Dance

2019-20 Dance Schedule/Results

Date Event/Opponent Location Result
Jan. 19 Doane University Cheer & Dance Invite Crete, Neb. 2 of 3
Jan. 22 Morningside College Seward, Neb. (Walz) L, 58.63 - 67.5
Jan. 25 Concordia Invitational Tournament River Forest, Ill. 4 of 4
Feb. 1 Concordia University Cheer & Dance Invite Seward, Neb. (Walz) 6 of 10
Feb. 5 Doane University Crete, Neb. L, 70.75 - 75.65
Feb. 8 GPAC Cheer & Dance Championships Crete, Neb. 6 of 10
Feb. 12 Hastings College Seward, Neb. (Walz) W, 68.4 - 60.35
Feb. 28 NAIA Northwest Dance Regional Qualifier Sioux City, Iowa (Morningside) 4 of 10
March 13-14 NAIA National Championships - St. Ambrose Univ. Davenport, Iowa  

2019-20 Roster

Name Year Hometown Previous School
Anna Armbrust Sr. St. Louis, Mo. Lutheran HS South
Allana Blakeman Sr. Lincoln, Neb. Lincoln Southeast HS
Julia Bloom Jr. Lincoln, Neb. Lincoln Lutheran HS
Blake Castillo Jr. Lincoln, Neb. Lincoln Lutheran HS
Rachel Deppe Jr. Ankeny, Iowa Centennial HS
Ashley Eller So. Shelby, Neb. Aquinas HS
Nora Friberg Sr. York, Neb. York HS
Morgan Fritsch Sr. Broken Bow, Neb. Broken Bow HS/Metro CC
Emma Gaffney So. Essex, Iowa Shenandoah HS
Ciera Hartung Sr. Fremont, Neb. Logan View HS
Alyssa Hoeft Jr. Malcolm, Neb. Malcolm HS / Doane / Southeast CC
Brenden Ingram So. Kearney, Neb. Kearney HS / Univ. of Nebraska-Kearney
Christopher James Sr. Topeka, Kan. Highland Park HS
Lanessa Kerner Jr. Arapahoe, Neb. Alma HS
Danielle Larsen So. Omaha, Neb. Omaha Christian Academy
Rachel Lemen Fr. Lincoln, Neb. Lincoln Southwest HS
Leigha Meyer Fr. St. Louis, Mo. Lutheran HS South
Josie O'Laughlin So. Winona, Minn. Hope Lutheran HS
Annie Pico Sr. Phoenix, Ariz. Gilbert Christian HS
Kourtney Price So. Bellevue, Neb. Bellevue East HS
Sabrina Reed Fr. Crete, Neb. Crete HS
Cora Rhode Jr. Ft. Morgan, Colo. Ft. Morgan HS
Isabel Sermeno So. Seward, Neb. Seward HS
Naomy Snider So. McCool Junction, Neb. McCool Junction HS
Kathryn Taylor Fr. Oklahoma City, Okla. Charter Prep HS
Katherine Trempala So. Cisco, Texas Cisco High School

STAFF

Mandi Maser, Head Coach (4th Year)

Emilie Aschenbach, Graduate Assistant Coach

Dance begins competition with second-place finish at Doane

Jan. 20, 2020

CRETE, Neb. – The competition seasons are underway for the Concordia University cheer and dance teams, who both competed on Sunday (Jan. 19) evening at the Doane Invitational in Crete, Neb. Dance placed second out of three teams while cheer placed out of four squads. The judges gave the Bulldogs scores of 58.05 in dance and 56.50 in cheer.

This marks the fourth season as head coach for Mandi Maser. Maser’s teams are captained by seniors Morgan Fritsch and Annie Pico and junior Lanessa Kerner in cheer and junior Kalina Schoenfeld in dance. Both squads are eying improvement in 2020 after they turned in 2019 GPAC placements of sixth in dance and seventh in cheer.

The Bulldogs now know what they need to work on moving forward. Said Maser, “On the dance side of things we did about how we expected to do. We achieved hitting the skills required by the scoresheet. We’re still working on the execution of those skills and trying to get them to perform at the highest level they possibly can together. They did a pretty good job.

