Bulldog Weekly Report (Feb. 25)

By Jacob Knabel on Feb. 25, 2020 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Female: Rachel Battershell, Track & Field

A sophomore from Wheatland, Wyo., Battershell earned the GPAC Most Outstanding Female Athlete of the Meet award last week while leading the Bulldogs to a GPAC title. Battershell won individual conference championships in the 60 meter hurdles and 400 meters and as part of the 4x400 meter relay. Next up is the national championship meet.

Male: Wyatt Eriksen, Shooting Sports

A junior from Grand Island, Neb., Eriksen shot a perfect 100/100 in trap while in action at the Tundra Shootout hosted by the University of Missouri. Eriksen is an accounting major and a graduate of Grand Island Northwest High School.

2019-20 BAAM Athletes of the Week
Feb. 18 – Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Feb. 11 – Evan Bohman (baseball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Feb. 4 – Tanner Farmer (wrestling) / Allie Brooks (track & field)
Jan. 28 – Tanner Shuck (basketball) / Adrianna Shaw (track & field)
Jan. 21 – Tanner Farmer (wrestling) / Rachel Battershell (track & field)
Jan. 14 – Tanner Shuck (basketball) / Riley Sibbel (basketball)
Dec. 17 – Gavin DeHaai (track & field) / Kennedy Mogul (track & field)
Dec. 10 – Issiah Burks (wrestling) / Emmie Noyd (volleyball)
Dec. 3 – Mario Ybarra (wrestling) / Kylahn Heritage (cross country)
Nov. 19 – Carter Kent (basketball) / Kara Stark (volleyball)
Nov. 12 – Mario Ybarra (wrestling) / Kylahn Heritage (cross country)
Nov. 5 – Carter Kent (basketball) / Delani Fahey (basketball)
Oct. 29 – Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Kylahn Heritage (cross country)
Oct. 22 – Camryn Opfer (volleyball)
Oct. 15 – Lane Napier (football) / Marissa Hoerman (volleyball)
Oct. 8 – Caleb Goldsmith (soccer) / Tara Callahan (volleyball)
Oct. 1 – AJ Jenkins (football) / Rebekah Hinrichs (cross country)
Sept. 24 – Derek Tachovsky (football) / Kendra Placke (golf)
Sept. 17 – Moises Jacobo (soccer) / Kara Stark (volleyball)
Sept. 10 – Carlos Orquiz (soccer) / Amie Martin (cross country)
Sept. 3 – Eduardo Alba (soccer) / Emmie Noyd (volleyball)

2019-20 BAAM Athletes of the Month
January – Rachel Battershell (track & field) / Tanner Shuck (basketball)
December – Emmie Noyd (volleyball) / Mario Ybarra (wrestling)
November – Carter Kent (basketball) / Kara Stark (volleyball)
October – Tara Callahan (volleyball) / Lane Napier (football)
September – Derek Tachovsky (football) / Emmie Noyd (volleyball)

News and notes:

Philly fanatically pursues excellence: An all-time great in the history of the Concordia women’s basketball program, senior Philly Lammers has reached such distinction while being driven by a relentless pursuit of excellence. Fiercely competitive, humble, mild-mannered and intrinsically motivated to pursue perfection. It doesn’t matter what it is, Philly wants to great at it – and she usually is. The Omaha native is approaching 2,000 career points and last week surpassed 1,000 career rebounds. For a look at Philly and her exploits on and off the court, check out our feature piece HERE.

Softball set to open 2020 season this week: Picked fourth in the GPAC preseason poll, the Concordia softball team is more than ready to get the 2020 campaign started. The wait should end this weekend with doubleheaders scheduled at Bethany College (Kan.) on Friday and at Kansas Wesleyan University on Saturday. Head coach Shawn Semler’s squad returns a great deal of star power with the likes of juniors Hhana Haro and Tori Homolka and sophomores Camry Moore and Kylee Nixon returning. For a season outlook, click HERE.

