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Knights dominate
Men, women perfect at MIAA tourney
Fans of Calvin cross-country are accustomed to success, especially success in the MIAA. They have witnessed the men’s and women’s teams string together victories year after year in the conference. Yet this year’s cross-country teams managed Saturday to outdo their predecessors.
Running in the MIAA Championships at Adrian, both teams steamrolled the swampy terrain and overcame fierce winds to take conference titles in unprecedented fashion. The men and women each raced to perfect team scores of 15 points, a feat unmatched in MIAA history at the conference meet.
The top-ranked women’s team entered as the heavy favorite, having already obtained a perfect score at the MIAA Jamboree in September.
At the gun, the Knights rushed into the lead, with seniors Jesi Hale and Lizz Smit leading the charge for Calvin. Senior Jess Koster, whose status coming into the meet was uncertain because of a hip injury, ran a more conservative first mile but by halfway had made her way to the leaders.
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.jpg) Everyone at last February’s dramatic 63-62 Calvin victory over Hope remembers the pandemonium that broke out as soon as then-junior Matt Veltema’s go-ahead lay-up went in with three seconds left in the game.
Everyone who was there remembers the entire student section storming the court in triumphant fashion. And everyone remembers that game as the highlight of the season. But that was last year. Now it’s time for this year.
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.jpg) The Calvin women’s basketball team will seek to improve on a 16-10 record from a year ago, when they tip-off their season on Nov. 17 against Cornerstone at Van Noord Arena. They will blend a mix of youth and experience this upcoming season as they feature a core of savvy veterans that will lead a class of tough, talented recruits and newcomers.
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It all comes down to one. Saturday at 2:30 the Knights will take on the hated Flying Dutchmen to play for the MIAA League Championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA D-III Tournament.
After a 3-0 loss to Kalamazoo last Saturday, the Knights needed a come-from-behind win and a little help to position them for Saturday’s championship-deciding match at Eagles Stadium on the campus of Grand Rapids Christian High School.
The volleyball team advanced to the second round of the MIAA tournament by defeating St. Mary’s in four sets last Tuesday, 25-11, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23.
The Knights, ranked 14th nationally and the number two seed of the tournament, hosted the seventh-seeded Belles in what should have been a simple game. The dynamic of the matchup changed, however, when sophomore Rebecca Kamp was forced to miss the game due to injury.
The Volleyball team responded convincingly to last week’s disappointing loss to Hope with a dominating weekend at the Midwest Challenge hosted by Calvin, Hope and Trine. The Knights handled Olivet, Manchester, St. Mary’s and Hanover without dropping a single set.
Calvin upset in second round
Women’s soccer loses in a shootout despite being top seed
Frustration. That was the tone of the scene on Calvin College’s Zuidema field on Tuesday afternoon after Kalamazoo’s Julia Scroeder buried the clinching penalty kick after two halves and two overtimes of scoreless play.
The Knights (13-4-1, 7-2 MIAA), who had beaten Kalamazoo 2-1 earlier in the year, had their chances throughout the match, but could not capitalize on any of them.
The past few weeks of sports have been both agonizingly painful and absolutely enthralling, both here at Calvin and professionally. After much consideration, I have narrow down the list of important sporting occurrences to 10 observations that I have made.