Bulldog Weekly Report (March 19)

By Jacob Knabel on Mar. 19, 2019 in Athletic Announcements

Bulldog Athletic Association Athletes of the Week (Feb. 25 – March 3)

Male: Alberto Garcia, Wrestling

Garcia, a junior from Escondido, Calif., highlighted the efforts of the Bulldogs at the 2019 NAIA Wrestling National Championships by placing fourth in the 133-pound weight class. That accomplishment made Garcia the 10th individual in the program’s history to earn All-America honors. He went 18-5 overall in his first season at Concordia.

Female: Jacee Pfeifer, Track & Field

Pfeifer, a redshirt freshman from Holdrege, Neb., impressed in her first career trip to nationals by claiming All-America honors as part of the 4x400 meter relay and in the pole vault. As the anchor leg for the 4x4, Pfeifer ran a split of :56.65 to help the group break its own school record in the event. As a team, the women placed ninth nationally at the NAIA indoor championships.

Bulldog Athletic Association Athlete of the Week (March 4 – 17)

Grace Barry, Basketball

Barry, a junior from Lincoln, Neb., emerged as a major reason why the Concordia women’s basketball team celebrated the first national title in program history. Barry was named the national tournament MVP. During the championship tournament, Barry averaged 14.2 points, 4.8 assists, 3.4 steals and 2.6 rebounds while going 25-for-48 (.521) from the floor, 6-for-11 (.545) from 3-point range and 15-for-18 (.833) from the foul line.

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:

Zikas named winner of David Toms Overcoming Adversity Award: s announced on Tuesday (March 19) by the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and the Golf Channel, Concordia University senior Nolan Zikas has been named the recipient of the 2018 David Toms Overcoming Adversity Award. Only one total student-athlete from all levels of collegiate golf are recognized with this honor each year. The award is presented by the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA). For more on this prestigious honor, click HERE.

Order women’s basketball national championship memorabilia: An online store complete with gear to commemorate the Concordia women’s basketball national title is now available. Purchases can be made via the Bulldog Fan Shop, which includes long and short sleeve t-shirts, hats, glassware and mugs. For those wishing to order game DVD’s from the national tournament, the contact person is Paula Rager, who can be reached at prager@sioux-city.org or at 712-279-4844.

Golf schedule undergoes adjustment: Neither the men’s or women’s golf teams were in action last week, but both programs have announced schedule changes. On the women’s side, the University of Nebraska-Keareney Invitational (March 23-24) has been canceled due to poor conditions caused by a rash of wet weather throughout the state of Nebraska. On the men’s side, the upcoming Concordia-Doane Cup (March 30) has been moved from York Country Club to Beatrice Country Club in Beatrice, Neb. Again, this change was necessitated by poor course conditions. The men are still waiting to open up the spring while the women got started with the Seminole State Spring Break Invite (March 5-6) in Lake Mary, Fla.

Start of outdoor track season put on hold: The Concordia outdoor track and field season was originally scheduled to begin this Friday and Saturday at the Wildcat Classic hosted by Wayne State. Due to travel complications caused by the recent flooding, the Bulldogs will not make the trip to Wayne, Neb. Instead, Concordia hopes to open outdoor season at the Bronco Open hosted by Hastings on March 30. Head coach Matt Beisel’s programs are fresh off the indoor season that resulted in GPAC finishes of first for the women and second for the men and NAIA national finishes of ninth for both the men and women. The Concordia women boast the NAIA’s reigning discus national champion in Addie Shaw. For the complete outdoor track schedule, click HERE.

Winter sport NAIA Scholar-Athletes announced: All of the Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete lists for winter sports are now public. In the sports of men’s basketball, women’s basketball, cheer, dance and wrestling, Concordia combined for 25 winter NAIA Scholar-Athletes. The women’s basketball program shared the national lead for most Scholar-Athletes among all other women’s basketball teams with nine. Adding the 43 Bulldog Scholar-Athletes from the fall, Concordia has totaled 68 NAIA Scholar-Athlete awards for the 2018-19 academic year to date. Spring sport Scholar-Athletes will be announced in May.

