Bulldog Weekly Report (Jan. 9)

By Jacob Knabel on Jan. 9, 2018 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week

Male: Jared Woods, Wrestling

Woods, a native of Durant, Okla., has won six of his last seven matches while enjoying a breakthrough senior season at 157 pounds. Last week at the National Duals, Woods earned a pair of victories, including one over the nation’s 19th-ranked 149-pound competitor. Woods is 13-9 overall this season.

Female: Philly Lammers, Basketball

Lammers, who hails from Omaha, Neb., helped Concordia remain unbeaten last week while totaling 25 points, 29 rebounds, six assists and six steals in wins over Doane and sixth-ranked Morningside. Back on Jan. 2, Lammers earned the national player of the week award. She is averaging 13.2 points and 9.4 rebounds this season.

Previous athletes of the week
Dec. 12 – Cordell Gillingham (basketball) / Taylor Cockerill (basketball)
Dec. 5 – Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Sydney Feller (basketball)
November Athletes of the Month: Tarence Roby (football) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Nov. 28 – Jake Hornick (basketball) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Nov. 14 – Cameron Devers (wrestling) / Jeannelle Condame (soccer)
Nov. 7 – Tarence Roby (football) / Emily Deschaine (cross country)
October Athletes of the Month: Ryan Durdon (football) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)
Oct. 31 – Ryan Durdon (football) / Kaitlyn Radebaugh (soccer)
Oct. 24 – Marcelo Hernandez (soccer) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)
Oct. 17 – Carlos Ferrer (soccer) and Grady Koch (football) / Sami Birmingham (soccer)
Oct. 10 – Micah Lehenbauer (soccer) / Kaitlyn Radebaugh (soccer)
Oct. 3 – Micah Lehenbauer (soccer) / Maria Deeter (soccer)
September Athletes of the Month: Tarence Roby (football) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)
Sept. 26 – Kordell Glause (football) / Emily Deschaine (cross country)
Sept. 19 – Lewis Rathbone (soccer) / Victoria Cera (soccer)
Sept. 12 – Tarence Roby (football) / Murphy Sears (golf)
Sept. 5 – Jack Bennett (soccer) / Lindsey Carley (soccer)

News and notes:

67th annual Concordia Invitational Tournament coming up Jan. 26-27: Concordia University, Wisconsin will serve as the host for the 67th annual Concordia Invitational Tournament. Tournament details and ticket information can be found HERE. Advance tickets can be purchased until 12 p.m. on Jan. 24. At last year’s event, the Bulldogs won titles for both men and women while hosting CIT inside Walz Arena. CUNE is the all-time leader with 27 CIT titles on the men’s and women’s sides.

Roby collects third All-America honor: Already named an All-American by the American Football Coaches Association and the Associated Press, senior defensive back Tarence Roby added another award last week. Victory Sports Network chose Roby as an All-American selection on the team it announced on Jan. 2. For more on Roby, click HERE.

Track and field opens indoor season this weekend: The 2018 indoor season is set to officially begin this weekend at the University of Nebraska Holiday Inn Invite (Jan. 12-13) and the Nisely Invite (Jan. 13) hosted by Doane. Both Bulldog teams turned in top 10 national finishes at the 2017 NAIA indoor championships. Behind three individual national titlists, the Concordia men placed second nationally. To preview the 2018 season for head coach Matt Beisel’s squads, click HERE.

Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its third 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 2017-18 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 again calling volleyball action.

