Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week: Due to the absence of the weekly BAAM meetings, Athletes of the Week will not be announced. BAAM meetings have now been canceled for the remainder of the 2020-21 academic year.
News and notes:
Devin Smith named NAIA Athletic Director of the Year by NACDA: As announced by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) on Wednesday (March 10), Concordia University, Nebraska’s Devin Smith has been named a recipient of the Athletics Director of the Year Award (ADOY). The award spans seven divisions (NCAA FBS, FCS, Division I-AAA, II, III, NAIA/Other Four-Year Institutions and Junior College/Community Colleges). For more details on the award, click HERE.
Upcoming fall sport games: Concordia fall sports teams are gearing up for official action this week as they continue to prepare for upcoming GPAC tournament. Head Coach Thomas Goines’ women’s soccer team (9-4-1 overall) opened up spring play on March 6 with a 1-0 double overtime loss at Southwestern College (Kan.). The lineup looked a bit different as three Bulldogs made their first starts of the 2020-21 season. For a recap of the game at Southwestern, click HERE. Next up on the slate for fall sports squads this Wednesday’s home volleyball match versus No. 24 Ottawa University (Kan.). The women’s and men’s soccer teams are getting set to play at Benedictine College (Kan.) on Saturday. Head Coach Ben Boldt’s volleyball team remain ranked No. 10 in last week’s NAIA coaches’ poll.
-Volleyball: March 17 vs. Ottawa University (Kan.), 7 p.m.
-Women’s Soccer: March 20 at Benedictine College (Kan.), 1 p.m.
-Men’s Soccer: March 20 at Benedictine College (Kan.), 3:30 p.m.
Women’s Basketball final site bracket announced: This past weekend the NAIA unveiled the bracket for the final site of the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Championship. As the 13th seed, Head Coach Drew Olson’s Bulldogs have drawn fourth-seeded Marian University (Ind.) in the round of 16. That matchup will take place at 6 p.m. CT on Friday. The winner will advance to the quarterfinals and play at 8 p.m. on Saturday. Concordia reached the final site thanks to last week’s opening round win over Loyola University New Orleans. View the complete NAIA bracket HERE.
Martin, Placke lead the way at Texas Intercollegiate over spring break: Golf season is underway for Head Coach Brett Muller’s program. The women’s team journeyed south to Hawks Creek Golf Club in Westworth Village, Texas, for a 54-hole tournament that took place March 8-9. The Bulldogs shot a team score of 365-352-347–1,064 and placed sixth out of eight teams in a strong field. Mia Martin and Kendra Placke finished within one stroke of each other while both placing inside the top 20 of the individual leaderboard. A transfer from Concordia University, Portland, Martin carded a score of 82-85-83–250 (+34) in her Bulldog debut. The Seward High School alum Placke finished right behind Martin with a tournament total of 86-80-85–251 (20th place). For a recap of the tournament, click HERE.
Recapping the 2020-21 men’s basketball season: The 2020-21 Concordia Men’s Basketball season ended sooner than hoped, but the Bulldogs still managed to put together a memorable campaign. Some highlights included a dominant run at home, season sweep of top 10 Northwestern and All-GPAC performances from Carter Kent, Gage Smith and Justin Wiersema. Head Coach Ben Limback’s squad also tied a program record for conference wins in a single season with 14. For a review of the season, click HERE.
Fan attendance at baseball/softball: Fan attendance will not be limited at Plum Creek Park, home to Concordia baseball and softball. However, fans will be required to wear masks and are encouraged to distance themselves from other family groups. Admission can be purchased on site on game days. Tickets for baseball/softball will not be sold online. For events in Bulldog Stadium or Friedrich Arena, please visit our online ticketing page to purchase tickets in advance. That page can be found HERE.
Bulldog Coaches Show airs every Thursday at 5:30 p.m. CT: The Bulldog Coaches Show is underway in its fifth 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 2020-21 season, Bulldog football, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball contests will be aired live on Max Country. Parker Cyza serves as the host of the coaches’ show as well as the play-by-play voice for basketball. Frank Greene is in his sixth 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 partnered 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.
Women’s Basketball
· The season will roll into Sioux City, Iowa, a familiar destination for the program. After 10 idle days since the GPAC tournament championship game, the 16th-ranked Bulldogs returned to action for the opening round of the national tournament in Park City, Kan., on March 13. Despite a sluggish start, Concordia went on to defeat No. 19 Loyola University New Orleans, 71-54. The Bulldogs (21-8) are in the midst of their 10th-straight national tournament appearance while under the direction of Head Coach Drew Olson. For more information on Concordia Women’s Basketball, click HERE.
