NOTE: There are no Bulldog Athletic Association Member (BAAM) Athletes of the Week due to spring break. BAAM meets every Tuesday at the Dog House Grill when school is in session.
2019-20 BAAM Athletes of the Week
March 3 – Nick Little (baseball) / Colby Duvel (basketball)
Feb. 25 – Wyatt Eriksen (shooting sports) / Rachel Battershell (track & field)
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:
All-GPAC honors announced for winter sports: This is the time of year for winter All-GPAC announcements. The conference revealed All-GPAC accolades in the sports of wrestling and track and field last week. More details can be found by clicking the links below. Both Matt Beisel (women’s indoor track) and Levi Calhoun (wrestling) were named GPAC Coaches of the Year. Other major awards went to Rachel Battershell (GPAC Women’s Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year), Tanner Farmer (GPAC Wrestler of the Year) and Philly Lammers (GPAC Defensive Player of the Year).
-Men’s Basketball
-Women’s Basketballl
-Track & Field All-GPAC
-Wrestling All-GPAC
Prideful program makes return to national stage: For the first time since 2005, the Concordia men’s basketball program has qualified for the national tournament. The Bulldogs will take center stage at 10:15 a.m. CT on Thursday in the first round of the tournament. The opponent will be fifth-ranked Ottawa University (Kan.). Said senior Brevin Sloup, “We aren’t surprised because there was always belief within this team and we are excited to make a run in the National Tournament.” For more details on the tournament, click HERE.
Shooting sports competes at final meet prior to national championships: In its final outing prior to the ACUI National Championships, the shooting sports program competed at the Doane Tiger Invitational last weekend (March 7-8). Among some of the highlights, Colten Uitermarkt shot a perfect 100/100 in skeet and was the champion of the event while Nicole Breese won the invite from a female high overall perspective. More details will be available when the meet recap is posted to our website.
Little garners national award: After tossing a no-hitter versus Waldorf University (Iowa) on Feb. 29, junior Nick Little was rewarded by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) as the NAIA National Pitcher of the Week. In his next start, Little also earned the pitching victory in the team’s Tucson Invitational win over Concordia University, St. Paul. Little was the 2018 GPAC Pitcher of the Year.
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
· The indoor season has come to a conclusion. On the women’s side of things, the 2020 indoor campaign was arguably the greatest in the history of the program. Not only did the Bulldogs win the GPAC title, they turned in a fourth-place national finish and brought home a trophy from the NAIA national meet. Meanwhile, the men placed in a tie for 17th nationally. Twelve different Bulldogs earned All-America honors in one or more events in the meet that was held in Brookings, S.D., March 5-7. For more on Concordia track and field, click HERE.
· Head coach Matt Beisel’s women’s squad is full of elite athletes. That point was made loud and clear last week. The Bulldog women combined for four new school records and turned in five performances that placed either first or second nationally: the 4x400 meter relay (second), Rachel Battershell (first in the 400 meters), Allie Brooks (second in pole vault) and Addie Shaw (second in both the weight throw and shot put). School records were broken by the 4x4, Battershell, Brooks and Shaw (weight throw).
· Battershell just concluded perhaps the greatest indoor season ever for a Concordia track and field athlete. During the course of this indoor season, Battershell broke school records in the 60 meter hurdles and 400 meters as part of the 4x400 meter relay, won three GPAC titles (60 H, 400m, 4x400 relay), garnered GPAC Athlete of the Meet and GPAC Athlete of the Year accolades and then became a national champion. She also qualified for nationals in the 600 meters but chose to focus on other events. Battershell stands a good chance of reeling in additional honors from the USTFCCCA.
· On the men’s side, senior Jacob Cornelio has been a star in both his performances and for the way he exudes leadership. After placing as the weight throw national runner up a year ago, Cornelio broke through with his first-ever national title while throwing 64’ 7 ¼” last week. The native of Elk Grove, Calif., is now a five-time All-American. He also has won the GPAC weight throw title in each of the past two years. Cornelio figures to be national title contender in the hammer throw this spring.
