Baseball — In the spring of 2019, Hope College baseball put up some historic numbers. For the first-time ever the team posted more than 30 wins, setting a record with 31 victories in a season. After starting with a 25-1 record, with win streaks of nine and 16 games during that run, the Flying Dutchmen ended up 31-11 overall and were runners-up in the MIAA regular-season and tournament. Mason Opple set a team record with 18 doubles and tied the career RBI mark in 2019 (119) as a junior. Opple claimed the RBI record (121) as a senior when the abbreviated 2020 season concluded. Also for the first-time ever, two no-hitters were thrown in the same season on the Flying Dutchmen's 2019 spring-break swing. Four Hope players were awarded All-MIAA honors.
Men's Golf — At the 2019 NCAA Division III Championship in the spring, the Hope College men's golf team finished in ninth place out of 42 teams. Led by national runner-up Josh Gibson, the Flying Dutchmen shot a final-round 296 at Keene Trace Golf Club in Nicholasville, Kentucky for a four-day total of 1,207 (55-over-par). It was the third-lowest round of the last day and the Flying Dutchmen's best of the tournament. The Hope team moved up each day of the four-day tournament, going from 14th to 11th to 10th to, finally, ninth place. This was the third Top 10 finish at the NCAA Division III Championships for the Flying Dutchmen.
Volleyball — The 10th-ranked Hope College volleyball team finished the 2019 season with a 24-8 overall record, second place in the MIAA regular season and tournament, and made its 11th NCAA tournament appearance in 12 years. The Flying Dutch advanced to the regional final hosted at Calvin University. After two dramatic, come-from-behind wins in the first two rounds of the national tournament, Hope lost 3-1 (19-25, 20-25, 25-21, 20-25) to No. 3 Calvin and ended its season one win shy of a national quarterfinal appearance. Four Flying Dutch earned All-MIAA Honors.
Men's Lacrosse — For the first-time ever, the Hope College men's lacrosse team appeared in the NCAA national tournament in 2019. Within a span of five days, the Flying Dutchmen defeated Albion twice to win both the regular-season title, outright and undefeated, and the MIAA tournament in dramatic fashion. Freshman Brayden Blackburn scored the go-ahead goal for Hope (14-3 overall) with 3 minutes, 57 seconds in the MIAA tournament championship game. Hope lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to John Carroll, a 7-6 overtime defeat in Rochester, N.Y. On the season, the Flying Dutchmen scored a team-record 255 goals. Ten Hope players claimed All-MIAA honors including goalie Nick Schanhals, the 2019 MIAA Defensive MVP.
Women's Basketball — Before the COVID-19 crisis shuttered its season in the middle of the NCAA Tournament, the Hope College women's basketball team was on a tear. The Flying Dutch were the only unbeaten team in NCAA Division III this season at 29-0; finished the season ranked No. 1 in WBCA coaches and D3hoops.com polls; were ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring defense and scoring margin; claimed an outright MIAA title with a 16-0 league record (the seventh perfect MIAA season in history); defeated Calvin and Trine to win the MIAA Tournament; and advanced to the NCAA sectionals with wins over Grove City College (Penn.) and Illinois Wesleyan University in DeVos Fieldhouse. Guard Kenedy Schoonveld was named the MIAA MVP while Olivia Voskuil earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Schoonveld also earned All-America honors from the WBCA and D3hoops.com while Voskuil was an honorable mention All-America for the WBCA.
Women's Tennis — Dominating league performances propelled the Hope College women's tennis team to its fifth consecutive MIAA regular-season title and a league-record eighth consecutive MIAA tournament championship. The Flying Dutch went undefeated as a team in league play while Hope players posted a 71-1 match record in singles and doubles against MIAA opponents. Hope blanked both Calvin and Kalamazoo, 5-0, to qualify for the NCAA championship. The Flying Dutch advanced to the second round in the NCAA tournament before falling to Kenyon College (Ohio), 5-3. Ranked No. 33, Hope finished with an 18-6 record. Senior Claire Hallock was selected as MIAA MVP and was joined on All-MIAA teams by two other Hope teammates.
Football — The Hope College football team reclaimed an MIAA championship for the first time since 2006, going undefeated in league play in the process. The Flying Dutchmen qualified for the NCAA championship, hosting the first round at Smith Stadium, but falling to Wartburg College (Iowa), 41-3. Hope ended with a 9-2 record, the second nine-win season in team history. While the senior class was the winningest in team history with a 32-8 record, the entire 2019 team achieved these national ranks in 2019: third in turnover margin, third in fewest penalties, 10th in rushing offense and 15th in scoring offense. Quarterback Mason Opple was named the MIAA Offensive MVP and was a finalist for the Gagliardi Award. Linebacker Mason Dekker received the MIAA Defensive MVP award and received All-American honors as did Zach Smith who was also the winner of the Rimington Award as NCAA Division III's top center. Twelve more Flying Dutchmen were awarded All-MIAA honors.
Women's Cross Country — At the 2019 MIAA Championship, the Hope College women's cross country team claimed a fifth consecutive title. Running without two of their top five runners due to illness, the Flying Dutch still repeated as league champs. Hope clocked seven of the fastest 19 times as they posted a winning score in the nine-team event of 32 points, finishing 17 points ahead of runner-up Trine. The Flying Dutch received an at-large berth to the NCAA Division III Championships after a fourth-place finish at the Division III Great Lakes Regional. At the NCAA Championships, the team took 27th place. Freshman Ana Tucker turned in the top performance for Hope with a time of 22.00.1 and finished in 24th place out of 277 runners. Tucker claimed All-American honors, in addition to being named to the All-Region and All-MIAA teams earlier in the season. Three other Flying Dutch runners received All-MIAA First Team honors.
