Sports

Sports

Baseball: Four Lobos selected in Major League Baseball draft

Robert Maler | June 19

The New Mexico baseball team did not earn a trip to the College World Series this season, but four Lobo players fulfilled what was surely a lifelong dream after being selected in the Major League Baseball draft last week. Head coach Ray Birmingham said he has had approximately 150 players become professionals throughout his coaching career, and he is extremely happy for each of them. Birmingham said he considers himself to be an old-school coach and wants to make sure his players are good students and good people, listing those qualities first before discussing the importance of what is done on the baseball field.

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UNM athletics under financial scrutiny

Gabriella Rivera | June 18

Two weeks after the retirement of Athletic Director Paul Krebs and the naming of Janice Ruggiero as interim director, investigations by state officials into athletic department spending continue. In a letter to President Abdallah, Attorney General Hector Balderas explained he was opening an investigation into “the University of New Mexico Vice President of Athletics, Paul Krebs, and the June 19, 2015, through June 25, 2015, golf trip to Scotland.” State Auditor Tim Keller also opened a special audit into the Spending record of UNM Athletics, which includes the same golf trip. The investigations come after the athletic department reported a $1.6 million deficit over the last fiscal year.

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Sports

LGBTQ athletes help pave the way to new world of sports

Gabriella Rivera | June 11

The history of the LGBTQ movement within the world of athletics is marked by stories of individual bravery that build on all those before them. Although there were several before him, NFL player David Kopay is generally credited with beginning a movement when he came out as gay in 1975, shortly after retiring from football. The following year, tennis player Renee Richards was outed as a transgender female and was barred from competing in the US Open women’s division. Richards eventually won a court case that allowed her to continue competing as a woman.

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Sports

Women's Tennis: Lobo gets opportunity to represent her country in upcoming Fed Cup

Robert Maler | June 5

With the departure of five seniors from the women's tennis team, junior Ruth Copas will become the most tenured member of the New Mexico women's tennis program. The Dublin, Ireland native will soon add even more experience to her résumé as she prepares for the upcoming 2017 Fed Cup after being selected to represent her country in the event. Ireland is slated to compete in Group III and will play a round-robin format with the group's field containing four pools of four teams, according to fedcup.com. The winners of each pool will square off against each other to determine which two nations are promoted to Europe/Africa Zone Group II in 2018.

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Paul Krebs set to retire at end of month

Gabriella Rivera | June 4

After 11 years as the athletic director of UNM, Paul Krebs has officially announced his retirement effective June 30. The announcement came amid controversy revolving around the efficacy of the athletic department — investigations into the athletic department spending by Attorney General Hector Balderas and State Auditor Tim Keller. It also follows a seemingly unpopular decision among the University and community that cut the UNM ski program, though it has since been reinstated., Despite the timing of the decision, Krebs maintains he is “not running from anything”.

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Sports

Baseball: After second championship loss, Lobos finish season with 30-27-1 record

Matthew Narvaiz | May 28

The New Mexico baseball team’s Mountain West Championship is all but done. After losing Saturday afternoon’s elimination game to third-seeded Fresno State, 11-5, ultimately booted them from seeking a chance at the Mountain West Championship title. Despite the Lobos’ struggles and their post season hopes all but faded away, Hayden Schilling had an uplifting testimony for his team’s performance over the weekend. “We had a lot of adversity, but everyone in that dugout kept grinding and stayed the course,” Schilling said in a press release. “Not a single person gave up. That’s all you can ask for. I’m proud of how everyone attacked this weekend.”

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Baseball: Despite loss, Lobos have opportunity at elimination game

Matthew Narvaiz | May 27

It came down to a full count for late-season Lobo hero Matt Villalobos and his team, being down only one run in the bottom of the ninth inning — and then a strikeout ended it. But great pitching from San Diego State’s CJ Saylor sealed the deal for the second-seeded Aztecs, as they won the game Friday evening, 9-8, over the regular season Mountain West title holder Lobos. Even with the loss in the conference tournament, though, the Lobos will have the opportunity to face third-seeded Fresno State in an elimination game on Saturday afternoon. The game was a back-and-forth affair that saw the two high-caliber Mountain West teams tie the game on two separate occasions. Later, the Lobos even took control of the score in the early to middle innings, before San Diego State finished out strong.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos overpower Nevada in game one of MW Championship

Matthew Narvaiz | May 26

The wind was howling on Thursday evening at Santa Ana Star Field, but the Lobos howled louder in their first Mountain West Championship game — their first competitor: fourth-seeded Nevada. Stellar pitching and great hitting all but sealed the deal for UNM (30-25-1), as they won, 7-2, over the Wolf Pack. That pitching for the Lobos, though, came from one hand in Tyler Stevens, who pitched all nine innings for UNM. The junior right-hander gave up just two runs on seven hits, while only walking two and striking out eight Nevada batters in the process. For Stevens, it was a game that rhythm kicked, and he found his location on seemingly every pitch. But that performance hinged on a day that Stevens felt better than ever.

