Bulldog Weekly Report (Dec. 22)

By Jacob Knabel on Dec. 22, 2015 in Athletic Announcements

News and notes:

New athletics website launches: Last week Concordia University unveiled a redesigned athletics website. The new site comes with plenty of bells and whistles and benefits for fans of the Bulldogs. The site now puts the focus on the latest news and allows for optimal social media sharing while providing more visual appeal. For a note about the website from Director of Athletic Communications Jake Knabel, click HERE.

Concordia closes fall with 39 scholar-athletes: Concordia University ran its all-time NAIA leading scholar-athlete total to 1,253 after closing the fall of 2015 with 39 scholar-athletes. Last week the Bulldog football program landed 12 players/student coaches on the list.

Relive the 2015 volleyball run to the national tournament: The 2015 Bulldog volleyball team became the first in program history to advance to the national tournament following a season that included 26 wins and a GPAC tournament runner-up finish. Check out our commemorative booklet that commemorates the special 2015 season HERE.

Track and field ready to return to action following 2015 national title: Head coach Kregg Einspahr’s men’s track and field rides a wave of momentum into 2016 following the 2015 men’s outdoor national title. The Bulldogs are ready for a new season. Check out our feature HERE.

Commemorating men’s soccer’s GPAC title run: Head coach Jason Weides’ squad put together a string of upsets of the GPAC’s top three seeds to win the 2015 GPAC tournament title. We’ve commemorated that run with a booklet that includes recaps, features and photos from the historic year for Concordia men’s soccer. Find it HERE.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 4 p.m. CT: New this year is the Bulldog Coaches Show, which runs for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 4 p.m. CT on KAWL 1370-AM. The show can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the TuneIn Radio app and then searching “KAWL.” Due to the Christmas holiday, the coaches show will not air this week.

Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting http://www.cune.edu/csn at game time. Check team schedules/results pages for webcast dates. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.

Women’s Basketball

  • After finishing up final exams, the 14th-ranked Concordia University women’s basketball team hit the road and earned a 68-64 win over Dordt on Dec. 18. Though the Bulldogs shot only 36.9 percent (24-for-65) from the floor, they turned the ball over just seven times on their way to their second GPAC road victory of the season. Tenth-year head coach Drew Olson’s squad has now won four-straight games to run its overall record to 8-3. Concordia is 5-3 in conference play (sixth place). For more on Bulldog women’s basketball, click HERE.
  • Concordia and the Defenders faced each other twice in the span of 10 days. The two games were much different in terms of competitiveness. In the Dec. 9 contest, the Bulldogs forced 31 Dordt turnovers and won comfortably, 86-54, inside Walz Arena. In the latest matchup, Defender senior Mycah Hulst recorded 20 points, 25 rebounds and four blocks to lead the upset bid. Dordt led by as many as 10 points in the opening quarter.
  • The Bulldogs have established their identity as a balanced team after losing two All-Americans from their 2014-15 national runner-up team. All five starters are averaging more than eight points per game: Becky Mueller (11.7), Quinn Wragge (10.9), Mary Janovich (9.5), Shelby Quinn (8.2) and Brenleigh Daum (8.1). Five different Bulldogs have led the team in scoring in at least one game this season. Mueller has topped the squad in points in five of the first 11 games.
  • Concordia now owns series win streaks of eight or more over five GPAC teams. Last week the Bulldogs topped Dordt for the eighth-straight meeting. They also own significant win streaks over Nebraska Wesleyan (19), Midland (14), Mount Marty (10) and Doane (9). Concordia has not lost to Nebraska Wesleyan since a 58-56 home defeat on Jan. 17, 2006. Midland last topped the Bulldogs on Jan. 13, 2009.
  • The Bulldogs knocked down eight 3-point field goals at Dordt and rank fourth among all NAIA Division II teams with an average of 10.1 treys per game. They also rank No. 19 nationally in 3-point field goal percentage (.358). After going 1-for-13 from beyond the arc in her previous three games, Mueller returned to form at Dordt where she went 4-for-5 from long range. She boosted her season 3-point percentage to 45.1 (15th best in the nation).
  • Junior Shelby Quinn has responded well since being inserted into the starting point guard role on Dec. 9. Since then the native of Bellevue, Neb., is averaging 8.0 points and has dished out 10 assists compared to just five turnovers in 84 minutes of action. Last week she put up 13 points and three steals at Dordt.
  • The Defenders shot 37.7 percent in last week’s contest. During Concordia’s active four-game win streak, each of its opponents have failed to shoot above 40 percent. The Bulldogs have limited six of their first 11 foes to shooting percentages south of 40. Their overall season field goal percentage defense figure of 37.4 ranks second best among GPAC teams. Opponents have shot only 25.1 percent from beyond the arc.
  • Freshman Maddie Egr has made the most of her 11.7 minutes per game. Last week in 15 minutes of play at Dordt, she tallied seven points and a team high six rebounds. On the year she’s averaging 5.7 points while shooting 55.1 percent (27-for-49) from the floor. Egr was a first team all-state performer at Yutan High School.
  • The Bulldogs have this week off from competition, but will fly to California on Saturday in preparation for a pair of games in Redding, Calif., Dec. 29-30. Concordia will play Simpson University (3-8) at 6 p.m. PT on Tuesday, Dec. 29. The next day the Bulldogs will play Pacific Union College (0-12) at 2 p.m. PT. Concordia has won each of its first three nonconference tilts (No. 24 Mayville State University, No. 6 University of Jamestown and York College).

