Club soccer team drops both games in Regionals

The Grand Valley State University men’s club soccer team was not expecting to play in the Midwest Soccer Alliance Regional Tournament in Indianapolis this weekend, but unusual circumstances afforded the Lakers with a postseason opportunity.

GVL Courtesy Photo

The Lakers nearly missed the regional tournament after finishing the regular season with a record of 11-3-3, which put them just out of reach of an automatic bid into the postseason.

However, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater both declined their invitations to the tournament, giving GVSU the chance to play two more soccer matches this season.

In the tournament’s opening match, GVSU lost to the University of Michigan (10-0-1) by a score of 3-1.

“It was kind of a weird situation in terms of how we were able to get in to playoffs; with one of the teams backing out we were next in line,” said GVSU head coach Jeff Crooks. “We didn’t practice for a couple of days there, and I think that kind of put us off in terms of rhythm.”

Crooks said although the Lakers had been off the practice field and thought the season was over, the team came into the weekend with the proper mindset.

“This team is not made up of anybody that says, ‘Hey, we’re just happy to be here,’” he said. “We represent Grand Valley State University … We take pride in that.”

GVSU was able to get on the scoreboard late in the game after a foul gave senior midfielder Nick Schreiber the chance to score off a penalty kick.

“We were still down so it didn’t really mean anything, but it helped out because in terms of how power rankings work, you get maximum points when you get a 3-0 win,” Schreiber said. “So actually we caused Michigan to not get maximum points, so I mean I guess that’s a small win.”

Schreiber said he thought that if the team knew right away that it would make the regional tournament instead of finding out on short notice, the athletes would have been mentally and physically sharper.

GVSU followed the Michigan loss with a second game right after against Indiana University (8-2-1). Unlike the first match against the day, Lakers could not score, falling 3-0 to the Hoosiers.

“We played well defensively as a unit,” said junior Bryce Murphy. “There were just a few mistakes that they capitalized on and we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities. That really changed the outcome of the game.”

Crooks said despite keeping possession for most of the match against Indiana, mental mistakes cost the Lakers some goals and forced them to change their strategy throughout the day.

“If you make a couple of mistakes, then you have to change tactics to push forward to try to score goals,” he said, “… And sometimes you are left exposed, giving up some goals that maybe ordinarily you wouldn’t.”

GLIAC Runner of the Year leads on and off the course

To be to be able to run 120 miles a week, one must possess a superior work ethic and sheer determination, but for senior Anthony Witt, running that distance every week has become second nature.

After leading the Grand Valley State University men’s cross country team to its 10th-straight GLIAC Championship in Ashland, Ohio, this past weekend, Witt has put in the miles and was named the GLIAC Runner of the Year.

Even with Runner of the Year honors, Witt said he is not satisfied yet.

Courtesy GVL Archive Photo

His ultimate goal is to perform well in the Regional Tournament on Nov. 15 in Big Rapids, Mich., and then end the season with a national championship.

“Running is a sport where there are no shortcuts,” he said. “To have success, you have to put in the work, and I’ve been able to do that with my teammates, so that’s why we’ve seen the success.”

GVSU head coach Jerry Baltes said Witt brings several intangibles to the cross country program, but his biggest strengths are his work ethic, leadership and commitment to being great.

“Anthony can lead by either example in doing work, he is someone who trains anywhere from 120 to 125 miles a week,” he said. “That’s the highest on our team, so everyone looks up to that and understands that he is doing the work that it takes to get the job done.”

Baltes added that Witt is willing to lead vocally if needed by telling or asking teammates to do the right thing.

Witt began his running career in high school at Shakamak in Jasonville, Ind., when looking to get involved in activity outside of the norm.

“I’ve always wanted to find something to be different than most, so in high school the way to do that was through running rather than the mainstream sports of baseball and basketball, at least in my school,” he said.
 “That’s kind of when I developed a passion for it and met some interesting people, so that kept me going.”

