Sports

Sports

Women's Tennis: UNM wins fourth straight to close out home schedule

Robert Maler | April 10

The New Mexico women’s tennis team could be peaking at the right time, winning its fourth straight match at the McKinnon Family Tennis Center over the weekend. The Lobos (5-11, 2-0 MW) earned a pair of wins to open up conference play, defeating Utah State on Friday and Boise State on Sunday. Ludivine Burguiere and Cassie Chung got UNM off on the right foot on Friday, teaming up to take a 6-4 victory in doubles play. Senior teammates Rachana Bhat and Dominique Dulski paired to defeat their opponents 7-5 and pick up the lone doubles point to take a 1-0 lead over Utah State.

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Beach Volleyball: UNM on season-high win streak after pair of wins over Colorado Mesa

Robert Maler | April 10

The New Mexico beach volleyball team looked sharp in its first home action of the season, beating Colorado Mesa twice at Lucky 66 Bowl in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Lobos (10-9) have a winning record for the first time since Mar. 3 after winning the season opener and are currently on a season-high three-match winning streak. UNM earned a sweep over Colorado Mesa on Friday, winning on all five courts in convincing fashion.

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Baseball: Lobos come up empty in California road trip that culminated in a 5-5 tie at San Jose State

Robert Maler | April 10

The Lobo baseball team had a unique three-game series against San Jose State with an even more unique ending on Sunday afternoon. New Mexico (18-12-1, 11-2-1 MW) lost the first game of the series on Friday by a score of 2-1 after stranding 12 base runners. After Saturday’s game was postponed due to weather, UNM had a chance to salvage a split in the third scheduled game. But San Jose State had other ideas and jumped out to a 2-0 lead by scoring a run in each of the first two innings.

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Sports

Track and Field: Outdoor teams continue to shine at Sun Angel Classic

Bo Yu | April 9

As head coach Joe Franklin alluded, the Sun Angel Classic was a meet to gauge where the team is at this point in the season. With solid individual performances, the Lobo outdoor track and field team continued to gain momentum from its second meet of the season on Saturday in Arizona. Both the men and women’s squads posted admirable team performance in the meet. The Lobos finished with two open titles, and 13 top-10 finishes in both open and premier events.

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Baseball: Runs hard to come by on the road, Lobos drop a 2-1 decision to San Jose State

Matthew Narvaiz | April 8

A late inning comeback wasn't in the works for Lobo baseball in game one of a three-game series at San Jose State. Instead, strong pitching from the Spartans’ bullpen stopped the Lobos from gaining control, as New Mexico (18-12, 11-2 Mountain West) fell, 2-1 on Friday night. The loss to San Jose State (12-17, 6-7 Mountain West) is UNM’s second conference loss this season – the first coming against Fresno State – and puts the team at a two-game losing streak. For the Spartans, the win marks their first against the Lobos this season after being swept last month in Albuquerque to start conference play.

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Lobos to face Boise State and Utah as Conference play continues

Matthieu Cartron | April 6

After a mixed start to their 2017 Conference campaign, the Lobos will be hoping to reassert themselves as Conference contenders in the upcoming fixtures. The Lobos lost a close match at home to Fresno State last Friday, but bounced back two days later, beating Nevada 4-1 in a dominant display. UNM (8-10, 1-1 MW) will face Boise State (4-18, 1-2 MW) and Utah State (14-7, 2-0 MW) in their next pair of Conference fixtures; the Lobos beat the Broncos earlier in the season 4-0, but have yet to face Utah State. All three teams have Conference ambitions, and they know well that each match from now until the end of the season is crucial—and could potentially define the remainder of their season. Although not traditional rivals, Boise State and UNM have developed a rivalry over the last decade. They have encountered one another in the Conference tournament several times, and their matches are typically close with little to separate the two sides.