“On the cheer side of things we did have a couple of mess-ups that we don’t normally. We didn’t complete one of the stunt sequences and then we came down on a pyramid. We had some deductions that we hope not to have in the future. We can work on that in practice and be ready on Wednesday and continue to build confidence.”

The cheer competition at Doane also included Midland (first place), Doane (second place) and Hastings (fourth place) while Doane (first place) and York College (third place) competed against Concordia in dance. Official scores can be viewed below.

A pair of events are also coming up this week. Bulldog dance will go head-to-head with Morningside at halftime (inside Walz Arena) of the home women’s basketball game on Wednesday. That performance will begin at roughly 6:30 p.m. CT. In addition, Concordia and Morningside will square off in a cheer competition (inside the PE Center Gym) at about 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday. Both Bulldog teams will also be headed to the Concordia Invitational Tournament in River Forest, Ill. A cheer and dance competition between the Concordias will take place at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday.

CIT is also one of the highlights of the season. Said Maser, “They love to go to CIT and they are very excited to be able to go to Chicago. We love having the pep band with us and being at the games. We’re looking forward to competing on Saturday. With dance, the scoresheets are a little bit different than what it normally is for us throughout the season. It should be a fun trip.”

Doane Invitational Results

CHEER
1. Midland - 81.25
2. Doane - 64.50
3. Concordia - 56.50
4. Hastings - 42.13

DANCE
1. Doane - 74.85
2. Concordia - 58.05
3. York - 35.60

Dance lands fourth in CIT competition

Jan. 26, 2020

RIVER FOREST, Ill. – In continuing a week full of competition, the Concordia University, Nebraska cheer and dance teams took center stage Saturday (Jan. 25) morning at the Concordia Invitational Tournament in River Forest, Ill. As announced during the men’s basketball championship game, the Bulldogs placed third in cheer and fourth in dance (results at bottom). CUNE went up against the Concordias of Ann Arbor, Chicago and Wisconsin.

Head coach Mandi Maser’s squads opened up the competition season on Wednesday when they hosted Morningside. The Mustangs won in cheer by a score of 63.12 to 61.0 and in dance by a score of 67.5 to 58.63.

CIT, which began with men’s basketball only in 1951, has included cheer and dance competitions since 2018. In the third annual event, Concordia-Ann Arbor claimed the title in cheer while Concordia-Wisconsin came out on top in dance. Each team took their turns performing inside Geiseman Gymnasium on the Concordia-Chicago campus. The Bulldogs have also made appearances during breaks in the basketball games at CIT.

Maser’s teams are captained by seniors Morgan Fritsch and Annie Pico and junior Lanessa Kerner in cheer and junior Kalina Schoenfeld in dance. The season will continue for the Bulldogs next Saturday (Feb. 1) when they host their own Concordia Invite inside Walz Arena. The action is set to get started at  1 p.m. CT.

CIT Cheer/Dance Results

CHEER
1. CUAA – 96.00
2. CUC – 82.67
3. CUNE – 74.32
4. CUW – 62.67

DANCE
1. CUW – 58.83
2. CUC – 55.67
3. CUAA – 54.00
4. CUNE – 51.33

Bulldogs readying to host Concordia Invite on Saturday

Jan. 28, 2020

SEWARD, Neb. – Cheer and dance athletes from 10 institutions will be in competition inside Walz Arena on Saturday when the Concordia University cheer and dance programs host the Concordia Invite. The second annual event will showcase 10 dance squads and six cheer teams. The dance competition is set to begin at 1 p.m. CT with cheer to follow at approximately 2:45. The order of competing teams can be viewed at bottom.

The Concordia Invite will mark the third performance of the 2020 season for head coach Mandi Maser’s squads. Competition began last week with dual meets versus Morningside in addition to the Concordia Invitational Tournament in River Forest, Ill. As announced during the men’s basketball championship game, the Bulldogs placed third in cheer and fourth in dance. CUNE went up against the Concordias of Ann Arbor, Chicago and Wisconsin. In the Jan. 22 duals, Morningside won in cheer by a score of 63.12 to 61.0 and in dance by a score of 67.5 to 58.63.

Maser’s teams are captained by seniors Morgan Fritsch and Annie Pico and junior Lanessa Kerner in cheer and junior Kalina Schoenfeld in dance. A year ago, the Bulldogs turned in GPAC finishes of seventh in cheer and sixth in dance.