· Shaw is putting her name right up there with the all-time great throwers in program history. She topped all Bulldogs last week with a combined 16 team points from her second-place claims in the weight throw and shot put. A native of Bassett, Neb., Shaw is a two-time discus national champion and has now been a national runner up three times as part of her eight career All-America awards. This season she was also the GPAC champieon in the weight throw and earned a NAIA National Athlete of the Week award.
· In just about every other year, Brooks’ clearance of 13’ 4 ¼” would have had her atop the podium. Unfortunately, she placed behind Victoria Faber of Aquinas (Mich.), who vaulted 13’ 6 ¼” in a remarkable competition. Brooks put together a consistently excellent indoor season that saw her break the school record three different times. Meanwhile, freshman Josie Puelz (GPAC pole vault champion) placed third at nationals with a clearance of 12’ 10 ¼.” The work of Brooks and Puelz combined for 14 team points. Brooks is now a two-time All-American.
· The record breaking 4x4 included Battershell as the anchor along with teammates in sophomores Jacee Pfeifer and Sarah Lewis and junior Mika Brees. They clocked in at 3:47.39 while placing as the national runner up. They shaved nearly five seconds off their time from the prelims in the process of besting the record that had been set one year ago at indoor nationals. Three of the same individuals were part of that 2019 relay along with now graduated Jamie Nikodym. Brees emerged as a breakout star of the weekend.
· Other not previously mentioned All-Americans were Chase Berry (pole vault), Morgan De Jong (weight throw), Gavin DeHaai (pole vault) and Xavier Ross (400 meters). Concordia traveled 32 total athletes to the meet. Twenty-one of them had prior nationals experience. First time All-Americans were Berry, Brees, De Jong, Puelz and Ross. As mentioned, Battershell and Cornelio were first-time national champions.
· Now members of the team can take a little bit of a breather before ramping things back up for outdoor season. The dynamics change to some degree in outdoor with some variance in the events that are contested on the conference and national levels. The outdoor season will begin on Saturday, March 28 with the Hastings College Invite, which will actually take place at Kearney High School.
Wrestling
· The 2019-20 season culminated with two days spent in Park City, Kan., for the NAIA Wrestling National Championships. The Bulldogs traveled eight qualifiers to the event and came away with two All-America awards and 37.5 team points, good for a 15th-place national finish. It was a significant jump up from 26th place last season when the tournament was held in Des Moines, Iowa. Head coach Levi Calhoun’s squad also swept GPAC regular-season/postseason titles in 2019-20. For more information on Concordia wrestling, click HERE.
· Tanner Farmer (second at 285) and Alberto Garcia (fifth at 133) reached the podium in representation of the Bulldogs. In program history, Concordia wrestlers have now combined for 17 total All-America awards. This marked the seventh-straight year that the program put at least one competitor on the podium. Garcia, a fourth-place finisher in 2019, is the fourth Bulldog wrestler all-time to earn multiple All-America awards. The others are Ken Burkhardt Jr. (2015, 2016, 2017), Ceron Francisco (2015, 2017) and Andrew Schulte (2015, 2016).
· Farmer continued to make waves by advancing all the way to the national title match. In doing so, he became the third competitor in program history to appear in a national final. The others were Schulte in 2016 and Francisco in 2017. Schulte won the 141-pound national title and remains the only national champion in school history. Francisco was the 2017 heavyweight runner up. Francisco was present in Park City over the weekend as an assistant on Coach Dana Vote’s staff.
· Senior Chris Kimball (141) and Mario Ybarra (133) both lost close matches in the blood rounds. In other words, they came up just shy of earning All-America honors of their own. Ybarra got the tournament started in rousing fashion for Concordia. The Scottsbluff, Neb., native upset third-seeded Kolby Milner of Reinhardt (Ga.). Kimball also notched a noteworthy win by pinning No. 6 Bryce Nickel of Cumberlands (Ky.). Kimball and Ybarra combined for 5.5 team points.
· The Bulldogs have hovered at or near the top 15 to 20 in terms of national finishes in recent years. Since 2014, Concordia has put up place finishes of 22nd in 2014, 12th in 2015, eighth in 2016, 15th in 2017, 22nd in 2018, 26th in 2019 and 15th in 2020. The eighth-place claim in 2016 remains the program’s highest ever finish at nationals. The 2015 team set a still intact school record with four All-Americans that year.