Fellow teammate Tyler Emmorey said he recognizes that Witt brings a lot to the team in terms of athletic ability, but perhaps more importantly, Witt has an entertaining personality to which the entire team can relate.

“You think he is serious, but he’s always cracking jokes,” he said. “Still, he’s very passionate and he steps up when he needs to.”

Witt, a biomedical science major who has aspirations to go to medical school after he graduates, said his success this season is in large part due to the support and encouragement he receives from his teammates and the GVSU coaching staff.

“It’s been of culmination of four years in college and then four years high school, so eight years total, working up to this point,” he said. “I’ve been able to stay relatively healthy so you put all that together and luckily that has resulted in positive things.”

Lakers fall in final round of GLIAC tourney

The Lakers (13-2, 10-2 GLIAC) started the weekend with dominating performances against Lake Superior State University, sweeping doubles action from their first round opponent in route to a 5-0 victory.

GVSU head coach John Black commended seniors Tara Hayes and Alyssa Lucas, who were competing in their last conference tournament, for setting the tone early by defeating their doubles counterparts 8-3.

GVL Courtesy Photo

“Tara and Alyssa have been doing a great job,” he said. “They’ve been playing first doubles together and this is the first year they’ve been together so they’ve had to make some adjustments, but they’ve gotten better each match, and they’ve done a great job of pushing the team.”

Black added that the Lakers put together arguably their best match of the season on Saturday, upsetting second-seeded Wayne State (13-2, 11-1 GLIAC) to advance the to the tournament championship match.

“It took us a little while to get there, but we started playing really well at the end of the year,” he said. “I would much rather has a strong finish than a strong start.”

With the 5-1 win, the Lakers were able to avenge an early-season 5-4 loss to Wayne State while also making their way to the conference championship match.

The Lakers were led by sophomore Lexi Rice and junior Allison Fecko, who were victorious in both singles and doubles play, accounting for all but one of GVSU’s points in the match.

“Lexi and Allison both played really well,” Hayes said. “They both knew they had to give it all they had in singles, but I think the most important thing is they didn’t play under pressure. We had a bad match last time we played Wayne, but they were confident [Saturday].”

After two wins in two days the Lakers moved to the GLIAC Tournament Championship match Sunday against Northwood University (15-0, 12-0 GLIAC), a team that defeated GVSU 5-4 during regular season play.

The Timberwolves were victorious against the Lakers, winning all three doubles matches and winning the tournament title 5-2.

Freshman Leah Dancz and sophomore Anne Marie Morin picked up the only victories during the championship match, defeating their opponents 6-3, 7- 5 and 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 respectively.

Despite the loss Sophomore Niki Shipman said she thinks everyone played tough this weekend and will continue to practice to be prepared for a possible trip to nationals, in May.

“I think everyone has made improvements this season,” she said. “I think we have a good chance at going to nationals and hopefully having some good results at nationals.”

Lakers No. 3 seed in GLIAC tourney this weekend

Instead of dwelling on a pair of disappointing 5-4 defeats earlier this season, the Grand Valley State University women’s tennis team will use its losses as motivation to be the aggressor at this weekend’s GLIAC Tournament in Midland, Mich.

GVSU (11-2, 10-2 GLIAC) will enter the conference tournament on Friday as the No. 3 seed behind Northwood University and Wayne State University, each of whom account for the team’s only defeats of season.

Courtesy Archive Photo

It is no secret that the Lakers are ready for another opportunity to face the two teams that got the best of them earlier this season, but in order for that to happen, the Lakers must first defeat their first round opponent Lake Superior State University, a team GVSU swept 9-0 earlier this season.

Despite two blemishes in conference play, senior Tara Hayes said the Lakers are a different team now than they were at the beginning of the season because of stronger doubles play and increased movement and communication on the court.