· At one point in the second quarter, the Bulldogs faced a 24-10 deficit while up against the Wolf Pack. Concordia started just 3-for-26 from the floor while getting accustomed to spacious Hartman Arena. Sophomore Taylor Farrell helped keep the Bulldogs afloat with three treys in the first half (finished with 14 points). Taylor Cockerill then went off in the second half when she totaled 18 of her game high 22 points. Concordia heated up to shoot 50.0 percent (16-for-32) from the floor after halftime in a massive turnaround. The Bulldogs also went 18-for-22 from the foul line.
· Olson has overseen 25 national tournament victories in his 15 seasons leading the program. During that stretch, Concordia has made nine advancements to at least the national round of 16. The Bulldogs also own an active national tournament win streak of seven, a run that includes the 2019 national title celebration, the first round of 2020 (before the shutdown) and this year’s opening round. As a program, Concordia Women’s Basketball has made 20 all-time national tournament appearances and owns a record of 35-17 in those trips.
· Cockerill has moved up another rung on the program’s all-time scoring list to No. 14. Last week she surpassed Elizabeth Rhoden (1,337) with 1,346 career points. Impressively, Cockerill has reached her total in only three seasons (sat out 2019-20 due to knee injury). A two-time first team All-GPAC selection, Cockerill also owns career totals of 478 rebounds, 247 assists, 165 steals and 148 3-point field goals. The Waverly High School product has tallied 112 points in 11 career national tournament games. She has played in two national title contests.
· The Bulldogs are happy to have Mackenzie Toomey back on the court after she went more than a month between outings. She gave the team a lift last week by posting a line of seven points, four rebounds, one blocked shot and one steal. Toomey knocked down a 3-pointer in the third quarter that gave Concordia a 41-40 lead. In 23 games this season, she has averaged 3.8 points and 1.26 steals per game as a solid bench contributor.
· After going wild in the GPAC tournament, freshman Taysha Rushton struggled with her perimeter shot at Hartman Arena. She went only 1-for-9 from 3-point range, but still managed to make a significant impact with her defensive play and ball handling. Rushton finished with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. The point guard from Lubbock, Texas, ranks second on the team to Cockerill in scoring at 14.1 points per game. Rushton piled up more points in the GPAC tournament than any other league player with 64.
· This should be a confidence booster for Farrell, who knocked down the most 3-point field goals she’s had since making four against College of Saint Mary on Jan. 28. After totaling 11 points in the first half versus Loyola, Farrell struck for a three-point play that tied the game in the middle of the third quarter. There’s no doubt about the Omaha native’s ability as a shooter. In 49 games as a Bulldog, Farrell has gone 76-for-180 (.422) from beyond the arc. She’s the team’s third leading scorer at 7.6 points per game.
· This was the first time Concordia played a national tournament game outside of Sioux City, Iowa, since 1997 when the event was held in Angola, Ind. The NAIA Division II tournament was held exclusively in Sioux City from 1998 to 2019. The Bulldogs will forever have the distinction of winning the final NAIA Division II national championship game (67-59 over Southeastern University in 2019). When the NAIA finalized a merger to one division, Sioux City was awarded the host site for the final 16 teams.
· Thirteenth-seeded Concordia will be back at the Tyson Events Center on Friday to take on fourth-seeded Marian University (Ind.) (27-5). Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT. The two programs have never met at the national tournament. The winner will advance to play either fifth-seeded Morningside or 12th-seeded University of St. Francis (Ill.) at 8 p.m. on Saturday. The full bracket (in PDF form) can be viewed HERE.
Baseball
· It was another week of plentiful run scoring as the Bulldogs went 5-0 and piled up a combined 66 runs. Concordia defeated Sterling College (Kan.), 15-5, and then swept a four-game weekend series (March 12-13) from Dickinson State University (N.D.). The Bulldogs pummeled the Blue Hawks by scores of 12-1, 8-1 and 24-0 before rallying to take the final game of the series, 7-6. Head Coach Ryan Dupic’s squad has won eight games in a row to move to 13-2 overall. For more information on Concordia Baseball, click HERE.
· The 13-2 record is the program’s best ever 15-game mark to begin a season. During Dupic’s previous six seasons as head coach, the most wins for the Bulldogs over the first 15 games had been 11 in 2020. The GPAC regular season championship teams of 2017 and 2019 posted comparative records of 9-6 and 6-9, respectively. Among GPAC teams, only Briar Cliff (15-2) currently owns a higher winning percentage. Based on the schedule as it stands right now, Concordia will play exclusively against GPAC opponents for the remainder of the regular season.
· Though the Bulldogs have not played an opponent that is on the national radar (in terms of receiving votes in the coaches’ poll), the results have been impressive nonetheless. This team is on track to obliterate every school offensive record on the books. Through 15 games, Concordia has already clubbed 30 home runs. The school record for a single season is 40 home runs (2019). On the national leaderboard, the Bulldogs rank second in doubles per game (2.6), fourth in home runs per game (2.0), sixth in slugging percentage (.649), sixth in runs per game (10.0) and sixth in hits per game (11.3).