Cheer and dance squads ready for regional qualifier: Head coach Mandi Maser’s cheer and dance squads have been idle since hosting competitions on Feb. 12. On that date, the Concordia dance team picked up a victory over Hastings in a dual. Soon before that, the GPAC Cheer and Dance Championships took place at Doane. The Bulldogs placed sixth out of 10 teams in dance and sixth out of seven squads in cheer. Up next is the NAIA Northwest Regional Cheer and Dance Qualifier at Morningside in Sioux City, Iowa. The dance portion of the event will be held Friday with cheer to follow on Saturday. Bids to the national championships will be on the line.

Shooting sports continues season at Tundra Shootout: Head coach Scott Moniot’s shooting sports squad picked up action this past weekend at the Tundra Shootout hosted by the University of Missouri. A detailed recap will be available via cune.edu/athletics before the end of the week. The program is looking ahead to the Doane Tiger Invitational the weekend of March 7-8. It will take place in Lincoln, Neb.

Four Bulldog basketball standouts earn Academic All-District honors: A group of four Concordia basketball student-athletes were recognized on Feb. 20 by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Representing the Bulldogs with Academic All-District Team honors were seniors Grace Barry and Philly Lammers of women’s basketball and senior Tanner Shuck and sophomore Carter Kent of men’s basketball. As all-district honorees, all four are now placed on the ballot for All-America consideration.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its fourth year of existence. The show airs live for a half hour every Thursday beginning at 5:30 p.m. CT on KTMX-FM 104.9 Max Country. The weekly feature can also be heard live via 104.9 Max Country’s website or by downloading the Max Country app. Throughout the 2018-19 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Tyler Cavalli serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for football and basketball. Frank Greene is in his fourth season calling Concordia volleyball.

Concordia Sports Network: Live webcasts for most home varsity contests can be accessed by visiting https://www.cune.edu/athletics/watch-bulldogs at game time. Beginning in 2019-20, Concordia Athletics is partnering with PrestoSports for live video and statistical streaming. For more details on this change, click HERE. Check team schedules/results pages for webcast dates. Scrimmages, exhibitions and junior varsity events are not broadcasted.​​​​​​​

Track & Field

·        For non-national qualifying athletes, the indoor season has come to an end. The 2020 GPAC Indoor Track and Field Championship took place last weekend (Feb. 21-22) at Dakota Wesleyan in Mitchell, S.D. Head coach Matt Beisel’s squads turned in conference finishes of first on the women’s side (193 points) and third on the men’s side (83.5 points) while claiming a combined eight GPAC event titles (seven by the women). For more on Bulldog track and field, click HERE.

·        It’s been quite a run for women’s track and field and cross country at Concordia. Dating back to last winter, the Bulldogs have won GPAC women’s titles at the 2019 indoor, 2019 outdoor, 2019 cross country and 2020 indoor conference meets. The year 2019 marked just the second time that Bulldog women’s track and field had ever swept GPAC indoor and outdoor conference championships. The women’s program has now seized a combined seven team conference titles in school history. Meanwhile, the men’s program has won three, including a sweep of 2014 GPAC indoor and outdoor championships.

·        Through seven main weekends of indoor competition, Bulldog athletes have combined for 22 automatic national qualifying marks, 20 ‘B’ standards and four NAIA top 22 multi-event point totals (see full list below). Rachel Battershell highlights the list with three individual automatic national qualifying marks. Addie Shaw owns two ‘A’ standards.

o   A, Men’s 4x400m relay (3:20.47)

o   A, Women’s 4x400m relay (3:56.28)

o   A, Women’s 4x800m relay (9:37.42)

o   A, Women’s Distance Medley Relay (12:26.04)

o   Andy Amos – B, weight throw (54’ 10 ¼”)

o   Rachel Battershell – A, 400 meters (56.40); A, 60 meter hurdles (8.81); A, 600 meters (1:36.73)

o   Taylor Beck – B, triple jump (B, 46’ 3 ½”)

o   Chase Berry – A, pole vault (15’ 7 ¼”)