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Lobos fall to another ranked opponent against San Diego

Matthew Narvaiz | April 6

The Lobo baseball team couldn't capitalize when it had the chance in a single-game matchup at San Diego on Wednesday evening. UNM stranded 14 base runners on its way to a 7-2 loss at Fowler Park. Head coach Ray Birmingham seemed frustrated with how his team performed on offense, especially knowing that his team was in scoring position plenty of times – including two stints where the bases were loaded. “We had a lot of at-bats tonight,” Birmingham said in a press release. “I'm not real pleased about it and it's something we better fix before we start our series at San Jose State on Friday.”

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Track and field: Lobos aim to find their positions at Sun Angel Classic in Arizona

Bo Yu | April 6

The New Mexico track and field team will travel to the Sun Angel Classic in Arizona, but the level of expectation now may not be as high as some might think. “A lot of times, when you least expect it something good happens,” head coach Joe Franklin said. Franklin said that the team will look to make improvements as they head in to each meet, but had that to say following the Don Kirby Tailwind Invitational. It was always a true philosophy for a head coach to relieve the stress of the team at the beginning of the season, and gradually put his athletes on the right track.

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Beach Volleyball: Lobos expect a winning home weekend

Bo Yu | April 5

The Lobo beach volleyball team will host its only two home matches of the season on Friday and Saturday at Lucky 66 Bowl. Taking on the familiar team Colorado Mesa twice this week, the Lobos are aiming at two easy wins, as they achieved in the 4-1 victory one month ago in Arizona. “I am looking forward to play at home,” head coach Jeff Nelson said in an interview. “We played them earlier this year. We have to be more focused and ready to go, because they keep improving and their coaches are doing a good job.” The Division II school doesn’t seem to bring much threat to UNM, as New Mexico dominated in all four matches between the two teams so far.

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Baseball: Lobos get another chance to beat a top-25 team against San Diego

Matthew Narvaiz | April 5

Wednesday night will boast another tough test for Lobo baseball as the team plays a one-game stint in California against No. 19 San Diego at Fowler Park. New Mexico (18-10, 11-1 MW) enters Wednesday’s game having won seven out of its last nine games. The Lobos earned series wins over conference opponents UNLV and Fresno State as well as a victory over in-state rival New Mexico State. During the stretch, two Lobo wins really stood out above the rest. After losing a sixth straight game, the Lobos showed they had plenty of fight by exploding for 25 hits en route to a 22-3 victory over Grand Canyon on Mar. 22.

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Baseball: Jared Mang latest Lobo to take home MW Player of the Week honors

Matthew Narvaiz | April 3

For the fifth time this season, a Lobo baseball player was named Mountain West Player of the Week. This week it was sophomore outfielder Jared Mang who took the reigns. Mang hit .471 last week -- including a weekend series with Fresno State and a game at in-state foe New Mexico State. The healthy batting average was also accompanied by more impressive statistics, including eight runs scored and seven RBI.

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Men’s Tennis: Lobos fall to Fresno, bounce back to beat Nevada at the weekend

Matthieu Cartron | April 3

The Lobos began their Mountain West Conference bid with a narrow loss to Fresno State and a decisive victory over the Nevada Wolfpack. Despite coming away with a split, the Lobos seemed encouraged by the performances over the weekend. The Lobos (8-10, 1-1 MW) played their first Conference match against Fresno State (12-10, 2-0 MW) at home. The Bulldogs beat UNM earlier in the season in a comprehensive 4-1 victory, but this time around, the Lobos made it much more difficult for the Bulldogs.

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Football: Ex-NFL head coach attends Lobo spring practice

Isabel Gonzalez | April 3

The UNM football team had a special guest step on the field during Monday morning’s practice. “Chip” Kelly, former head coach of the San Francisco 49ers, is “charging the battery” and visiting teams across the nation to see what different programs are doing. He left University Stadium with a lot to say about head coach Bob Davie and the Lobos. “I’ve always wanted to get a chance to get down here and watch practice to see what they’re doing. I’m just really, really impressed with how he is running this program right now,” Kelly said.