· In the only contest last week that came with any drama, Concordia rallied from a 6-0 deficit to beat Dickinson State. The Bulldogs put up one run in the fourth, three in the sixth and three in the seventh. Bea Dorman delivered a key two-run triple in the sixth to help set the stage for the seventh. Jesse Garcia tied the game, 6-6, with a two run blast. Joey Grabanski then walked (replaced by Peyton Scott who stole second) before Dorman delivered the go-ahead double. In relief, Nathan Buckallew and Shane Whittaker combined to throw five scoreless innings.
· Named the NAIA National Hitter of the Week on March 11 by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, second baseman Jayden Adams has been tearing the cover off the baseball. He continued his hot hitting last week by going 11-for-19 (.579) with 11 runs scored, three walks, three doubles, two triples and 13 RBIs. The Waverly, Neb., native is hitting .566 with 27 runs, seven doubles, two triples, three home runs, 24 RBIs and a .943 slugging percentage on the season. He is also 5-for-5 in stolen bases.
· The Bulldogs combined for eight home runs last week thanks to Dorman (three), Garcia (two), Grabanski (two) and Teyt Johnson (one). Garcia and Keaton Candor are beginning to sneak up on the school’s all-time home run record. Five Concordia hitters in school history have reached 20 homers for a career: Jarrod Pimentel (27), Ross Wurdeman (22), Garcia (21), Candor (20) and Jack Holmberg (20). A native of El Cajon, Calif., Garcia has gotten to 21 career homers in just 86 games (267 at bats).
· The pitching staff has also been stellar. Dupic has called upon a village of hurlers to navigate 106 innings this season. The result has been a 1.95 ERA, an opponent batting average of .193 and 151 strikeouts. In last week’s action, Trent Wood (6.1), Jake Fosgett (5.0) and Lukas Diehm (4.0) each made starts of at least four innings in length without surrendering an earned run. Wood is now 3-0 this season with a 1.33 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 20.1 innings. Fosgett’s K rate is even higher with 23 punch outs in 15.1 innings.
· Conference play will open up this weekend with a four-game series between Concordia and Midland (10-9, 0-0 GPAC). Saturday’s twin bill will take place in Seward before action shifts to Fremont on Sunday. Doubleheaders are slated to begin at 1 p.m. CT both days. The Bulldogs have not played an official home game since May 4, 2019, when they hosted a pod of the GPAC tournament.
Softball
· A spring break tour of Kansas and Oklahoma proved fruitful for the Bulldogs, who are knocking on the door of the NAIA top 25. While playing 12 games over a seven-day stretch (March 5-11), Concordia went 10-2 with the highlight of the week being a 10-7 win over fourth-ranked Oklahoma City University. Half of those 10 victories came by the run rule as Concordia continues to make an early season statement. Head Coach Shawn Semler’s squad is now 14-2 overall with the lone losses coming against Oklahoma City (first game of the doubleheader) and Avila University (Mo.). For more information on Concordia Softball, click HERE.
· Last week’s NAIA poll was conducted prior to the Bulldog victory over Oklahoma City. Had it taken place after the win, Concordia may be sporting a national ranking at this moment. The Bulldogs continue to be rated second in the GPAC, behind preseason favorite Morningside (22-3). Concordia, currently listed fourth in the “receiving votes” category of the poll, is hoping to break into the top 25 for the first time since 1998 when it appeared at No. 25.
· In the games that took place last week (March 9-11), the Bulldogs outscored their opponents by a combined total of 49-25. Concordia went 5-1 in that stretch with wins over No. 4 Oklahoma City, 10-7, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, 13-0 and 10-7, Friends University (Kan.), 4-2, and Presentation College (S.D.), 10-5. The Bulldogs batted .337 as a team in those six games and collected 14 doubles, six triples and three home runs, including two big flies from Tori Homolka and one from Camry Moore.
· Homolka sizzled at the plate last week while going 11-for-20 (.550) with six runs, two doubles, a triple, two home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.050 slugging percentage. In the signature win over Oklahoma City, Homolka went 2-for-3 with two runs, a home run and four RBIs. Homolka came through in the clutch with a three-run blast that tied the game in the top of the fourth. The native of Swanton, Neb., rose to star status in 2019 and hasn’t looked back. In her career, Homolka has batted .362 with 30 doubles, 12 triples and 15 home runs.
· Zoe Flores put forth a pitching performance to remember in the win at Oklahoma City. She calmed things down by working 5.2 shutout innings that saw her limit one of the NAIA’s most potent offenses to four hits and a walk. Flores earned the win in that game as part of a week that saw her throw 6.2 innings. Brooke Townsend also was solid on the week with 6.2 innings pitched. She allowed just one run on six hits and a walk.