· By now, many are aware of the circumstances that led to Farmer becoming a member of the Bulldog wrestling team. During the fall he served as a volunteer assistant coach for the football program at Concordia. Though inexperienced in collegiate wrestling, Farmer won the first 26 matches of his career before falling in the heavyweight title match. He garnered GPAC Wrestler of the Year honors and was named GPAC Wrestler of the Week four times this winter.
· The program’s eight national qualifiers were its most in a single season since the 2017 squad qualified 10 individuals (tied a school record). A dominant force within the GPAC, the Bulldogs chewed up seven of the league’s 19 automatic berths to nationals. Concordia is also 41-4 over its last 45 GPAC duals. The 2019-20 squad equaled a school record by winning 13 dual meets overall. The Bulldogs have won GPAC titles in five of the past six seasons.
· No doubt it will be a challenge to replace many of the graduating seniors. Six of the team’s eight qualifiers were seniors, including both All-Americans. It will be time for the younger classes to emerge. Thankfully, Ybarra is a strong candidate to take another step forward as he strives to become an All-American as a junior. Those with eligibility remaining who made the GPAC roster include Ybarra, Gabe Crawford (157), Issiah Burks (165) and Jason Watkins (184).
Men’s Basketball
· The program will make a return to the national stage for the first time since 2005. The night of March 3 was a thrilling one for the program, which celebrated a GPAC tournament title with a tense 68-66 win at No. 11 Dakota Wesleyan. As it turned out, Concordia needed that victory it would have likely been left out of the national tournament field. The GPAC tournament run also included wins over Northwestern in the quarterfinals and Hastings in the semifinals. Head coach Ben Limback’s squad will enter the national tournament at 24-9 overall. For more information on Bulldog men’s basketball, click HERE.
· While coming away victorious at the Corn Palace, Concordia made seven first-half 3-point shots and built a lead as large as 17 points. The Bulldogs did just enough down the stretch to hold off DWU, which even had a shot to win at the buzzer on Ty Hoglund’s half-court heave. Concordia got clutch play from the likes of Tanner Shuck (17 points) and Brevin Sloup (two late free throws) to lift it to a championship. Check out the full game recap HERE.
· On March 4, the NAIA unveiled the bracket for Division II men’s basketball and announced the Bulldogs as a No. 7 seed. Concordia will play second-seeded Ottawa University (Kan.) at 10:15 a.m. CT on Thursday. Despite the current seven-game win streak, the Bulldogs hardly budged in the top 25 poll (moving one spot forward among receiving votes teams). No matter, Concordia has a seat at the table. The last time the Bulldogs took the floor for a national tournament game, they played in the national championship clash. For more on the tournament, click HERE.
· Concordia and Ottawa will be unfamiliar combatants. The lone common opponent this season was Friends University (Kan.), a team the Bulldogs defeated 74-69 in the season’s opening weekend. The Braves went 2-0 versus Friends, another member of the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference. One thing Concordia and Ottawa both like to do is shoot the three. Among NAIA Division II teams, the Bulldogs rank sixth nationally in made 3-point field goals per game (11.2) while the Braves rank 13th with 10.8 treys per game. For a closer look at the matchup, click HERE.
· Ottawa won the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title and was the KCAC tournament runner up. The Braves (27-6) did not play any teams out of the GPAC this season. Ottawa has qualified for the national tournament for the first time since 2009. The winner between Concordia and Ottawa will play either third-seeded Union (Ky.) or sixth-seeded Saint Francis (Ind.) in the second round at 4 p.m. CT on Friday. The Bulldogs will be making their 10th all-time appearance at nationals. To view the bracket, click HERE.
Women’s Basketball
· While hosting rival Hastings in the GPAC tournament title game on March 3, the Bulldogs continued an unprecedented run of success. Another spirited Walz atmosphere helped Concordia to a 60-49 win over the Broncos, who finished one game behind the Bulldogs in the regular-season standings. The victory gave 14th-year head coach Drew Olson’s program yet another sweep of conference regular-season/postseason titles. Concordia will head to the national tournament at 31-2 overall. For more information on Bulldogs women’s basketball, click HERE.
