Despite losing five of its top seven runners from a year ago, Diemer led the Calvin men’s cross country team to its 23rd consecutive MIAA title and its 14th consecutive Great Lakes Regional title. At the Great Lakes Regional meet, Diemer’s team placed five runners in the top 25 led by sophomore Nick Kramer who took first place individually. At the MIAA Championships, Calvin posted a perfect score of 15 points.

Diemer has also had the Calvin women’s cross country team on top of the Division III Top 35 polls for the last seven weeks.  This fall, Diemer led the Calvin women’s cross country team to its fifth consecutive MIAA title and its 21st overall. At the MIAA Championships, Calvin posted a perfect score of 15 points and followed with a first place score of 50 points at the Great Lakes Regional, to win the regional crown for the third-straight year.

In addition, Nick Kramer has been named the Great Lakes Regional Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Year by the USTFCCCA. A native of Dyer, Indiana, Kramer became the ninth individual in Calvin men’s cross country history to claim a Great Lakes Regional title this past Saturday, running 25:45, nine seconds better than the next fastest runner.

A graduate of Illiana Christian High School, Kramer also took first place at the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletics Association Jamboree and MIAA Championships this fall, garnering MIAA Most Valuable Runner honors.

Both Calvin cross country teams will compete at the NCAA III Championships this Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio. Baldwin-Wallace College will serve as host. The Calvin women’s cross country team will head in ranked number-one while the Calvin men’s cross country team will head in ranked 15th.

A native of Madison, Wisconsin, Snapper has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America second team in the college division in men’s soccer. The college division includes NCAA II and III institutions as well as schools from the NAIA ranks.

The ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America program is voted on by the College Sports Information Director’s Association of America (CoSIDA).

A graduate of Madison West High School, Snapper is the Veldhouse is the fourth men’s soccer player from Calvin to receive ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors, joining Joel Veldhouse (2004), Sam Glass (1997 & 1998) and Will Watts (1997) to have done so.

A four-year starter at sweeperback on defense, Snapper was named the MIAA’s Most Valuable Player in 2008 & 2009 while earning a spot on the All-MIAA first team three straight years. As a freshman in 2006, Snapper was named to the All-MIAA second team. Earlier this fall, he was named the MIAA’s Defensive Player of the Week for the fifth time in his career. Last year, Snapper was also named to the Great Lakes All-Region second team. 

Snapper has led a Calvin defense this fall that has posted 13 shutouts this year and is ranked 22nd nationally in goals-against-average (0.62) and 18th in shutout percentage (.590).

Snapper has also been a part of three MIAA championship teams and three Calvin squads that have reached the NCAA III Tournament. Calvin is currently 16-4-2 overall and headed to the Round of 16 of the NCAA III Tournament. The Knights will take on Carnegie-Mellon (PA) Friday night at 7:30 p.m. in a national semi-quarterfinal game scheduled to be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A three-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and a six-time member of the Calvin Dean’s List, Snapper carries a double-major of Spanish and biochemistry while maintaining a 3.75 grade point average.

Calvin has now had its athletes receive ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America accolades 82 times including 51 times in the last 12 years.

A native of Grandville and a graduate of Grandville Calvin Christian High School, Boender has been named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America third team in women’s soccer in the college division. The college division includes NCAA II and III schools as well as NAIA institutions.

A three-year starter on the defensive backline for Calvin, Boender is the first Academic All-American in women’s soccer at Calvin since Cara Jansen, also a defender, received the award in both 1998 and 1999.

This fall, Boender was named to the All-MIAA first team for the second straight year as she was part of a Calvin defense that allowed only three goals against MIAA competition. She has also been a key component of a Calvin defense that has allowed only nine goals all year and is ranked 15th nationally in goals-against-average (0.494) and 19th in shutout percentage (.667) as the Knights have 13 shutouts this fall. She has also scored one goal, despite playing on the defensive backline.

