Tipoff Tourney
Saturday, November 17, 2012
In the home opener of the 2012-13 season, the men’s basketball team defeated Grace Bible College 84-53. Calvin took a 38-30 halftime lead and extended it to 31 points by the end of the game. The Knights won the rebounding battle 37-29 and shot 53.1% in the game. All 13 active players logged minutes in the win. Junior Tyler Kruis (Grand Rapids/Calvin Christian) led the way for the Knights, scoring 29 points on 13-16 shooting. Tyler Dykstra (Holland/Holland Christian), Kruis’ partner in the frontcourt, played a great all-around game, finishing with eight points, six rebounds, six assists, and two blocks. Senior Bryan Powell (Wyoming/Wyoming Park) provided a spark off the bench with 12 points on 5-10 shooting. Calvin will play North Park University tomorrow at 3 p.m. for the Tip-Off Tournament championship. North Park defeated Cairn University 79-55 in the other matchup on Friday.
Calvin Volleyball Team Advances to National Title Match With Semifinal Win Over Christopher Newport
Saturday, November 17, 2012
(Story by MIAA Publicist Greg Chandler/Photo by Paul Evans)
HOLLAND, Mich. – Playing in front of a raucous, partisan crowd of 2,054, the Knights of Calvin (Mich.) College punched their ticket to their second NCAA Division III volleyball championship match in three years Friday night by defeating Christopher Newport (Va.), 25-19, 25-21, 23-25, 25-16, in a national semifinal match. The Knights (33-2), who won their first national championship in 2010 by defeating Emory (Ga.), will play the University of St. Thomas (Minn.) for the Division III title at 7 p.m. Saturday night at Hope College’s DeVos Fieldhouse, 37 miles from the Calvin campus in Grand Rapids. The Captains, who were the tournament’s top-seeded team, had its 32-match winning streak snapped and ended its season at 40-3.
Calvin Vball Defeats Puget Sound in Four Sets in Quarters - To Face Christopher Newport in Semis
Friday, November 16, 2012
(Story By MIAA Publicist Greg Chandler and Sports Information Intern Mitch Blankespoor/Photo by Paul Evans)
HOLLAND, Mich. – Playing less than 40 miles from their home campus, Calvin (Mich.) College dominated the final two sets Thursday night in defeating the University of Puget Sound (Wash.), 25-22, 23-25, 25-15, 25-10, in an NCAA Division III volleyball tournament quarterfinal at DeVos Fieldhouse. The Knights, who won the 2010 national championship,will take on 2011 national runnerup Christopher Newport (Va.) University (40-2) at 7:30 p.m. Friday night in a Division III semifinal matchup. The other semifinal, at 5 p.m., pits St. Thomas (Minn.) (38-1) against Elmhurst (Ill.) (33-7).
Video of Postmatch Press Conference
Calvin/Christopher Newport Live Video Stream
Calvin Volleyball Team Gives Back Through Service Project Work at NCAA III Finals Week
Thursday, November 15, 2012
As part of its participation at the NCAA III Finals at Hope College this week, the Calvin volleyball team volunteered at Holland Rescue Mission in Holland. Calvin’s service work including raking leaves, cleaning toys and equipment and other work inside the facility. The Calvin Sports Information office caught up with Calvin head volleyball coach Amber Warners Wednesday night and she details Calvin’s service project work during the day while also offering thoughts on Calvin’s upcoming match Thursday night vs Puget Sound. The audio interview can be found at:Amber Warners Audio Interview Photos of Calvin’s service work can be found online at: Calvin Service Project Photo Gallery
Calvin’s Lizzie Kamp Named AVCA Division III National Player of the Year
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
HOLLAND, Mich. - Calvin College senior Lizzie Kamp has received the highest honor in Division III volleyball. On Wednesday night at the Division III All-America banquet ceremony hosted by Hope College at the Haworth Conference Center, Kamp was named the Division III National Player of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association. It not only marks the second straight year that a Calvin player has been named national player of the year in volleyball, but also marks the second straight year that a member of the Kamp family has done so. A year ago, older sister Rebecca Kamp was named the AVCA Division III Player of the Year. At 31-2, Calvin is headed into national tournament play tomorrow night when it faces the University of Puget Sound at 8 p.m. at Hope’s DeVos Fieldhouse in a national quarterfinal match. Calvin will enter the match ranked number-one in the country while Puget Sound is ranked 12th.
Holland Sentinel Story on Lizzie Kamp
Kamp Sisters of Calvin Women’s Volleyball Team Featured on Mlive.com
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The Calvin women’s volleyball team is preparing for a national quarterfinal match with the University of Pugent Sound Thursday at 8 p.m. at Hope’s DeVos Fieldhouse. Three sisters: Lizzie, Stacey and Maggie Kamp will be part of Calvin’s contingent. Mlive.com caught up with the three sisters recently and filed the following story: Mlive.com story on Calvin’s Kamp Sisters
Brian Diemer Named USTFCCCA Division III Great Lakes Regional Men’s Cross Country Coach of Year
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Calvin College head cross country coach Brian Diemer has been named the Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association. Diemer, in his 27th season, led the Knights to their 26th-consecutive Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association title this fall. The third-ranked Calvin men also captured their 17th straight regional crown last Saturday. Calvin will compete at the NCAA III Championships this Saturday in Terre Haute, Indiana. The races will begin at 11 a.m. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology will serve as the host institution. Diemer will be leading both the Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams at the national meet on Saturday. Combined, Diemer has now led the Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams to 32 MIAA titles which ranks second on the all-time MIAA list for championships, trailing only the 35 won by George Acker of Kalamazoo College in men’s tennis. Saturday’s races will feature a live video webcast. The video streams will be available on Saturday morning on the NCAA website at: NCAA.com For a forecast of Saturday’s national meet, please check out audio interviews with Diemer and assistant coach Al Hoekstra below:
Homecoming for Calvin Women’s Volleyball Coach Amber Warners Featured in Holland Sentinel
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Calvin College women’s volleyball coach Amber Warners will be making a homecoming this week when she leads her team into the NCAA III Finals at Hope College. A native of Holland and a graduate of Holland Christian High School and Calvin College, Warners is the subject of a feature story on the Holland Sentinel website. To read more, visit the Holland Sentinel website at: Holland Sentinel Feature - Amber Warners