· The impressive accomplishments of Philly Lammers and the four-year seniors are worth documenting again. Since the start of the 2016-17 season, Concordia has gone 136-10 overall, 78-6 in GPAC regular-season games, 12-0 in GPAC tournament games and 63-1 inside Walz Arena. No other women’s basketball program in the GPAC has even come close to sweeping conference regular-season/tournament titles four years in a row as the Bulldogs have done. Concordia defeated Dakota Wesleyan in three-straight GPAC tournament championship games before meeting Hastings last week. Olson is now 6-0 in conference title games.
· As anticipated, the GPAC title clash last week was a defensive grinder. Somehow the Bulldogs managed to hold the Broncos below 30 percent shooting in both of their trips to Seward this season. With buckets difficult to come by, Lammers played a crucial role. She made 9-of-11 shots from the floor and piled up a game high 21 points. On the other end, the Bulldogs limited star Shandra Farmer to five points on 1-for-6 shooting from the floor. Concordia won by double digits despite making only two 3-point field goals. For a recap of the game, click HERE.
· At some point during the national tournament, Lammers may take over the title as the program’s all-time leading scorer. Her first bucket versus Hastings put her at exactly 2,000 career points. She is now up to 2,019 – 35 points away from the school career record of 2,054 points by Bailey Morris (2011-15). On the program all-time lists, Lammers also ranks second in blocked shots (179), third in rebounds (1,020) and fourth in steals (355). No other Bulldog basketball player has ever reached 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for a career.
· Concordia’s overall body of work influenced the raters to move the Bulldogs to No. 1 in the final NAIA Division II regular-season poll. In other words, Concordia will be the No. 1 overall seed for the second year in a row. Also for the second-consecutive season, the Bulldogs will meet Wilberforce University (Ohio) in the first round. That game is scheduled for a 10:15 a.m. CT tipoff on Wednesday. For more on the program’s 19th all-time national tournament appearance (12th under Olson), click HERE.
Softball
· As of Tuesday, the Bulldogs were in the middle of the spring break journey in Kissimmee, Fla., where they are slated to play a total of eight games during the week of spring break. So far the trip has been a good one with Concordia earning wins over Lawrence Tech (Mich.), Florida National University, Carlow University (Pa.) and Hannibal LaGrange University (Mo.). A six-game win streak has pushed head coach Shawn Semler’s Bulldogs to 9-1 overall. For more on Concordia softball, click HERE.
· In the GPAC poll released on March 2, the Bulldogs moved up to No. 3 after being ranked fourth in the preseason. Currently, Concordia owns the highest winning percentage among conference teams with Dordt (11-3), Briar Cliff (11-4) and Jamestown (8-3) falling next in line. The Bulldogs had not won nine of their first 10 games to begin a season since 2014. That particular squad started out 14-1 and eventually qualified for the national tournament via a GPAC tournament runner-up finish.
· The journey to Kissimmee marks the first time the program has been in Florida since the 2012 squad visited the St. Petersburg area over spring break. Then in 2013, the Bulldogs made their way to the Oakland, Calif., area for spring break. From 2014 through 2019, Tucson served as the team’s destination for early March trips. In many years, Concordia has done well on such trips. It went 9-3 in Tucson last March. For more details on the 2020 spring break to date, check out the recaps HERE.
· One of the biggest stories so far has been the hot bat of junior Hhana Haro, who is hitting .600 (18-for-30) with five doubles, a home run and eight RBIs through her first eight games. She’s had at least one hit in every game so far. The native of Garden Grove, Calif., has already established herself as one of the GPAC’s top players having been named a first team all-conference selection in each of her first two years. Haro’s career numbers in 89 games with the Bulldogs are impressive. She’s hit .471 with 49 extra base hits for a .714 slugging percentage.
· Camry Moore has taken another step forward in her development. The sophomore from Crete has already equaled the number of extra base hits she had her entire freshman season while becoming an even more effective pitcher. In 39.2 innings in the circle, Moore has allowed just six earned runs while walking only four batters. Her pinpoint control has been astounding. In 172.1 collegiate innings pitched, Moore has issued a grand total of 17 free passes.
