2002
The Voice: Winter 2002
Fall Updates
Men's soccer team rallies
The Dordt Defender men's soccer team ended the 2001 season with an improved record, reeling
off nine wins in their first twelve games before ending the season at 10-9. The 2001 season was
a turnaround year, hopefully providing the foundation for years to come.
Of the Defenders' nine losses, five were by one goal. The Black and White advanced to the Great
Plains Athletic Conference semifinals before being eliminated by eventual conference
tournament champion and national tournament qualifier, Hastings College.
Six Dordt College men's soccer players were awarded Great Plains Athletic Conference honors
this season with John Hansel, a senior from Sioux City, being named to the all-conference first
team. Travis Burgers, a junior from Sioux Falls, and Ben Bieri from Berthoud, Colorado, were
both included on the GPAC second team. Beau Bosma, Eric Segaar, and Nick Wissink were all
given honorable mention for their play in the conference.
Women's soccer reaches tournament play
A winning streak of five games at the end of September helped spring the Dordt Lady Defender
soccer team to a 10-10 record this fall and a berth in the Great Plains Athletic Conference
semifinals. They were beaten by Dana College, the eventual conference tournament champion.
The Dordt women's soccer team has never had a losing season in its six years of existence.
Five of Coach Steve Westra's players were honored when the All Great Plains Athletic
Conference teams were announced at the end of the season. Meghan Graham, a junior from
Lawrence, Kansas, and Julie VanDerKooi, a senior from Chino, California, were both named to
the conference's first team while Janna Brink, Liz Dykstra, and Karen Vreeman were all named
to the second team.
Cross Country teams have perfect fall for running
Nearly perfect fall weather allowed the Dordt men's and women's cross country teams to get
their seasons in unhindered. The men started the season with a bang, winning the Dordt Invite
with twenty-four team points, while the women also had their best team finish on the same day
with a second place finish.
Both the men's and women's teams advanced to the regional finals in Lincoln, Nebraska. The
men finished seventh, the women finished eighth.
Golf team completes fall portion of season
The Dordt golf team typically finds itself battling the weather during the fall portion of its
season. This year was an exception. Showing steady improvement throughout the season,
the Defenders laid the groundwork for a
strong second half of the season, which will resume April 4. Mike Roetman recorded the low
round of the fall for the Defenders when he carded a seventy at the University of Sioux Falls
Invite. Roetman also shot a hole-in-one in a tournament at the Dakota Dunes in Sioux City.
The Defenders will play in five more regular season meets when the season resumes in April.
Volleyball team reaches quarter-finals at nationals
The 2001 volleyball season concluded for the Dordt Lady Defenders in the quarterfinal round of
the NAIA National Tournament in West Palm Beach, Florida, as the Lady Defenders were beaten
by number one rated Columbia College, Missouri.
The loss concluded a season that saw the Lady Defenders go 37-6 with five of their losses
coming from teams that finished their season in the Elite Eight at the National Tournament. The
season also concluded a four-year run for A.J. Lefever and Darci Wassenaar in which the Lady
Defenders went 148-28, with three trips to the National Tournament. All three of those trips
resulted in Elite Eight berths.
Wassenaar and Lefever were Great Plains Athletic Conference first team picks and were named
to the All Region IV team. Wassenaar was also honored at the conclusion of the national
tournament by being named to the All Tournament team. Alisa Kooima, a sophomore setter from
Rock Valley, Iowa, earned all-conference first team honors and second team
honors in the Region. Rachel Pontier also earned conference second team honors.
Notable Volleyball Stats
Dordt Record 148-28
Four Conference Championships
1998, 1999 in the South Dakota Iowa Conference
2000, 2001 in the Great Plains Athletic Conference
Four Regional runner-up finishes
Three Elite Eight finishes at National Tournament
Darci two-time second team All-American, two-time Volleyball Scholastic All- American
A.J. two-time Honorable Mention All-American
