| 2000-01 Cobber Men's Basketball |
Dec. 1, 2000 Concordian | Cobber Sports | 
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Climb in cards for men's basketball
Eric Morrow, The Concordian

Three years ago, the Concordia men’s basketball team was bad...

And they knew it.

“Players thought we were gonna lose,” said senior guard Nick Killoran.

The Cobbers finished that dismal season with a record of 3-21. But since then, the program has seen a steady improvement. The next year, the Cobbers finished 5-19. Last season, they improved to 9-15 and were in the playoff race halfway through the season. This year, Killoran and the rest of his teammaates hope to bring the program full circle. “We’re focused on winning the league,” Killoran said.

That focus hasn’t gone unnoticed by the coaches. “These guys come to play everyday,” said head coach Duane Siverson.

Helping that cause, according to Siverson, is the fact that this year’s team is full of guys that can play. Therefore, everybody is challenged. “Nobody has a position that’s secure,” Siverson said.

Also helping the Cobbers, is the return of Killoran and juniors guard Robb Flint, forward Mike Syverson and center Jeff Ubben. All four of those players have known what it feels like to lose, and according to Siverson, they don’t want it to happen again. “The leadership on this team won’t stand for mediocrity,” Siverson said.

One player on the team who is definitely not mediocre, is Ubben. The 6-8 center was an honorable mention all-MIAC player last season and is the Cobbers leading returning scorer and rebounder. In Concordia’s season opening loss to MSU-Moorhead, Ubben dominated the Dragons inside,scoring 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds. “We’ve got to look for him,” Siverson said. “He wants the ball, and we’ve got to get him the basketball.”

Ubben knows that his play will go a long way in determining how far this team goes.
“To help this team take the next step, I need to take my game to the next level,” Ubben said.

The Cobbers will also get some additional help from a couple of transfers. Senior six-foot guard Joe Snowden comes to Concordia from NDSU and gives the Cobs a dangerous perimeter threat. Senior
six-foot-six forward Stefan Swiat is a transfer from cross-town rival MSU and will give the team some valuable minutes in the post. “The transfers have been a good addition,” Killoran said. “Their looking
to earn a spot, not just be given one.”

On the court, the Cobbers are looking to change their style of play this year. The last couple of years, the Cobs have been strictly a half-court team. But with this team’s depth and athleticism, Concordia will look to make it a full-court game with a pressing and trapping style of defense. It’s the same style that brought the Cobbers so much success in the mid-90s. “We’re looking to get ‘more money out of our buck’ so to speak,” Siverson said.

This weekend, the men will get a chance to test out their new style, when they travel to California to take part in the University of Redlands tournament. According to Siverson, there is some excellent
competition that will give the Cobbers a chance to see where they are at. “If we take care of our own business, we’ll be all right,” Siverson said.

With new transfers and some younger players moving up to varsity, it will also give the teammates a chance to get to know each other and get prepared for the upcoming conference schedule. “It’s a chance for everyone to get on the same page and bond out,” Ubben said. “We’ve got to be ready for the conference opener.”

According to Siverson, the MIAC is extremely strong this season. Macalester, St.Thomas, Gustavus, St. Olaf, St.John’s and Augsburg are all extremely talented. In fact, Siverson thinks that everyone except Hamline has a shot at the title this season. “It’s going to be a real dog fight,” Siverson said.

The Cobbers open conference play on Wednesday, Dec. 6th at Augsburg.

| 2000-01 Cobber Women's Basketball |
Dec. 1, 2000 Concordian | Cobber Sports | 
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Women's basketball takes Tip-Off tourney:
Cobber cagers defeat #1 UW-Oshkosh, then beat Luther in final
Kara Murray, The Concordian

The Concordia women’s basketball team started its news season strongly, winning its first two games and the Tip-Off Tourney November 17 and 18 at Luther.


Concordia opened the Tourney with a shocking 72-64 win over UW-Oshkosh, ranked #1 in the nation. The Cobbers played hard in the first half to build a 29-22 lead. Oshkosh never made up the deficit and was outscored by the Cobbers 43-42 in the second half. Seniot forward Sara Spears led the Cobber attack with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore forward Katrina Wilberts added 14 points and 7 rebounds while freshman point guard Trisha Steinborn contributed 12 points. Concordia committed 13 turnovers for the game and forced UW-Oshkosh into 26 of its own. “We are working to improve our defense, play together, and move our offense,” Steinborn said. “We work to get the best shots in our offense.”


