DWU Fall Sports Preview

DWU fall sports previews

Here’s a quick look at the the Dakota Wesleyan University fall sports programs and their outlooks for the season:

Football

The 2018 Dakota Wesleyan University football team was an anomaly in Ross Cimpl’s tenure as head coach, finishing with its first losing season since 2009 and a 2-9 record.

DWU’s inconsistencies led to five single-digit losses and a 1-8 record in Great Plains Athletic Conference play. In a preseason poll closely mirroring last season’s standings, it was selected to finish ninth by both the media and coaches this year, too.

It starts with the “effort things and communication,” per Cimpl, who said DWU took it for granted last season. Starting behind the line in a rep during practice or finishing through plays could be the difference between DWU’s first back-to-back losing seasons since 2006-07 and showcasing a more complete game.

With the graduation of the record-breaking Dillon Turner after the 2017 season, DWU threw for 77.8 fewer yards per game last year, despite passing as frequently. The Tigers picked Mitchell alum and true freshman Kiel Nelson to be its opening-game starter at Dakota State on Aug. 27.

Blocking for DWU’s new signal caller will be a bigger offensive line, albeit one which needs to replace four starters. Cimpl mentioned the 6-foot-5, 305- pound sophomore T.J. Benton as a potential addition to the line, though seven players rotated through the first and second teams during fall camp.

Volleyball

Dakota Wesleyan University volleyball took a step forward in 2018, finishing 17-14 overall — the second time the program has had a winning record since 1993 — but its 5-11 record in conference play tied for seventh in the standings and the Tigers fell three sets shy of finishing in the top eight to make the GPAC tournament.

An experienced lineup has the Tigers’ sights set on reaching the conference tournament, and potentially the NAIA tournament, despite being picked ninth in the preseason polls with five GPAC schools ranked in the top- 20 nationally.

Wagner native Emily Brunsing, Mallory Cooper and Becky Frick played 112 sets last year as juniors, as did sophomore Bridgett Knobbe, while sophomore libero Sara Herman played 111.

Each player has seen significant playing time during their careers, with Knobbe entering the season No. 6 on the DWU alltime list with 2,116 assists, while Herman, Frick and Cooper each have at least 1,000 career digs.

Frick is the headliner, though, currently sitting fifth all-time with 1,210 kills. The 6-foot Yankton native was a first-team all-GPAC performer last season after finishing fifth nationally with 4.5 kills per set and 12th in total kills (504).

DWU also has Winner native Sydney Fritz returning from a 2018 season-ending knee injury, while also adding Jadie DeLange, a 5-foot-10 transfer who led Black Hills State in kills as a freshman last season. Freshman Dannielle Burns (Raymond, Minnesota) is also expected to see playing time immediately, while Mitchell’s Mackenzie Miller and Watertown’s Mariah Gloe could also potentially work into the lineup as well.

Women’s soccer

Off the program’s first all- GPAC first-team selection in five seasons, Sioux Falls native and senior Alyssa Weidler leads the Tigers back to the pitch this fall for sixth-year coach Clay Glasgow.

The Tigers were 6-11 a season ago, and 4-8 in the GPAC and Weidler provided nearly all of the offense. The O’Gorman product had 16 of the Tigers’ 28 goals for the season, and led the team in goals and shots on goal as well. Also back is junior goalkeeper Hannah Bowes, who started in 12 of the Tigers’ 17 matches, and logged 76 saves with a 2.17 goals against average.

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.

Men’s soccer

If the 2019 season is to net successes. the search for scoring will need to be fruitful for the DWU men’s soccer team.

The Tigers scored only 13 goals in 17 matches a season ago — which ranked 188th out of 197 teams in NAIA last season — and were outshot by opponents nearly three-fold in 2018. Center midfielder Julian Mole led the team with three goals a season ago, and he returns this season from a 4-12-1 campaign last year.

Defensively, goalkeeper Gaston Miteff — who logged 95 saves and was ninth in the country in saves per game — has graduated, so the Tigers will likely ask senior Khang Nguyen and sophomore Matthew Campbell to cover the net this season.

A pair of Mitchell High School graduates are on the team. Senior forward Caleb Larson and junior forward Seth Paulson are each on the roster for the Tigers, who are coached by third-year coach Jose Lopez.

In the GPAC, Hastings — which has won 19 straight league titles in the regular season — has been tabbed as the preseason favorite. DWU was picked to finish 10th, ahead of Mount Marty and Presentation College.

Women’s golf

The DWU golf programs are in their third season of leadership under Tiger alum Tom Hoek. And like the men’s golf team a year ago, the DWU women are 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 the GPAC qualifier squad from May. Other area golfers include sophomores Ashley Zimmer (Mitchell), Ronae Klein (Winner) and Jordan Glanzer (Howard), along with freshmen Taylor Reif (Spencer) and Kailee Henglefelt (Mitchell).

The GPAC conference championship is decided over 72 holes, played in two-day segments in the fall and spring. The GPAC fall qualifier will be held Sept. 30 and Oct. 1 at The Bluffs Golf Course in Vermillion.

The DWU golf team capped the 2018-19 campaign without a single senior on the roster, so the Tigers are hoping that youth can carry over to a new season this fall. Huron native Nolan Wiegel will likely be counted on for DWU to lead the way. Wiegel had a third-round 69 at the GPAC championships in the spring and was an all-conference player thanks to his ninth-place overall finish.

Mitchell alum Cade Carpenter and White River’s Justice Morrison, both incoming juniors, each gained experience with strong showings at the GPAC spring meet, and Bennett Lundy, of Aberdeen, leads a group of sophomores into a new season. Other area DWU golfers of note include junior Nate Hohn, of Parkston, and sophomore Gavin Zomer, of Corsica. Jayden Engels, who hails from Watertown, is DWU’s lone senior men’s golfer.

The GPAC conference championship 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.