Bulldog Weekly Report (Jan. 5)

By Jacob Knabel on Jan. 5, 2016 in Athletic Announcements

News and notes:

2015 – ‘stole the show’: The calendar year of 2015 brought a GPAC all-sports trophy, the school’s first-ever team national title, a national runner-up finish and five GPAC championships for Concordia University athletics. In addition, two programs made their first-ever appearances in national tournament play. For more on how Concordia stole the show in 2015, click HERE.

CIT alumni gathering: The 2016 Concordia University Invitational is less than four weeks away. Concordia alumni, fans and friends are invited to attend a gathering at FatDuck Tavern & Grill in Chicago on Friday, Jan. 29. The event will get started at 6:30 p.m. CT. Both Bulldog basketball teams will be in action earlier that day at Concordia University-Chicago. For more information on the alumni and fan gathering, click HERE.

Twenty-seven Bulldogs named to All-Nebraska teams: On Christmas Eve the Omaha World-Herald bestowed All-Nebraska honors upon 27 Bulldog athletes from the sports of football, men’s and women’s soccer and volleyball. Junior Trey Barnes received the highest distinction as the honorary captain of the news outlet’s All-Nebraska defensive team. Check out complete team listings by clicking below.
Football | M Soccer | W Soccer | Volleyball

New athletics website launches: On Dec. 18 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.

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.” This week’s broadcast schedule for live radio coverage on Max Country will include road basketball doubleheaders at Midland on Wednesday (6/8 p.m.) and at Northwestern on Saturday (2/4 p.m.).

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

  • The winning streak has reached seven after last week brought three more victories for 14th-ranked Concordia. Tenth-year head coach Drew Olson’s squad made victims of Simpson University, 81-61, and Pacific Union College, 93-55, during a stay in Redding, Calif., Dec. 29-30. The Bulldogs were back at Walz on Jan. 2 when they eked out a 77-75 win over No. 4 Briar Cliff by using stifling fourth-quarter defense. Concordia stands at 11-3 overall and 6-3 in GPAC play (third place). To read recaps from recent action, click HERE.
  • Walz Arena has been a house of horrors for the opposition. Since the beginning of the 2011-12 season, the Bulldogs are 64-8 (.889) in home games. Over that stretch, Concordia has not lost more than three home contests in a single season. The 2011-12 and 2014-15 squads went an identical 15-1 while playing inside Walz. This year’s team is 7-1 at home with the lone loss coming at the hands of No. 1 Morningside.
  • Following a familiar early-season script, Concordia had three different leading scorers last week – Brenleigh Daum (career high 20 points vs. Simpson), Erin Vieselmeyer (career high 15 points vs. Pacific Union) and Mary Janovich (season high 19 points vs. Briar Cliff). Six different players have topped the team in scoring at least once this season. The balanced Bulldog starting lineup is made up of five players who each average between eight and a dozen points per game.
  • Entering the week, freshman Quinn Wragge (11.3 ppg) has edged in front of senior Becky Mueller (11.0) for the team scoring lead. A freshman has not led the Bulldogs in scoring since Sarah Harrison did so in 2001-02 by averaging 12.1 points per contest. Wragge was the only Bulldog last week to reach double figures in scoring in all three games. The Crofton, Neb., native is also the team’s leading rebounder at 5.9 per game.
  • Concordia splashed home 36 more 3-point shots last week while recording at least 11 3-point field goals in each game. Over the past nine games, the Bulldogs have averaged 11.9 made 3-pointers and have jumped to No. 2 among all NAIA Division II teams in 3-point field goals per game (10.5). Junior point guard Shelby Quinn has been on a tear from the perimeter, having connected on 11 of her last 20 3-point attempts. She ranks sixth among all players nationally with a 3-point field goal percentage of 45.7.
  • Quinn and company averaged 83.7 points last week in continuing a torrid offensive season. Among all NAIA Division II teams, Concordia ranks seventh in scoring (82.1), eighth in 3-point field goal percentage (.368), 12th in field goal percentage (.450) and 18th in assist-to-turnover margin (1.02).
  • After struggling in the fourth quarter of their early-season losses, the Bulldogs have solved the final stanza. Last week they outscored their three opponents by a combined total of 60-36 in the fourth quarter to salt away victories. On the year, Concordia has tallied 263 points and allowed 228 in the fourth quarter of its first 14 games. This is the first season that collegiate women’s basketball has used a quarter format instead of halves.
  • Olson has taken full advantage of his deep bench this season. On a team without a primary star, 11 different players average more than 10 minutes of playing time per game. Wragge has seen the most floor time with an average of 23.9 minutes per contest. Sophomore Jade Gottier (16.8 mpg) has gotten the most action off the bench. Comparatively, last season nine players were used for an average of more than 10 minutes per game (Bailey Morris was tops at 28.3).
  • The Bulldogs are back to conference action for each of their next eight games. The stretch begins with a trip to Midland (7-8, 5-3 GPAC) for a 6 p.m. tipoff on Wednesday. On Saturday Concordia makes the trek to Orange City, Iowa, for a 2 p.m. start at No. 22 Northwestern (9-5, 4-4 GPAC). Last season the Bulldogs defeated the Red Raiders on the road for the first time under Olson. Meanwhile, Concordia has won 14-straight meetings with the Warriors.

