MID-SEASON REVIEWS; PRE-SEASON PREVIEWS

Women’s Soccer

The Lady Vikings were 10-2 overall and 6-1 in the GPAC Conference heading into the last half of their season. Dana went on a 6-0 run in conference until they met a strong Hastings team on Oct. 8. Hastings, ranked fourth regionally, gave Dana their second loss of the season. In the season opener, University of Mary (ranked 18th nationally) gave the Vikings their first loss. Junior Tanya Dugan (St. Paul, Neb.) was leading the way offensively for the Vikings with 33 points on 11 goals and 11 assists. Junior Julie Miller (Omaha) was right behind Dugan with 30 points on 12 goals and 6 assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Melissa Respeliers (Council Bluffs, Iowa) has been outstanding between the pipes this season, allowing 11 goals in 12 games.

Men’s Soccer

The Vikings finished their season on a strong note, beating Briar Cliff and finishing up 2-13. It has been a year of overcoming adversity for the Vikings. With only six players returning from last year’s roster, Coach Shad Beam had his work cut out for him. The Vikings got their first win against Ottawa University, after three tough losses. Injuries have plagued the Vikings all season, the hardest being the loss of three starters, Jason Schwabauer, BJ Jensen, and Brent Lorkovic.

Volleyball

The Lady Vikings have been playing hard all season and finally got what they deserved at mid-season — a win. Dana’s victim was St. Ambrose, who was hosting the St. Ambrose Invitational. The match was decided in four games (16-30, 32-30, 30-28, 30-22). The Vikings were 0-8 in conference play and 1-11 overall at mid-season. Senior Erin Williams is leading Dana with 63 kills on the season, averaging 2.33 kills per game. Mili Monis is averaging 6.52 set assists per game this season for 176 total. Dana’s defense has come up big during conference play with 300 total digs compared to their opponents 130 digs.

Football

The Vikings opened their season with a game against Carleton and came out victorious. The following three games had different outcomes, with Dana facing very tough opponents, including the Homecoming game against Hastings. Luke Smith is leading the Dana defense with 32.5 tackles (solo and assisted). There was a mid-season quarterback change for the Vikings, as freshman Dan Irwin replaced Chuck Wright for the starting job. Wright and Irwin have mostly shared playing time in later games.

Cross Country

The Vikings have had four meets, two of which have been on home turf. Derek Fey has led the Vikings in every race this year, running the fastest time ever by a Viking at the Pioneers Park course in Lincoln. Fey went on to medal at the Nebraska Invitational, finishing 13th out of 321 runners. At the annual Homecoming Invitational, Fey was on the heels of two alumni All-Americans, finishing first for Dana and recording the second-fastest collegiate time ever. On the women’s team, Dana’s number one runner, senior Stephanie Collins, suffered an asthma attack and failed to finish at the Minnesota Invitational. Collins finished first for Dana, third overall, running a personal best on the difficult Dana course at the annual Homecoming Invitational. That race qualified Collins for her third All-American Scholar Athlete award.

Wrestling

Look for the Viking wrestling team to continue the success they have had in previous years. Junior Wynn Fangmeier heads the class of returning starters for the 2002-2003 season. Fangmeier was a Central Regional champion in 2001 and Central Region runner-up in 2002. Sophomores Brian Tsutsumi, Leister Bowling, juniors Nick Schmitt, Brian Welte, and senior Art Castillo all were 2002 National Qualifiers. The incoming class proves to be exciting, but keep your eyes open for three key newcomers, freshman Ruben Leyba from Moriarty, N.M., freshman Rob Casto from Coldwater, Mich., and sophomore transfer DeMarcus Moore from Neosho Community College.

Men’s Basketball

The Vikings kicked off the season on Nov. 6 at Bellevue, with a strong core of returning players from last year’s squad. Although the Vikings have 10 players returning, seven of them are sophomores. They are a very young team, but vastly improved. Derek Hack is beginning his senior season after surpassing the 1,000-point mark and finishing last year with 1,064 points. The GPAC is one of the best conferences for NAIA basketball, and the Vikings expect to be in the mix all season.

Women’s Basketball

The women’s team returns eight players from last year’s roster. There are several newcomers expected to make an impact this season. Beth Pearson, a freshman recruit, hails from Westboro, Mo., and will see playing time right away. The women will face a tough conference schedule as the GPAC has produced three national champions in as many years.