Grace Lancers’ Kurklin Wins Historic ITA Regional Championship
September 19, 2016 at 4:28 p.m.
Grace Lancers’ Kurklin Wins Historic ITA Regional Championship
By Josh Neuhart-
Kurkulin had to win six matches in the 64-player field, including both the semifinal and final matches on Saturday. He is the first recorded Lancer to win an ITA Regional championship in school history.
He will advance to the ITA National Championship agains the other regional winners in Arizona from Oct. 13-16.
“It would be way too simplistic to say that Danila had a great tournament, and he did not have an easy draw either. Every person he played was a tough player, and he handled them in a way that can only be described as efficient,” said Grace head coach Larry Schuh. “He only dropped 16 games through the tournament and did not lose a set, including beating No. 5 UNOH in the finals. He played patient and mentally tough from the first match on Thursday morning to the sixth match on Saturday afternoon.”
On Thursday, Kurkulin blitzed through the first two rounds of the tournament by beating both Indiana Tech and Huntington by identical scorelines of 6-2, 6-1. “The scores give the appearance of easy matches, but those were two very tough singles’ players. Both those matches were very tough,” Schuh said.
Friday saw Kurkulin win two more straight-set matches. He defeated Indiana Tech’s Fernando Sousa 6-0, 6-2 and Cornerstone’s Marc Lerch 6-2, 6-1. “He played not just strong but also efficiently. Most players have long matches this deep in the tournament.”
Saturday brought about the “Final Four.” Kurkulin beat Aquinas’s Gunnar Peery 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals to reach the championship.
His opponent in the finals was UNOH’s Theo Baudin. Like he did in the previous five matches, Kurkulin proved to have the upper hand in straight sets with an emphatic 6-0, 6-3 win.
Kurkulin redeemed last year’s finals’ defeat by winning this time around. His appearance in the finals was Grace’s third straight in the championship round, including Kurkulin in 2015 and Daniel Sanchez in 2014.
The Lancers will resume Crossroads League play next week, traveling to Taylor on Wednesday.
Lady Lancers win thriller at USF
FORT WAYNE – Grace’s volleyball team won its second match in as many days with a 3-2 victory at St. Francis on Saturday.
The Lady Lancers (8-8, 3-4 Crossroads League) got back to .500 on the season thanks to balanced production.
The Cougars (2-13, 1-6 CL) grabbed an early lead with a 25-19 win in set one. St. Francis’s offense had a sizzling 15 kills on a .297 percentage in the opener.
St. Francis scored the first three points of the second set, but Grace battled back to tie the score. The Cougars still threatened to go up 2-0 by holding a late 23-20 advantage. Grace responded with four straight points, sparked by blocks from Kari Feddema, to regain control. The set ended 26-24 in Grace’s favor on a kill by Sierra Smith.
Grace carried that momentum into the third set, coasting to a seven-point win. The Lady Lancers’ defense limited the Cougars to a negative hitting percentage of -.061.
St. Francis got revenge with a seven-point win of its own in the fourth set, setting the stage for a dramatic game five.
Early kills from Feddema, Smith and Marta Bleed put Grace ahead early in the tiebreaker, 5-2. Smith went on to have four kills in the set, including the final swing of the match to win it for Grace at 15-12. Smith had a team-high 14 kills in the match, adding six block assists.
“Today was a good win for us. We were inconsistent in a lot of areas but consistently won the serving battle,” said Grace head coach Katie Van Hofwegen. “Our aggressiveness at the service line allowed us to keep them out of system and win several key points.”
Feddema was a dominant blocking force with a solo and eight block assists to go along with six kills.
Kelsee Zuidema finished with 13 kills, eight digs and two aces, and Bleed had 10 kills on a .214 percentage.
Taylor Baird produced 42 assists, eight digs and four kills as the setter, and Caylie Teel had 25 digs and two aces. Tori Bontrager served up five aces, and Sara Miller finished with 11 digs.
The Lady Lancers will hope to extend their winning streak next week with two home matches. Grace hosts Huntington on Friday night and Marian on Saturday.
Grace Explodes For Six Goals In Rout
ST. LOUIS – Six different players scored a goal in Grace’s men’s soccer team’s 6-0 win at Harris-Stowe on Sunday.
The Lancers (5-1-2) rebounded with a dominant performance after suffering their first loss of the year on Saturday.
Sunday’s game against Harris-Stowe was originally scheduled to be played on Friday night, but heavy rains made the surface unplayable.
Grace had a dream start to Sunday’s game as Dominic Harris scored from close range in the fourth minute. It was his third goal of the season and his second in two days.
Before halftime, the Lancers would add two more goals. Damon Binkley scored in the 28th minute off an assist by Jon Christensen, and Cody Boerema converted Grace’s third goal just five minutes later.
In the second half, Grace earned a penalty kick less than 15 minutes into the half. Hector Torres stepped up for the attempt and cooly converted from the spot for a 4-0 lead.
Less than 10 minutes later, Breno Oliveira unleashed a deep shot from well outside the penalty box which crashed off the crossbar. Colin Cape was there for the rebound and tucked in Grace’s fifth goal.
Just before the final whistle, Grace tacked on its sixth goal of the match. Mitchell Zeilenga helped spark the attack, and Henrique Cerruti finished with his left foot in the 87th minute.
Kurt Hamlin and Robbie Barnhill combined for the shutout in goal for Grace. Hamlin did the heavy lifting with seven saves in 83 minutes.
