Shattering glass and hearts: GV men’s DI club hockey wins two thrillers over Toledo

The Grand Valley State University men’s Division I club hockey team won two heavy-hitting and nail-biting games versus the University of Toledo Rockets. The first matchup was a 4-3 win at home for GVSU, then a second win in an OT thriller at Toledo 4-3.

In a home game at Griff’s Georgetown Ice Arena on Friday, Feb. 2, GVSU came out very aggressive and it paid off. Early on, the Lakers got a ton of great scoring opportunities and kept the puck on the Rockets’ end of the ice for much of the game.

GVSU scored two quick goals in the first 10 minutes of the first period, one from forward Carson Wood and another shortly after by forward Nick Sommerfield.

With about three minutes to go in the first, Toledo had a chance to get back in the game with a power play. GVSU was whistled for a high stick, the first penalty of the game on both sides, and the Lakers killed it with ease.

Shortly thereafter, GVSU captain Zach Borchardt was set up by Carson Korte for a missile of a one timer, making it three unanswered goals in the first period.

Lakers junior forward Braeden Fouchea emphasized the importance of scoring early in games, which has not been easy for the Lakers.

“We’ve had a tough time this year getting off to good starts,” Fouchea said. “A lot of games we didn’t get the first goal and we have to come back. (It) felt really good to get a good start.”

Click here to read more from Staff Writer Griffin Missant about GVSU men’s DI club hockey’s thrilling victory.

GV women’s basketball earns No. 1 seed in GLIAC Tournament, wins 3rd straight regular season title

The Grand Valley State University Lakers women’s basketball team (29-2, 17-1) won against the Northern Michigan University Wildcats (19-8, 13-) and the Michigan Technological University Huskies (15-11, 11-7), an eleventh straight victory for the team as they head into the tournament season.

The Lakers first faced the Wildcats on Thursday, Feb. 29, taking the victory 74-67 in an overtime battle, before facing the Huskies on Saturday, March 2 for a narrow 92-86 win. 

With the win against the Wildcats, GVSU earned multiple accomplishments. The Lakers won the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship for the third-consecutive season. In the process, Lakers head coach Mike Williams became the winningest coach in GVSU women’s basketball history with 234 wins. Redshirt junior forward Rylie Bisballe also tallied her 1,000th career point in the matchup with NMU.

Click here to read more from Staff Writer Delaney Miller about GVSU women’s basketball  winning a GLIAC regular season championship.

GV women’s basketball wins GLIAC Championship

While winning 14 straight games, the No. 1 ranked Grand Valley State University Lakers women’s basketball team took home the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference Championship (GLIAC), beating three opponents en route to their second consecutive tournament title.

After winning 11 straight games to finish the regular season, the Lakers beat the Purdue University Northwest (PNW) Pride, the University of Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers, and the Northern Michigan University Wildcats to sweep the regular season and postseason titles.

The Lakers’ star redshirt junior forward and 2023-2024 GLIAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, Rylie Bisballe, spoke glowingly about her team following the tournament win while deflecting some of the praise.

“Back-to-back. I think that this is just a special group and it’s a special thing. I think we’re all really close off the court and on the court,” Bisballe said. “We don’t just have one player that really dominates.”

Click here to read more from Sports Editor Nelson Hubbell about GVSU basketball’s GLIAC Tournament Championship run and victory.

GV’s Josh Kenny wins wrestling National Championship in program’s first season since 1992

In their inaugural season, the No. 13 ranked Grand Valley State University men’s wrestling team (13-7) sent four wrestlers to compete in the 2024 NCAA Division II National Championships in Wichita, Kansas, as redshirt sophomore Josh Kenny won the National Championship for the 174-pound weight class.

The tournament was played on March 15 and 16, where Kenny, sophomore Chris Donathan, redshirt sophomore Wyatt Miller, and senior Seth Konynenbelt competed against the best wrestlers in the country for a national title. To qualify for the event, each wrestler placed top three in their weight class at the regional tournament on March 2 at West Liberty University in West Virginia.

Click here to read more from Staff Writer Brady Kemmerling about Josh Kenny’s national championship for GVSU wrestling.

GV softball drops game one of DH, wins game two at Ferris State

The Grand Valley State University Laker Softball (20-7, 3-1) team split their afternoon doubleheader against Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) rival Ferris State University Bulldogs (14-17, 2-4) as both games ended with a narrow 2-1 final score.

GVSU won one game of a doubleheader with the Lewis University Flyers 8-5 and lost the second game 2-1 on Wednesday, March 27. Following those games, the Lakers and head coach Dana Callihan hoped for two complete victories on Friday, March 29.

Callihan said that after Wednesday’s game against Lewis, the Lakers focused on “adjusting to what the pitchers are throwing so we can start executing better and getting some more runs on the board.”

Game one was a pitching duel from the get go. Lakers freshman pitcher Kylie Swierkos got the start in the circle  and did not allow a hit in the first two innings of play. She was matched by Bulldogs junior pitcher Aryn Gallacher, who was just as dominant.

Click here to read more from Staff Writer Drew Burlingame about GVSU softball’s doubleheader win over rival Ferris State University.