o   Jamey Broman – B, long jump (18’ 3”)

o   Allie Brooks – A, pole vault (13’ ¾”)

o   Jacob Cornelio – A, weight throw (65’ 9”)

o   Morgan De Jong – A, weight throw (57’ 9”)

o   Gavin DeHaai – A, pole vault (16’ 4 ¾”)

o   McKenzie Gravo – A, pole vault (11’ 6 ½”)

o   Liam Hennessy – A, weight throw (57’ 3 ¾”); B, shot put (51’ 3”)

o   Kylahn Heritage – B, mile (5:13.84)

o   Samuel Joseph – B, triple jump (46’ 4”)

o   Sarah Lewis – B, 400 meters (59.32); B, 60 meter hurdles (9.06)

o   Wyatt Loga – B, high jump (6’ 7”)

o   Emily Loy – No. 13 in NAIA with 3,118 points in pentathlon

o   Erin Mapson – B, pole vault (11’ 2 ¼”)

o   Tristen Metzger – B, pole vault (11’ 2 ½”)

o   Colton Meyer – A, 60 meter hurdles (8.21)

o   Kennedy Mogul – B, 60 meter hurdles (9.10); No. 2 in NAIA with 3,341 points in pentathlon

o   Cora Olson – B, long jump (18’ 3 ¾”)

o   Jerod Peters – A, shot put (52’ 4”)

o   Jacee Pfeifer – B, pole vault (11’ 2 ½”); B, 400 meters (59.03)

o   Tucker Platt – B, pole vault (15’ 3”)

o   Ben Pratt – B, high jump (6’ 7 ½”)

o   Josie Puelz – A, pole vault (12’ 10 ¼”)

o   Sarah Ragland – A, weight throw (54’ 1 ¾”)

o   Jeremiah Reeser – No. 21 in NAIA with 4,252 points in heptathlon

o   Xavier Ross – A, 400 meters (49.03)

o   Katie Severt – B, long jump (18’ 1”)

o   Adrianna Shaw – A, shot put (48’ 9 ½”); A, weight throw (63’)

o   Sam Sisco – B, pole vault (15’ 3”)

o   Cody Williams – A, pole vault (15’ 7”); B, high jump (6’ 7 ½”); No. 2 in NAIA with 5,195 points in heptathlon

·        Event conference championships were turned in last week by the women’s 4x400 meter relay, Rachel Battershell (60 meter hurdles and 400 meters), Jacob Cornelio (weight throw), Kylahn Heritage (3,000 meters), Kennedy Mogul (pentathlon), Josie Puelz (pole vault) and Addie Shaw (weight throw). In addition, runner-up finishes were claimed by Chase Berry (pole vault), Allie Brooks (pole vault), Gavin DeHaai (pole vault), Emily Loy (pentathlon) and Jordan Lorenz (5,000 meters).

·        With her GPAC wins in the hurdles and 400 meters, Battershell was named the GPAC Women’s Outstanding Athlete of the Meet. The sophomore from Wheatland, Wyo., also anchored the 4x400 meter relay that took first in a GPAC meet record time of 3:56.28. Battershell is the first Concordia female to earn the Outstanding Athlete award since Kim Wood in 2016. Previously, Battershell had also collected GPAC titles in the 4x400 relay at the 2019 indoor meet and in the 400 meters at the 2019 outdoor meet.

·        Cornelio made good on his attempt to defend his 2019 GPAC weight throw championship. He will also have an opportunity this spring to defend his title in the hammer throw. The senior from Elk Grove, Calif., turned in a winning toss of 64’ 6” last week, allowing him to win the competition by nearly four feet. On the women’s side, the accomplished Shaw picked up her first career conference title in the weight throw with her mark of 60’ 7 ¼.” On the national leaderboards, Cornelio remains No. 1 and Shaw sits second.