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

  • The ending could not have been any better for the 2018-19 Bulldogs. Ranked No. 1 in the national preseason poll, Concordia closed the deal this time and won the NAIA Division II national championship for the first time in program history. The Bulldogs realized their ultimate goal by defeating No. 2 Southeastern University, 67-59, in the championship final. Head coach Drew Olson’s squad reached the title game with preceding national tournament wins over Wilberforce University (Ohio), No. 17 Cardinal Stritch University (Wis.), No. 7 Indiana Tech and No. 4 Northwestern. Concordia concluded the season with a 35-3 overall record. For more information on Bulldog women’s basketball, click HERE.
  • The national title really was the only thing missing from an incredible first 13 years as head coach for Olson. During that time, Olson owns an overall record of 353-96 (winningest coach in program history), five national semifinal runs, two national runner up claims, 11 national tournament appearances, 10 GPAC titles (five regular season, five postseason) and two major national coach of the year awards. Following the title game on March 12, Olson was announced as the 2019 Phyllis Holmes NAIA National Coach of the Year.
  • The championship win put a cap on an unprecedented three-year run in program history. Behind junior Philly Lammers, who has been chosen as an All-American each season of her career, Concordia has gone a combined 105-8 over the past three seasons. That run has included trips to at least the national semifinals and sweeping of GPAC regular season and postseason championships each year. The stretch from 2016-17 through 2018-19 even dwarfs the impressive 2002-03 through 2004-05 period that saw then head coach Todd Voss guide his squads to a combined mark of 95-15. Two of those Voss teams advanced to the national semifinals.
  • By the time the final seconds of the national championship game ticked off, it was made obvious that there was no more significant offseason addition at the NAIA Division II level than Grace Barry. The transfer from the University of Nebraska-Kearney and Lincoln East High School product took home the Tournament Most Valuable Player Award.  Barry elevated her performance over the five national tournament games, during which she averaged 14.2 points, 4.8 assists, 3.4 steals and 2.6 rebounds while going 25-for-48 (.521) from the floor, 6-for-11 (.545) from 3-point range and 15-for-18 (.833) from the foul line. Barry played all 40 minutes in the semifinal win over No. 4 Northwestern and the championship win over No. 2 Southeastern University (Fla.). In the title game, she put up a line of 15 points, seven assists, four steals and four rebounds.
  • Lammers made a strong case herself for First Team All-National Tournament honors. She was placed on the second team. The Millard West High School product was most dominant in the semifinal win over Northwestern when she piled up 28 points, 13 rebounds and five steals. Over the five games at the Tyson Events Center, Lammers averaged 13.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.2 steals while going 34-for-60 (.567) from the field and 11-for-18 (.611) from the free throw line. The GPAC Player of the Year also notched a double-double in the national championship game with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
  • The stats at the national were not quite as gaudy for Quinn Wragge, but she could not have asked for a more fitting end to her collegiate career. The Crofton, Neb., native played in 15 national tournament games over her four seasons. By the time the confetti fell at the Tyson Events Center, Wragge had moved to No. 3 on the program’s all-time scoring list with a final career total of 1,776 points. In school history, she also ranks seventh in rebounds (833) and ninth in steals (251). Currently, Wragge is the only player in program history to notch 1,750+ points, 800+ rebounds and 250+ steals.
  • Sophomore Taylor Cockerill garnered selection as an NAIA honorable mention All-American. The surprise was that the Waverly, Neb., native wasn’t on one of the first, second or third teams after leading the national champion in scoring at 15.4 points per game. Cockerill wasted little time announcing her stardom this season. She piled up 40 points (second most in a single game in school history) in the opening win over Indiana Wesleyan University. That wasn’t even her signature performance of the season. She helped rescue Concordia in the second round of the national tournament with a 19-point fourth quarter against Cardinal Stritch.
  • The expectations really won’t change moving forward to 2019-20 (the last season that NAIA basketball will be split into two divisions). The loss of Wragge will certainly be felt on multiple levels, but the Bulldogs will remain loaded with four starters returning, including defensive dynamo Riley Sibbel. Barry, Cockerill and Lammers will be the headlining holdovers and if you’re looking for the next rising star already on the roster, turn your attention to freshman Mackenzie Koepke. The Lincoln Lutheran product dropped in 15 points in the quarterfinal win over Indiana Tech. She’s a gifted shooter and at 6-foot-1, her length causes problems on the defensive end. Concordia may lead the country heading into 2019-20 with 18 returners who have played in at least one varsity game.