Aggressiveness during doubles play has given the team reason to believe it is in a good position to make a run toward a tournament championship and possibly have rematch with the Timberwolves or Warriors.

“I know we lost to Wayne, but everyone had an off day, and based on our results lately I think we have a shot at winning the tournament,” Hayes said.

The Lakers know from first-hand experience that playing aggressive during doubles has the power to set the tone and momentum of a match. In both losses this season, the Lakers were unable to capture a lead after doubles play, and as a result, had to fight back from a 2-1 deficit against Wayne State and 0-3 deficit against Northwood.

GVSU head coach John Black said in order to be successful this weekend, GVSU will need to continue to focus on doubles and avoid playing from a deficit.

“We need to keep playing aggressive in the doubles, and by I aggressive I mean having the net players attack, taking control of the net and forcing other teams to hit shots past us,” he said.

For sophomore Niki Shipman, who said her game took a while to evolve and reach its peak this season, this weekend will be about using her improved doubles game, experience and familiarity with their opponents in order to be successful.

Shipman’s personal strategy when competing in the conference tournament is to focus on putting all her technique together in order to remain accurate and use what she calls her weapon shot, which can catch other competitors off guard.

“Part of the sport is knowing you’re one on one with an opponent so there are different parts of [an opponents’] game that you get know if you’ve played them before, and it absolutely helps to develop to a strategy,” Shipman said.

The GLIAC tournament will take place Friday through Sunday at the Midland Community Tennis Center in Midland, Mich. The Lakers will open against Lake Superior State at 6 p.m. Friday.

GV posts solid times against Division I Wisconsin-Milwaukee

For most Division II athletic programs, opening up the season against a Division I opponent would be intimidating, but the Grand Valley State University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams took their meet against the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee as an opportunity to find out where they stand an what they can improve on this season.

Although GVSU did not come away with victories on Saturday, with men falling by a score of 155-88 and the women losing 144-99, the Lakers did have some standout performances that will serve starting points for the season, said GVSU head coach Andy Boyce.

Courtesy Archive Photo

“The team is off to a great start,” he said. “We faced some stiff competition for sure going up against the Horizon League champs, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but we posted some good times. We started out the meet with a win in the men’s medley relay with Raphael Santos, Erik Aakesson, Aaron Beebe and Milan Meado winning by nine-hundredths of a second … then going into the next race Carly Bush picked up a win in the [1,000 yard] freestyle with a time of 10:34:68.”

The Lakers saw a glimpse of how good they could be this season when sophomore Caitlyn Madsen turned in a personal best swim time of 2 minutes, 7.37 seconds in the 200-yard butterfly and the men secured a thrilling victory in the 200-medley relay.

“I’m definitely excited for the rest of the season because I started out better than I ever have,” Madsen said.

Madsen and Bush, a senior, both had strong performances for the women and combined for three victories and two second-place finishes for GVSU. Bush followed up her 1,000-yard freestyle win with a first-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle, posting a time of 5:09.29.

Madsen said in order for GVSU to post solid times all season long, the Lakers are going to have to avoid injuries, which slowed down the team at times last year, and continue to train hard every day.

On the men’s side, the Lakers were led by Beebe, a senior, who pulled off three victories during the meet, winning the 200-yard medley relay, the 200-yard freestyle and the 200-yard butterfly. His efforts in those three races alone helped GVSU earn 29 points of their 88 points.

Sophomore Sven Kardol also swam a strong race in the men’s 200-yard backstroke, finishing 0.1 seconds behind the winner.

“I’m pretty satisfied with how the meet went, I think everyone did well,” said sophomore Sven Kardol. “I would like to improve my stamina and breast stroke, but those are things I plan to work on all season long.”

Moving forward, as the Lakers prepare to open up their conference schedule, Boyce said both teams need to continue work hard in practice and push each other to get better, but most of all focus on taking the season one meet at a time.

GVSU will have its first home meet of the season Friday when the team faces off against Lewis University at 5 p.m.