·        Brooks and Puelz entered the weekend as the favorites in the women’s pole vault. They remain the Nos. 1 and 2 athletes on the NAIA national list in the event. Puelz’s GPAC winning clearance measured 12’ 6 ½” last week. Women’s pole vault titles are nothing new for Concordia, which has now captured nine women’s pole vault championships over the last 12 GPAC meets. Brooks is a two-time GPAC champion while another teammate in McKenzie Gravo also has two GPAC pole vault titles to her credit.

·        Like Berry, Colton Meyer is another freshman male to keep an eye on. He placed fourth in the 60 meter hurdles, an event he’s qualified for nationals in. Meyer joined a 4x4 that placed third (teammates were Xavier Ross, Camden Miller and Henry Reimer). Another significant finish on the men’s side was the fourth-place slotting for Jerod Peters in the shot put. Another individual worth noting is sophomore Cora Olson, who placed third in the 60 meter dash, fourth in the long jump and sixth in the triple jump.

·        For qualifying athletes, the indoor season will continue at the 2020 NAIA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in Brookings, S.D., March 5-7. All qualifiers are scheduled to be announced by the NAIA on Wednesday (multi-event athletes have already been unveiled).

Wrestling

·        Twelve individuals represented the 16th-ranked Bulldogs at the 2020 GPAC Wrestling Championships hosted by Morningside in Sioux City, Iowa, Feb. 21-22. All 12 contributed as Concordia racked up 163.5 team points and won the conference tournament championship. That result made for a clean sweep of GPAC regular-season and postseason championships for second-year head coach Levi Calhoun’s squad. For more information on Bulldog wrestling, click HERE.

·        There’s no doubt that Concordia has been the dominant program within the GPAC in recent years. Since the start of the 2014-15 campaign, the Bulldogs have combined for five GPAC regular-season titles and four NAIA North/GPAC postseason championships (six-year period). During that stretch, Concordia has gone 41-4 in conference duals. It has also had an impressive run of GPAC Wrestlers of the Year: Ceron Francisco (2017), Andrew Schulte (2016), Enrique Barajas (2015) and Emilio Rivera (2014).

·        The following competitors represented the Bulldogs at the GPAC championships (place finishes in parentheses): Mario Ybarra (first at 125), Alberto Garcia (second at 133), Chris Kimball (second at 141), Cameron Devers (fourth at 149), Gabe Crawford (first at 157), Issiah Burks (fifth at 165), Blake Castillo (third at 174), Deandre Chery (fourth at 174), Darrin Miller (second at 184), Jason Watkins (third at 184), Tanner Farmer (first at 285) and Demitrius Miller (fifth at 285). Ybarra, Crawford and Farmer are each first team GPAC champions.

·        By tournament’s end, Concordia had chewed up seven of the GPAC’s 19 automatic bids to nationals. The following Bulldogs have locked up spots at nationals: Ybarra (125), Garcia (133), Kimball (141), Crawford (157), Castillo (174), Miller (184) and Farmer (285). Of those seven, Garcia and Kimball are the only ones with prior experience on the national stage. Garcia earned All-America honors in 2019 by placing fourth at the national championships.

·        Concordia put six wrestlers in the GPAC finals and four others reached third-place matches on the back side of their respective brackets. Each Bulldog contributed at least 8.5 team points to the tally. The matches that Concordia lost in the finals were all tightly contested – Garcia (133) fell by three points, Kimball (141) by two points and Miller (184) by two points. Kimball gave Doane’s NAIA third-ranked Baterdene Boldmaa all he could handle in the championship (7-5 decision). With an automatic berth to nationals on the line, Castillo actually beat out teammate and two-time GPAC champion Deandre Chery, 4-1, in the 174-pound third-place match.

·        Farmer has been on a tear since joining the team for the second semester. He blazed to the 285-pound GPAC title with a 4-0 weekend that included two victories by pin and a win by major decision over NAIA 16th-ranked Phil Rasmussen of Morningside in the championship match. The former Nebraska Cornhusker offensive lineman is now 22-0 (nine pins) and ranked as the No. 2 heavyweight in the NAIA. Throughout the season, Farmer also won tournament titles at the Hastings Open, Missouri Valley Invite and Edmonds Open.