The next day, Concordia won the tournament as they defeated Luther 66-63 in the championship. The Cobbers trailed Luther 40-36 after the first half. But the Cobbers played strong in the second half to overcome the deficit. Near the end of the game, Luther narrowed Concordia’s lead, but a last second three-point attempt by the Norse failed, giving Concordia the victory. Senior guard Brandi Myers netted 16 points for the Cobbers. Spears pulled down eight rebounds and scored 10 points. And Wilberts ended the gamein double digits in the scoring, finishing with 10 points. “We went into the locker room and coach was pretty mad at us,” Steinborn said. “We came out more ready to play and the shots started to fall.”


Concordia return this season with its top four scorers, all of whom averaged over 10 points per game last season. The Cobbers also have four of their to five rebounders back this year. Myers is expected to be the top scorer for Concordia, while Spears is expected to bring down the boards. Both were named to the All-MIAC team last season. Sophomore guard/forward Kasey Bostow and junior guard Mandy Berggren are also expected to have a successful year for the Cobbers. “We have a great team,” Steinborn said. “Everyone gets along well and we have a great coaching staff. We practice hard and often.”


Next, up the Cobbers face some MIAC challengers, Augsburg in Minneapolis at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and St. Olaf in their first home game 1 p.m. Saturday, December 9.
 

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Dec. 1, 2000 Concordian | Cobber Sports | 
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| 2000-01 Cobber Women's Hockey | 
 Dec. 1, 2000 Concordian | Cobber Sports | 
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Hockey teams have winless weekend
Kim Thronson, The Concordian

The Concordia men’s and women’s hockey teams played a series of non-conference match-ups last weekend, losing four games to teams in other leagues.
The men’s team dropped games to UW-Stevens Point and UW-Eau Claire, 3-1 and 9-3.
“These games were a good learning experience...,” senior Mike Gast said. “They helped us understand the importance of preparing for road games.” 

The two losses bring the Cobbers record to 3-2-1 overall, 3-0-1 in the MIAC. The Cobbers remain at the top of the conference, a place where they hope to stay. Gast said their two goals are to win the MIAC and make it to the national tournament. 

The Cobbers play conference foe Bethel this weekend. “The most important thing is to get two wins,” Gast said. He added that they are going to concentrate on playing a full 60-minutes, and they
want to be physical. “We’re looking good in the MIAC,” he said. “We just have to take care of
business.”
Last weekend the women’s team faced University of Manitoba, losing 9-0 and 10-0.
Head coach Deb Lien said that, though her team didn’t win, it was a valuable learning experience.
“Playing non-conference teams gives us experience of playing teams that are different than us,” she said. She added that Manitoba was an especially physical team, something they weren’t used to seeing. “At first, we were in shock,” she said. 

She added that it took a couple of periods to adjust to the physical nature of the game. Although Concordia didn’t score a goal, the quality of play improved as the periods went on. “We came together as a team,” Lien said. “By the last period, we were playing well.”
The losses drop Concordia’s record to 2-6-0 overall, and 0-4 in the conference. 

This weekend the Cobbers play at home against Bethel, a team that Lien feels her team should beat.
“We should win two games this weekend,” she said. “We need to control the game on both offense and defense.” 

The puck will drop tonight at 7 p.m. and tomorrow at 2 p.m.
 

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 Dec. 1, 2000 Concordian | Cobber Sports | 
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There is no article this week.
 

| 2000-01 Cobber Wrestling |
Dec. 1, 2000 Concordian | Cobber Sports | 
| Men's Basketball | Women's Basketball | Men's Hockey | Women's Hockey | Women's Swimming | Wrestling | Top | 

Wrestler's prepare for Cobber open
Laura Walters, The Concordian

With several of last year’s leaders returning, including a strong junior class, and some new freshman prospects, the Cobbers are reaching for many goals this season, including an improvement on last years’ 4th place finish at the MIAC championships. 

They got themselves off to a good start in their first competition, the 12th annual Auggie-Brute-Adidas Open at Augsburg, where junior Zack Schroeder scored a 4th place finish in the 133 pound class. Two freshman, Jesse Barnacle and Bryan Kvitek, also were successful. Barnacle managed to make it to the 157 pound championship, and Kvitek took 3rd place in the heavyweight class. 

The wrestlers next host the Cobber Open, tomorrow at 8 a.m..