Boender is part of a Calvin women’s soccer team that captured the 2009 MIAA title and is currently 15-4-1 overall and still alive in the NCAA III Tournament as the Knights are scheduled to compete in a national semi-quarterfinal game at Augustana College (IL) this weekend.

In the classroom, Boender carries a 3.90 grade point average while majoring in nursing. She is a three-time member of the MIAA Academic Honor Roll and a six-time member of the Calvin Dean’s List.

Calvin has now had its athletes receive ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America accolades 81 times including 50 times in the last 12 years.

Both Calvin teams return to action on Saturday when they host Division II Wayne State University at the Venema Aquatic Center at 1:00 p.m. A year ago, both Wayne State teams earned national runner-up finishes at the NCAA II Championships.

A native of Orland Park, Illinois, Kamp is receiving first team All-America honors for the second straight year. A graduate of Chicago Christian High School, Kamp was a two-time MIAA Player of the Week, a first team All-MIAA selection and a Great Lakes All-Region choice this fall. She was also named to all-tournament teams at invitationals hosted by Ohio Northern, Wittenberg and Elmhurst. In addition, she was named to all-regional tournament team this past weekend at an NCAA III Regional hosted by Hope College

On the year, Kamp compiled a .337 hitting percentage while averaging 4.14 kills, 1.91 digs and 1.22 blocks-per-set. She also record 50 service aces for an average of 0.42 service aces-per-set. In the most recent set of NCAA III statistics, she was ranked 17th nationally in blocks-per-set, 18th in kills-per-set and 35th in hitting percentage.

Sears is receiving All-America accolades for the first time. She is a native of Traverse City and a graduate of Traverse City West High School. A two-year starter at libero for the Knights, Sears was a two-time MIAA Specialty Player of the Week this fall and was named to the All-MIAA first team for the second straight year. She was also named to all-tournament teams at invitationals hosted by Ohio Northern and Wittenberg. Last week, she was named to the Great Lakes All-Region team. Over the course of the season, Sears compiled 581 digs in 118 sets for an average of 4.92 digs-per-set. She also recorded 34 service aces.

In addition, freshman middle-hitter Lizzie Kamp has received honorable mention All-America recognition. Also a native of Orland Park, Illinois, Lizzie Kamp was named the Great Lakes Regional Freshman of the Year and landed a spot on the Great Lakes All-Region team. She finished the year with a hitting percentage of 2.76 and an average of 2.56 kills-per-set.

As a team, Calvin finished the 2009 season with an overall record of 28-7 which included an MIAA Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA III Tournament with the Knights reaching the second round before bowing to Hope last Friday night.

CALVIN COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL ALL-AMERICANS

1985 Julie Dykstra
1986 Julie Dykstra, Leah Calsbeek, Roxanne Helmus
1997 Erika Van Stralen
1999 Rhonda Volkers
2006 Kristen Kalb & Molly Krikke
2007 Molly Krikke & Katie Zondervan
2008 Rebecca Kamp
2009 Kelsey Sears & Rebecca Kamp

GRAND RAPIDS - Basketball has made its comeback here at Calvin as the weather turns colder around campus.  Last week the men opened their season with a home exhibition game against Division II team Ferris State University, and the women initiated regular season play Tuesday night against East Beltline rival Cornerstone University.  In that game the Knights would initiate strong defense and shoot very well from the floor as they rolled to a comfortable 69-50 win over the Golden Eagles.

Both teams struggled in the opening minutes to put points on the board, with Calvin not scoring until almost four minutes into the half when sophomore guard Courtney Kurncz made two consecutive shots from the free throw line to cut a Cornerstone lead to 6-2.  From there the Knights took advantage of a couple of big first half scoring runs to take complete control of the game.

“We know this is going to be a roller-coaster type year with so many freshmen and a lot of players with not very much experience,” said Coach John Ross after the game, “but we have really good leaders and the team gets along really really well, and I think that will make up for a lot of things.”