·        Due to fewer entries at 125, Ybarra automatically moved to the semifinals of the GPAC tournament. While taking the title, the Scottsbluff, Neb., native defeated Northwestern’s Sean Heeney and Briar Cliff’s Braedon Clopton. Meanwhile, Crawford was one of the surprises of the tournament. He was seeded fourth at 157 but managed to topple two opponents ranked above him: No. 1 Taygen Smith of Hastings and No. 3 Carsen Paynter of Jamestown.

·        Chery still has a shot of getting an at-large invitation to the national tournament. With either seven or eight national tournament entries, the Bulldogs will take their largest group of qualifiers to nationals since they traveled nine wrestlers to the 2017 NAIA tournament. The school record for most national qualifiers in a season is 10 (by the 2014-15 and 2015-16 squads). The program has an active streak of six-straight national tournaments with at least one All-American.

·        For those who qualify, the 2019-20 season will continue at the NAIA Wrestling National Championships to be staged at Hartman Arena in Park City, Kan., March 6-7. Official national qualifiers are scheduled to be announced by the NAIA today (Feb. 25). Over the previous six years, Concordia has turned in national finishes of 22nd (2014), 12th (2015), eighth (2016), 15th (2017), 22nd (2018) and 26th (2019).

Women’s Basketball

·        The regular season concluded last week with the second-ranked Bulldogs wrapping up a fourth-straight GPAC title. Concordia did not have to share this one. Last week the Bulldogs took care of business with road wins over Midland, 75-68, on Feb. 19 and over Jamestown, 76-66, on Feb. 22. Over the final two weeks of the regular season, the Bulldogs managed to leapfrog Hastings, which finished at 20-2 in league play. Fourteenth-year head coach Drew Olson’s squad concluded the regular season at 28-2 overall (21-1 GPAC). For more information on Concordia women’s basketball, click HERE.

·        Prior to the 2016-17 season, no team in the GPAC era had ever swept conference regular-season and postseason women’s basketball titles in back-to-back years. The Bulldogs are now another conference tournament championship away from accomplishing the sweep for a fourth year in a row. Since the GPAC formed (first season in 2000-01), Concordia’s program has captured a combined 13 conference titles, 11 of which have come during Olson’s tenure. Olson’s 2011-12 team also swept GPAC regular-season/tournament championships.

·        The four-year seniors have helped the program to a combined record of 133-10 since the start of the 2016-17 campaign. The GPAC regular-season mark during that time is a remarkable 78-6. During that time, the Bulldogs never quite went unblemished in conference play, but lost only one GPAC game apiece in the 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2019-20 seasons. The 21 conference wins are a school record for most league wins in a single season.

·        Last week’s action wasn’t necessarily a cakewalk despite playing two opponents in the bottom half of the GPAC standings. When Midland and Jamestown weren’t turning it over (54 combined turnovers), they did quite well offensively. Midland shot 48.9 percent overall and went 10-for-26 from 3-point range while Jamestown shot 47.7 percent overall and went 11-for-25 from beyond the arc. The close nature of those games resulted in heavier minutes than normal for Concordia starters.

·        The Bulldogs have gone a solid 10-2 in true road games this season, but they have been basically invincible at home. In 13 home games (all wins), Concordia has outscored its opponents by an average of 97.7 to 56.5 and has shot 47.9 percent from the floor. In the 12 true road games, the Bulldogs have outscored their foes by an average of 81.3 to 66.9 and have shot 41.5 percent from the floor. In terms of scoring, Grace Barry (15.1 to 13.6) and Philly Lammers (15.1 to 12.9) have actually averaged more points on the road.

·        In the win at Midland, Lammers reached 1,000 career rebounds, making her the third player in program history to achieve that lofty total. She may eclipse another milestone this week (needs 29 points for 2,000 career). On the school’s all-time lists, Lammers ranks second in scoring (1,971), second in blocked shots (178), third in rebounds (1,006) and fifth in steals (348). She’s the only player in program annals to rank in the top five of each of those categories. When also counting the men’s program, three Concordia basketball players have ever reached 2,000 career points: Jon Ziegler (2,099), Bailey Morris (2,054) and Tom Raabe (2,016).

