Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week will return next week. No athletes of the week were selected today (March 12) due to cancelation of the Bulldog Athletic Association Member luncheon.
Previous Athletes of the Week
Feb. 26 – Wade Council (baseball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Feb. 19 – Josiah McAllister (track & field) / Jacee Pfeifer (track & field)
Feb. 12 – Isaac Howes (tennis) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Feb. 5 – Cam Devers (wrestling) / Taylor Cockerill (basketball)
JANUARY Athletes of the Month: Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Taylor Grove (track & field)
Jan. 29 – Mario Ybarra (wrestling) / Taylor Grove (track & field)
Jan. 22 – Michael Stann (wrestling) / Addie Shaw (track & field)
Jan. 15 – Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Leah Larson (track & field)
Jan. 8 – Zack Moistner (wrestling) / Mackenzie Koepke (basketball)
DECEMBER Athletes of the Month: Tanner Shuck (basketball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Dec. 31 – Brevin Sloup (basketball) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Dec. 18 – Taylor Cockerill (basketball) / Michael Stann (wrestling)
Dec. 11 – Deandre Chery (wrestling) / Philly Lammers (basketball)
Dec. 4 – Tanner Shuck (basketball) / Taylor Grove (track & field)
NOVEMBER Athletes of the Month: Alberto Garcia (wrestling) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Nov. 27 – Alberto Garcia (wrestling) / Taylor Grove (cross country) / Quinn Wragge (basketball)
Nov. 13 – Zac Walter (football) / Grace Barry (basketball)
Nov. 6 – Jack Bennett (soccer) / Tori Cera (soccer)
OCTOBER Athletes of the Month: Carlos Ferrer (soccer) / Maria Deeter (soccer)
Oct. 30 – Carlos Ferrer (soccer) / Taylor Cockerill (basketball)
Oct. 23 – Josiah McAllister (cross country) / Jenna Habegger (volleyball)
Oct. 16 – Carlos Ferrer (soccer) / Maria Deeter (soccer)
Oct. 9 – Kordell Glause (football) / Brynn Suddeth (soccer)
Oct. 2 – Zac Walter (football) / Maria Deeter (soccer)
SEPTEMBER Athletes of the Month: Ryan Durdon (football) / Emmie Noyd (volleyball)
Sept. 25 – Roger de la Villa (soccer) / Erin Lokke (shooting sports)
Sept. 18 – Lane Napier (football) / Emmie Noyd (volleyball)
Sept. 11 – Ryan Durdon (football) / Marissa Hoerman (volleyball)
Sept. 4 – JP Verissimo (soccer) / Lauren Martin (soccer)
Aug. 28 – Garrett Perry (soccer) / Jenna Habegger (volleyball)
News and notes:
NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship game: The Concordia University women’s basketball program is getting set to compete in the NAIA Division II national championship game tonight (March 12). Tipoff is set for 7:05 p.m. CT from the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. The game can be heard live via 104.9 Max Country, the radio home of Bulldog athletics. It can also be streamed live via Watch ESPN: http://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=e35efbb3-dabf-4d94-bf6a-bd3313d959ae.
Shooting sports competes at Doane Tiger Invitational: Head coach Scott Moniot’s squad got back in action this past weekend at the Doane Tiger Invitational in Lincoln. Out of five teams in the field, the Bulldogs placed third in sporting clays (360/500), third in international skeet (177/250), second in skeet (454/500) and second in trap (449/500). In terms of high overall, Concordia’s top individual was Mackenze Origer (299/350). More details on the event will be released later in the week.
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 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
- It all comes down to the national championship game for the top-ranked Bulldogs, who will take on No. 2 Southeastern University (Fla.) tonight (March 12) at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. Head coach Drew Olson’s squad has made its way to the championship game by earning national tournament wins over Wilberforce University (Ohio), No. 17 Cardinal Stritch University, No. 7 Indiana Tech and No. 4 Northwestern. Concordia has run its record to 34-3 overall. For more information on Bulldog women’s basketball, click HERE.
- Full coverage of the championship game will be made available via https://www.cune.edu/athletics/teams/womens-basketball shortly after the conclusion of the contest. Concordia is making the program’s third appearance (all since 2015) in the national title game. In the previous two, the Bulldogs suffered defeats at the hands of Morningside and Dakota Wesleyan. Under Olson, Concordia has reached at least the semifinals five times (all in the past eight seasons).