Concordia will return to dual action next Wednesday (Feb. 5) when it will go up against Doane in conjunction with basketball games that evening in Crete. The next home competition will be Feb. 12 when the Bulldogs host Hastings in cheer and dance along with basketball contests.

CONCORDIA INVITE SCHEDULE

Order of Dance Competition starting at 1 pm:
1.      Northwestern
2.      Midland
3.      College of Saint Mary
4.      York
5.      Concordia
6.      Dordt
7.      Doane
8.      Briar Cliff
9.      Hastings
10.   Mount Marty

Order of Cheer Competition starting at approximately 2:45 pm:
1.      Northwestern
2.      Midland
3.      Hastings
4.      Concordia
5.      Doane
6.      Mount Marty

Concordia places sixth in front of home fans

Feb. 1, 2020

SEWARD, Neb. – The 2020 Concordia University Cheer & Dance Invite featured 10 dance and six cheer teams in what served as somewhat of a preview of the GPAC Championships. Each of the squads on hand performed Saturday (Feb. 1) inside Walz Arena. The Bulldogs placed sixth in dance (63.06) and fourth in cheer (56.03).

The event marked the second home appearance for both of head coach Mandi Maser’s squads, which last competed at the Concordia Invitational Tournament on Jan. 25.

“We definitely showed signs of improvement once again,” Maser said. “I know our athletes enjoyed hosting the event and to have this many teams here at home. They were able to familiarize themselves with those teams before we have the GPAC Championships next Saturday. We need to get back to practice and continue to increase our skill. There are things we’ve done in practice that haven’t quite carried over to competition yet, but I like the direction we’re moving.”

Midland won the title in both cheer and dance in an event made up exclusively of GPAC squads, with the exception of the York College dance team. In addition to competing at CIT, the Bulldogs also took part in the Doane Invite back on Jan. 19. Concordia added to its roster this week with volleyball’s Kaci Hohenthaner joining the team. Hohenthaner jumped into competition with just a couple of practices under her belt.

Prior to the scores being announced on Saturday, the Bulldogs honored their senior class, including Anna Armbrust, Allana Blakeman, Blake Castillo, Morgan Fritsch, Ciera Hartung, Christopher James and Annemarie Pico.

Both the cheer and dance teams will be in action again on Wednesday as part of halftime performances during the basketball games at Doane. The Bulldogs and Tigers will go head-to-head in dual action inside the Haddix Center in Crete. The GPAC Championships will take place Feb. 8 at Doane.

Improvement shown at Doane with GPAC meet up next

Feb. 6, 2020

CRETE, Neb. – Four days after hosting their own invite, the Concordia University cheer and dance teams returned to action Wednesday (Feb. 5) night at Doane. While both Bulldog teams were defeated by the host Tigers, they continued to show progress while turning in their highest scores yet this season – 63.50 for cheer and 70.75 for dance. The competitions were held in conjunction with the basketball games at Doane.

Head coach Mandi Maser’s squads have both competed five times since their seasons began at the Doane Invite on Jan. 19. The Bulldogs hope they are hitting their stride with the conference championships coming up.

“I was happy to see the higher scores for both teams,” Maser said. “We definitely got better. We’re looking forward to the GPAC Championships on Saturday and are hoping to see more improvement.”

In the GPAC Championships that took place last season in Hastings, Concordia placed sixth in dance and seventh in cheer. The Bulldogs will be right back at Doane (Haddix Center) on Saturday for this year’s conference meet. The cheer competition is slated to get started at 12 p.m. with dance to follow at 1:30 p.m. The complete schedule can be viewed HERE.

A senior from Broken Bow, Neb., cheer captain Morgan Fritsch has seen firsthand how the program has continued to progress in a positive direction. Said Fritsch, “Our team goal is to go out there and have a nice, clean routine (at the conference championships). We want to hit all of our stunts and have zero deductions. Most of all, we want to have fun, do what we love to do and leave it all out there on the mat.”

Following the GPAC Championships, the Bulldogs will also host Hastings for cheer and dance duals on Feb. 12. The NAIA Northwest Regional Cheer and Dance Qualifier will be hosted by Morningside (Sioux City, Iowa) on Feb. 28. Finally, the NAIA National Championships are set to unfold March 13-14 in Davenport, Iowa, where St. Ambrose University will serve as the host.