Aggressive mentality helps women earn a pair of victories

End results in tennis depend heavily on the execution in singles and doubles, and in recent weeks the Grand Valley State University women’s tennis team has made it known that in order for the Lakers to be the best team they are capable of being this season, they must increase their aggressiveness in doubles play.

GVL Archive Photo

This weekend the Lakers went on the road for three GLIAC matches with the goal of playing aggressive through the entirety of each match and coming out of doubles competition with the lead.

“This weekend was all about us coming out ready to play,” said freshman Leah Dancz. “We can’t afford another loss because it really hurts our chances of going to nationals.”

On Friday, in a match that determined third place in the conference, GVSU was able to claim a 2-1 lead over Ashland University (8-3, 8-3 GLIAC) after doubles play was complete and delivered solid singles performances across the board to down the Eagles, 8-1.

Sophomores Niki Shipman and Lexi Rice used come-from-behind victories during singles play to give the Lakers a singles sweep over Ashland.

Shipman, who plays at No. 1 singles, lost her first set 3-6 before bouncing back to defeat her opponent 6-2, 6-4. Similarly, Rice, the No. 4 singles player, dropped the first set 3-6 and then came back to win sets two and three by a score of 6-3, 6-2.

“Coming back [from a deficit] is all about focus,” Shipman said. “It’s not about who is in better shape, it’s about who wants it more.”

On Saturday, GVSU continued to focus on its doubles play, winning a pair of matches to give the Lakers a 2-1 advantage over Ohio Dominican University (7-5, 6-5 GLIAC) at the start of singles play.

Rice once again turned in strong performances for GVSU, downing the Panthers in straight sets 6-0, 6-0. However, Rice was not alone; senior Alyssa Lucas and sophomore Alison Fecko defeated their counterparts 6-0, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-0, respectively, while freshman Leah Dancz remains unbeaten on the year, improving to 5-0 after her singles victory.

With two wins this weekend, GVSU improves to 9-2 on the season and 8-2 in the GLIAC.

“This weekend went very well,” said GVSU head coach John Black. “Doubles seem to be playing more as a team, moving their feet, communicating and playing more aggressive.”

On Sunday, the Lakers’ match against Lake Erie College (0-10, 0-9 GLIAC) ended in a forfeit because the Storm did not have full rosters ready to compete.

As the regular season winds down, the Lakers look to continue to perfect their doubles play on Thursday when they head to Ferris State University for a match that was rescheduled due to rain before competing in the GLIAC tournament on Oct. 21.

Although, GVSU is not overlooking Ferris State, they are ready for a chance to avenge an early season 5-4 loss to Wayne State University during the conference tournament.

“I think everyone on the team was disappointed on how we played against [Wayne State] so we’re hoping for another shot at them,” said Black.

Carreri courts Crawford

Senior athlete's engaged -- 

Originally, Grand Valley State University seniors Tony Carreri and Kara Crawford came to campus to play football and women’s basketball for the Lakers, but their individual decisions to play co-ed intramural softball changed their lives forever.

Carrari, a senior tight end on the football team, and Crawford, a senior forward on the women’s basketball team, first met on a softball field in 2008 while playing on a team with mutual friends.

Courtesy of Eric Coulter

After a few years of getting to know each other, it became apparent that their competitive yet caring nature was a compliment to who they are as individuals and as a couple, so Carreri decided to propose.

“The big thing for me was I wanted it to be surprise. I didn’t want her to see it coming, [and] I didn’t want her to expect it,” he said. “It wasn’t going to be a Friday night, awkward real nice dinner, rings in the dessert type deal.”

For two people who have a shared appreciation for athletics, it was fitting that Carreri decided to incorporate sports into the proposal. Last fall, he arranged for Crawford’s parents and grandmother to come to Allendale for a GVSU football game, where he had plans to drop down on one knee, outside of Lubbers stadium at the conclusion of his game.