Men’s Basketball

  • The lone contest of last week saw Concordia play into overtime for the fourth time this season. The Bulldogs relinquished a 98-92 lead in the extra session and fell at Dordt, 104-102, on Dec. 18. Third-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad fell behind by as many as 24 points in the second half and still trailed by 19 with under eight-and-a-half minutes left in regulation. The defeat moved Concordia to 8-4 overall and 4-4 in conference play (sixth). For more on Bulldog men’s basketball, click HERE.
  • Concordia lost at Dordt despite shooting 60.3 percent (41-for-68) from the field. It marked the seventh time this season that the Bulldogs have shot 50 percent or better and the second-straight game with a percentage above 60. Limback’s group is one of the most efficient offenses in the nation, ranking ninth in field goal percentage (.500), 11th in points per game (89.9), 13th in free throw percentage (.750) and 38th in 3-point field goals per game (8.4). The Bulldogs have scored 90 or more points six times this season.
  • Concordia had entered last week’s outing with a perfect 3-0 record in overtime games. The first three took place inside Walz Arena with the Bulldogs outscoring their opponents by a combined total of 47-30 during the extra sessions. Both regular season meetings with Dordt went to overtime with the home team prevailing in each case.
  • Junior Chandler Folkerts became the 27th member of the program’s 1,000-point club during the course of a monster night at Dordt. Folkerts tallied a career high 33 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while helping Concordia dig out of its hole. Follkerts made 14-of-18 shots from the field and sank a trey. Over the past two games, the native of Milford, Neb., is 24-for-28 (.857) from the floor. He’s averaging 18.2 points and 6.8 boards and ranks fifth among all NAIA Division II players in field goal percentage (.642).
  • Sophomore Rudy Knight also turned in a career high with 22 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field and 5-for-5 shooting from the free throw line. The native of Katy, Texas, saw a career high 30 minutes of action off the bench. His previous season highs were 20 minutes and six points. Knight is now averaging 4.8 points on the year.
  • Senior Robby Thomas, one of five Concordia double figure scorers at Dordt, swatted three more shots last week to run his career total to 165. He continues to chase the program record of 188 by Glen Snodgrass (188). Thomas has at least one block in seven-straight games and 29 for the season. He ranks seventh among all NAIA Division II players in blocks per game (2.42).
  • Though each of its last four opponents have all shot better than 45 percent from the field, Concordia ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage defense (.435). The Bulldogs also lead the GPAC with an average of 4.5 rejections per game. They rank fourth in steals per game (7.0) and fifth in scoring defense (82.4) amongst its grouping of high-scoring conference rivals. Seven GPAC squads averaged more than 85 points per game. All but two score more than 80 per outing.
  • Concordia is still trying to recapture the road success it enjoyed last season when it went 11-7 away from home. The Bulldogs defeated both No. 3 Northwood University (Fla.) and No. 12 Midland on the road during the 2014-15 season. So far in 2015-16, Concordia is 1-3 on the road. All four of those contests have been against conference opponents.
  • The Bulldogs have a break in their schedule before returning to action Dec. 29-30 with two contests set to take place in Redding, Calif., on the campus of Simpson University. The Bulldogs will take on Simpson (2-10) at 8 p.m. PT on Tuesday, Dec. 29. The following day Concordia will go up against No. 23 California State University Maritime (7-5) at 4 p.m. PT. The Bulldogs are 4-0 against nonconference foes with a signature overtime win over then No. 8 Bellevue.

Wrestling

  • The ninth-ranked Bulldogs had another week off after last competing at the Battle of the Rockies hosted by the University of Great Falls on Dec. 4-5 and the Buena Vista University Open on Dec. 5. For the second-straight national poll, fourth-year head coach Dana Vote’s program earned a ranking of ninth. Concordia continues to lead the North Group (which includes all GPAC schools) with 195 total team points. In dual action, the Bulldogs possess records of 4-2 overall and 2-0 in GPAC action. For more information on Concordia wrestling, click HERE.
  • A group of seven Bulldogs owns individual national rankings: No. 12 Kodie Cole (133), No. 8 Andrew Schulte (149), No. 7 Jr Lule (157), No. 11 Tommy Bailey (165), No. 5 Matt Atwood (184), No. 13 Ken Burkhardt Jr. (197) and No. 5 Ceron Francisco (285). Atwood made the biggest jump in the most recent rankings, moving from 13th to fifth at 184 pounds.
  • Vote’s roster sports eight individuals with 10 or more wins on the season. Atwood joined the 10+ win club by collecting a pair of wins during dual action on Dec. 4. One of his wins came over Oklahoma City’s fourth-ranked Derek Sivertsen (formerly ranked No. 1).
    • Ken Burkhardt Jr. (197) – 17-6
    • Tommy Bailey (165) – 17-10
    • Andrew Schulte (149) – 16-6
    • Jr Lule (157) – 15-5
    • Ceron Francisco (285) – 15-6
    • Travian Cooke (174) – 13-7
    • Daniel Melcher (149) – 13-8
    • Matt Atwood (184) – 10-2
  • The Bulldogs continue a break in their schedule. They return to action Saturday, Jan. 2 for the Viking Warrior Open in Fremont, Neb. The tournament is set to begin at 9 a.m. CT. Concordia will make its next home appearance on Jan. 21 when Doane visits for a GPAC dual.