Calvin Track and Field Teams Move Into First Place at MIAA Field Day
Thursday, May 02, 2013
HOLLAND - The Calvin men’s and women’s track and field teams moved into first place on the first day of competition at the MIAA Field Day hosted by Hope College. The MIAA Field Day is worth one-half of the final league crown. The MIAA Jamboree - held three weeks ago - makes up the remaining half. Both Calvin teams took first place at the earlier MIAA Jamboree. Through one day of competition, the Calvin men’s team has 72 points, 38 points ahead of Hope while the Calvin women’s team has 62.5 points with Alma second with 58 points.Ranked 24th nationally, the Calvin men took first place in just one event on Thursday but flashed strong depth throughout the day to pile up an early first place point total. Senior David VandeBunte led the charge by winning the 10,000 meters in a time of 31:17.38. On the women’s side, Calvin took first place in two events Thursday. Senior Carissa Verkaik got the day rolling by winning the high jump for the third consecutive year, doing so with a jump of 5-3. She was one of three Calvin high jumpers to score points as sophomore Christina Geating was second and sophomore Kelley Tuinenga seventh. Action continues on Friday at 10 a.m.
Men’s tennis defeats Hope 5-4 in MIAA Tournament Semifinals
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Story by Mitch Blankespoor
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Coming off a loss at the hands of the Flying Dutchmen last week, the Calvin men’s tennis team hosted Hope in the MIAA Tournament semifinals May 2 looking for revenge. The match lasted well over four hours, and also included a rain delay. Calvin edged Hope, defeated the Flying Dutchmen 5-4 at Strikwerda Tennis Center. The Knights won two of three doubles flights. Preston Phillips and Phil Reinken won at first doubles while Brian DeMaagd and Loukas Peterson won at second doubles. Calvin needed three of six singles flights to win the match, and got exactly that. Phillips won a 6-4, 7-5 match over Parker Bussies at second singles. Jarrod Brower defeated Jon Panzer 6-0, 6-3 at fifth singles. The decisive flight came at fourth singles. Loukas Peterson defeated Kyle Kreps in three sets by scores of 7-6 (4) 6-7 (6), 6-3. Calvin improves to 14-5 on the season and is also 5-1 in the MIAA. The Knights earn a berth in the MIAA Tournament final for the third consecutive year. Calvin will travel Kalamazoo to take on the Hornets tomorrow, May 3, for a 4:00 p.m. match at Stowe Tennis Stadium.
Women’s tennis falls 5-0 at Hope in MIAA Tournament Semifinals
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Story by Mitch Blankespoor
HOLLAND, Mich. – The Calvin women’s tennis team saw its season come to an end Thursday, May 2, on the campus of Hope College. The Knights fell 5-0 to the Flying Dutch in the MIAA Tournament semifinals. In a match played at Vande Poel-Herrings Stadium, Hope won all three doubles flights. Calvin did put up a fight in two of the three flights, however. Seniors Jordan Ipema (Kalamazoo/Kalamazoo Christian) and Elise Doezema (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian) fell to Melissa Bieri (Holland/Holland Christian) and Anna Garcia (Battle Creek/Lakeview) 8-6 at second doubles. Calvin sophomores Samantha Reitsma (Grand Rapids/Northpointe Christian) and Ali Roode (Hudsonville/Unity Christian) were defeated by Stephanie Huffman (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Eastern) and Andrea Pickelman (Marshall/Marshall) 8-5 at third doubles. Hope needed to win only two singles flights to clinch the match. The Flying Dutch won the first two matches off the courts. Casey Baxter (Saline/Saline) defeated Ipema 6-1, 6-1 at second singles. Leah LaBarge (Hudsonville/Hudsonville) defeated Calvin junior Bethany Zoerhof (Holland/Holland Christian) 6-2, 6-1 at fourth singles. The match was played to decision. Calvin finishes its season with a 6-11 record including a 4-4 mark in MIAA regular season play.
Carissa Verkaik Is a Repeat Selection on BCAM Academic All-State Team
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
BCAM Academic All-State Women's College Basketball Team
Carissa Verkaik has added another honor to her Calvin College awards case. Verkaik was recently named to the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) Academic All-State team for the second straight year. She was joined on the BCAM Academic All-State Collegiate Division team by Karli Harris of Davenport University, Liz Ellis of Hope College, Niki DiGuilio of Central Michigan University Talisha Bridges of Wayne State University. The 6’2 senior center earned her fourth consecutive MIAA Player of the Year award and was named the DIII Player of the Year. Carissa averaged 20 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 blocks while leading her team to a 23-4 overall and 15-1 MIAA record. She scored over 2,000 points in her career. The Elementary Education major will graduate with a 3.76 GPA and was a Capital One Academic All-American.