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Baseball: Mountain West Baseball Championship to begin Thursday

Matthew Narvaiz | May 24

The Mountain West Baseball Championship will be decided this weekend as the University of New Mexico is set to host the tournament. New Mexico (29-25-1, 19-9-1 MW)—with a huge win to end the regular season and a little bit of good luck—managed to secure the regular season title. Their win over Nevada, paired with a loss by then-No. 1 San Diego State at home to Fresno State, allowed the Lobos to pursue the postseason title from the comfort of home. when they defeated Nevada and when San Diego State lost, ultimately putting the Lobos ahead of the pack and giving them the chance to have home field advantage, as they host the tournament.

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Baseball: Lobos come from behind to defeat Nevada and take back first place

Matthew Narvaiz | May 21

New Mexico baseball gave away first place on Friday night, but San Diego State gave it right back the next day with a Lobo win and an Aztec loss that flip-flopped the order to finish the regular season. All it took for the Lobos to win Saturday afternoon over Nevada was three home runs in the seventh inning and some great relief pitching from Johnathon Tripp to top the Wolf Pack, 13-6. The win came at Santa Ana Star Field and, after the Aztecs lost 11-2 to Fresno State, it ensured that more games would be played at the Lobos’ home field. Despite losing five straight games, the win in the season finale elevated the Lobos (29-25-1, 19-9-1 MW) to the regular season Mountain West title. While San Diego State (38-18, 21-10 MW) finished percentage points behind.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos lose fifth straight, and perhaps the right to host postseason tournament

Robert Maler | May 20

About two weeks ago, it appeared to be a sure bet that Lobo baseball would be hosting the 2017 Baseball Championship for the Mountain West conference. But five straight losses have knocked UNM from the perch atop the conference standings after it fell 17-9 at home to Nevada on Friday night. That, coupled with a win by San Diego State on Friday, vaulted the Aztecs to the top position—which puts them in line to host the postseason tournament instead. New Mexico, which is now percentage points behind San Diego State, can still reclaim the No. 1 seed. But it must win on Saturday and hope for a loss by the Aztecs in order to do so.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos drop game one against Nevada, but remain atop MW standings

Matthew Narvaiz | May 18

The Mountain West regular season title seems to be slipping through the grasp of the University of New Mexico baseball team, as they lost the first of a three game home series to Nevada at Santa Ana Star Field, 5-2 Thursday evening. The Lobos (28-24-1, 18-8-1 MW) were fortunate enough to hold onto first place in the conference standings for the moment, after San Diego State was shut out 4-0 in its opening game against Fresno State on Thursday. New Mexico tallied just five hits as a team, with the bulk of those coming from Carl Stajduhar and Danny Collier, each of whom banged out two hits. Stajduhar also added an RBI and run score to his stat line, while Collier was responsible for bringing home the other run. The other other Lobo player to register a hit was Hayden Schilling, who went 1-for-4 at the plate.

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Baseball: Lobos enter final weekend series clinging to slim lead in conference standings

Matthew Narvaiz | May 18

The New Mexico baseball team will enter the final regular season series leading the Mountain West conference standings by percentage points, but the Lobos are still faced with some difficult circumstances. Senior first baseman Jack Zoellner fractured his metacarpal bone after being hit by a pitch at Fresno State last weekend. And the Lobos found themselves only a half game above second place San Diego State, after UNM (28-23-1, 18-7-1 MW) was swept at Fresno State and San Diego State won a series at Air Force. Unfortunately for Zoellner, both he and head coach Ray Birmingham came to the conclusion that he'll be out for the rest of the season, including the Lobos’ hopeful push into the postseason.

