Sports

Sports

Skiing: Close losing scores cost team the podium

Staff Report | March 16

Two of the top times in the NCAA National Championships were not enough to propel the New Mexico ski team to a medal in Lake Placid, New York this weekend. UNM finished in 5th on Saturday, ending the season with 402 points. The University of Colorado took home the national title with 505 points. In her final race as a Lobo, senior Mateja Robnik facilitated an All-American bid as she finished eighth in the giant slalom. Robnik took the All-American stand with a combined time of 1:58.70. The two totals edged Mary Sackbauer from Middlebury College by just .04 seconds, for the final spot on the All-American team.

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Sports

Column: Next year's men's Lobos shows promise

Kyle Tomasi | March 16

New Mexico’s season was not of the caliber fans have come to expect from UNM. There were a lot of speed bumps, there was a lot of inexperience, and there was an unprecedented eight-game skid. After winning three consecutive Mountain West championships, the Lobos finished 15-16 and were bounced in the first round of the conference tournament against the Air Force Falcons. The loss was senior guard Hugh Greenwood’s first in MW Tournament play throughout his four-year career at UNM.

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Sports

Sports briefs for March 16, 2015

Liam Cary-Eaves | March 16

Track and Field UNM tied for 31st in the 2015 NCAA Track and Field Championships on Saturday in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Lobo runners Sammy Silva, Allan Hamilton and Adam Bitchell accepted All-American honors on the weekend. Silva’s 4:35.44 mile time garnered a sixth-place finish, which marked the seventh female indoor All-American athlete in program history.

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Sports

Lobos fall short in MW title game

Thomas Romero-Salas | March 13

After a 1-7 start to the season, there wasn’t many who thought that the Lobos would be in a position to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Reaching the Mountain West Basketball Championship game put UNM in a position to earn an automatic bid to NCAAs, but UNM missed that chance following 66-60 defeat to Boise State in the Friday’s title bout.

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Sports

Greenwood's finale ends in loss at MW tournament

Thomas Romero-Salas | March 11

LAS VEGAS – When point guard Hugh Greenwood waves to the crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center it’s usually after a New Mexico victory. Not this time.

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Sports

Lobos survive, advance in MW women's quarterfinals

J.R. Oppenheim | March 10

LAS VEGAS -- Yvonne Sanchez found it difficult to compare this UNM women’s basketball team to others she has been around. There are similarities, the Lobo coach said, like the team’s length and athleticism, or its inside presence.

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Sports

Women's basketball: Win at Wyoming would lock second place for UNM

Liam Cary-Eaves | March 6

New Mexico controls its destiny for the number-two spot in the conference, but a share of the Mountain West title is not out of the question. A win tonight in Laramie, Wyoming guarantees the Lobos can do no worse than second in the conference. “We just have to focus on how we can get a win in Wyoming,” head coach Yvonne Sanchez said. “We’ll focus on that first, and then we will know by Friday night where we finish.”

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Sports

Men's basketball: Rough season doesn't tarnish Greenwood's legacy, coach says

Kyle Tomasi | March 6

New Mexico senior guard Hugh Greenwood will play his final home game in Cherry and Silver while trying to avoid the Lobos’ first losing season in his tenure at UNM. Greenwood’s legacy will not be defined by this season’s struggles, head coach Craig Neal said at a press conference on Thursday. When asked what Greenwood’s legacy would be, Neal gave a definitive answer: “Winner.” Greenwood will have one more chance to go out a winner on the WisePies Arena floor when UNM hosts Wyoming in both teams’ regular season finale on Saturday.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos take rare underdog role against SDSU

Thomas Romero-Salas | March 5

The New Mexico baseball team isn’t usually considered an underdog in the Mountain West, but the underdog role is what UNM will play this weekend when it hosts a San Diego State team that heads into Lobo Field on a seven-game winning streak. Part of the reason SDSU is favored in the three-game series is because of its experience in the field. The Aztecs have eight hitters with two years of Division I experience or more. In comparison, UNM has just two batters — junior second baseman Sam Haggerty and junior shortstop Jared Holley — with two years of Division I skill. “Just by experience alone we’re the underdogs,” head coach Ray Birmingham said. “I consider us underdogs these next two weekends. That doesn’t mean we’re not going to win them.”

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Sports

Column: Yvonne Sanchez deserves new deal

Liam Cary-Eaves | March 4

In a season swimming in a whirlpool of doubt, head coach Yvonne Sanchez stood tall in the final year of her contract and produced one of the best women’s basketball teams to come out of the New Mexico program. Sanchez is deserving of a short-term deal to retain her position as head coach for UNM. The first three years were rough, which is why a long-term deal is not likely. However, the head coach should be allowed to prove this season was no fluke.