· Not surprisingly, Camry Moore enjoyed another fine week. At the plate, she went 9-for-19 (.474) with 11 runs, two doubles, two triples, a home run and seven RBIs while slugging .947. In the circle, the Crete native went 3-1 with a 2.21 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 19 innings. Oklahoma City tagged Moore with her first loss of the season. She’s now 8-1 with a 1.65 ERA and 52 strikeouts in 46.2 innings. In her career, Moore is batting .367 with 15 doubles, four triples, 11 home runs and 62 RBIs. She is 15-2 in her last 17 pitching decisions.
· In other noteworthy efforts, Julia Van Wey produced a key three-run double to lift Concordia in game 2 at Oklahoma Wesleyan. In addition, Creighton Taylor made the most of her opportunity against Presentation and produced two hits as part of the seven-run inning that allowed the Bulldogs to come back and win. Five Concordia regulars are currently hitting above .350: Homolka (.423), Moore (.420), Kylee Nixon (.382), Jenessa Jarvis (.367) and Caitlyn McGarvie (.362).
· The Bulldogs were scheduled to host Mayville State University (N.D.) in a doubleheader today (March 16), but it was canceled due to poor field conditions caused by heavy rain over the weekend. Concordia will next be headed to Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina, Kan., for a 2 p.m. twin bill on Thursday. The Bulldogs will then have the weekend off. Due to last season’s shutdown, the program has not played at home since April 27, 2019.
Tennis
· The Concordia men’s and women’s tennis teams went up against the same institutions on three-straight days last week over spring break. On the men’s side, the Bulldogs dropped matches to Bethel College (Kan.), 6-1, and Iowa Central Community College, 6-1, before rebounding with a 5-2 win over Tabor College (Kan.). On the other hand, the women fell three times, losing by scores of 4-3 to Bethel, 7-0 to Iowa Central and 5-2 to Tabor. The Iowa Central and Tabor matches both took place at home. Head Coach David DeSimone’s squads sport records of 4-2 for the men and 3-3 for the women. For more information on Bulldog Tennis: Men | Women.
· Broken down further, the men were defeated in all three doubles matches and in five of six singles matches at Bethel and then dropped two of three doubles matches and five of six singles matches to Iowa Central. In the victory over Tabor, Concordia took two of three doubles decisions and four of six singles matches. While the team score was 6-1 versus Iowa Central, the Bulldogs played very competitively in dropping two singles matches in tiebreakers and three other singles clashes in close two-set fashion.
· Junior Joe Bindl keeps on winning. He has provided consistent results while playing mostly at the No. 5 position. The Papillion, Neb., native went 3-0 in singles matches last week and improved to 6-0 this season. Counting the final match of 2020, Bindl now owns a personal singles win streak of seven. His streak was put to the test in tiebreakers against both Joaquin Pluis of Bethel and Xavier Zumba of Iowa Central.
· So far this season, the Concordia men also own team victories over William Jewell College (Mo.), Sterling College (Kan.) and Bethany College (Kan.). While Bindl is 6-0 in singles (one-third of the team’s singles victories), two other Bulldogs own at least two singles wins: Juan Rabellino (3-1), Jack Kitson (2-2) and Luke Zoller (2-0). Bindl and Jeremy Berryman have been the most successful doubles combo with a 3-0 mark. Rabellino and Zoller have gone 3-2 when paired up.
· It was a tough week for the women’s team, in terms of results. The Bulldogs did not fill the entire lineup at Bethel, which may have been the difference in flipping the team score. The Threshers squeaked by with a split in singles and by taking two of three in doubles. Concordia then surrendered all six singles and all three doubles matches against a strong Iowa Central squad. To close the weekend, the Bulldogs struggled in doubles before rebounding to win two singles matches versus Tabor.
· In the matchup with Bethel, Sofia Morales (No. 1 singles/No. 2 doubles) and Luisa Esquivel (No. 5 singles/No. 2 doubles) both went 2-0. At the top of the lineup, Morales breezed to a 6-0, 6-2, victory while Esquivel took a 6-1, 6-1, decision. It was a fine week for Esquivel, who also won at No. 5 singles in the outing versus Tabor. Another win in singles was claimed by Megan Hakes, who won at No. 6 singles against Tabor.
· Collectively, Concordia is 16-20 in singles and 7-11 in doubles matches this season. Five Bulldogs have notched two or more singles wins: Esquivel (4-2), Katy Krejci (3-1), Kaitlin Seja (2-2), Morales (2-3) and Claudia Miranda Viera (2-4). The duo of Esquivel and Morales has claimed two doubles victories.
This week’s slate features just one match for both the men and women. They will host NCAA Division II Emporia State University (Kan.) at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday. If the weather allows, the matches will take place on the outdoor Bulldog Tennis Courts. This will be the second time this season that Concordia has played an NCAA D-II opponent (William Jewell).