Fall Sports Preview
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DWU fall sports previews Tigers’ sights set on reaching the conference tournament, and potentially the NAIA tournament, despite being picked ninth in the preseason polls with five Football GPAC schools ranked in the topThe 2018 Dakota Wesleyan 20 nationally. University football team was an Wagner native Emily Brunsing, anomaly in Ross Cimpl’s tenure Mallory Cooper and Becky as head coach, finishing with its Frick played 112 sets last year first losing season since 2009 as juniors, as did sophomore and a 2-9 record. Bridgett Knobbe, while sophoDWU’s inconsistencies led to more libero Sara Herman played five single-digit losses and a 1-8 111. record in Great Plains Athletic Each player has seen signifConference play. In a preseason icant playing time during their poll closely mirroring last sea- careers, with Knobbe entering son’s standings, it was selected the season No. 6 on the DWU allto finish ninth by both the media time list with 2,116 assists, while and coaches this year, too. Herman, Frick and Cooper each It starts with the “effort things have at least 1,000 career digs. and communication,” per Cimpl, Frick is the headliner, though, who said DWU took it for granted currently sitting fifth all-time last season. Starting behind the with 1,210 kills. The 6-foot line in a rep during practice or Yankton native was a first-team finishing through plays could be all-GPAC performer last season the difference between DWU’s after finishing fifth nationally first back-to-back losing sea- with 4.5 kills per set and 12th in sons since 2006-07 and show- total kills (504). casing a more complete game. DWU also has Winner native With the graduation of the Sydney Fritz returning from a record-breaking Dillon Turn- 2018 season-ending knee injury, er after the 2017 season, DWU while also adding Jadie DeLange, threw for 77.8 fewer yards per a 5-foot-10 transfer who led game last year, despite passing Black Hills State in kills as a as frequently. The Tigers picked freshman last season. FreshMitchell alum and true fresh- man Dannielle Burns (Raymond, man Kiel Nelson to be its open- Minnesota) is also expected to ing-game starter at Dakota State see playing time immediately, on Aug. 27. while Mitchell’s Mackenzie MillBlocking for DWU’s new signal er and Watertown’s Mariah Gloe caller will be a bigger offen- could also potentially work into sive line, albeit one which needs the lineup as well. to replace four starters. Cimpl mentioned the 6-foot-5, 305- Women’s soccer pound sophomore T.J. Benton Off the program’s first allas a potential addition to the GPAC first-team selection in line, though seven players rotat- five seasons, Sioux Falls native ed through the first and second and senior Alyssa Weidler leads teams during fall camp. the Tigers back to the pitch this fall for sixth-year coach Clay Volleyball Glasgow. Dakota Wesleyan University The Tigers were 6-11 a season volleyball took a step forward ago, and 4-8 in the GPAC and in 2018, finishing 17-14 overall Weidler provided nearly all of the — the second time the program offense. The O’Gorman product has had a winning record since had 16 of the Tigers’ 28 goals for 1993 — but its 5-11 record in the season, and led the team in conference play tied for seventh goals and shots on goal as well. in the standings and the Tigers Also back is junior goalkeeper fell three sets shy of finishing in Hannah Bowes, who started in the top eight to make the GPAC 12 of the Tigers’ 17 matches, and tournament. logged 76 saves with a 2.17 goals An experienced lineup has the against average. Here’s a quick look at the the Dakota Wesleyan University fall sports programs and their outlooks for the season:
The Tigers were eighth in the conference last year in goals per game with 1.5 per match, while conceding 2.08 goals per match, which ranked ninth in the 13-team league. Seniors Kaylynn Anziano, of Rapid City, and Jocelyn Behm, of Sioux Falls, anchor the Tigers’ back line on defense. Among the Great Plains Athletic Conference opponents, Midland has been picked as the preseason favorite, while Hastings returns as the conference’s regular season and postseason champion from 2018. DWU was picked to finish 10th.