Wrestling

  • In its first outing since Dec. 5, the eighth-ranked Bulldogs combined for 20 wins, three tournament place finishes and two first-place claims at the Viking Warrior Open held in Fremont on Jan. 2. Ten of the 13 Concordia representatives notched at least one victory. Senior Matt Atwood (184) and junior Andrew Schulte (141) both won individual titles to highlight the day for fourth-year head coach Dana Vote’s squad. For more on Concordia wrestling, click HERE.
  • Schulte went a perfect 5-0 at the Viking-Warrior Open. His day included wins over No. 16 Tyler Dickman of Baker University (3-1 decision) in the semifinals and a victory over Bryce Shoemaker of University Nebraska-Kearney (1-0 decision) in the 141-pound title match. Shoemaker won the 2014 133-pound NAIA national title while at Baker. Schulte, a native of Corona, Calif., is now 21-6 overall this season and a combined 41-10 in his two seasons as a Bulldog. He took fifth place at 141 pounds at the 2015 NAIA national championships.
  • Atwood continued his sterling first season at Concordia by winning all four of his matches over the weekend. The native of Smith Center, Kan., wiped out three competitors from NCAA Division II St. Cloud State University on his way to the 184-pound final at the Viking-Warrior Open. Atwood then took care of Dickson State University’s Lane Oversen via pin (2:19). Atwood is now 14-2 overall with four pins this season.
  • Junior heavyweight Ceron Francisco has reached the medal stand in each of the five tournaments he’s participated in this season. At the Viking-Warrior Open, the native of Fayetteville, N.C., went 3-2 and finished in fourth place. The high point of Francisco’s season came at the Nebraska-Kearney Open where he won the 285-pound title and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
  • Vote’s roster sports eight individuals with 10 or more wins on the season. Freshman Alexander Reimers (9-5 at 197 pounds) is just one victory away from joining the club. Schulte took over the team wins lead thanks to his big performance at last week’s tournament.
    • Andrew Schulte (141/149) – 21-6
    • Ken Burkhardt Jr. (197) – 19-8
    • Ceron Francisco (285) – 18-9
    • Tommy Bailey (165) – 17-12
    • Jr Lule (157) – 15-5
    • Matt Atwood (184) – 14-2
    • Travian Cooke (174) – 14-9
    • Daniel Melcher (149) – 13-8
  • The most recent NAIA national rankings were released on Dec. 30. The eighth-ranked Bulldogs (No. 1 in the North Group) were represented by seven nationally-ranked individuals: No. 11 Kodie Cole (133), No. 8 Andrew Schulte (141), No. 6 Jr Lule (157), No. 11 Tommy Bailey (165), No. 6 Matt Atwood (184), No. 14 Ken Burkhardt Jr. (197) and No. 5 Ceron Francisco (285). A total of 12 Bulldogs possess regional rankings, including four who appear at No. 1: Atwood, Francisco, Lule and Schulte.
  • Two events are slated for this weekend. Courtesy of a No. 12 national finish in 2015, Concordia earned an invite to the prestigious National Wrestling Coaches Association National Duals set to take place in Fort Wayne, Ind., on Friday and Saturday. The Allen County War Memorial Coliseum will serve as the setting for the event. Vote’s squad sports a dual record of 4-2 (2-0 GPAC) in 2015-16. In addition, several Bulldogs will be in Hastings for the Hastings College Open on Saturday.

