Sports

2022 CALVIN FALL SPORTS ROUNDUP

BY JEFF FEBUS ’92

The Calvin men’s soccer team held a top 10 national ranking through mid-October. Under the direction of veteran head coach Ryan Souders, the Knights opened their MIAA campaign with victories over Trine and Hope. The Knights also claimed victory over nationally ranked opponents from Redlands, Ohio Wesleyan and Transylvania. Another early-season highlight was the welcoming back of the members of its 2009 and 2011 national runners-up teams on Calvin’s Homecoming Weekend. The men’s soccer team concluded the regular season with an overall record of 14-2-2 and won its 16th straight MIAA title with a 6-1-0 league mark.

Led by head coach Emily Ottenhoff, the Calvin women’s soccer team jumped out to a 12-0-0 start and was ranked in the top 10 nationally in mid-October. The Knights shut out their first 12 opponents to set a new Calvin single-season record for consecutive shutouts. The Knights were also 4-0-0 in league play including a 1-0 rivalry win at Hope College in early October. Another early-season highlight was a 2-0 win over a nationally ranked team from the University of Chicago. The women’s soccer team concluded the regular season with an overall record of 15-0-1 and won its third straight MIAA title with a 7-0-1 league mark.

The Calvin women’s volleyball team was off to a 15-3 record including a 4-0 mark in the MIAA. Led by head coach Amber Warners, the Knights were ranked in the top 10 nationally in mid-October. In late September, the team enjoyed a three-set win over rival and nationally ranked Hope at Van Noord Arena. In early October, Calvin treated New York City alumni to three victories at the NYU Showdown in Brooklyn. While there, Calvin defeated 10th-ranked NYU, 19th-ranked MIT, and a strong team from Swarthmore College. The Calvin women’s volleyball team was 23-3 at the conclusion of the regular season and captured its 12th MIAA title in the last 13 years, finishing 8-0 in conference play.

The Calvin women’s cross country team held a top 25 national ranking throughout the fall. Led by first-year head coach Nicole Kramer, the Knights took second at their own Calvin Knight Invitational in early September and then took fifth in a field of 36 teams at the NCAA III Pre-National Invitational in East Lansing, Michigan, in early October. The team finished second to first place Hope at the MIAA championships in late October.

The Calvin men’s cross country team has held a national ranking throughout the fall. Also led by first-year head coach Nicole Kramer, the Knights took first place at their own Calvin Knight Invitational in early September. The Knights then took 11th in a field of 36 teams at the NCAA III Pre-National Invitational in East Lansing in early October. The Calvin men’s cross country team captured its 35th consecutive MIAA crown, taking first place at the MIAA Championships with 27 points, four points ahead of rival Hope. The championship streak is the longest active MIAA conference championship streak.

The Calvin men’s golf team was in the top four of the MIAA standings this fall and in strong position to qualify for the MIAA Spring NCAA Qualifier Tournament, which takes the top four teams from the MIAA fall season. Led by head coach Brian Bolt, the Knights took first place at the Irish Hills Invitational hosted by Adrian in mid-September and then hosted the MIAA Fall Tournament in mid-October in nearby Wyoming, Michigan.

Led by head coach Jerry Bergsma, the Calvin women’s golf team took fifth in the MIAA fall season, finishing just five strokes out of a top-four team finish and a berth in the MIAA Spring NCAA Qualifier Tournament. Junior Chandler Sjoerdsma (Riverside, Calif.) took second in the final MIAA individual standings and was named to the All-MIAA First Team for a third straight year. Senior Jericha Sharphorn (Hudsonville, Mich.) was named the recipient of the MIAA Sportsmanship Award.

Under the direction of head coach Kattie Carpenter, the Calvin women’s triathlon team was in position to gain its third trip to the NCAA Division III Collegiate National Championships in November in Tempe, Arizona. An early-season highlight was taking first place in the collegiate competition of the Reeds Lake Triathlon in nearby East Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Knights later took sixth at the Millikin D3 Invitational and competed at the Division III West Region Qualifier in Stockton, Missouri.

CALVIN MEN’S ICE HOCKEY CELEBRATES A MAJOR MILESTONE, CONTINUES TO BUILD MOMENTUM LOOKING BACK OVER THE LAST 50 YEARS

BY JEFF FEBUS ’92

From humble beginnings to fast-charging runs up the ice, the Calvin men’s ice hockey program is making the 2022–23 season a celebratory one as it heads into its 51st year as a collegiate program.