· Concordia will enjoy a day off in Kissimmee on Tuesday before returning to action for two games on both Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday games will be versus the University of Michigan-Dearborn and Fisher College (Mass.) and Thursday action will put the Bulldogs up against Saint Xavier University (Ill.) and St. Ambrose University (Iowa). Concordia will then get an exceptionally challenging task on Saturday when it will be at fifth-ranked Oklahoma City University for a 2 p.m. CT doubleheader.
Baseball
· The Bulldogs are now deep into the nonconference slate having played five games at the Tucson Invitational as of Tuesday (March 10) morning. Over those five games in Tucson, Ariz., Concordia has earned a win apiece over Concordia University, St. Paul and the University of Antelope Valley (Calif.) and has dropped games to Morningside and Jamestown (twice). The Bulldogs entered Tuesday’s doubleheader with a record of 12-5 overall. For more on Concordia baseball, click HERE.
· Head coach Ryan Dupic’s squad slipped to No. 2 in the GPAC poll released on March 10, most likely due to the two losses it suffered to the Jimmies in Tucson. The Bulldogs had won seven games in a row before relinquishing a 5-0 lead in the 7-5 loss to Morningside on March 7. Among GPAC teams, only Jamestown (14-5) and Mount Marty (13-5) have more overall wins than Concordia, which is also scheduled to open up GPAC play this weekend.
· The dominance displayed by top two starting pitchers Nick Little and Jason Munsch has been a theme in 2020. Little has seemed to regain the form he showed in 2018 when he was named the GPAC Pitcher of the Year. The junior from Lithia, Fla., earned the NAIA National Pitcher of the Week award last week from the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association after tossing a no-hitter versus Waldorf. Little followed it up by working seven innings (three earned runs) in the win over Concordia, St. Paul.
· More and more national attention may be coming Munsch’s way. The numbers so far are out-of-this-world. Through 19 innings (three starts), Munsch has not surrendered a single earned run (one run total) and has fanned 43 hitters. His strikeout rate of 20.37 per nine innings leads the entire NAIA. In his career, the native of Campbell, Calif., has racked up a school record 265 strikeouts in 177.2 innings. His career ERA is 2.89.
· Due to the wealth of neutral site games, the Concordia sports information staff and baseball coaching staff are working on putting together complete season stats. In Monday’s win over the Antelope Valley, Ben Berg and Jakob Faulk both homered. Jesse Garcia and Keaton Candor have also been the source of considerable power so far. When available, complete stats will be updated HERE.
· A doubleheader with Mayville State University (N.D.) got underway today (March 10) at 11 a.m. CT. Once that twin bill is in the books, the Bulldogs will look forward to hopefully beginning conference play with doubleheaders at 1 p.m. CT on both Saturday and Sunday. The twin bill on Saturday is set to be played at Briar Cliff before Hastings visits Seward on Sunday for Concordia’s home opener.
Tennis
· The Bulldogs have remained reasonably close to home for their spring break. The slate has been heavy on NCAA Division III opponents for both the men and women. Last week, both teams hosted Baker University (Kan.) on March 6 and earned wins (5-2 on the men’s side and 4-3 on the women’s side). The men continued play on March 7 with a loss to Grinnell College (Iowa) and then a win over St. Olaf College (Minn.). Meanwhile, the women rebounded from a loss to Grinnell by beating Coe College (Iowa). Head coach David DeSimone’s squads are 5-2 on the men’s side and 4-3 on the women’s side. For more information on Concordia tennis: women | men.
· The Bulldogs got the upper hand after doubles play in Monday’s match at Coe by earning victories from the duos of juniors Allison Marshall and Claudia Miranda Viera at No. 1 and juniors Ansley Gates and Katie Seja at No. 3. Gates and Seja cruised to an 8-2 decision. Concordia then won five of the six singles matches. Tense tie-breaker matches were won by senior Kirsten Wagner at No. 2 (6-4, 2-6, 12-10), Marshall at No. 3 (5-7, 7-5, 12-10) and Seja at No. 6 (6-2, 6-7, 10-6). In addition, Gates won handily at No. 4 (6-1, 6-1) and freshman Tara Ferrel claimed a win at No. 5 (6-4, 6-0). At 5-2 in singles play this season, Marshall is the team’s wins leader.