Calvin’s Jalen Bouma Named MIAA Baseball Player of the Week
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Calvin shortstop Jalen Bouma, a freshman from Ann Arbor (Huron HS) is this week’s MIAA Baseball Player of the Week. Last week, Bouma hit .471 (8-for-17) and drove in seven runs as the Knights took three out of four in an MIAA weekend series against Albion. He went 3-for-5 with four RBIs, including a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth, to lift Calvin to a 6-5 win over the Britons, then later went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in an 18-0 win over Albion. Bouma, who is being honored as Player of the Week for the first time in his career, added three runs, two doubles and two stolen bases for the series.
MIAA Tournament Berth Remains Elusive For Calvin Baseball Team After Loss at Alma
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
ALMA - A berth in the upcoming four-team MIAA Tournament remains elusive for the Calvin baseball team. The Knights need either a win or an Olivet loss this week to clinch their first-ever league tournament berth. On Tuesday, Calvin got neither as it dropped a 7-4 decision at Alma in a conference game that originally began on April 19 but was suspended after two innings because of weather with the game tied 2-2. Calvin will now prepare for a four-game weekend series with rival Hope. The Knights will host Hope Friday night in a twinight doubleheader at Fifth Third Ballpark in Comstock Park with first pitch slated for 5:30 p.m. On Saturday, Calvin will travel to Hope’s Boeve Stadium for a 1 p.m. twinbill.
Michmerhuizen Named Division III National Women’s Runner of the Week by USTFCCCA
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
For the first time in her collegiate career, Calvin College junior Nicole Michmerhuizen has been named the Division III National Runner of the Week by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association. Michmerhuizen (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) ran one of Division III’s all-time best 10,000 meter races at the Hillsdale College Gina Relays, powering to a 34:09.96 — the seventh-fastest time in division history. Her torrid pace propelled her to victory by more than 10 seconds over a field with mixed DI, DII and DIII talent and to the 2013 division lead by nearly a full minute. Most remarkable is the fact that her 16:55 second half of the race would have stood alone as the fifth-best performance at 5000 meters in DIII this season, never mind the fact that she ran another 5000 meters before that point. Her time broke a 26-year-old Gina Relays record of 34:41.61 set in 1987 by Eastern Michigan’s Julie Watson; and it crushed the previous Calvin school record of 35:44..36 set in 2007 by Christina Overbeck by more than a minute and a half. Hers is the fastest DIII 10,000 meters race since Toni Wiszowaty of Plattsburgh State ran 33:57.48 at the Penn Relays in 2008.
Baseball Nipped by Cornerstone 9-8 in Non-Conference Game
Monday, April 29, 2013
Calvin dropped a non-conference 9-8 decision at Cornerstone University Monday afternoon. The Knights are now 15-19 on the season.Calvin held an early 4-0 lead but Cornerstone tied the game with four runs in the bottom of the second. Calvin regained the lead with two runs in the top of the third but the Golden Eagles scored three in the fifth and two in the seventh while Calvin came up with single runs in the seventh and eighth.Calvin used four pitchers in the game with sophomore Tom Bouwkamp (0-1) taking the loss in defeat. Max Crimp, Jeremy Kamp and Austin Juza also saw time with Crimp receiving the start and tossing the first three innings for the Knights. Calvin had 14 hits in the loss with freshman Jalen Bouma leading the way by going 3-for-4 with a double. Over his last five games, Bouma is batting .524 (11-for-21) and has raised his season batting average to .311. Also collecting two hits apiece were sophomore Grant VanPutten, senior Mike Fuller, junior Jack Jorgenson and senior Tyler Tos. Freshman Travis Kraai also had a triple with two runs batted in. Calvin is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Alma to resume a conference game that was suspended because of weather on April 19 with the teams tied 2-2 after two innings. The resumption of the game will begin at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
Men’s Lacrosse Closes Out Inaugural Season With 9-8 Loss to Elmhurst
Monday, April 29, 2013
By Mark DeHaan
The inaugural season of Calvin men’s varsity lacrosse came to a close Monday night as the Knights hosted the Blue Jays of Elmhurst. Monday night was also senior night as Calvin honored seniors Greg Boer, Drew Sroczynski, and Adam Wiersma. The Knights played strong all game long, but with the game tied late, allowed a goal by Elmhurst that turned out to be the game-winner as the Blue Jays claimed a 9-8 win. Calvin had an opportunity to tie in the final minute but could not capitalize, and the Knights rounded out their season 2-14 overall.
Megan Visser Named MIAA Women’s Tennis Player of the Week
Monday, April 29, 2013
ROYAL OAK, Mich. – The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association named Calvin’s Megan Visser its Player of the Week in women’s tennis for matches played through April 27. Visser, a sophomore from Kalamazoo, won the deciding match at No. 1 singles in Calvin’s 5-4 victory over Saint Mary’s, winning the match 7-5, 1-6, 6-3. The win secured a spot for the Knights in this week’s MIAA tournament. Visser is being honored as Player of the Week for the first time in her career. Visser has served as Calvin’s No. 1 singles player the past two years. She is currently 7-11 in singles play heading into an MIAA Tournament semifinal match on Thursday at Hope scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