The Lancers kick off the Crossroads League season on Saturday, traveling to rival Bethel for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
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Kurkulin had to win six matches in the 64-player field, including both the semifinal and final matches on Saturday. He is the first recorded Lancer to win an ITA Regional championship in school history.
He will advance to the ITA National Championship agains the other regional winners in Arizona from Oct. 13-16.
“It would be way too simplistic to say that Danila had a great tournament, and he did not have an easy draw either. Every person he played was a tough player, and he handled them in a way that can only be described as efficient,” said Grace head coach Larry Schuh. “He only dropped 16 games through the tournament and did not lose a set, including beating No. 5 UNOH in the finals. He played patient and mentally tough from the first match on Thursday morning to the sixth match on Saturday afternoon.”
On Thursday, Kurkulin blitzed through the first two rounds of the tournament by beating both Indiana Tech and Huntington by identical scorelines of 6-2, 6-1. “The scores give the appearance of easy matches, but those were two very tough singles’ players. Both those matches were very tough,” Schuh said.
Friday saw Kurkulin win two more straight-set matches. He defeated Indiana Tech’s Fernando Sousa 6-0, 6-2 and Cornerstone’s Marc Lerch 6-2, 6-1. “He played not just strong but also efficiently. Most players have long matches this deep in the tournament.”
Saturday brought about the “Final Four.” Kurkulin beat Aquinas’s Gunnar Peery 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals to reach the championship.
His opponent in the finals was UNOH’s Theo Baudin. Like he did in the previous five matches, Kurkulin proved to have the upper hand in straight sets with an emphatic 6-0, 6-3 win.
Kurkulin redeemed last year’s finals’ defeat by winning this time around. His appearance in the finals was Grace’s third straight in the championship round, including Kurkulin in 2015 and Daniel Sanchez in 2014.
The Lancers will resume Crossroads League play next week, traveling to Taylor on Wednesday.
Lady Lancers win thriller at USF
FORT WAYNE – Grace’s volleyball team won its second match in as many days with a 3-2 victory at St. Francis on Saturday.
The Lady Lancers (8-8, 3-4 Crossroads League) got back to .500 on the season thanks to balanced production.
The Cougars (2-13, 1-6 CL) grabbed an early lead with a 25-19 win in set one. St. Francis’s offense had a sizzling 15 kills on a .297 percentage in the opener.
St. Francis scored the first three points of the second set, but Grace battled back to tie the score. The Cougars still threatened to go up 2-0 by holding a late 23-20 advantage. Grace responded with four straight points, sparked by blocks from Kari Feddema, to regain control. The set ended 26-24 in Grace’s favor on a kill by Sierra Smith.
Grace carried that momentum into the third set, coasting to a seven-point win. The Lady Lancers’ defense limited the Cougars to a negative hitting percentage of -.061.
St. Francis got revenge with a seven-point win of its own in the fourth set, setting the stage for a dramatic game five.
Early kills from Feddema, Smith and Marta Bleed put Grace ahead early in the tiebreaker, 5-2. Smith went on to have four kills in the set, including the final swing of the match to win it for Grace at 15-12. Smith had a team-high 14 kills in the match, adding six block assists.
“Today was a good win for us. We were inconsistent in a lot of areas but consistently won the serving battle,” said Grace head coach Katie Van Hofwegen. “Our aggressiveness at the service line allowed us to keep them out of system and win several key points.”
Feddema was a dominant blocking force with a solo and eight block assists to go along with six kills.
Kelsee Zuidema finished with 13 kills, eight digs and two aces, and Bleed had 10 kills on a .214 percentage.
Taylor Baird produced 42 assists, eight digs and four kills as the setter, and Caylie Teel had 25 digs and two aces. Tori Bontrager served up five aces, and Sara Miller finished with 11 digs.
The Lady Lancers will hope to extend their winning streak next week with two home matches. Grace hosts Huntington on Friday night and Marian on Saturday.
Grace Explodes For Six Goals In Rout
ST. LOUIS – Six different players scored a goal in Grace’s men’s soccer team’s 6-0 win at Harris-Stowe on Sunday.
The Lancers (5-1-2) rebounded with a dominant performance after suffering their first loss of the year on Saturday.
Sunday’s game against Harris-Stowe was originally scheduled to be played on Friday night, but heavy rains made the surface unplayable.
Grace had a dream start to Sunday’s game as Dominic Harris scored from close range in the fourth minute. It was his third goal of the season and his second in two days.
Before halftime, the Lancers would add two more goals. Damon Binkley scored in the 28th minute off an assist by Jon Christensen, and Cody Boerema converted Grace’s third goal just five minutes later.
In the second half, Grace earned a penalty kick less than 15 minutes into the half. Hector Torres stepped up for the attempt and cooly converted from the spot for a 4-0 lead.
Less than 10 minutes later, Breno Oliveira unleashed a deep shot from well outside the penalty box which crashed off the crossbar. Colin Cape was there for the rebound and tucked in Grace’s fifth goal.
Just before the final whistle, Grace tacked on its sixth goal of the match. Mitchell Zeilenga helped spark the attack, and Henrique Cerruti finished with his left foot in the 87th minute.
Kurt Hamlin and Robbie Barnhill combined for the shutout in goal for Grace. Hamlin did the heavy lifting with seven saves in 83 minutes.
The Lancers kick off the Crossroads League season on Saturday, traveling to rival Bethel for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
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