“I was happy with a lot of performances tonight,” Ross continued, “Carissa [Verkaik] put up a real good performance, and Kelsey [Irwin] threw in a little shocker with a couple of big threes in her first game, so that was good to see.”

The first big run came with around ten minutes to play in the first half and Cornerstone sitting on a slim 12-11 lead.  Calvin’s offense and defense exploded simultaneously, and the Knights scored twelve straight points to take a ten point lead at 22-12.

In the ensuing minutes Cornerstone managed to claw its way back into the game, closing the gap to 26-21.  Calvin responded to that counterattack by going on another huge run, a 14-0 clinic that put the Knights ahead by an immense 19 points.  The first half would end with a 41-25 Calvin lead.

At the break Calvin as a team was shooting 55 percent, making 16 of 29 shots.  The Knights were led in scoring by Kurncz and freshman forward Carissa Verkaik, who both had 10 points.  Along with her point total, Kurncz amassed three blocks and a steal in the first frame.  Verkaik was perfect from the floor, hitting on five shot attempts in the paint.  She also led the team with four rebounds in the first half.

Cornerstone shot 33 percent in the first half and was led in scoring by sophomore guard Robyn Veltkamp, who also had 10 points.

As the second half started, both teams again struggled to get anything going offensively, and the game went fairly back and forth for most of the first ten minutes of the half.  Cornerstone would creep back into the game after that, cutting the deficit to a ten point 51-41 Calvin lead.  The Knights then went on a few mini scoring runs and upped the score to 60-44.  From then on, they controlled the game on both sides of the ball and closed things out, winning by nineteen points.

Verkaik finished her first ever game as a Knight, and a good one at that, with a double-double.  She scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading Calvin in both of those categories.

Jill Thomas came off the bench for the Knights and scored 12 points, scoring on all four three point attempts she attempted.  Kurncz finished with 10 points and also grabbed five boards, blocked four shots, and dished out four assists.  Post player Brooke Van Eck also finished with 10 points six rebounds and three steals.

“We can only take one game at a time,” Ross said of the team’s next step of the season.  “We’ve got a tough Marian team this Friday and that game won’t be easy. We’ll have to be ready to play.”

Calvin is back in action on November 20th when they travel to Ohio to play Marian University in the Wilmington Tournament, hosted by Wilmington College.

Located in Pittsburgh, Carnegie-Mellon has also been selected to host the sectional Friday and Saturday (November 20 and 21). Swarthmore will take on Transylvania in the first game with the Calvin/Carnegie-Mellon game set to follow at 7:30 p.m.

On the women’s side, Calvin (15-4-1) will face College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin champion Augustana (IL) as part of a four-team sectional hosted by Augustana. The Calvin/Augustana game is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. (EST). The sectional will also include Wheaton (IL) and Washington University of St. Louis. Wheaton and Wash. U will play in the second game on Friday. Friday’s winners will play in the national quarterfinal game at Augustana at 7:00 p.m. (EST).

Calvin (16-4-2) will face the winner of a second round game between Carnegie-Mellon (PA) and Medaille (NY) next weekend at a site yet to be determined.

Saturday’s game between Calvin and Wartburg will officially go in the books as a 0-0 double-overtime tie but the Knights will be the team advancing.

In its only prior shootout, Calvin dropped a 3-2 decision to Fredonia State of New York in a 2005 third round NCAA III Tournament game.

Calvin came out on the winning end of the shootout Saturday night, thanks in part to third-string goalkeeper Ryan Bratt who was pressed into duty last Saturday against rival Hope after Calvin’s first two goalies suffered injuries.

A native of Silver Spring, Maryland, the 6-6 Bratt came up huge in the shootout, making two clutch saves including a stop on Wartburg’s fifth and final attempt that clinched the shootout win for the Knights.

“Heading into the shootout, I was obviously excited,” said Bratt. “I just wanted to step up huge for our team. I wanted to prove that I’m better than a normal third string goalie.”

Indeed.

Calvin won the coin toss for the shootout and elected to shoot second. The strategy paid off as Wartburg’s first shooter hit the goalpost.