·        In that same contest, Barry accomplished a milestone of her own by surpassing 1,000 career points. Her current total of 1,019 points includes 847 points scored as a Bulldog and 172 points scored during two seasons at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. On the school single-season charts, Barry’s 2018-19 season totals of 216 assists and 139 steals both rank No. 2. Despite being in just her second season at Concordia, Barry owns school all-time rankings of seventh in assists (393) and 11th in steals (238).

·        Despite Lammers (13.7) and Barry (13.7) being the only Bulldogs averaging in double figures on this year’s team, this 2019-20 Concordia team has a current scoring average (89.6) that would represent a school record. The standard is currently held by the 2017-18 squad that averaged 87.1 points per game. The top scorers on that particular squad were Lammers (13.8), Quinn Wragge (13.0), Brenleigh Daum (9.9) and Dani Hoppes (9.8).

·        Conference tournament action will begin on Wednesday with the quarterfinal round. The top-seeded Bulldogs will host eighth-seeded Midland (12-18, 8-14 GPAC) at 6 p.m. CT that evening. The winner will advance to Saturday’s semifinals and take on either fourth-seeded Dordt or fifth-seeded Dakota Wesleyan. As the No. 1 seed, Concordia will host for the duration of its stay in the bracket.

Men’s Basketball

·        Entering last week, the Bulldogs had dropped their previous three GPAC road games and needed to win at Midland and at Jamestown in order to earn the right to host a GPAC tournament quarterfinal contest. Mission accomplished. Concordia faced late deficits in both outings, but managed to rally to win at Midland, 89-83, and at Jamestown, 101-92 in overtime, to secure at least one more home game. Head coach Ben Limback’s squad concluded the regular season at 21-9 overall with a 12-8 GPAC mark (tied for fourth place). For more information on Bulldog men’s basketball, click HERE.

·        The accomplishment of earning a top four seed and GPAC tournament home game is so notable because the program has not hosted a postseason contest since 2011 (the format differed at that time in that all 12 conference teams were included in the GPAC tournament). Life on the road in conference tournament games has not treated Concordia well. It last won a GPAC tournament game in 2009 when it defeated Briar Cliff, 101-97 in overtime, on the road. The 2019-20 Bulldogs are 10-3 at home compared to 6-5 in true road contests.

·        Both of last week’s games were nothing, if not entertaining. Concordia faced second half deficits of as large as six points at Midland and 18 points at Jamestown. The Bulldogs overcame those disadvantages with offensive explosions after halftime in both outings. Concordia scored 58 points in the second half at Midland and then 55 in the second half at Jamestown. The Bulldogs shot exactly 51.7 percent from the field in both games. Concordia earned season sweeps of Midland and Jamestown.

·        The 21 overall wins for the Bulldogs equal a high water mark during Limback’s tenure, which began with the 2013-14 season. The 2016-17 squad also collected 21 wins and received votes nationally at various times during that campaign. No Concordia men’s basketball team has totaled more than 21 victories in a season since the 2004-05 squad went 32-6 overall and reached the national championship game. In addition, the current team’s 12 GPAC wins are the most for the program since the 2009-10 team went 12-6 inside league play.

·        Brevin Sloup went on a tear in the four-game win streak to conclude the regular season. Over that stretch, Sloup has produced point totals of 25 versus Hastings, 29 versus Mount Marty, 22 at Midland and 28 at Jamestown. In those outings, Sloup has shot a combined 30-for-49 (.612) from the floor and 15-for-26 (.577) from 3-point range. That surge has pushed his season average to 16.2 points per game and his career scoring total to 1,195 points.

