MEN'S BASKETBALL
Flying Dutchmen Featured on D3hoops.com Website
Columnist Brian Lester writes about the MIAA-leading Flying Dutchmen. Read

MEN'S GOLF
Flying Dutchmen Golfers Featured in Magazine
Hope's MIAA champion men's golf team, coached by Bob Ebels, is featured in the winter of issue of Michigan Golfer magazine. Read Article

Headlines

MEN'S BASKETBALL
MIAA Honors Hope Junior Nate Snuggerud
Hope forward Nate Snuggerud is the MIAA Player of the Week. A junior from Zeeland (Zeeland East HS),Snuggerud put together back-to-back career-high scoring performances averaging 29.5 points and 8.5 rebounds as the Flying Dutchmen remained unbeaten in the MIAA. He scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 25 minutes of action in an 85-62 road victory at Trine, then came back with 31 points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes on the court as Hope defeated Alma, 104-77. Snuggerud, who is being honored as Player of the Week for the second time this season and in his career, made 20 of 31 shots (64 percent) from the field and 18 of 20 (90 percent) from the free-throw line for the week.

SWIMMING/DIVING
MIAA Coaches Recognize Junior Diver Kyleigh Sheldon
Junior diver Kyleigh Sheldon of Hastings (Hastings HS) has been named the female Swimmer/Diver of the Week in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). won both diving events with personal-best scores Saturday in the Flying Dutch’s 147-122 dual meet victory over Alma. She won the 1-meter competition with a score of 237.10 points, then took the 3-meter competition with a 6-dive total of 241.20 points.

Hope College Celebrates Its Student-Athletes
as Part of NCAA Division III Initiative
Hope College has been a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) since 1956 and Division III since its founding in 1973. The NCAA in 2010 launched an initiative in Division III that highlights its student-athletes as they excel on the athletic field, pursue their chosen field of study in the classroom, and participate in the life of their college and surrounding community. This posting is another in a series highlighting Hope student-athletes and coaches.

RESPONSIBILITY

"Being a student-athlete at Hope College is more than just playing the game; it is a privilege, and in order to use its full potential, it is our responsibility to give back to the community," says senior basketball captain Allie Cerone of Wheaton, Ill.

Special Olympics has been a part of the Hope College women's basketball program for 14 years, gong before it became a nationwide focus in NCAA Division III.

In recent weeks the Flying Dutch sponsored a basketball skills workshop for over 100 Special Olympians. Later this season the team will host a tournament for Special Olympians. Morehouse and men's coaching colleague Matt Neil will for the second year take "The Polar Plunge" into the ice-cold water of nearly Lake Macatawa in support of of Special Olympics fundraiser.

"It's been a great opportunity to serve while providing teachable moments about our responsibility to the community," said coach Brian Morehouse. "After our workshop experience I pulled our team together for an impromptu conversation on the responsibility to serve not just in college, but beyond. I admitted to not always understanding this in my post-college career until about age 26. It was at this age I discovered the absolute joy in looking beyond my own busyness to find ways to serve others.

"Our recent Special Olympics event was time well spent because it was exhilarating and helped me better appreciate being part of a community that reaches far beyond a single basketball team," Cerone said.

"Being a student-athlete at Hope teaches students how to accept responsibility, whether it is in the classroom or on the court," added junior teammate Liz Ellis of East Grand Rapids. "Having this responsibility should be seen as a privilege and with it comes the task of doing things outside of ourselves and helping to serve others."