Calvin junior Scott Hooker (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) then ripped in Calvin’s first penalty kick and Bratt followed with his first shootout save on a low hard shot by Wartburg’s Brandon Cook. Moments later, Calvin junior Dan Kmetz gave Calvin a 2-0 lead with a penalty kick goal.

Wartburg then sandwiched back-to-back goals around an attempt by Calvin senior Luke Holtrop that was saved by Wartburg keeper Trent Michael, tying the score 2-2.

Calvin freshman Joe Broekhuizen (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS) put the Knights back up 3-2, drilling a laser to the far corner, setting up Bratt’s final heroics with a penalty kick stop on an attempt taken by Wartburg’s Jeff Miller.

“I am so happy for my seniors,” said Calvin men’s soccer coach Chris Hughes. “I am also thrilled for all of Calvin’s soccer alumni. This game belongs to them too. I want to also give credit to Wartburg which has a very good side. They were physical and they were very good on the ball. They gave us a great game and we’re just thrilled to be moving on.”

Hughes also commented on Bratt’s play in goal in the shootout. “Ryan Bratt was not only terrific in the shootout, he was also terrific throughout the game,” said Hughes. “Before the shootout, I looked Ryan in the eye and he told me, ‘Coach, I want this,’ so I knew he was ready for the moment.”

Prior to the shootout, Calvin finished with a 20-16 shots at goal advantage although Wartburg held a 12-8 edge in the second half.

Bratt finished the game with six saves for Calvin while Michael had five saves for Wartburg (16-4-2).

Saturday’s game marked the second meeting between Calvin and Wartburg in NCAA III Tournament play. Wartburg defeated Calvin 1-0 in overtime in a second round game in 2004.

Saturday’s game also featured a meeting of Knights as both schools share the same nickname.

The top two teams in the men’s 8K race and the top two teams in the women’s 6K race on Saturday both received automatic trips to the NCAA III Championships

In the men’s race, Calvin captured the Great Lakes Regional title for the 14th straight year with a first place score of 73 points, finishing 21 points ahead of Heidelberg. Sophomore Nick Kramer (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS) highlighted the day for the Knights by taking first place individually with a time of 25:45, finishing nine seconds ahead of his nearest competitor. Kramer is the ninth individual in Calvin men’s cross country history to win a regional title individually and marks the eighth time in the last 10 years that a Calvin men’s cross country runner has accomplished the feat.

Kramer was part of six Calvin runners that placed in the top 35 with freshman Matt Vander Roest (Ann Arbor/Ann Arbor Huron HS) placing 14th (26:18), senior George Visser (Winfield, IL/West Chicago HS), placing 17th (26:24), senior Aaron Goodman (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran HS) 19th (26:28), senior Ben Van Wyk (Sussex, NJ/High Point HS) 22nd (26:34) and junior Alex Wrobel (Arden Hills, MN/Mounds View HS) 35th (26:49). By placing in the top-35, all six Calvin runners earned Great Lakes All-Region honors. Rounding out Calvin’s finishers was sophomore Dan Kerr (Petoskey/Petoskey HS) with a 58th place time of 27:18.

VanderRoest was the second-fastest freshman in the men’s race, surpassed only by Oberlin’s Eric Line who placed ninth in a time of 26:11.

In the women’s race, top-ranked Calvin placed seven runners in the top-18 led by senior Lauren Bergstrom (Rochester, MN/Century HS) with a fifth place time of 22:16. She was followed by senior Jesi Hale (Rehoboth, NM/Gallup HS) in eighth (22:26), senior Jessica Koster (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) in 10th (22:39), senior Elizabeth Smit (Kirkland, WA/Bellevue Christian HS) in 13th (22:46), senior Sarah Dugan (Freeland/Freeland HS) in 15th (22:51), sophomore Jodi Hoekstra (Homer Glen, IL/Chicago Christian HS) in 17th (22:55) and junior Gretchen Braymer (Erie, PA/Collegiate Academy) in 18th (22:57).

