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Number 44, Erin Vieselmeyer, prepares for a free throw on the Bulldog basketball team. She made 78.2 percent of her shots from the line her senior year.

Vieselmeyer finishes record-breaking season

Former Dragon competes on Concordia University Bulldog basketball team

    Erin Vieselmeyer just finished an outstanding four-year college basketball career for Concordia University in the final four of the NAIA Division II national championship, on what the university describes as one of the best squads in school history.
    In the 2016-17 year the Seward, Nebraska, team became the second in school history to win conference regular-season and tournament titles. They won the outright regular season championship, the Great Plains Athletic Conference championship and the Concordia Invitational, in addition to going to the final four nationally.
    The women ended the season with a 34-3 record — the third most wins in a single season in the program’s history. The team also broke the school record for most conference wins in a single season, as they went 19-1 in the GPAC. The runner up Dakota Wesleyan team was a full four games behind the Bulldogs, finishing 15-5 in the conference.
    Personally, Vieselmeyer experienced a clear turning point between her sophomore and junior years as a Bulldog. In her first two years she played on the JV team, but in the summer of 2015 she was determined to take her game to the next level. She spent the summer working out every day, and by the next season, her hard work paid off.
    The 6’1” forward joined the varsity ranks for her junior and senior years, taking great pride in the hours and the work she put into getting there. Moving from JV to varsity, she said, made her feel like she was playing a bigger role on the team. Working directly with head coach Drew Olson on the varsity team, she added, helped her continue to grow as a player in her final two years.
    During those years, she also earned Scholar Athlete recognition for maintaining at least a 3.5 GPA while playing a sport. Her major is biology, with a minor in chemistry and an emphasis in pre-physician assistant. Throughout college she was a member of the pre-med health club, serving as an officer for two years.
    Vieselmeyer was an honorable mention All-GPAC choice. Earlier this season, she was deemed Bulldog Athletic Association athlete of the week for shooting 4 for 4 from the field and 6 for 6 from the free-throw line in the Bulldogs’ 60-46 victory over Hastings College. “I just played like I knew how to. It was a fun game and I played relaxed and free,” she said. During that week she averaged 10 points. In the same month, she scored 16 points against Doane University, for a career high.
    Over the 62 varsity games Vieselmeyer played, she scored 387 points, snagged 213 rebounds and made 35 blocks. Throughout her varsity career, she made 54.7 percent of her field goals and 77.1 percent of her free throws.
    In this season, she led all reserves in averaging 6.1 points per game and 3.6 rebounds per game. She made the third most total rebounds on her team, with 115 this season.
    “I can attribute a lot of my talent and success to the fact I had a lot of people helping me along the way,” she said, “starting in third grade with (John) Baumgartner’s basketball camps, then onto junior high with Harvey Eurich, high school with Arlan Scholl and Kia Kassman, and now college coaches. I have just been blessed with great guidance and people believing in me.”

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