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Men's Soccer: Lobo defender Aaron Herrera headed to 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup

Isabel Gonzalez | May 15

Over 500 players from 24 countries are taking part in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Korea this summer — and UNM's Aaron Herrera was lucky enough to be selected to participate. Herrera, a defender for the UNM men’s soccer team, has been working with the U.S. National Team for a while. His latest achievement happened only a few months ago when he was part of the roster that took the United States’ first CONCACAF title at the U-20 level by taking down the Honduras’ team 5-3 on penalty kicks. “It was just crazy being the first team to ever do it,” said the Las Cruces native. “There are so many great players that have been through the U-20 who are playing on the full national team now that also went through the same experience we did. None of them ever won it, so knowing that our team was the first to win it is kind of crazy.”

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Sports

Freshmen Issue, Column: Get physical with intramural and club sports

Gabriella Rivera | May 14

If you are an athlete and love to compete, UNM offers an array of options beyond their varsity athletic teams. The two main forms of these are Recreational Services' intramural and club sports. Intramural sports range from single-day competitions to recreational leagues that span several weeks. Single-day competitions include: golf doubles and singles, a football skills challenge, a duathlon, tennis doubles and singles, archery doubles and singles, grass volleyball and a free-throw contest. If you prefer the feel of a team setting and more sustained competition, the recreational leagues include: basketball (3-on-3, 5-on-5), soccer (indoor and outdoor), volleyball (6-player, 3-player, co-rec), dodgeball, flag football and even bubble soccer.

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Sports

Baseball: Fresno State sweeps Lobos, putting No. 1 MW spot in jeopardy

Matthew Narvaiz | May 14

Playing Fresno State in a three-game series this weekend didn’t bring the best of luck for the University of New Mexico baseball team. After losing both game one on Friday and game two on Saturday, the Lobos (28-23-1, 18-7-1 MW) were swept by the Fresno State Bulldogs — UNM lost game three on Sunday, 15-9, at Bob Bennett Stadium in Fresno, California. The loss puts the Lobos in an odd position, meaning that they will have to win each of their last three games of the season to clinch the Mountain West regular season title, as they now only lead second-place San Diego State by one game. For Fresno State, they clinched a spot in the Mountain West tournament after sweeping UNM, while also maintaining a third place standing in the conference.

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Track and field: Lobo men place fourth, women ranked ninth at conference championships

Bo Yu | May 14

Despite of injuries on the women’s side, Lobo track and field team still posted strong performances at the Mountain West Outdoor Championships in Logan, Utah this weekend. “We had some great individual performances and we had a really good meet,” head coach Joe Franklin said. “Overall, I’m happy.” The Lobo men scored 102 points to take the fourth place in the conference. It was the 9th straight year that Lobo men scored over 100 points. Air Force (218.5 points) won the men’s team title, Colorado (165.5) grabbed runner-up, and Utah State ranked third. World record leader Josh Kerr solely contributed 20 points with his two individual titles in the 800 and 1500.

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Baseball: Lobos miss opportunity to reduce magic number, fall to Fresno State

Matthew Narvaiz | May 13

The University of New Mexico took one step forward and one step back in game one of a three-game series at Fresno State. The Lobos are now one game closer towards the end of the season, but on Friday evening, the Bulldogs won, 9-3, during a critical Mountain West game, which can affect the Lobos’ first place standing if they continue to lose throughout the remainder of the season. However, that step back was shortened when San Diego State lost to Air Force on Friday evening, meaning UNM (28-21-1, 18-15-1 MW) has to win three games to clinch the regular season title instead of four, as previously reported. The loss for the Lobos, however, came by way of nine unanswered runs spread across four separate innings from Fresno State.

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Baseball: Poor pitching leads to Game 2 loss to Fresno State

Matthew Narvaiz | May 13

Game two of a three-game series against Fresno State didn't play out in UNM’s favor once again. The Lobos fell 16-2 to the Bulldogs on Saturday evening at Pete Beiden Field. The loss marks two straight for UNM (28-22-1, 18-6-1 Mountain West), while also putting them in a tight situation for first place in the Mountain West standing as the next closest competitor, San Diego State, won their game on Saturday over Air Force. Fresno State (28-22, 15-11 Mountain West) got out to a quick start on offense, scoring two runs in the first inning while holding UNM scoreless to start the game, giving the home team a 2-0 advantage.

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Men's Soccer: Lobo defender Aaron Herrera headed to 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup

Isabel Gonzalez | May 12

Over 500 players from 24 countries are taking part in the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Korea this summer—and UNM's Aaron Herrera was lucky enough to be named as one of the selections Herrera, a defender for the UNM men’s soccer team, has been working with the US National Team for a while.