Added Fritsch, “I think our team is very special just in the fact that the word ‘can’t’ is not in our vocabulary. Our coaches will come in and they’ll be like, ‘All right, let’s try a new stunt. It’s going to be harder and more difficult.’ We’re like, ‘Let’s get to it.’ We will fail sometimes, but we’ll just keep going until we do get it. We’re all so excited. What I love most about our team is everyone is so flexible and willing to work hard.”

Concordia scores this season

CHEER
1/19 Doane Invite – 56.50
1/22 Morningside Dual – 61.0
1/25 CIT – 74.32*
2/1 Concordia Invite – 56.03
2/5 Doane Dual – 63.50

DANCE
1/19 Doane Invite – 58.05
1/22 Morningside Dual – 58.63
1/25 CIT – 51.33*
2/1 Concordia Invite – 63.06
2/5 Doane Dual – 70.75

*Judged by NCAA rules (different from NAIA)

Concordia lands sixth at conference competition

Feb. 8, 2020

CRETE, Neb. – The Concordia University cheer and dance programs are still in the process of elevating themselves towards GPAC championship contention. In another season of progression, the Bulldogs turned in conference placements of sixth out of 10 teams in dance and sixth out of seven squads in cheer. After judgement, Concordia scored 61.00 in dance and 52.78 in cheer. The 2020 GPAC Cheer and Dance Championships, now in their fourth year, were hosted by Doane.

The GPAC field of teams expanded from six cheer squads in 2019 to seven in 2020 and from seven dance teams in 2019 to 10 in 2020. The Bulldogs also placed sixth in the GPAC in both disciplines last year.

Head coach Mandi Maser’s squads were coming off encouraging performances on Wednesday night in duals versus Doane. Concordia was rewarded with scores of 70.75 in dance and 63.50 in cheer in those competitions. Both Bulldog teams have now competed a total of six times in 2020.  They are captained by seniors Morgan Fritsch and Annie Pico and junior Lanessa Kerner in cheer and junior Kalina Schoenfeld in dance.

Both the cheer and dance teams will host action on Wednesday in conjunction with basketball games versus Hastings. The dance competition will be a head-to-head dual with Hastings (6:30 p.m. in Walz Arena) while the cheer competition will feature Concordia, Hastings and Peru State College (7:30 p.m. in PE Center Gym). The NAIA Northwest Regional Qualifier is also coming up the weekend of Feb. 28-29.

Concordia scores this season

CHEER
1/19 Doane Invite – 56.50
1/22 Morningside Dual – 61.0
1/25 CIT – 74.32*
2/1 Concordia Invite – 56.03
2/5 Doane Dual – 63.50
2/8 GPAC Championships – 52.78

DANCE
1/19 Doane Invite – 58.05
1/22 Morningside Dual – 58.63
1/25 CIT – 51.33*
2/1 Concordia Invite – 63.06
2/5 Doane Dual – 70.75
2/8 GPAC Championships – 61.00

*Judged by NCAA rules (different from NAIA)

Anderson garners honorable mention All-GPAC accolades

Feb. 12, 2020

SEWARD, Neb. – A freshman from Columbus, Neb., Concordia University’s Katie Anderson has been chosen as an honorable mention All-GPAC selection in the sport of dance. Anderson’s award was announced on Wednesday (Feb. 12) along with the release of complete GPAC cheer and dance all-conference teams.

Anderson is the first athlete in the history of Bulldog cheer and dance to earn some form of all-conference recognition. To be selected to the all-conference teams, the student-athletes needed to perform a set of skills as outlined by the NAIA Cheer and Dance Coaches’ Handbook. A minimum score on these skills (as judged) was required for selection to the teams.

Anderson and her teammates placed sixth at last week’s GPAC Cheer and Dance Championships hosted by Doane. The top score earned by Concordia dance this 2020 season was a 70.75 in a dual at Doane on Feb. 5.

The Bulldog dance team is getting set to host Hastings tonight (Feb. 12) for a dual. It will also be at the NAIA Northwest Regional Qualifier in Sioux City, Iowa, on Feb. 28.