Oberlin grabbed the other automatic qualifying spot by placing second with a team score of 120 points, 10 points ahead of Case Western Reserve.

POST RACE QUOTES FROM HEAD COACH BRIAN DIEMER:

*ON THE MEN’S RACE - Our men really came through in a big way. The guys have really stepped up over the last four weeks, catching on and ‘getting it.’ If we run next week like we ran today, we have a chance to do very well at nationals. This team was very determined to make a statement that this year was a reloading year for the Calvin men’s cross country team, not a rebuilding year.

*ON NICK KRAMER’S REGIONAL TITLE PERFORMANCE - Nick Kramer ran an awesome race. He bided his time and worked in the first pack nicely. It was very wise racing. He ended up pulling away from the second place runner from Denison ( Makorobo Salukombo) with about a mile to go and then he just kept working it and finished strong.

*ON FRESHMAN MATT VANDER ROEST - Matt Vander Roest is stepping up in a big way. He was the second fastest freshmen in this race. He was running with the big boys today and showed no fear. For awhile, he was even leading the pack with Nick Kramer which was exciting to see.

*ON THE WOMEN’S RACE - Our women’s team took care of what it needed to do today and that was to run strong and make it to nationals. Today was a good dress rehearsal for next week. Individually, Lauren Bergstrom is really coming on strong. Jesi Hale continues to run real well and a couple of our other runners who have fought through some injuries really had encouraging performances today. 

*ON BOTH TEAMS - I am really proud of both teams today. We’re looking forward to putting on a good show next week at the national meet.

POST RACE QUOTES FROM ASSISTANT COACH AL HOEKSTRA:

*ON THE MEN’S RACE - I can’t be any more prouder of this team than I am right now. Earlier this year there was a time of doubt that our men would even make it back to the natoinal meet but the last three races, they’ve taken things up another notch each time. Our guys really ran with a lot of heart. They are running together and running for more than just themselves which is the key to becoming a great team.

*ON NICK KRAMER’S REGIONAL TITLE - Nick Kramer ran the best race of his career and picked a perfect time to do it. He has been in a bit of valley with his training but he came out of the valley today and ran a phenomenal race. He ran a very smart, calculated race. He has really become a great Calvin racer.

*ON THE WOMEN’S RACE - Our women ran very well. To have seven in the top 18 was solid. Our women’s team has a little work to do up front for next week but I think they can make the right adjustments. We are eally Looking forward to next week.

GREAT LAKES REGIONAL XC CHAMPIONS FROM CALVIN

2009 Nick Kramer (Calvin)
2008 Jed Christiansen (Calvin)
2007 Jed Christiansen (Calvin)
2005 Tim Finnegan (Calvin)
2003 Hendrik Kok (Calvin)
2002 Hendrik Kok (Calvin)
2001  Dan Hoekstra (Calvin)
2000  Dan Hoekstra (Calvin)
1994  Ray VanArragon (Calvin)
1991  Thad Karnehm (Calvin)
1990  John Lumkes (Calvin)
1989  Adam Suarez (Calvin)
1988  Adam Suarez (Calvin)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI—Victory can sometimes be oh so sweet, which was exactly the case for the Knights of Calvin College Saturday as it eliminated the Wittenberg Tigers in a close 1-0 match, moving on to the Round of 16 for the first time since 2006.

With a large crowd in attendance the two teams squared off knowing that should they lose, the season would be over, and with picture perfect weather for a soccer game on Calvin’s campus, the Knights were the ones who came out on top.

Much like in yesterday’s match against Washington and Jefferson, Calvin started the game searching for a hole through which it could take some kind of advantage, and Wittenberg looked to do the same.  Neither team showed much weakness throughout the first half though as the game would remain scoreless with both defenses looking especially strong.  But, and just like yesterday’s first round match, Calvin was the first to jump out to a lead.

