A trio of seniors -- Tobias Lemke, Cole Strilzuk and Brandon Wood -- who were all members of the University of Minnesota Duluth's starting cast last December when the Bulldogs left Florence, Ala, with the NCAA Division II championship trophy in tow, will serve as UMD team captains this fall.

Lemke, a native of Essen, Germany, is entering his fourth season of starting duty on the Bulldogs' offensive line, having worked out of the right guard position as a true freshman in 2006 before being relocated to center the ensuing season. Last fall, Lemke was chosen to both the Football Gazette All-American second team and All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference first team in addition to earning NSIC All-Academic Team honors (he maintains a 3.95 cumulative grade point average as a political science major).

Strilzuk took over as UMD's first string left cornerback last fall and proceed to top UMD in interceptions with six (the most by a Bulldog in four years) and pass breakups (10) while finishing eighth on the club in total tackles with 48. The Balsam Lake, Wis., product , who picked off one pass in each of the Bulldogs' final three NCAA playoff games, secured a spot on the 2008 All-NSIC second team as well as the Football Gazette All-Super Region 3 third team.

Wood, a Menomonie, Wis. native and a third-year starter at right cornerback, was an All-NSIC honorable mention honoree in 2008 after racking up a career-high 47 total tackles and eight pass break ups in addition to equalling a personal bests for interceptions with three. He has also held his own in the class room, compiling a 3.89 cumulative GPA while majoring in chemistry and qualified for the North Central Conference Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll in 2006 and 2007 and the NSIC All-Academic Team one year ago.

The Bulldogs, who went a perfect 15-0 last season, will open preseason camp on Aug. 8 before launching its 77th year of intercollegiate football with an NSIC home clash against Concordia University-St. Paul at Malosky Stadium three weeks later.