Men’s Basketball

  • Concordia returned to the hardcourt last week after being idle for 10 days over Christmas break. The Bulldogs took care of business during their stay in Redding, Calif., where they knocked off Simpson University, 74-52, on Dec. 29 and No. 23 Cal State University-Maritime, 75-48, on Dec. 30. Three days later third-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad was back at home and fell, 90-82, to No. 12 Briar Cliff. Concordia enters this week with an overall mark of 10-5 and a conference record of 4-5 (seventh place). To read recaps of recent action, click HERE.
  • The Bulldogs put together some of their best defensive work of the season in California, limiting their two Golden State foes to a combined 100 points and 31.0 percent shooting (36-for-116). Concordia has climbed to second on the conference leaderboard in field goal percentage defense (.422) behind Hastings. Limback’s club also ranks No. 3 among league teams in fewest points allowed per game (78.6). The Bulldogs are one of seven GPAC teams that average greater than 85 points per game offensively.
  • After tying a season low with six points in the win at Simpson, junior Chandler Folkerts bounced back with a combined 40 points and 22 rebounds over the final two games of the week. The native of Milford, Neb., went scoreless in the first half versus Briar Cliff, but then went off for 21 points over the final 20 minutes to go along with his career high 15 rebounds. It marked Folkerts’ fourth double-double of the season and 13th of his career. On the program’s all-time lists, Folkerts ranks 26th in scoring (1,073) and 15th in rebounding (475).
  • Senior Robby Thomas racked up eight blocked shots last week and has pulled even with Scott Ernstmeyer (1993-96) on the program’s all-time list for rejections. With 173 in his career, Thomas needs 16 more to break Glen Snodgrass’ (1995-98) school record of 188 blocks. Last season Thomas broke a program single-season record with 71 swats. The 6-foot-7 native of Shawnee, Kan., is also closing in on 1,000 career points. He sits at 981.
  • Limback has guided Concordia to at least one victory over a ranked opponent in each of the last three seasons. The Bulldogs upset No. 13 Oklahoma Wesleyan University, 85-76, at home on Nov. 9, 2013. Last season Concordia topped No. 3 Northwood University (Fla.), 86-70, and won at No. 12 Midland, 79-71. The 2015-16 Bulldogs own victories over No. 8 Bellevue University and No. 23 Cal Maritime.
  • Despite posting point totals below its season average in all three outings last week, Concordia continues to rate as one of the top offensive teams in NAIA Division II. Nationally, the Bulldogs rank 13th in field goal percentage (.488), 17th in scoring (87.3), 22nd in free throw percentage (.734) and 34th in 3-point field goals per game (8.6).
  • Junior sharpshooter Eli Ziegler came up one rebound shy of his first career double-double (14 points and nine rebounds) in the victory at Simpson. He also nailed 4-of-9 shots from long range. The native of Littleton, Colo., is shooting 35.1 percent (33-for-94) from 3-point distance this season and is a career 41.6 percent 3-point shooter. He is averaging a career best 9.7 points this season.
  • Folkerts and company had a solid week on the boards while out-rebounding their opponents by a combined total of 132-105. The Bulldogs held a rebound advantage of at least six on all three of last week’s foes. Nationally, Concordia ranks 28th with a rebound margin of plus-5.2. Thomas (7.6) and Folkerts (7.4) rank sixth and seventh, respectively, among GPAC players in rebounds per game.
  • The Bulldogs will hit the road this week for a pair of GPAC clashes. Concordia will head to Fremont on Wednesday for an 8 p.m. tipoff at Midland (7-8, 4-3 GPAC). Then on Saturday, Limback will take his team to Northwestern (8-8, 2-5 GPAC) for a 4 p.m. start in Orange City, Iowa. The Bulldogs are 2-3 in true road contests with wins over Doane and Simpson.