MARCH 1, 2021 GRAND VALLEY LANTHORN @GVLSPORTS
QUICK HITS GVSU MEN’S BASKETBALL MISSES GLIAC TITLE AFTER WINNING FINALLY WEEKEND SERIES
After winning their final weekend series against Northwood (6-12), GVSU (12-6) fell short in winning the GLIAC. Wayne State won their final game of the season, placing GVSU as the second seed in the conference. Despite not winning the GLIAC, GVSU rallied at the end of their regular season. They won six out of their last seven games and scored a season high in points in their first matchup against Northwood. In their first game against Northwood, GVSU won 98-69. For the game, the Lakers shot an incredible 60.3% from the field and 19 of those shots came off assists. They also made 11 of their 21 attempted three pointers. Issac Gassman led the team with 24 points and four assists. Christian Negron had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Jake Van Tubbergen added 17 points and Jordan Harris contributed another 13. Ten Lakers scored during the game. In their final game of the regular season, GVSU beat Northwood 67-51. The Lakers had another great performance with their perimeter shooting, finishing the game with making 41.7% of their three point attempts. After falling behind in the first half, the Lakers went on a 9-0 run to capture the lead heading into the second half. They outscored Northwood by 14 points in the second period to secure their victory. Negron led the team with 18 points, seven rebounds, and two blocks. Gassman added another 14 points and five rebounds. Van Tubbergen finished with a double-double by scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards.
A11 | SPORTS SWIMMING
GV Swimming and Diving dominates GLIAC tournament by setting team records and sweeping every award BY ZACK GOODROW SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM
Both the men’s and women’s swimming and diving team at Grand Valley State University claimed a conference title in the GLIAC last week on Feb. 20. It was the men’s seventh consecutive victory at the GLIAC Championship Meet as they finished with a final score of 1,072.5 points, a GLIAC record. The women claimed their third title in the past six seasons. They also cemented their place in GLIAC history by scoring a conference high 1,200 points. They also had a record for the highest margin of victory, defeating second place Wayne State by 613 points. “It feels pretty good,” said coach Andy Boyce. “We’ve had some close championship meets over the years but this one wasn’t like that. The players worked hard on getting better everyday and us coaches worked hard on recruiting these guys to be Lakers. The women have been winning every other year, we have three titles in the last six years. Hopefully next year we can start a consecutive streak.” GVSU has been historically dominated in the GLIAC. This championship marks the men’s team’s ninth overall championship, all during Boyce’s tenure. Under Boyce, this marks the fourth championship for the women’s team. For the 2021 tournament, both teams thoroughly took out their competition.
CHAMPIONS: For the seventh consecutive year, the men’s swimming and diving team claimed the GLIAC title. For the women’s team, this will be their third title in six years. GVL | SHEILA BABBITT
They didn’t win every event however and it was never a sure thing that the team would outperform their competition by such a wide margin. The success that other teams in the conference had in some events pushed the Lakers even harder. “We definitely thought we might have an advantage going in but you’re never sure,” said junior Jesse Goodyear. “Even though we have a history of winning in the GLIAC, we don’t win all the events every time. Some of them, like the
relays, we don’t always win. It really gives us a kick in our backs to go in and compete.” For the men’s team, freshman Eric Heiber finished first in the 1650 freestyle with a time of 15:16.51. Heiber set the all-time GLIAC record, GLIAC Championship Meet record, and GVSU record with his performance. LOG ON TO: www.lanthorn.com FOR THE FULL ARTICLE
W. BASKETBALL
GV Women’s Basketball ends regular season with a win after three game losing streak
GVSU TENNIS FALLS TO 1-4 ON THE YEAR AFTER LOSING TO HILLSDALE COLLEGE
BY JOSH ROCHETTE SPORTS@LANTHORN.COM
At Grand Rapids Racquet and Fitness, the GVSU men’s tennis team lost another close matchup. After losing their first three matches to begin the season, the tennis team won their first matchup of the year against the Walsh Cavaliers 6-1. The hopes of starting a winning streak fell short on Feb. 27 as the team lost on a 4-3 decision to Hillsdale College. GVSU fought hard the entire match. Jack Dausman and Martin Matov won the No. 1 doubles 6-3. Sean Miller and Kushan Shah added another victory in the No. 3 doubles with a score of 7-5. In the singles events, Miller won two matches at 6-3 and 6-0. Freddy Cossio also won his set by winning two matches at 6-3 and 6-4. Dausman suffered a defeat in his singles match after winning his first set. Ignacio Morera-Lucas also lost his singles matchup in the third set.
REBOUND: After a three game losing streak, the women’s basketball team won their last regular season game. GVL | SHEILA BABBITT
On Feb. 27, the Grand Valley State University women’s basketball team (14-4) beat Northwood University (11-7) with a score of 77-52. GVSU came into the matchup on a threegame losing streak. The Lakers lost to Northwood the day before, and had lost both games against Michigan Tech the previous week. With the GLIAC tournament approaching on Mar. 4, this game was their chance to end the regular season with a win. “It was like a different team from yesterday,” said coach Mike Williams. “I thought we played with a lot of pop on both ends of the floor. Northwood is a really good team, and I think sometimes the second day has an effect on that. It’s tough going back-to-back in this league.” The game started with GVSU finding open looks in the paint, something they struggled to do the night before. Senior center Kiri Tiemeyer and junior forward Hannah Kulas made several baskets early in the first quarter, giving the Lakers eight unanswered points to start the game. GVSU grew their lead going into the second
quarter with an 11 point run that highlighted their aggressive and efficient defense. The Lakers continued to force bad shots and turnovers with their play, and the offense continued to take advantage of Northwood’s drought. By the end of the first half, the Lakers were up 41-21. Their defense in the second matchups of the series improved. They only allowed one more point in the entire first half of this game than they did in only the second quarter of the game before. Among the strong performances from the Lakers was freshman forward Rylie Bisballe with nine points, six rebounds, and an assist in the half. The second half started off with the Lakers continuing to pressure the inside and take advantage of mismatches. A few minutes into the third quarter, Northwood found their groove going on an 11-point run of their own, but the deficit was already too wide and the Lakers led by 20 entering the final quarter of play. LOG ON TO: www.lanthorn.com FOR THE FULL ARTICLE