UNM earned a spot as a national competitor in yet another sport this season when Lobo club racquetball placed fifth in the nation.
The team traveled to Tempe, Ariz., to compete individually and as a team in the USA Racquetball National Intercollegiate Championship for the second consecutive year. The fifth-place finish is a leap from last year's 19th place.
The UNM team defeated big-name schools such as North Carolina, Duke, Penn State and UC-Berkley in the racquetball version of March Madness.
The national tournament is similar to a tennis tournament, with singles, doubles and mixed doubles. The rotation lasts four days and is a triple-elimination tournament.
UNM competed with a full men's roster and one player in the women's division.
Sophomore Jessica Fuller is a semiprofessional racquetball player. She earned a significant number of points for the team by placing second individually.
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Any collegiate team can participate in the championship, provided each player on the team is a full-time undergraduate or graduate student attending the University for at least the second consecutive semester.
Brandon Condrey started the racquetball club in fall 2003 after taking a racquetball class at UNM. Condrey first approached the UNM Athletics Department, proposing to make racquetball a UNM-sponsored sport. Condrey said the department quickly rejected the idea.
His next option was to establish a club team. The team receives partial funding from ASUNM to cover some equipment costs but not enough to meet its ideal budget.
Condrey said team members raise all their money for travel through fund-raising events such as garage sales or selling T-shirts.
"Our biggest challenge is raising the money to get us and all of our stuff to the destination," Condrey said.
The UNM club is a member of the Southern Collegiate Racquetball Conference, though it was unable to raise enough funds to compete in any of the conference events this year.
Johnson Center allows the team to use its racquetball courts upstairs three times a week for three-hour practices.
The team recruited many of its members from the New Mexico Racquetball Association. Team members approached young players who may be interested in UNM.
"We picked up a lot of freshman there and said, 'Hey, you should play for us,'" Condrey said.
Condrey said the biggest skill in playing racquetball is hand-eye coordination. The team also does cardio workouts, runs stairs and practices other drills designed by the volunteer coaching staff.
"Anyone who is interested can break in without knowing anything about racquetball," Condrey said.
Condrey said he sees racquetball popularity growing and gaining recognition nationally as it is televised more.
"As far as UNM is concerned, we are getting more members, and I think the team will get bigger and better every year," he said.
