Concordia wrestler Nathan Reiff (177 lbs.) suffered two straight losses at the NCAA championships held March 7 and 8 at Ohio Northern.

"At nationals, I didnāt do quite as well as I hoped. The matches didnāt turn out how I wanted them to," Reiff, a sophomore, said.

Reiff finished his season with a Concordia team-leading 21-10 record.

Reiff went to nationals after taking first at the MIAC championships two weeks ago. Reiff was the only member of Concordiaās team to advance to the national tournament.

Reiff lost to Lance Baden of the Worcester Polytechnical Institute 4-1 and John Moore from Augsburg 7-3 at the NCAA tournament.

This was Reiffās second appearance at a national tournament.

"I thought the competition was great and it was a learning experience," said head coach Doug Perry.

Reiff beat Moore at the MIAC championships, and in various meets throughout the season. Moore fell to Reiff in the MIAC championship round after just 0:21. However, Moore had adjusted some wrestling techniques and beat Reiff at nationals.

Reiff was ranked number seven in the NCAA Division III poll.

"The mistakes [Reiff] made in his matches were little ones, but at the national level it will cost you," Perry said.

Reiff plans on being back next year and training to be more competitive the next time around.

Reiff was also named to the Scholastic All-American wrestling team.

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Cobber Women's Track: Severson places ninth at NCAA Track Tournament
Selmer Moen, Staff Writer, 3/14/97

Junior Sarah Severson represented the Concordia womenās track ream at the NCAA Division III Indoor Championships held in Oshkosh, Wis., last weekend.

Severson qualified for the national meet in the long jump at the MIAC meet two weeks ago. In the second qualifying round, Severson moved on to the final flight with a jump of 17ā-3 ¼".

Severson also did well in a variety of other events at the MIAC championships, including winning the pentathlon. However, only her score in the long jump was enough to qualify for the national tournament.

Severson matched her qualifying distance of 17ā-3 ¼" in the final flight at the national meet, which was good enough for ninth place in overall competition.

The event was won by Tamiko Patterson of Christopher Newport College with a leap of 18ā-2 ½".

"It was exciting just to get there and compete at that level," Severson said. "There were some really great athletes there, and I was happy to make the finals."

An added bonus during the weekend for Severson was the fact that her family made the four-hour drive to attend the meet.

"It was fun to have them there," she said.

The national tournament marks the end of the official indoor season for the track team and the beginning of the brief break for the team.

"I am really pumped for outdoors to start," said Severson.

The outdoor season begins with an invitational at Concordia next week.

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From the Archives

From the March 29, 1968 issue of The Concordian Sports section:

"After a somewhat poor 1967 season, the Concordia tennis team is looking for a significantly better season under second-year coach Bob Nick. The nucleus of the team is comprised of freshmen and sophomores, with a few upperclassmen reporting for practice·. Helping the squad will be the new courts which were completed last fall. They replaced the inadequate facilities of past years."

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Men's and Women's Tennis: Tennis Opens Season With Losses
Elizabeth Weixel, Staff Writer, 3/14/97

The menās and womenās tennis teams got a tough initiation to conference play over the weekend.

Both teams fell to Macalester, the University of St. Thomas and St. Maryās March 7-9 in their first conference matches of the season.

The men lost 3-6 to Macalester March 7; and 1-8 to St. Thomas March 8. The women fell to St. Thomas 0-9 March 7; 4-5 to St. Maryās March 8 and 0-9 to Macalester March 9. All matches were away.

"The women are just going through some growing pains, because theyāve got a lot of freshmen," said Bob Nick, head coach.

Freshman Lori Wagner saw the matches as a good introduction to conference play.

"It was a learning experience of how much focus we need to put into the game and how much improvement we can make as a team," she said.

Adjusting to competitive play will take a little time, according to Dave Lester, assistant coach.

"Weāre playing with conference standings in the back of our minds. Thereās a bit more pressure," he said.

The pressure of falling behind in play also got to playersā nerves, according to Lester. Common mistakes included playing too tensely and conservatively and trying to hit too hard at the wrong times, Lester said.

"Psychologically, you try to press too hard," Lester explained. "We had an emotional letdown. Itās hard to get pumped back up."

Lester stressed the matches were closer than the scores indicate, however.

"They fought well. They didnāt give up," he said.

The matches werenāt complete losses, according to Lester.

"As long as you learn from a loss, itās not a problem," he said.

The teamsā lessons include becoming involved in the match more quickly and playing more aggressively, Lester says.

New strategies for the teams may include practice matches before competition, Lester added.

Another addition to the menās top six will be junior Torin Williams. In the last challenge match, which determines who competes in conference play, Williams took the number six spot.

"Iām happy to get back into tennis," Williams said. "Iāve been away from tennis for awhile."

Nick is pleased with the players competing for Concordia.

"Weāve got enough [players] to form a nucleus around," Nick said. "Weāre getting there. Weāll be all right."

The next chance for both teams to bounce back from the early season losses comes tomorrow. The womenās team plays St. Olaf tomorrow and Augsburg on Sunday. The men also take on St. Olaf tomorrow and Augsburg on Sunday.

Williams was optimistic about the upcoming competition and the Cobbersā ability to do well.

"Thereās not as much depth in these teams as those in Minneapolis. Weāll pull through," he said.

Return to Mar. 14 index of The Concordian Sports

Swimming: Gold Medalist Jeff Rous at Cobber Camp
Jennifer Gayvert, Sports Editor, 3/14 /97

Olympic gold medalist Jeff Rous and the Concordia womenās swimming team will host the first annual Cobber Gold Swim camp April 5, 12, and 19. The camp, geared for all levels of competition, will focus on competition, teamwork, sportsmanship and appreciation of the sport. The program is funded in part by a grant from the State of Minnesota and is a collaboration between Concordia College and Moorhead Healthy Community Initiative.

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