- For some pregame reading, check out our game preview HERE. You can also read what Quinn Wragge had to say about her career for the Bulldogs in this Q&A HERE. In other news, it was announced on Monday (March 11) that Concordia tied for a national best with nine NAIA Scholar-Athletes. That list includes Wragge, who is now tied for No. 4 on the program’s all-time scoring list.
Softball
- The Bulldogs returned to Nebraska after a successful run at the Tucson Invitational. Concordia won its final eight games of the road trip, including one over the NAIA’s 25th-ranked team, Valley City State University (N.D.). Due to a rough stretch of weather around the Midwest, Concordia waited until arriving in Tucson, Ariz., to begin the season on March 3. Head coach Shawn Semler’s squad stands at 9-3 overall. For more information on Bulldog softball, click HERE.
- After a 1-3 start in Tucson, Concordia got on a roll. The lone loss over the team’s past 10 games was a 4-2, eight-inning loss at the hands of seventh-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University. The win streak started with a 5-1 triumph over Bethel College (Ind.) on March 5. During the streak, the Bulldogs have outscored their opponents by a combined total of 68-18. The most impressive victory during the run was the 6-1 decision over Valley City State, which had been 15-0 entering the game.
- Featuring three primary hurlers, the pitching staff has been a big strength so far. Grace Bernhardt (3-0) and Brittany Woolridge (4-0) sport unblemished records while freshman Camry Moore has already assumed the role as the ace. A star on a state championship team at Crete High School, Moore figures to get the ball when the stakes are highest. In her best performance to date, Moore held Valley City State to just one run on five hits in a seven-inning complete game on March 8. As a staff, Concordia owns a 2.59 ERA over 78.1 innings.
- A native of St. Charles, Mo., Bernhardt put together back-to-back masterpieces while in Arizona. In wins over Bethel and Presentation College (S.D.), Bernhardt went the distance in both games (14 innings) and allowed a grand total of one run of five hits and two walks. She twirled a two-hit shutout of Presentation. As a freshman last season, Bernhardt appeared in 26 games in the circle and posted an ERA of 4.81 over 106.1 innings pitched.
- While Moore entered the program with the most accolades among freshmen, rookie Kylee Nixon is another with a bright future. The York High School product stepped in at second base after an injury to Leah Kalkwarf on the road trip. Nixon made the most of her playing time by going 10-for-18 with eight runs scored, four doubles, a home run and nine RBIs at the plate. She struck for the first home run of her career as part of the 10-2 blowout of Park University (Mo.) on March 9.
- Reigning GPAC Player of the Year Hhana Haro figures to be the team’s top slugger once again. She crushed three home runs in 11 games played during the Tucson trip. The Garden Grove, Calif., native is the current team leader in both home runs and RBIs (11). Last season as a freshman, Haro broke school single-season records for hits (76) and doubles (20). In 190 career at bats, Haro owns a batting average of .468 and slugging percentage of .732. She needs 11 more hits for 100 in her career.
- On the early national leaderboards, Concordia sports NAIA rankings of 19th in fielding percentage (.965), 21st in stolen bases (29), 21st in runs per game (7.1), 33rd in slugging percentage (.473) and 40th in ERA (2.59). Another key factor in the solid offensive start has been Tori Homolka, who leads the team with 27 total bases. Eight of her 16 hits (five doubles, three triples) have gone for extra bases. MacKinsey Schmidt also has three triples on the board already.
- Weather permitting, the Bulldogs will play their next two doubleheaders at home. They are slated to host Nebraska Wesleyan on March 20 and Doane on March 27. Because of rough weather conditions around the Midwest in February and March, Concordia has already postponed/canceled seven doubleheaders. It was slated to take on York College on Thursday, but that twin bill was also postponed.
Baseball
- The 2019 season continued at the Tucson Invitational, an event that put Concordia on the diamond for 12 games over an eight-day stretch from March 2-9. The Bulldogs went 5-7 on the trip with five of the contests coming against NCAA Division II foes. Head coach Ryan Dupic called it the most challenging schedule the program has faced in Arizona over his five-year tenure. Concordia is now 6-10 overall with conference games up next. For more information on Bulldog baseball, click HERE.