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Sports

Season may end on nine-game losing streak

Kyle Tomasi | March 4

New Mexico players and fans have grown accustomed to 20 or more wins from the men’s basketball team, but the 2014-15 season will have a different outcome – including the longest losing streak in more than 50 years. This season, the Lobos got off to a 9-4 start before the turn of the calendar. Since Jan 1, UNM has had a downfall for the ages and it won’t get any easier the remainder of the season.

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Sports

Football schedule announced for 2015

Staff Report | March 4

For the first time since 2006, the New Mexico football team will host seven home games in one season. The Mountain West on Monday announced the Lobos schedule, which includes at least two home games in every month of the 2015 season. The Lobos will start their campaign with two games at University Stadium against Mississippi Valley State on Sept. 5 and Tulsa on Sept. 12.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos dominate despite early error

Thomas Romero-Salas | March 2

The New Mexico baseball team fell into an early 3-0 hole, but climbed back up to win 9-3 over Utah Valley at Lobo Field on Sunday. Senior starting pitcher Colton Thomson earned his first win of the season after giving up three unearned runs on three hits in six innings. He struck out eight batters and walked three. “I thought I was a little wild today. I picked it up later in the innings,” Thomson said. “I didn’t get ahead of batters; it was an average outing. It’s something to build off and keep working for.”

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Sports

Men's basketball: UNM faces coldest month since 1959

Kyle Tomasi | March 2

he month of February has come to a close, and New Mexico will likely be glad to see the flip of the calendar. UNM concluded a winless month of basketball on Saturday with a 59-55 loss at Fresno State. New Mexico has not won since Jan. 31, marking the team’s longest losing streak since the 1959 season. “It’s one of those things that’s like a broken record,” said head coach Craig Neal in a press release. “It’s frustrating, and nobody feels the pain worse than I do.”

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Sports

Women's basketball: Historic win puts UNM second in MW

Liam Cary-Eaves | March 2

Rewriting the history books was not an easy task for New Mexico during an emotional 63-60 victory over Fresno State on Saturday at WisePies Arena. Once the final buzzer blew, this year’s Lobo squad became the first in program history to collect 13 Mountain West wins. Head coach Yvonne Sanchez, whose contract is up for renewal, said she cannot take sole credit for the team’s success. “I know a lot of times when good things happen, it’s easy to just see this head coach and put a bunch of praise on it,” Sanchez said. “This team has done everything we’ve asked them to do. They want to win and they want to play hard.”

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Sports

Track and Field: UNM men and women seize MWC

Thomas Romero-Salas | March 2

The New Mexico men’s and women’s track and field teams maintained their dominance of the Mountain West Conference this weekend, sweeping the indoor conference titles for the second consecutive year. The men held off Colorado State on Saturday to win the team’s third straight MW championship. The Lobos finished with 160 points, while the Rams had 140 for second place. For the women, the road to a repeat was much easier, as they won the meet by 53 points (149- 96) over runner-up CSU. “It just means the world to all of us, especially having it at home,” junior sprinter Holly Van Grinsven said. “It just makes it so much worth it because all your family and friends came to see all the hard work you put in. That’s most rewarding because you put so much time and energy, sweat and tears into this track, and to win it on this track is an incredible feeling.”

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Sports

Relief pitchers key to team's early success

Thomas Romero-Salas | February 27

So far, preseason expectations about the New Mexico baseball team’s bullpen have been proven, and the relief pitchers a key reason why the Lobos jumped out to a 5-2 start. Through seven games this season, the Lobo relievers have only given up nine earned runs in 29 1/3 innings for an ERA of 2.79.

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Sports

Much at stake in season's final home game

Liam Cary-Eaves | February 27

There is a lot on the line in New Mexico’s final home game in addition to the home crowd submitting a goodbye to the two departing seniors on Saturday against Fresno State. In addition to the Lobos gunning for a first-round bye in the Mountain West Tournament, the Bulldogs are the only team in conference the squad has failed to beat this season. UNM also has an opportunity to finish first in conference if Colorado State (21-6, 13-3 Mountain West) does not win out.

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Sports

Lobos outshot by Boise State; Fresno State up next

Kyle Tomasi | February 27

For the first time this season it wasn’t the offense that brought New Mexico down. The defense did. UNM dropped its seventh straight game after losing to a streaking Boise State team 75-65 in Boise, Idaho, where the Lobos’ inability to get stops was the team’s Achilles’ heel.

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Sports

Women's basketball: Lobos exact revenge on Boise State

Liam Cary-Eaves | February 26

New Mexico drifted away from its interior game, but reawakened its identity in a 63-50 victory over Boise State on Wednesday night at WisePies Arena. Going into the game, the Lobos were ranked second-worst in 3-point shooting percentage. However, the Lobos continued to shoot the deep ball despite the team’s low success rate in shots behind the arc. UNM went 3-10 from 3-point range in the first half. “Sometimes there’s a reason you’re open,” head coach Yvonne Sanchez said. “We were beating them a lot inside a lot in the first half ... I told them we don’t need to take a lot or settle for jump shots.”