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Beach Volleyball: Lobos win two matches, fall to the Wildcats at Spring Challenge

Bo Yu | April 2

“Overall it was a great win and a solid weekend.” Lobo beach volleyball head coach Jeff Nelson had that to say in a release after the team changed its starting lineup at the last minute due to a migraine, and closed the Wildcat Spring Challenge with a 4-1 victory over Santa Clara on Saturday. The UNM beach volleyball team posted strong performances in Arizona this weekend as it took another win on Friday with its 5-0 sweep against CSU Bakersfield.

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Baseball: Lobos sweep Fresno with solid pitching, economical hitting

Matthew Narvaiz | April 2

A solid outing from starting pitcher Luis Gonzalez and a subsequent closing appearance from Carson Schneider was all the Lobos needed to grab a second win in its three-game series with Fresno State. Gonzalez, surrounded by a multitude of pro scouts, put on quite the performance on the mound. He pitched seven innings and allowed six hits and two runs, though he struck out five batters. “I love it,” Gonzalez said in response to going head-to-head with Fresno State’s starting pitcher, Ricky Thomas, who allowed two hits and three runs in six innings on the mound – and who’s also another prospect scouts were looking at. “I love the competition. Anytime you can get a good pitcher out there, it just brings out the best in all of us.

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Track and field: Lobos shine at home on a rainy Saturday

Bo Yu | April 2

Practicing in the rain during the week turned out to be effective as the Lobo track and field team fought off chilling weather to shine on Saturday at the Great Friends of UNM Track & Field Stadium. In the only home meet of the outdoor season, New Mexico posted a strong performance with six titles and 15 top-three finishes in its outdoor season debut. Despite the hot start, UNM had to endure weather conditions that were not ideal, as some light snow flakes fell from the sky occasionally during the events.

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Baseball: Lobos suffer first loss in league play, falling in extra innings to Fresno State

Matthew Narvaiz | April 1

It was a game of pitching on Saturday night as the Lobo baseball team put their undefeated conference record on the line against Fresno State. Both teams held each other to just eight hits in the game, even after playing a few extra innings. The end result did not favor the home team though, as the Lobos fell for the first time in Mountain West play after winning 10 of them to start the season. The 2-1 Bulldog victory over the Lobos put a stop to the streak, as the pitching duel played out on a cold, damp evening at Santa Ana Star Field.

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Lobos crush Fresno St in series opener

Matthew Narvaiz | April 1

To say it was cold at Santa Ana Star Field on Friday evening would be an understatement. But, for the Lobos, that didn't seem to matter, as they dismantled Fresno State by a 20 run margin – 24-4. Friday's win marked six straight and a perfect win-loss record in the Mountain West for UNM (17-9, 10-0 MW). Friday's win came on the heels of a well-rounded game both offensively and defensively. The Lobos succeeded in snatching 22 hits on 45 plate appearances. On the mound, UNM held Fresno State to four runs on nine hits.

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Men's Basketball: Neal out after disappointing, injury-riddled season

Isabel Gonzalez | April 1

March Madness came to an end in the most dramatic way possible for a program that didn’t make it to the tourney. On Friday night The LoboLair — an online aggregate of UNM athletics news — tweeted the breaking news of Craig Neal being relieved of his duties as the UNM men’s basketball head coach. A press release sent by Assistant Athletic Director of Communications Frank Mercogliano about 30 minutes later confirmed Neal’s departure. This may or may not have come as a surprise to those who have been following the program.

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Baseball: Lobos target 10-0 start to MW play against Fresno State

Robert Maler | March 31

The losing streak that the Lobo baseball team was stuck in nearly two weeks ago seems a distant memory, as the team returns home riding a five-game winning streak. New Mexico (16-9, 9-0 MW) looked pedestrian at times during the losing streak, especially with the bats going quiet on the road. But with one exception, the games were competitive against some of the top teams in the nation. But the Lobos have been perfect in conference play and will look to extend their conference record to 10-0 as it hosts Fresno State (14-10, 5-4 MW).