- The nonconference schedule as a whole may be one of the more difficult ones a Concordia baseball team has ever faced. Massey Ratings currently lists the Bulldog schedule as the 41st toughest out of 186 NAIA teams in the formula. Not only has Concordia played five NCAA Division II opponents, it also played three games on the home turf of then eighth-ranked Oklahoma City University. The Bulldogs own one win over Oklahoma City and another over NCAA Division II Southwest Minnesota State University.
- Dupic is hoping for greater consistency once conference play gets going. The wins over Oklahoma City and Southwest Minnesota State have provided evidence of how good the team can be when things are clicking. Concordia experienced both ends of the spectrum while in Arizona. It opened the trip by pummeling Dakota Wesleyan, 16-1. It also had games get away from it in the opposite direction in losses by scores of 19-5 to Mount Marty and 16-3 to Minot State University (N.D.).
- The Bulldogs have a group of position players that should make them competitive within the GPAC. Unfortunately, 2018 second team All-GPAC third baseman Thomas Sautel has missed the first 16 games of the season due to a hand injury. However, fellow all-conference performers in Christian Meza and Wade Council have started every game so far. Among those with at least 10 starts, Luciano DePamphilis leads the team with a .394 batting average (13-for-33). A transfer from College of the Siskiyous, Beau Dorman is batting .419 while splitting time at catcher with Ben Berg.
- Through 16 games, Meza is hitting .320 with four doubles, a home run and 13 RBIs. The native of San Diego keeps moving up the program’s all-time lists. He currently ranks in a tie for third in doubles (41), third in RBIs (114) and tied for sixth in hits (172). Meza’s 68 hits last season put him No. 3 on the school’s single season list. The current program record for career hits is held by Zak Goodrich (2009-12), who collected 234 hits while batting .364 in his career.
- After serving as the team’s closer last season, Jake Fosgett just might develop into the ace of the starting rotation in 2019. The junior from Carlsbad, Calif., allowed a combined 11 earned runs over his first two starts of this season. He then settled in and tossed a two-hit shutout in a 7-0 win over Mount Marty on March 8. Last season in 13 appearances out of the bullpen, Fosgett posted a 1.80 ERA and struck out 21 hitters over 15 innings.
- Seven different pitchers have started at least one game this season. The regulars in the rotation who have each made three starts are Fosgett, Adrian Cotton, Sasha Jabusch and Tanner Wauhob. Among them, Jabusch has the best ERA with a 3.60 mark in 15 innings. Wauhob ptu together two solid starts before surrendering six earned runs in a loss to Mount Marty. Jason Munsch has also made two starts and owns a 3.72 ERA. The staff has a collective ERA of 6.62 over 117 innings.
- Instead of playing out a four-game series in Fremont and Seward this weekend, the Bulldogs will play Midland at a neutral site in Topeka, Kan. Game times will be announced when they are made available.
Tennis
- The Bulldogs ventured west during spring break for a flurry of matches against NCAA Division II opponents. The women’s team played three times over two days and claimed victories over Colorado State University-Pueblo, 4-3, and Colorado College, 5-4, with an 8-1 loss to Southwest Minnesota State University sandwiched in between. Meanwhile, the men dropped their two matches, 7-0 to Colorado State-Pueblo and 9-0 to Colorado College. Head coach David DeSimone’s squads sit at 6-3 on the women’s side and 4-4 on the men’s side. For more information on Bulldog tennis: Men | Women.
- The victories over two NCAA Division II foes added to a solid start for the women, whose six wins are most among all GPAC squads. Concordia also owns triumphs this season over NCAA Division III Central College (Iowa) and NAIA members in Bethel College (Kan.), Bethany College (Kan.) and Sterling College (Kan.). Three of the wins have come by margins of a single match victory.
- The addition of Marlene Maier has certainly made a big difference for the women’s team. The native of Uppsala, Sweden, has been the rock at the top of the lineup, where she is 8-1 in singles play. Since a loss at Grand View University (Iowa) on Feb. 8, Maier has won each of her last seven matches. She is 4-5 while playing at the No. 1 doubles spot.