Bulldogs top Broncos in home dual

Feb. 13, 2020

SEWARD, Neb. – For the final time in 2020, the Concordia University cheer and dance teams showcased their talents in front of the home fans. The Bulldogs welcomed Hastings for a dance dual and both Hastings and Peru State College for a cheer competition in conjunction with home basketball games on Wednesday (Feb. 12). Dance performed in front of a packed house inside Walz Arena while cheer competed next door in the PE Center Gym.

Fourth-year head coach Mandi Maser’s dance team earned its first dual victory of the season by topping Hastings, 68.4 to 60.35. Meanwhile in cheer, Concordia placed third (62.1) behind Hastings (78.1) and Peru State (63.05).

The scores turned in on Wednesday represented significant improvement as compared to the GPAC Championships held last week. Cheer bumped up its total nearly 10 points from 52.78 last week while dance added more than seven points to its total in relation to its GPAC championship score of 61.0. Both Bulldog teams have now competed seven times since beginning their seasons on Jan. 19.

The home performances came on the same day as the GPAC announced its all-conference cheer and dance teams. Maser was chosen as the GPAC Cheer Coach of the Year while freshman Katie Anderson garnered honorable mention all-conference recognition for dance.

Concordia now gets ready for the NAIA Northwest Qualifier coming up Feb. 28-29 at Morningside in Sioux City, Iowa. The dance portion of the competition will be held on day one with cheer to follow on day two.

Concordia scores this season

CHEER
1/19 Doane Invite – 56.50
1/22 Morningside Dual – 61.0
1/25 CIT – 74.32*
2/1 Concordia Invite – 56.03
2/5 Doane Dual – 63.50
2/8 GPAC Championships – 52.78
2/12 vs. Hastings/Peru State – 62.1

DANCE
1/19 Doane Invite – 58.05
1/22 Morningside Dual – 58.63
1/25 CIT – 51.33*
2/1 Concordia Invite – 63.06
2/5 Doane Dual – 70.75
2/8 GPAC Championships – 61.00
2/12 Hastings Dual – 68.4

*Judged by NCAA rules (different from NAIA)

Big jump made at Northwest Regional

Feb. 29, 2020

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Encouraging results came out of the final competition of the 2020 season for the Concordia University cheer and dance teams. In dance, the Bulldogs made significant waves by placing fourth out of 10 squads at the NAIA Northwest Regional Cheer and Dance Qualifier hosted by Morningside in Sioux City, Iowa (Feb. 28-29). Meanwhile, Concordia finished sixth out of seven teams in cheer.

Head coach Mandi Maser’s squads competed in eight total competitions this winter. In this weekend’s action, the Bulldogs earned scores of 64.48 in dance and 54.48 in cheer. Said Maser of the dance team’s improvement, “We were very excited to get fourth. We jumped three spots from the prelims. They worked so hard and I am over the moon proud of them.”

In placing fourth, Bulldog dance leaped two opponents that it placed behind at the GPAC championships – Northwestern and Hastings. The score Concordia posted at the regional qualifier represented its third highest total of the 2020 season. The Bulldogs have been led by honorable mention all-conference honoree in freshman Katie Anderson this winter.

In cheer, Concordia placed in front of Mount Marty. Maser was named the GPAC Coach of the Year in the sport of cheer on Feb. 12. Maser’s teams are captained by seniors Morgan Fritsch and Annie Pico and junior Lanessa Kerner in cheer and junior Kalina Schoenfeld in dance.

Qualifiers for the 2020 NAIA Cheer and Dance National Championships are set to be released on Sunday (March 1). Davenport, Iowa, will be the host site of the fourth annual event.

Concordia scores this season

CHEER
1/19 Doane Invite – 56.50
1/22 Morningside Dual – 61.0
1/25 CIT – 74.32*
2/1 Concordia Invite – 56.03
2/5 Doane Dual – 63.50
2/8 GPAC Championships – 52.78
2/12 vs. Hastings/Peru State – 62.1
2/29 NAIA Northwest Qualifier – 54.48

DANCE
1/19 Doane Invite – 58.05
1/22 Morningside Dual – 58.63
1/25 CIT – 51.33*
2/1 Concordia Invite – 63.06
2/5 Doane Dual – 70.75
2/8 GPAC Championships – 61.00
2/12 Hastings Dual – 68.4
2/28 NAIA Northwest Qualifier – 64.48

*Judged by NCAA rules (different from NAIA)