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

  • As of early afternoon today (Jan. 9), the Bulldogs were poised to move into the No. 1 spot in the NAIA Division II national rankings. Concordia completed another successful week by winning at Doane, 76-63, and then pummeling No. 6 Morningside, 95-64, inside Walz Arena. One of just two undefeated teams left in NAIA Division II, head coach Drew Olson’s squad moved to 17-0 overall and to 9-0 in conference play. The program has won 28 of its last 29 GPAC regular-season contests. For more information on Bulldog women’s basketball, click HERE.
  • At 17-0, Concordia has put together the longest unbeaten run to begin a season during Olson’s tenure, which began with the 2006-07 campaign. Only the 2002-03 squad that began the year at 33-0 has started a season with a longer undefeated streak than the current one strung up by the 2017-18 Bulldogs. The only other unbeaten team in NAIA Division II is Southeastern University (16-0), a member of The Sun Conference.
  • The program last earned the No. 1 national ranking in December of 2012. Concordia landed at No. 1 for the first four polls of the 2012-13 season, pushing the program’s number of all-time top ratings to 13. The 2002-03 team received No. 1 rankings in nine-consecutive polls and finished the campaign by reaching the national semifinals. In recent years, Olson’s program has risen as high as No. 2 nationally in both 2014-15 and 2016-17. The ’14-15 team remains the only one in school history to advance to the national championship game.
  • Named national player of the week on Jan. 2, sophomore Philly Lammers has been a handful for the opposition. The Millard West High School product has hauled in 10 or more rebounds in four-straight games. Despite getting a rest in the fourth quarter of the win over Morningside, Lammerse totaled 14 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and five steals. Three days earlier she put up 11 points and 14 rebounds at Doane. On the season, she’s averaging just shy of a double-double: 13.2 points and 9.4 rebounds. She ranks in the top 25 nationally in rebounds, steals and blocked shots per game.
  • Olson enters the week needing one more win to reach 300 in his coaching career. Only Grant Schmidt (445-276), who stood at the helm of the men’s program from 1989-2012, has recorded 300 or more wins as a Bulldog basketball coach. Over Olson’s first 11 seasons, he averaged 25.6 wins per year with a high of 35 in 2014-15. He began this season ranked 19th in total number of victories among active NAIA Division II women’s basketball coaches. Only two of the coaches above him owned better winning percentages.
  • A couple of Bulldog players are also nearing milestones. Mary Janovich (987) and Dani Hoppes (960) are on the cusp of joining the program’s 1,000-point club. Teammate Quinn Wragge cracked 1,000 career points on Nov. 29 and currently ranks 19th on the program’s all-time scoring list (1,125). Janovich and Hoppes would become the 26th and 27th players in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Janovich has played in 97 collegiate games as a Bulldog while Hoppes has played in 115 games in a career that began at Midland.
  • Concordia continues to pad the most impressive résumé of any NAIA women’s basketball team. The Bulldogs have passed every test while up against a schedule ranked by Massey Ratings as the most challenging in the nation. The victory over No. 6 Morningside marked Concordia’s ninth win this season over teams currently in the national top 25 poll. Six of those nine triumphs have come on the road. Additionally, five of the wins were achieved versus top 10 opponents.
  • The statistics are an accurate reflection of the team’s dominance. On the national leaderboard, the Bulldogs rank second in 3-point field goals per game (11.4), second in scoring offense (90.9), fourth in steals per game (15.1), fifth in scoring margin (+24.8), seventh in turnover margin (+7.8), 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1) and 11th in field goal percentage (.450).
  • Conference action continues this week with Briar Cliff (8-11, 5-4 GPAC) visiting Walz Arena on Wednesday for a 6 p.m. CT tipoff before a trip to Mount Marty (9-9, 1-9 GPAC) for a 2 p.m. CT start on Saturday. Concordia all-time leading scorer Bailey Morris (2,054) is in her first season as an assistant coach for the Chargers. The Bulldogs swept the season series from both opponents in 2016-17.

Men’s Basketball

  • Last week began with an emotional high of buzzer beating win over a conference rival and ended with the team’s most futile offensive effort of the 2017-18 season. Cordell Gillingham’s buzzer beater in overtime lifted the Bulldogs over Doane, 79-77, on Jan. 3. Three days later, Concordia returned home for the first time in a month and fell flat in an 80-57 defeat at the hands of 10th-ranked Morningside. Fifth-year head coach Ben Limback’s squad now stands at 12-4 overall and at 5-3 in conference play. For more information on Concordia men’s basketball, click HERE.
  • Ranked fifth on the team in scoring, Gillingham emerged as an unlikely hero in the pulse pounding victory in Crete. After receiving the ball on the left wing, Gillingham had his drive towards the baseline cut off. He then spun around into the lane and floated the ball off the backboard and into the hoop. The sophomore from Greeley, Colo., notched 13 points in both of last week’s outings, raising his season scoring average to 7.2. Gillingham has been counted upon to play 26.6 minutes per game after playing a total of just 82 minutes as a freshman.
  • Uncharacteristically, the Bulldogs struggled offensively last week. Their shooting percentage of 40.0 at Doane marked a season low at the time. Concordia then slumped to 31.0 percent in the blowout loss to Morningside. The Bulldogs also went a combined 14-for-62 (.226) from 3-point range for the week. Despite those struggles, Concordia ranks 26th nationally in field goal percentage offense (.484). Last week’s inefficiency came on the heels of five-consecutive games with field goal percentages of 50 or better.
  • The 2017-18 Bulldogs became the program’s third team during the GPAC era to win at least 12 of its first 15 games. That feat was also accomplished in 2003-04 (12-3) and in 2004-05 (13-2). The ’03-04 and ’04-05 squads were both coached by Grant Schmidt and ended up winning 20 and 32 games in those respective seasons. In order to continue the pattern of upward trajectory under Limback’s direction, Concordia will have to top last season’s 21-win total, which was the most for the program since 2004-05.
  • Like Gillingham, Kyle Pierce has taken on a much larger role this season. The native of Haxtun, Colo., enjoyed a career game at Doane, putting up personal bests of 20 points and 12 rebounds in the win. After tallying a total of 175 points over 49 games the previous two seasons, Pierce has ramped up his production with averages of 11.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. He also sports solid shooting percentages of 47.7 from the floor, 37.1 from 3-point range and 82.4 from the free throw line. This is Pierce’s third season in the program after transferring from Northeastern Junior College.
  • After earning national player of the week honors on Jan. 2, sophomore Clay Reimers was held in check by Doane and Morningside. Over the two games, the Lincoln East High School product totaled 17 points and 14 rebounds while battling foul trouble (nine combined fouls). The previous week, Reimers had posted lines of 26 points and 12 rebounds in a win at Robert Morris University and then 26 points and 11 rebounds in the victory at Judson University. Reimers remains the GPAC’s leading rebounder with 9.2 per game.
  • A similar final record as last season would push Limback to the edge of 200 career coaching victories. The Bulldog alum spent nine seasons leading the program at Concordia University-Ann Arbor, where he racked up 115 wins. Limback is now at 75-62 since returning to Seward prior to the 2013-14 season. Between the two coaching stops, Limback has recorded 190 wins. The 21 last season were a career best.
  • The loss to Morningside snapped an 11-game home win streak for the Bulldogs, who won their first five home contests of this season after claiming victories in their final six home games of last season. The Mustangs have now handed Concordia each of its last two home defeats. The Bulldogs have been a solid 29-8 inside Walz Arena since the start of the 2015-16 campaign.
  • Still seeking a signature win this season, Concordia will get another shot at a highly-rated opponent when No. 5 Briar Cliff (17-2, 6-1 GPAC) visits Seward for an 8 p.m. CT tipoff on Wednesday. Then on Saturday, the Bulldogs will hit the road for a 4 p.m. CT contest at Mount Marty (3-15, 0-9 GPAC). Concordia routed the Lancers, 105-63, back on Nov. 21.