- To close out the trip against Colorado College, Maier got a win at No. 1 singles. Also in singles, Katelinn Wurm at No. 3 and Angela Bell at No. 5 contributed victories. The lineup also included Kirsten Wagner at No. 2, Allison Marshall at No. 4 and Ansley Gates at No. 6. In doubles play, the Bulldog combos of Marshall and Kirsten Wagner at No. 2 and Bell and Lindee Schultz at No. 3 came out on top. A day earlier in the win over CSU-Pueblo, Concordia claimed singles wins at the Nos. 1, 4 and 6 spots.
- On the flip side, the men’s team came up empty last week in all 12 singles and six doubles matches against challenging competitors. While Concordia did not win a match at Colorado College, there were several that were closely contested. In singles, Luke Zoller at No. 2 and Jeremy Berryman at No. 3 both fell in third-set tiebreakers. No. 1 Thomas Greeff (6-4, 6-3) and No. 5 Conner Works (7-5, 6-2) also were competitive against NCAA Division II opponents. The rest of the Bulldog lineup featured Isaac Howes at No. 4 and Tommy McNish at No. 6.
- On the women’s side, Concordia is a collective 29-25 in dingles and 17-10 in doubles play. After Maier’s eight singles wins, Bell (4-2) and Wurm (4-2) come in next in line in the race for the team wins lead. In doubles, Marshall sports a team best 6-2 mark. She is followed by Wagner (5-3) and Miranda Viera (5-4) rank just behind Marshall for most doubles victories.
- On the men’s side, Concordia is a combined 18-30 in singles and 9-15 in doubles play. The team leaders in singles wins are Berryman (4-4) and Works (4-4). In doubles, Isaac Howes (3-5) and Jack Kitson (3-5) have both put three wins on the board.
- The women idle this week (next match March 21 at Nebraska Wesleyan) while the men get set to host Northwestern at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday. The majority of remaining matches for both squads will be played against conference foes.
Golf
- In action for the first time since early October 2018, the women’s golf program headed to the southeast for a spring break getaway. The Bulldogs competed at the Seminole State Spring Break Invite (March 5-6) in Lake Mary, Fla., just north of Orlando. In a loaded field that included NCAA Division I institutions, Concordia placed seventh out of the seven squads to complete both rounds of the tournament. Head coach Brett Muller’s squads turned in a two-round score of 393-362–755. The men still have yet to play an official round this spring. For more information on Bulldog golf: Men | Women.
- The Concordia women are back at it after last competing at the fall portion of the GPAC championships. After two conference rounds, the Bulldogs are in sixth place (334-338–672). The squad was paced all fall by freshman Kendra Placke, who carded a two-round GPAC score of 75-78–153, putting her in a tie for fourth on the individual leaderboard. Placke is a Seward High School graduate and former state golf champion.
- Placke shot a surprisingly high 18-over-par 90 on the opening day of the Spring Break Invite. The 76 she turned in the next day was much more in line with her typically performances. The day two improvement pushed her to a final position of 21st out of 44 golfers in the field. Through 10 rounds in 2018-19, Placke owns a team best scoring average of 80.3. Her three-over-par 75 on the first day of the GPAC championships remains her career collegiate low.
- The remainder of Muller’s lineup in Lake Mary included junior Murphy Sears (94-89–183; 33rd), freshman Britney Jepsen (100-94–194; 38th), junior Paighton Barbre (109-103 – 212; 41st) and freshman DJ Bokelman (111-110–221; 44th). Sears has already been a two-time all-conference performer in her career. The Crete High School product ranks second to Placke among Bulldogs for lowest scoring average (86.10). Sears has played in 39 rounds in her collegiate career.
- The schedule will be light on competitions for most of March for both golf teams. The men are slated to resume the 2018-19 season on March 30 with the Concordia-Doane Cup at York Country Club. The men ended the fall season Oct. 12-13 at the Nebraska Intercollegiate. In late September (Sept. 24-25), the Bulldogs competed in two GPAC championship rounds and turned in a 309-300–609 score that has them sitting sixth out of the 11 conference schools. In terms of season average, senior Nolan Zikas has been the team’s top performer (73.6 average). He is currently tied for 20th in the GPAC (76-74–150). Junior Tylar Samek is tied for sixth (74-70–144).
- Neither team will be in action this week. The next event on the schedule is the Concordia Spring Invitational (March 28-29) on the women’s side. That meet will take place at the program’s home course, Highlands in Lincoln.