The celebration began on Calvin Homecoming Weekend as nearly 50 men’s hockey alumni, along with their families, arrived to either participate in or witness an alumni game at Eagles Ice Center, located just a few miles from campus. The alumni game was part of a hockey triple-header that took place between Calvin’s ACHA Division III contest against Cleary University and its Division I contest against cross-town rival Aquinas.

The Division III contest was won by Calvin 6-1, while the Division I team fought Aquinas to a 4-4 overtime tie. Most importantly, members of the hockey program from past and present celebrated a program that is rich with tradition and continues to build momentum. “It was just a wonderful weekend,” said Calvin Division I head hockey coach, Mike Petrusma ’85. “It was gratifying and humbling to see so many alumni back in Grand Rapids and wear the Calvin sweater again. It just reaffirmed something I already knew—that our alumni care deeply about this institution and its hockey program.”

Wearing commemorative Calvin hockey jerseys, alumni played in the late-afternoon contest and then met with President Wiebe Boer. Prior to the start of the Division I game with Aquinas, Boer dropped the ceremonial first puck at center ice.

The Calvin hockey program dates to the fall of 1972, when the first organized team was established. A trip to Canada to compete against the likes of Redeemer University, Dordt University, and Trinity Christian College materialized later that season. The Knights finished last place in that tournament but remained undaunted.

One year later, the Calvin icers roared out to a 14-1 start and proceeded to finish high in a post-season tournament competition, setting the stage for more wins to come.

By the 1980s, the program had increased visibility and popularity with the Calvin student body, playing at local rinks against schools primarily from Michigan. In the early 1990s, the program joined the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) to gain a stronger national foothold and make a run at a national tournament.

Current head coach, Mike Petrusma, took over the reins of the Calvin hockey program in the fall of 1991. He was well-versed in the sport, having played the game growing up in Georgetown, Ontario.

In 1994, Calvin made its national tournament debut, taking third at the ACHA Division II National Tournament in Albany, New York. Petrusma remembers the experience well. “We traveled to up-state New York and had a great group of guys and a very competitive showing in our first trip at that level,” said Petrusma. “That trip helped lay the groundwork for teams in the future, and it featured a team with a lot of talent.”

Petrusma stepped aside in the late 1990s to coach his sons at the high school level but returned as Calvin’s head coach in 2002. Several of his former high school players followed him to Calvin to play for the Knights, who, by then, competed at the ACHA Division III level instead of Division II.

In 2004, a Calvin team led by future ACHA Division III National Player of Year Max Sieplinga ’06 captured the ACHA Division III National Title, winning four straight games in Glendale, Arizona. Success continued over the next several years as the team grew, and in the fall of 2017, the Knights split into two teams creating an ACHA Division III and an ACHA Division I team.

“We were getting more and more interest from players and had formed a JV team that played against several of the top local men’s teams in Grand Rapids,” explained Petrusma. “That group formed the backbone of our current Division III team, while our Division I team also started off.”

Calvin’s Division I team earned trips to the ACHA National Tournament in both 2020 and 2021, while the Division III team continues to push for a return trip to the national tournament.

According to Petrusma, both teams feature extraordinary talent this year and hope to return to the national level. Jim Hartlein continues to serve as the head Division III coach—a role he has held since 2018. Josh Petrusma ’06, Mike’s son, has also moved into the role of Director of Hockey Operations, handling logistics and assisting with recruiting and promotion.

The father-son duo also helped renovate locker rooms for both teams. “I can honestly say that our Division I locker room is one of the finest in the country and rivals locker rooms at the professional level,” said Mike Petrusma. “Our Division III locker room isn’t too far behind. It makes a huge difference for our guys, and it’s another place they can call home.” He credits alumni contributions for the project’s success.

Calvin’s Director of Athletics, Dr. Jim Timmer, is excited about the direction the Calvin hockey program is headed. “It’s great to see two hockey programs playing at a high level at Calvin and adding something compelling and collegiate to our athletics experience,” said Timmer. “The hard work and dedication from our athletes and coaching staff are wonderful, as is the support from our hockey alumni. We look forward to many more years of Calvin hockey.”