Crawford didn’t suspect a thing.

As the couple prepares for their wedding in July, they were quick to point out that the GVSU Athletics has played a vital role in their relationship and their ability to understand each other.

“Neither of us would’ve been at Grand Valley if it wasn’t for our respective sports,” Carreri said.

Carreri and Crawford said sports are just a part of who they are, and competing for GVSU has helped create a mutual understanding for their commitment toward sports and other things that are important to them.

Carreri’s brother, Nick, said common personality traits such as being outgoing, responsible and having the ability to relate to each other are a few qualities that have helped shape their relationship.

The ability to relate to each other was especially evident when both athletes were trying to recover from knee injuries, Carreri’s in 2009 and Crawford’s in 2010.

Courtesy of Eric Coulter

“When each of them was injured, the other knew what to do and what they were going through,” Nick Carreri said. “The best person they could turn to was the person they were with the most, so I think that really helped because they didn’t need anyone else, they could just turn to each other.“

As seniors this season, they both bring experience, leadership and passion to their respective teams. They also hope to teach younger teammates how to carry on the tradition that comes along with Laker athletics.

“Tony and I are thankful for our experiences at Grand Valley that we’ve had with our sports teams,” Crawford said. “It’s kind of a tight-knit community and I think if Grand Valley wasn’t so neat in that way we never would’ve met.”

Botts’ four-goal weekend powers team

At the start of the 2011 season, the Grand Valley State University women’s soccer team used defense and timely scoring to come away with victories, but this weekend the Lakers had the offense rolling, thanks in large part to junior forward Ashley Botts.

On Friday, the Lakers outscored Northwood University 7-1 before hitting the road Sunday to put away Ohio Dominican University by a score of 1-0.

Courtesy Archive Photo

“The last of seven or eight games we’ve played a little bit better soccer as we’ve gone on, and some the goals that we’ve been scoring in certain games have given us a little more confidence going forward,” said GVSU head coach Dave DiIanni. “I think it’s no surprise that Ashley and Kayla Addison are getting on the score sheet, and that’s helping our team [because] scoring goals is all about confidence.”

Botts has been on a tear as of late, coming off two straight GLIAC Player of the Week honors. She has scored seven goals in GVSU’s last six games, including four goals against the Timberwolves.

“I was just trying to connect for my team, they did work getting it up there to me, and I was just trying to finish it off,” Botts said after the victory over Northwood.

The first of seven Laker goals against Northwood came in the 20th minute from Botts, who knocked the ball in the center of the net after receiving a pass from junior Kayla Addison. Less than two minutes later she struck again, this time on a pass from senior midfielder Erin Mruz.

There is no denying that GVSU fans in attendance were witnessing a Botts highlight reel, but Alyssa Mira, Addison and Maria Brown chipped in with goals to add as well.

Before the first half ended, junior Mira kept momentum on GVSU’s side and joined Botts in the scoring parade by taking a ball right outside the 18 box and guiding to the back of the net. The goal gave the Lakers a 4-1 lead.

Di Ianni said GVSU carried energy, enthusiasm and commitment to the game plan into the second half to score three more goals.

On Sunday, GVSU traveled to Ohio Dominican University to take on the Panthers in a game where the Laker defensive effort was relentless, allowing the Panthers to get off only two shots in 90 minutes.

Sophomore Kayla Kimble said going from an offensive battle on Friday to a defensive game takes a lot of mental engagement, communication and organization to keep the game in front of them.

“We just have to stay in control and relax and play our game,” Kimble said.

GVSU was held scoreless for just over 52 minutes until freshman Charlie Socia used a header that scooted by the Panther goal-keeper to score her second goal of the season.

“I would rather have an ugly win than a pretty loss,” DiIanni said.

GVSU is now 9-0-2 on the season and 9-0 in GLIAC play, and will be back in action at 7 p.m. Friday at Northwood University.