· The Concordia men have won four of their last five contests as a team. In the win over St. Olaf, the Bulldogs gained a commanding advantage by taking all three doubles matchups. The duos included junior Jeremy Berryman and senior Luke Zoller at No. 1, sophomore Jack Kitson and freshman Eduardo Rojas at No. 2 and sophomores Joe Bindl and Isaac Howes at No. 3. The scores were 8-4, 8-7 and 8-5, respectively. In singles, Concordia won four matches, courtesy of Zoller at No. 2 (6-2, retired), Rojas at No. 3 (4-6, 6-0, 6-2), Howes at No. 4 (6-4, 6-2) and freshman Juan Rabellino at No. 6 (6-4, 6-2). Berryman and Bindl manned the Nos. 2 and 5 spots, respectively. Together they helped defeat a St. Olaf team that is now 1-3 overall this season.
· With seven matches in the books on both sides, some leaders have emerged. On the men’s side, Howes and Rojas lead the team in singles wins while sporting identical 4-3 records. In doubles, the combo of Rojas and Kitson is a perfect 5-0. Bindl and Howes are 4-1 at the No. 3 doubles spot. On the women’s side, Marshall is 5-2 and has the team’s most wins. Two Bulldogs have three singles wins: Ferrel and Gates. In doubles, the duos of Ferrel and Wagner and Marshall and Miranda Viera have captured two wins apiece.
· The action this week will go through Thursday. The men will play at Coe today (March 10) at 3 p.m. and then be at Central College (Iowa) at 4 p.m. on Wednesday and at Simpson College (Iowa) at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday. The women will have the same schedule for Wednesday and Thursday as spring break competition comes to a conclusion.
Golf
· The spring season began over the break for men’s golf, which is still in action at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Spring Invite as of today (March 10). Over the first two rounds at the ERAU Spring Invite in Prescott, Ariz., Concordia has carded a 36-hole total of 307-310–617 (ninth place). Meanwhile, the women have yet to get started with competition in 2020. Both of head coach Brett Muller’s squads were active during the fall. For more information on Bulldog golf: Men | Women.
· Spring break trips have now become an annual occurrence for Bulldog golf. Last year the women’s team ventured to Timacuan Country Club in Lake Mary, Fla. This year it was the men’s turn. Two seasons ago they descended upon Grand National Golf Course in Opelika, Ala. The field at this week’s ERAU Spring Invite includes several teams local to Arizona as well as competing groups from California and Minnesota.
· A freshman from Papillion, Neb., Drew D’Ercole is tied for 14th on an individual leaderboard with 67 names at the ERAU Spring Invite. D’Ercole has had a consistent (74-73–147) back-to-back rounds while showing considerable improvement from the fall (82.5 average in eight fall rounds). The rest of Concordia’s group of five at the ERAU Spring Invite includes senior Tylar Samek (77-78–155; T-44th), junior Jayden Neal (78-81–159; T-52nd), freshman Jay Gunaseelan (83-78–161; T-58th) and sophomore Jack Williams (78-85–163; T-61st).
· Both teams finished the fall season competing in GPAC Championship rounds. The Concordia women turned in a team total of 336-345–681 to position themselves in third place in the GPAC standings. Individually, sophomore Kendra Placke is in sixth place and senior Murphy Sears is tied for 14th place. Both Placke and Sears were All-GPAC honorees in 2018-19. Meanwhile, the Bulldog men are in seventh place in the GPAC with a team score of 336-329–665. Samek leads the way with a 20th place positioning.
· The men’s and women’s teams have events coming up in March. Up next for the women is the Baker University Invite in Kansas City, Mo., March 23-24. After returning from spring break, the men will look forward to the Concordia-Doane Ryder Cup in York, Neb., on March 28. The final GPAC Championship rounds are set for April 24-25 for the women and April 27-28 for the men.