With four minutes left in the first half, Calvin forced a corner kick on the Tiger’s half, and Lauren Heyboer chipped in her third assist in two games from corner kicks, sending in a great ball that was redirected into the goal by senior midfielder Emily Ottenhoff.  The goal, Ottenhoff’s seventh of the year, gave Calvin the lead and showed exactly why Ottenhoff was named the MIAA’s Most Valuable Player for the 2009 season.

“I think Em is by far one of the smartest soccer IQ players I have ever coached,” Recker said of his senior leader.  “She sees what’s happening on the field, and she keeps us calm at times when we just need to slow down.”

“Her career here has been special for us,” Recker continued, “and her four years here have always given some measure of value in terms of her overall soccer skills and what she has meant to our team.”

The goal, coming directly off of a corner kick, would be Calvin’s fourth goal of its last five that have resulted from corner kick set pieces.  Calvin certainly has dominated in the air in this tournament so far.  And at 1-0, Calvin went into the halftime break with the lead, something they definitely were hoping for coming into this game.

The seniors on Calvin’s squad, playing in their final seasons as Knights, knew that a lead such as this is especially vital to getting access to the next round of the tournament.  Calvin hasn’t made it beyond the second round of play in the NCAA Tournament since 2006, back when these current seniors were freshmen.

“We’re really pumped,” Ottenhoff said after the game, “we kept talking about how not every team gets a second chance like we did, and yesterday and today we came out and got it done and so we’re really excited about where we’re at right now.”

“For the seniors, we got to the elite eight our freshmen year which was a great way to start off our careers,” Ottenhoff said of how the team’s senior members are looking at this final tournament, “and not having been back since then we are definitely looking to get back to that level.”

Halftime stats showed both teams with three shots on goal, with Ottenhoff’s header the lone success, but Calvin controlled the pace of the game throughout much of the half.  That didn’t slow down a bit once the second frame began.

In the second half the defenses of both teams again took over, not giving anything over to the other team in terms of scoring opportunity.  The first real chance for the Knights came midway through the half as Calvin took advantage of a Wittenberg free kick for a breakaway drive by junior back Kellie Honderd.  Honderd received a pass at midfield with no one in front of her and took off towards Wittenberg’s goal, but a bad touch resulted in Honderd losing a lot of scoring angle and her shot was easily scooped up by the Tiger goalkeeper.

As time kept on rolling down emotions began to run a little high on both sides as Calvin tried to maintain the lead and Wittenberg desperately tried to set something up on offense in the hopes of getting an equalizer.

In the last few minutes of the game the Tigers pushed Calvin’s half as best they could and even had a dangerous chance on goal in the final seconds, with a loose ball scramble occurring in the Knights’ box.  Calvin keeper Kayla Sulzer was swift to the ball though and by collecting it she essentially cemented the victory for the Knights as soon after the whistle sounded and Calvin was on to the next round.

“Our team getting the invite was just a real refreshing acceptance,” Recker said, still grateful for his team’s chance to make noise in this final tournament, “and we’re just going to take each game we’re offered as a gift, move on, continue practicing, and represent the MIAA.”

One interesting note for Saturday’s game was that Calvin saw some playing time from an unexpected player who came back from what was thought to be a season ending injury.  Senior forward Natalie Veurink played for part of the match after injuring her hip, and her return to the field was a breath of fresh air to a Knights’ offense that has lacked speed at that position.

“It was great to be back on the field and able to contribute for my team,” Veurink said afterwards, “and it is wonderful to be back in the sweet sixteen and we’re ready to hit the road.”

The Knights finished the match ahead of Wittenberg 8-6 in the shot column, a much closer total than they have been used to for many of their games this season.  Sulzer finished with three saves, getting her second straight shutout, and Calvin now has shut out its opponents in each of the first two rounds of the tournament.

And with Saturday’s win, the Knights now have tasted the sweetness of victory as they move on to their first Sweet 16 since 2006.  With a season reborn from the ashes, look for the Knights to remain invigorated with new life in this 2009 NCAA Tournament.