Calvin Athletics has had a strong start to the school year. The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) conference has ranked three Calvin teams at the top and given several players MIAA player or runner of the week honors. Here are some season highlights from Calvin’s nationally ranked teams. 

Calvin Men’s Soccer 

Calvin Men’s Soccer has had a tremendous start to their season. The latest United Soccer Coaches Top DIII poll ranks them at 11th. The team also currently stands at the top of the MIAA conference with a 3-0 conference record and 11-1-2 record in overall play. The MIAA has given seniors Mason Smith, Aguma Muhumuza and Chris Shau MIAA player of the week honors so far this season. Head Coach Ryan Souders has been looking forward to conference play. “Trine was the last team to beat us in the league last year so it was good to beat them,” Souders said.  The team has recently won against Alma, Hope, Trine and Concordia.  

Souders believes the bond between the players has helped them succeed. “Our team really enjoys being together, their capacity to do that is ‘normal’ again,” he said. Referring to past restrictions due to COVID, Souders said that “our group has done way more off the field together than what they were allowed to do in the past.” 

Souders also attributes some of the team’s success to the overall success of Calvin’s fall athletic programs. “We have a pretty healthy athletic department,” Souders said. “Part of what’s aided [our success is that] there’s a competitive level on campus, our fall sports are doing well, [and] there’s energy that comes with that. … We want to keep up with those teams.”

Men’s Soccer plays Albion on Wednesday, Oct. 19 and Kalamazoo on Saturday, Oct. 23.

Calvin Cross Country 

The Calvin Cross Country program has also had a strong season so far. Calvin Women’s Cross Country is currently ranked 18th in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, while Calvin Men’s Cross Country is currently ranked 35th. The MIAA has given senior Brian Knepper and junior Jenna Allman MIAA runner-of-the-week honors twice this season. Men’s cross country finished 11th and the women’s team placed 5th at the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA’s) Pre-Nationals Invitational. 

“We have a really solid team atmosphere and everyone wants to work hard,” Allman said. “Everyone is running with the same goal.”

The team looks forward to taking on their rival, Hope, at the conference. “We’re all looking forward to seeing how we stack up against the conference,” Allman said. “We’ve been second to Hope in conference since I’ve been here, and we have a good chance against them this year.”  

Calvin’s Cross Country program also got a new head coach this season. “We’ve all been really excited about Coach Nicole Kramer. She’s been doing great,” Allman said. It is Kramer’s first year coaching at Calvin, but she graduated from Calvin in 2010 and has coached at other universities in the past. Allman said that Kramer “adds a new perspective on some things, which is fun.” The cross-country teams will race in the Eastern Michigan University (EMU) Fall Classic on Friday, Oct. 21 and in the MIAA championships on Saturday, Oct. 29. 

Calvin Women’s Soccer

Calvin Women’s Soccer has yet to lose a game this season, and so far no team has scored on them. Women’s Soccer is currently ranked ninth in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll. On Oct. 8 the team broke the program’s record with 12 consecutive shutouts in a season. The MIAA conference ranks Women’s Soccer as first, and their record is currently 12-0-1. The MIAA has given senior Karley Michmerhuizen, juniors Elizabeth Williams, Sophie Mueller, Rory Pruis, sophomore Kalex Dodge and freshman Lucy Iverson MIAA player of the week honors this season. Calvin Women’s Soccer plays their last two games this week and next week. The team will play at Kalamazoo on Tuesday, Oct. 18 and at home against Albion on Tuesday, Oct. 25.

Calvin Women’s Volleyball

The season is heating up for Calvin Women’s Volleyball. Currently ranked fifth in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll, the team spent Fall Break in New York City. At the NYU Showdown tournament, they won every game. The MIAA has given seniors Heidi Westra, Tori Roskamp and freshman Alyssa DeVries player of the week honors this season. Recently Westra became the 13th player in the program’s history to surpass 1,000 kills. The MIAA currently ranks the team as first and the team sits at 5-0 in conference play, with an overall record of 17-3. Notably the team has beaten NYU, Swarthmore, MIT, Trine, Elmhurst and Hope.

The NYU tournament win was a big deal for Calvin Women’s Volleyball. “It was a huge tournament for us because all the teams there were ranked, and we only dropped two sets the whole tournament,” sophomore Avery Ekkens said. 

The team dynamic is different this year compared to last year. “There’s so much more competitive spirit this year compared to last year even though our energy levels are different this year,” Ekkens said. “There’s a lot of different personalities on our team.” Ekkens told Chimes that they have faced shifts in their team structure this year, including changes in their bench and the loss of four starting seniors. “We are still adjusting to that,” she said. 

Women’s Volleyball has four more regular season conference games left this year. “I’m excited to play against Albion,” Ekkens said. “We played them earlier in the preseason, and they were competitive against us.” Volleyball plays Adrian on Tuesday, Oct. 18 and plays at Hope on Friday, Oct. 21.