Multitaskers

Downs does double duty for UNM's golf and volleyball teams

by Riley Bauling

Daily Lobo

Not many people can say they have played golf with actor and comedian Bill Murray.

UNM women's golfer Kailin Downs can't, but that's because he caddied for her instead.

Downs got her chance to hang out with Murray for two rounds when he toted her bags around the Sleepy Hollow Golf Course in Scarborough, N.Y., at the U.S. Women's Amateur Championship.

Downs said the opportunity presented itself when her host family asked if she wanted a caddie for her second round. Downs said she was fine playing without one, because having a caddie was too expensive.

When her host family told her a friend of a friend of the family had volunteered to caddie for her, and that someone might be Sleepy Hollow Golf Course-member Murray, Downs said she didn't want to get her hopes up in case she had to shoulder her bag herself.

"I didn't tell anyone about it, and I warmed up like normal," Downs said. "And I'm on the tee box, and he comes walking up, and I was like, 'Oh my God, I can't believe this is happening.' That's kind of my little claim to fame. Everyone knows who I am because of that."

Her time on the course with Murray might not be the only reason Downs has garnered recognition. The senior is the defending Mountain West Conference Player of the Year two years running. She was also the winner of the Edith Cummings Munson Golf Award her junior year for having the highest GPA of any All-American. She had a 3.83 as a general management major.

In high school, she was a two-sport player, splitting her time equally between volleyball and golf.

And when her eligibility runs up for golf at the end of this season, she won't have to say goodbye to her collegiate-athletic career just yet. Downs will be joining the UNM volleyball team in the fall as a setter.

"I haven't played volleyball since high school," Downs said. "So it's going to be a busy summer working on golf and volleyball. I'm excited about that, because it's something to look forward to, and I won't be in complete depression about not playing any sport at all."

Golf won't take a backseat to volleyball come next spring either, Downs said. It can't, especially because she wants to make it as a professional golfer.

"Her dream is to play on the LPGA tour," said UNM women's golf head coach Jackie Booth. "Kailin is a very determined person. Only 2 percent of college players make it, but I would not be surprised if she did make it."

After her professional stint, Downs said golf is still going to be in the driver seat in her life. Thanks to her coach, Downs said, she won't be able to stay away from the game.

"I want to attempt playing professionally," she said. "I know a lot of people try it and don't succeed, but I want to at least give myself that chance after playing for all these years. Further down the line, I really see myself wanting to be a coach. I guess my coach has a lot to do with that, because she's such a great inspiration, and we get along so well."

"I want to attempt playing professionally. I know a lot of people try it and don't succeed, but I want to at least give myself that chance."

- Kailin Downs

Lobo hoops star qualifies for regional track meet in one shot

by Phil Parker

Daily Lobo

Goodbye, ground.

Alfred Neale is taking his high-flying hijinks from the basketball court to the track. The senior swingman's UNM hoops career may be over, but he's also a high jumper for the Lobo track team.

It took him just one meet to prove he can fly. At the UTEP Springtime Invitational on April 2, Neale shook off three years of rust and two aching shins to jump 6 feet, 10 3/4 inches, good enough to place third and qualify for the Midwest regionals.

"It felt a little different, you know, because I hadn't done it in so long," Neale said of his UNM track debut. "And I didn't have any time to practice my steps or anything like that. I just decided to go and just kind of figure it out."

Any fan of Lobo basketball has seen what a gifted physical talent Neale is. His dunks have electrified The Pit crowds for the last two years since he transferred to UNM from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. He's even been featured tomahawking through hapless defenders on the late night "SportsCenter" top-10 countdown.

But the 6-foot-6 forward was a track star in high school and his first year in junior college. He was a four-time All-American at his Oklahoma high school and still holds the state record there with a leap of 7 feet, 2 inches.

During his first year at Barton County Community College, Neale cleared a personal best of 7 feet, 4 1/2 inches. He was runner-up in both the indoor and outdoor high jump in the 2001 NJCAA Championships.

Neale stuck with basketball since that first year, and he said bulking up has been a big part of optimizing his potential as a ballplayer.

He said he may not jump in the 7-feet, 4-inch range again, because, "I'm 40 pounds heavier than I was when I was actually doing it. That's a lot with high jump."

Simple fatigue is another factor helping gravity pull down on Neale. Though a 26-7 season spanning from the first day of November to the NCAA Tournament in mid-March might have been an exciting way to spend the winter months, it was also a grind. The man is tired.

"I'm most definitely still exhausted from (basketball)," he said. "I don't think my legs are fully back from playing so much the last two years. I play basketball all year long, and my legs are tired and worn out. When I'm high jumping, I still feel it. It's like a struggle."

After excelling on a successful Lobo basketball squad, who could blame Neale if he just wanted to sit back and rest those pogo legs of his?

"I really wanted to get out and high jump," he said. "I enjoyed track so much when I was younger. It's just been in me. I love being around it, and I love seeing people compete against each other individually, not just as a team."

"I really wanted to get out and high jump, I enjoyed track so much when I was younger.

It's just been in me."

- Alfred Neale