without a single senior on the roster once again. Brooke Ehlers, of Canton, and South Africa native Hijke Pretorious, a transfer from Western Texas College, are the lone upperclassmen and each are juniors. Jade Burr, who finished second individually a year ago at the GPAC championships for the Tigers as a freshman, is not on the team’s fall roster. But DWU finished third as a team on the conference championship leaderboard, and sophomores Kaitlyn Greenhoff (Dell Rapids), Jayden Bormann (Parkston) and Megan Hinker (Lennox) return from Men’s soccer the GPAC qualifier squad from If the 2019 season is to net May. Other area golfers include successes. the search for scoring sophomores Ashley Zimmer will need to be fruitful for the (Mitchell), Ronae Klein (Winner) DWU men’s soccer team. and Jordan Glanzer (Howard), The Tigers scored only 13 goals along with freshmen Taylor Reif in 17 matches a season ago — (Spencer) and Kailee Henglefelt which ranked 188th out of 197 (Mitchell). teams in NAIA last season — The GPAC conference champiand were outshot by opponents onship is decided over 72 holes, nearly three-fold in 2018. Center played in two-day segments in midfielder Julian Mole led the the fall and spring. The GPAC fall team with three goals a season qualifier will be held Sept. 30 and ago, and he returns this sea- Oct. 1 at The Bluffs Golf Course in son from a 4-12-1 campaign last Vermillion. year. Defensively, goalkeeper Gaston Men’s golf Miteff — who logged 95 saves The DWU golf team capped and was ninth in the country the 2018-19 campaign without a in saves per game — has grad- single senior on the roster, so the uated, so the Tigers will likely Tigers are hoping that youth can ask senior Khang Nguyen and carry over to a new season this sophomore Matthew Campbell to fall. Huron native Nolan Wiecover the net this season. gel will likely be counted on for A pair of Mitchell High School DWU to lead the way. Wiegel had graduates are on the team. Senior a third-round 69 at the GPAC forward Caleb Larson and junior championships in the spring and forward Seth Paulson are each was an all-conference player on the roster for the Tigers, who thanks to his ninth-place overall are coached by third-year coach finish. Jose Lopez. Mitchell alum Cade Carpenter In the GPAC, Hastings — which and White River’s Justice Morrihas won 19 straight league titles son, both incoming juniors, each in the regular season — has been gained experience with strong tabbed as the preseason favorite. showings at the GPAC spring DWU was picked to finish 10th, meet, and Bennett Lundy, of ahead of Mount Marty and Pre- Aberdeen, leads a group of sophsentation College. omores into a new season. Other area DWU golfers of note include Women’s golf junior Nate Hohn, of Parkston, The DWU golf programs are in and sophomore Gavin Zomer, of their third season of leadership Corsica. Jayden Engels, who hails under Tiger alum Tom Hoek. from Watertown, is DWU’s lone And like the men’s golf team a senior men’s golfer. year ago, the DWU women are The GPAC conference champi-
AUGUST 29, 2019
onship is decided over 72 holes, played in two-day segments in the fall and spring. The fall qualifier event will be held at Indian Greek Golf Club in Elkhorn, Nebraska on Oct. 27-28, which has been the site of the PGA Tour’s Korn Ferry Tour tournament stop in recent years.
Men’s cross country
Local connections likely will be counted upon for the DWU men’s cross country squad in 2019. DWU was 10th last season at the GPAC meet, with sophomore Brendan Langbehn recording the top time in 37th place. Along with Langbehn, the Tigers return three of their five runners from the GPAC meet last season, joined by Plankinton product Devin Rihanek and Rex Schlicht, a senior from Woonsocket. Schlicht was 61st last year, while Rihanek finished 70th. Other area athletes of note include senior Tyler Larson (Mitchell), sophomore Layne Lewis (Plankinton) and freshman Spens Schlicht (Woonsocket). The team is coached by second-year coach Jamen Helton. The GPAC championship meet is Nov. 9 in South Sioux City, Nebraska.
Women’s cross country
The DWU women’s cross country team posted its best finish in school history at the GPAC championships in 2018, finishing seventh. The Tigers bring back their top runner with hopes of even more improvement this season. McKenna Rogers (St. Michael, Minnesota) finished in 27th place at the GPAC championships. Delanie Larson (Gettysburg) finished 68th last year, and Savannah Schmidt (Plankinton) was 86th. Macey Bohl (Garretson) is the only other upperclassmen on the team, entering the year as a junior. Also on the roster are freshmen Annika Vermeulen (Mitchell) and Patience Nesheim (Parkston). The Tigers might also call on five-time Class AA state meet participant Samantha Shoultz, of Huron, who joins the team as a freshman, as well. Like the men, the GPAC championship will be contested Nov. 9 in South Sioux City, Nebraska.
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