·        Fellow senior Tanner Shuck has become just the eighth player in program history to surpass 1,500 career points after he put up 18 at Midland and 16 at Jamestown. The Grand Island, Neb., native also has not missed a single game over the past four seasons, appearing in all 122 contests. He’s knocked down 285 career 3-point field goals while also totaling 452 rebounds, 257 assists and 118 steals.

·        In terms of sheer volume of 3-point field goals made, the 2019-20 Bulldogs stand out as the most prolific shooting team in program history. They have knocked down 333 3-point shots this season, which broke the previous standard of 321 by the 1997-98 squad that Limback played for. Two other Concordia teams cracked 300 3-point field goals: 2016-17 (309) and 1991-92 (304). The current team ranks ninth nationally for 3-point field goals per game (11.1).

·        Justin Wiersema has often fallen in line behind the ‘big three’ of Shuck, Sloup and Carter Kent in terms of scoring, but his presence is just as important. Wiersema is the team leader in steals (34) and continues to develop his offensive game. The Loveland, Colo., native is on a nice four-game run of his own having averaged 17.5 points per game during that stretch. His 19 points versus Mount Marty and 19 points at Jamestown are career highs.

·        Now the Bulldogs will attempt to beat Northwestern (20-10, 12-8 GPAC) for the third time this season. As the fourth seed, Concordia will host Wednesday’s GPAC quarterfinal game, which is set to tip off at 8 p.m. CT. The winner will advance to the semifinals and play either top-seeded Morningside or eighth-seeded Hastings on Saturday (time TBA). Should the Bulldogs defeat the Red Raiders, they would need an upset in order to host moving forward.​​​​​​​

Tennis

·        A couple weeks of hosting matches for the first time in 2020, the Bulldogs returned to action by taking on Sterling College in women’s and men’s matches. The contests took place at Genesis Health Club in Lincoln, Neb., on Feb. 21. Both matches resulted in 7-0 decisions with Concordia winning on the men’s side and falling on the women’s side. Second-year head coach David DeSimone’s squads now sport records of 2-1 for women and 1-2 for men. For more information on Bulldog tennis: women | men.

·        The men got on the board with their first victory of the 2019-20 campaign by sweeping through doubles and singles. Concordia jumped on its Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference foe in doubles with triumphs by the duos of senior Luke Zoller and junior Jeremy Berryman at No. 1, sophomore Jack Kitson and freshman Eduardo Rojas at No. 2 and sophomores Joseph Bindl and Isaac Howes at No. 3. Five of those six individuals were also part of the singles lineup.

·        At the top in singles, Zoller (No. 1) and Berryman (No. 2) faced challenging battles. Both standout Bulldogs wound up winning their matches in third-set tiebreakers. The rest of the singles contests were not quite as dramatic. In the three through six spots, Rojas, Howes, Kitson and senior Josh Miller emerged victorious. Kitson was most dominant with his singles match scoring out at 6-1, 6-2. Last season Howes topped the squad with 13 singles victories while Berryman recorded 10.

·        While the Bulldog women were shut out in the team scoring by the Warriors, they did manage to take one of the doubles contests. The combo of junior Ansley Gates and senior Lindee Schultz emerged with a 6-4 win at No. 3 doubles. However, the Warriors earned the team doubles point by taking decisions at Nos. 1 and 2 doubles, both by 6-4 scores. The Bulldog lineup featured juniors Allison Marshall and Claudia Miranda Viera at No. 1 and senior Kirsten Wagner and freshman Tara Ferrel at No. 2.

·        In singles, Wagner (No. 2) and Marshall (No. 3) both lost tight battles in the second set against their Sterling opponents. Miranda Viera bumped up to the No. 1 spot. The final three singles positions were filled by Ferrel, sophomore Katy Krejci and freshman Madi Smith. Marshall earned 13 singles wins last season while Wagner and Angela Bell both recorded 12.

·        Two sets of conference ratings have been released in 2020 for both men’s and women’s tennis. The Concordia women have landed at No. 2 in the GPAC poll in rankings announced on Jan. 20 and Feb. 10. Meanwhile, the men checked in at No. 4 in the conference preseason rating and then bumped up one spot to third on Feb. 10. The women possess wins over William Jewell College (Mo.) and Grand View University (Iowa). The men lost to both of those schools before defeating Sterling last week.