Tennis

  • The women had the past week off from competition while the men were in action once since returning to Nebraska from their spring break trip to Colorado. The Concordia men dominated in a 9-0 victory over Northwestern in a match played at Genesis Health Clubs in Lincoln, Neb., on March 16. The win in the GPAC opener pushed head coach David DeSimone’s men’s squad to 5-4 overall. Meanwhile, the women stand at 6-3 overall having defeated Colorado College, 5-4, in their most recent outing on March 7. For more information on Bulldog tennis: Men | Women.
  • The hope was that two challenging matches against NCAA Division II opponents over spring break would have the men’s team prepared for conference play. That seemed to be the case last week versus Northwestern (0-4, 0-1 GPAC). Concordia got out to a rousing start in doubles, winning by scores of 8-1 at No. 1, 8-1 at No. 2 and 8-2 at No. 3. The doubles pairs for the Bulldogs included Thomas Greeff and Jeremy Berryman, Luke Zoller and Jack Kitson and Isaac Howes and Joshua Miller. During this season, Concordia has had its best doubles performances, in terms of overall record (5-4), at the No. 3 spot.
  • The Bulldogs continued to roll through singles. Out of the 73 games played in singles, Concordia won 64 of them. Berryman breezed to a 6-0, 6-0, win at the No. 3 position while Zoller at No. 2 (6-1, 6-0), Howes at No. 4 (6-0, 6-1) and Tommy McNish at No. 6 (8-0) were similarly dominant. Both Berryman and Conner Works (No. 5) pushed their overall season singles records to 5-4. Greeff was also a winner at No. 1 (6-3, 6-1) over Chris Jelken.
  • Through their first nine matches this season, the men have put together collective records of 24-30 in singles and 12-15 in doubles play. While Berryman and Works top the team with five singles wins apiece, Howes (4-5), Greeff (3-6) and Zoller (3-6) are not far behind. In doubles, Howes and Kitson both sport 4-5 records. The Bulldogs have used six different doubles combinations this season. Miller saw his first action this season in the win over Northwestern.
  • On the women’s side, Concordia is a collective 29-25 in singles and 17-10 in doubles play. After senior Marlene Maier’s eight singles wins, Angela Bell (4-2) and Katelinn Wurm (4-2) come in next in line in the race for the team wins lead. In doubles, Allison Marshall sports a team best 6-2 mark. She is followed by Kirsten Wagner (5-3) and Claudia Miranda Viera (5-4) for most doubles victories.
  • The addition of 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 also 4-5 while playing at the No. 1 doubles spot. Maier and company earned two wins over NCAA Division II foes during spring break: Colorado State University-Pueblo and Colorado College.
  • One match is slated on Thursday for both the men and women. They will be headed to Woods Park in Lincoln for a 4 p.m. CT first serve in a matchup with former GPAC member Nebraska Wesleyan. The Prairie Wolves, now a member of the American Rivers Conference of NCAA Division III, own records of 2-6 on the men’s side and 2-11 on the women’s side.

Baseball

  • The 2019 season has been put on hold since the Tucson Invitational, an event that showcased 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 the start of conference play still looming. A four-game series scheduled for this past weekend (March 16-17) with Midland was postponed. The Warriors were unable to leave Fremont due to flooding that caused road closures. 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 now seventh-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 finally 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 freshman 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.
  • After getting picked fifth in the GPAC preseason coaches’ poll, the Bulldogs made a jump up to No. 3 in the official conference ratings that were released on March 4. At that time, Concordia owned a record of 4-4. A fresh set of conference ratings were also unveiled on Monday (March 18).
  • Until this past weekend, the Bulldogs had managed to avoid postponements by playing in Oklahoma City and Tucson. Concordia had expected to be able to get games in on a neutral site in Topeka, Kan. Unfortunately, a four-game series with Midland had to be postponed. Makeup dates are to be determined. The Fremont area was hit especially hard by flooding that has ravaged a large portion of the state of Nebraska and parts of Iowa. Concordia is hoping to play twice at Mount Marty on Saturday and then twice at Dakota Wesleyan on Sunday. Both doubleheaders are set for a 1 p.m. CT first pitch.

Softball

  • The Bulldogs returned to Nebraska after a successful run at the Tucson Invitational (March 3). Concordia won its final eight games of the road trip, including one over the NAIA’s now 11th-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 and then postponed a scheduled doubleheader last week (March 14) with York College. Head coach Shawn Semler’s squad stands at 9-3 overall. For more information on Bulldog softball, click HERE.
  • Despite the early success, Concordia did not gain ground in the conference or national polls that were put out last week. The Bulldogs remained ranked fifth in the GPAC and did not receive votes nationally. Three GPAC squads garnered mention in the national poll: No. 21 Midland, No. 25 Jamestown and Morningside, which received votes. Based on the early season results, Concordia has a good case for being rated at least as high as fourth in the GPAC.
  • 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 defeat 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 2.41 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.
  • Since field conditions would not allow it, the Bulldogs were forced to postponed the scheduled Wednesday (March 20) doubleheader with NCAA Division III Nebraska Wesleyan University at Plum Creek Park. As it stands now, Concordia will try to next return to action on March 27 when Doane is scheduled to be at Plum Creek Park for a 5 p.m. CT twin bill.