Members of the Hope College women's basketball team will make school history when they embark on a trip that will take them to Germany for a two-week-long trip that will include five games.
Members of the Hope College women's basketball team will make school history when they embark on a trip that will take them to Germany for a two-week-long trip that will include five games.
The Flying Dutch will become the first Hope women's athletic team to venture outside the United States. The men's basketball team has traveled internationally on several occasions, most recently to the Netherlands in 1998. Earlier this summer the football team played a game in Queretaro, Mexico.
The team will depart on Monday, Aug. 7 and return on Sunday, Aug. 20.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for our players and staff," said coach Brian Morehouse. "I'm sure the experiences will go beyond playing basketball games."
Last season the Flying Dutch captured the championship of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) posting an overall 21-5 record. In four seasons under coach Morehouse the Flying Dutch have posted a 72-35 record and have made two appearances in the NCAA Division III tournament.
Four of the games will be against German club teams comprised of players 18 to 30 years of age. A fifth game will be against an allstar team.
The team will have a variety of living experiences, including family homestays, a night in a historic castle and in youth hostels. The players are scheduled to do a work project through a church in Goslar, Germany and there will be plenty of sightseeing opportunities highlighted by a Rhine River cruise.
The players taking the trip were all members of the MIAA championship team -- sophomore Amy Baltmanis of Paw Paw, junior Courtney Brehm of Howell, junior Jodi Boom of Coopersville, senior Amy Brower of Hamilton, sophomore Colleen Corey of Jenison, sophomore Kathi Grotenhuis of Hamilton, graduate Lisa Hoekstra of Grandville, sophomore Amanda Kerkstra of Grandville, senior Kristin Koenigsknecht of St. Johns, junior Laura Poppema of Holland, junior Becky Sutton of Eaton Rapids, sophomore Beth Woolley of Coral, and junior Sarah Zoulek of Shelby.
They will be accompanied by Morehouse and assistant coach Kristin Carlson.