·        DeSimone will lead his Concordia teams into action on Saturday in North Newton, Kan., where they will take on Bethel College, another KCAC member. First serve is set for 10 a.m. CT. Both teams are scheduled to be back at home on Friday, March 6 for men’s and women’s matches against Baker University (Kan.).​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Baseball

·        Several adjustments have already been made to the schedule for the Bulldogs, who wound up cancelling the four games it had been slated to play this past weekend (Feb. 22-23) in Joplin, Mo. Due to the changes, Concordia has not played since its doubleheader at Sterling College on Feb. 11. The Bulldogs also had games scheduled to be played in Atchison, Kan., wiped out the weekend of Feb. 15-16. Head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad remains at 4-2 on the young season. For more on Bulldog baseball, click HERE.

·        Concordia eked out the second game at Sterling while mixing and matching with the pitching staff. The Bulldogs trailed the contest 4-0 at the end of four innings. They then came alive with three runs in the fifth, two in the sixth and one in the seventh. Freshman shortstop Jayden Adams scored the go-ahead run in the sixth on a wild pitch before the Warriors (5-4 record at the conclusion of the doubleheader) came right back to tie it in the bottom half. Jakob Faulk then supplied the game-winning RBI single in the top of the seventh.

·        The Bulldogs like their chances when they can get the ball to closer Ryan Samuelson with a lead late in the game. He struck out the first two batters he faced prior to allowing a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh of the win at Sterling. He then recorded the final out on a fly out to left. Samuelson has earned credit for two saves in his first three appearances (3.2 innings) of 2020. Last season as a sophomore, Samuelson surrendered only one earned run and struck out 26 over his 25.1 innings of work (11 appearances out of the bullpen). The Omaha native earned honorable mention all-conference accolades.

·        Dupic is working on continuing to develop depth behind current top two starting pitchers Jason Munsch and Nick Little. Shane Whittaker and Alex Delgadillo were the starting pitchers for the Bulldogs at Sterling. Benjamin Coldiron and Thomas Otte combined to work three scoreless innings and total a collective six strikeouts. Zach Pinkerton was credited with the game two win after an inning of work. So far this season, 14 different Concordia pitchers have toed the rubber with each getting at least four outs.

·        Because of the cancelations, Munsch and Little have not had the chance to throw the past couple weeks. Both were stellar in their first outings of 2020. Munsch got the ball in the season opener and struck out nine hitters over five innings. He did not allow a single earned run. Meanwhile, Little tossed 6.1 innings, fanned 11 hitters and surrendered one earned run on six hits. Little was the 2018 GPAC Pitcher of the Year while Munsch is a returning first team all-conference selection.

·        In game one at Sterling, Concordia’s last out came with runners on first and second. Three-straight walks with one out in the top of the seventh had given the Bulldogs hope of rallying for the victory. In that contest, Adams and Thomas Sautel both went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Noah Janssen also came through with an RBI single. In game two, Faulk and catcher Beau Dorman collected two hits apiece. Dorman homered to lead off the fifth for the team’s first big fly of 2020.

·        The victory at Sterling marked No. 150 in Dupic’s tenure as head coach at Concordia. Considering the meager program success prior to Dupic’s arrival, the speed in getting to that total is impressive. The Bulldogs are 150-111 since Dupic became head coach prior to the 2015 season. They won GPAC regular-season titles in 2017 and 2019 with the 34 wins in ’17 still standing as a school single-season record.

·        For an overview of games that have been added to the schedule, please check out the announcement release HERE. Concordia hopes to play this Saturday and Sunday at Sabetha High School in Sabetha, Kan. Doubleheaders both days will be against Waldorf University (Iowa). First pitch is set for 1 p.m. CT on Saturday and 12 p.m. on Sunday. The Bulldogs continue to be ranked 24th in the NAIA by Perfect Game.