Wrestling

  • A break of nearly three weeks in the schedule concluded last week with the prestigious National Duals (Jan. 4-5) held at the War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Ind., the hometown of head coach Andrew Nicola. While up against some of the top competition in the NAIA, the 19th-ranked Bulldogs suffered losses to seventh-ranked Life University (Ga.), 43-3, and Midland, 27-12, before concluding the event with a 34-5 win over William Penn University (Iowa). Nicola’s squad is now 4-5 overall in dual meets. For more information on Concordia wrestling, click HERE.
  • Now ranked 19th nationally at 174 pounds, junior Walker Fisher has proven to be one of the program’s most improved wrestlers this season. Coming off a 13-16 record as a sophomore, Fisher has bettered last season’s win total and stands at 16-5 (8-1 in duals) tearing it up with a 3-0 day at the National Duals. The native of Ashland, Neb., turned in wins over Anthony Carter (Life), Cooper Self (Midland) and Jason Beebe (William Penn) – all by decision. Fisher hopes to make a run at his first national tournament appearance. He’s ranked fourth in the GPAC at 174.
  • The most recent conference and national rankings were released shortly after Christmas. The Bulldogs remain rated atop the GPAC with 137 points compared to 133 for runner up Briar Cliff. Nationally, Concordia is represented by four ranked individuals: No. 8 Giovanni Castillo (133), No. 12 Jon Lado (165), No. 19 Fisher (174) and No. 10 Josh Nelsen (184). Castillo and Lado both own top two positions within the conference rankings.
  • In terms of national rankings, Jerry Stepps III (125) and Jared Woods (157) collected the team’s most impressive victories at the National Duals. As part of the blowout win over William Penn, Stepps topped the Statesmen’s 12th-ranked John Altieri, 9-6. Additionally, Woods beat Midland’s Dominique Evans, who is rated 19th at 149 pounds. Concordia picked up its only two pins of the day in the victory over William Penn. Cameron Devers (141) wiped out Joe Eads in 4:16 before Kirk Kaliszewski (165) took care of Dylan Comstock in 1:19.
  • The Bulldogs won each of the eight contested matches in their battle with William Penn. In addition to the aforementioned wins by Stepps, Devers, Kaliszewski and Fisher, Cody Lambert (technical fall; 149), Darrin Miller (forfeit; 184) and Nelsen (decision; 197) picked up wins. The 29-point margin of victory was the third highest of the season for Concordia, which also dominated Dakota Wesleyan, 55-0, and Bethany College (Kan.), 49-6.
  • In an event ran in conjunction with the National Duals, sophomore Deandre Chery (174) went 4-2 with a trio of pins and placed sixth out of 31 wrestlers in the Nuway College Open. A native of Miami Gardens, Fla., Chery tops the team with 10 pins this season. More than half of his victories (17) have ended with falls. Chery also owns place finishes this season at the Dan Harris Open (third) and the Doane Open (second).
  • The month of January will have a lot to do with whether the Bulldogs maintain their supremacy within the conference. Concordia’s lone GPAC dual so far this season occurred on Nov. 30 when it trampled Dakota Wesleyan. That result pushed the Bulldogs’ GPAC dual win streak to 22. Concordia went the entire 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons without suffering a conference defeat. The Bulldogs will go head-to-head with five conference foes this month. They will dual four GPAC opponents in Sioux City, Iowa, on Jan. 27.
  • Just one event makes up this week’s slate. Concordia will have an opportunity to avenge one of its National Duals losses when Midland (3-3, 2-1 GPAC) visits Walz Arena for Friday’s 7 p.m. CT dual. In conference action, the Warriors have defeated Jamestown and Doane and lost at Briar Cliff. Like the Bulldogs, Midland went 1-2 during its stay in Fort Wayne last week. Head coach Dana Vote’s squad has three nationally-ranked competitors: No. 2 David Berg (141), No. 19 Dominique Evans (149) and No. 10 Aaron Rafalko (285).