The Year in Sports

Baseball

Recap: UNM is 22-25 overall and 8-10 in MWC play. The Lobos have won four of their last six and will play in the MWC Championships in Las Vegas starting May 22.

Season highlight: Head coach Rich Alday won his 500th game as a Lobo on March 30 after the Lobos beat San Diego State 11-5.

Season lowlight: UNM lost five in a row in February and March, including an 11-inning, 5-2 loss to St. Louis on March 2.

MVP: Jordan Pacheco

Football

Recap: The Lobos went 6-7 last season, including a 20-12 loss to San Jose State in the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 23. UNM placed fifth in the Mountain West Conference with a 4-4 record.

Season highlight: UNM beat San Diego State 41-14 on Nov. 25 to secure a spot in the first annual New Mexico Bowl.

Season lowlight: The Lobos opened the season with a 17-6 loss to Division I-AA Portland State on Sept. 2.

MVP: Rodney Ferguson

Men's basketball

Recap: UNM was 15-17 last season and lost 62-54 in the first round of the MWC Championships to Texas Christian. The Lobos were 4-12 in the conference in the regular season, tied for last with the Horned Frogs.

Season highlight: UNM started the season 5-0, including a win over NCAA Tournament-bound New Mexico State on Nov. 28.

Season lowlight: The Lobos lost their last five games of the year, including the conference tournament match against TCU.

MVP: J.R. Giddens

Men's golf

Recap: UNM finished in the top 10 in nine of the 12 regular-season tournaments it played this season. The Lobos finished sixth at the MWC Championships on April 28.

Season highlight: UNM won the William H. Tucker Invitational on Sept. 23 with a team score of 874, and Charlie Beljan won the individual title with an overall score of 210.

Season lowlight: The Lobos shot a team score of 953 to place 15th at the Inverness Intercollegiate on Sept. 12.

MVP: Charlie Beljan

Men's soccer

Recap: UNM went 14-4-3 overall and won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Lobos advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, losing to California on Nov. 15.

Season highlight: The Lobos handled Denver 3-0 in the final regular-season game on Nov. 5 to clinch the conference championship.

Season lowlight: UNM started the season 0-1-1, failing to score a goal in its first two games.

MVP: Andrew Boyens

Men's tennis

Recap: The No. 55 Lobos were 14-8 on the season and 3-3 in MWC action. No. 4 seed UNM lost in the first round of the MWC Tournament to fifth-seeded Brigham Young.

Season highlight: UNM knocked off the No. 18 Minnesota Gophers 5-2 on March 16 at home.

Season lowlight: During the April 13-15 duals in Fort Worth, Texas, UNM dropped two out of three, including losses to MWC foes UNLV and TCU.

MVP: Chris Parkes

Skiing

Recap: The Lobos tied for sixth overall at the NCAA Championships on March 10 with a score of 390 points.

Season highlight: Malin Hemmingsson won the individual NCAA Slalom Championship on March 10 with a time of 1:45.77.

Season lowlight: UNM finished seventh at the Montana State Invitational on Jan. 19, scoring 196 points.

MVP: Lars Loeseth

Softball

Recap: UNM is 19-22 and 8-8 in the MWC in Ty Singleton's first year as head coach. Singleton took over a program that went 23-31 and 4-17 in conference last season.

Season highlight: The Lobos upset No. 3 UCLA 13-1 on Feb. 10 in Tucson, Ariz.

Season lowlight: UNM is 1-8 against ranked opponents.

MVP: Kelly Ninemire

Swimming/Diving

Recap: The Lobos completed the season with a 6-6 dual meet record. UNM finished in seventh place at the MWC Championships in Oklahoma City.

Season highlight: UNM topped NMSU twice on the season, defeating the Aggies 190-103 on Nov. 2 at home and 159-127 on Jan. 26 in Las Cruces.

Season lowlight: The Lobos finished a season-low 10th place at the Speedo Cup Invitational in Long Beach, Calif., on Nov. 16.

MVP: Carrie Quinn

Track and field

Recap: The Lobo men finished sixth, while the women placed seventh at the MWC Indoor Championships in Albuquerque on Feb. 24. UNM will compete in the outdoor conference championships beginning May 9.

Season highlight: Jarrin Solomon and Brian Vallie won their respective events at the Mt. San Antonio College Relays on April 13, while Katie Coronado broke the school record in the javelin throw the same weekend at the UTEP Invitational.

Season lowlight: Despite winning three events at the MWC Championships, no Lobo qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

MVPs: Tiyana Peters and Jarrin Solomon

Volleyball

Recap: The Lobos went 8-19 overall and 5-11 in MWC play. They advanced to the second round of the conference championships before falling 3-0 to Utah.

Season highlight: UNM upset No. 18 BYU 3-1 on Nov. 3, the first time the Lobos beat the Cougars since 1995.

Season lowlight: The Lobos endured a five-match losing streak during September and October.

MVP: Kelly Therkelsen

Women's basketball

Recap: The Lobos were 24-9 overall and 11-5 in conference. They won the MWC Tournament and lost to Wisconsin-Green Bay 59-52 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Season highlight: UNM won its fourth conference tournament championship in five years, winning each MWC tournament game by at least 12 points.

Season lowlight: The Lobos lost four straight games in December and January, including an 0-3 start in conference.

MVP: Katie Montgomery (pictured)

Women's golf

Recap: The Lobos finished in the top 10 in each of their spring tournaments and placed third overall at the MWC Championships on April 21. UNM will compete in the NCAA Regionals Thursdays through Saturday.

Season highlight: UNM placed second at the UNLV Spring Invitational on March 14, shooting a collective score of 857, 7 under par.

Season lowlight: The Lobos tied for ninth at the Ping/ASU Invitational and shot a team score of 895.

MVP: Jodi Ewart

Women's soccer

Recap: UNM was 8-6-4 overall in the regular season and 2-2-3 in the MWC. The Lobos advanced to the semifinals of the MWC Tournament, falling 2-1 in overtime to Utah.

Season highlight: The Lobos had their best offensive performance in a 4-0 handling of UNLV on Sept. 17.

Season lowlight: No. 13 Utah gave UNM its worst loss of the season, winning 3-0 on Oct. 15.

MVP: Ashley Lowery

Women's tennis

Recap: No. 73 UNM was 12-11 on the season and 5-5 in the MWC. The team lost in the semifinals of the MWC Tournament to eventual champion and top-seed BYU 4-1.

Season highlight: After losing top player Iva Gersic to a season-ending ankle injury on Feb. 23, the Lobos responded with a 6-1 win over No. 65 Kansas State on Feb. 25.

Season lowlight: During the team's last road trip, UNM went 1-7. The Lobos lost seven straight dual matches, before picking up a 5-2 win over Utah on April 7 in Salt Lake City.

MVP: Ola Abou-Zekry

Cross country

Recap: The UNM women placed third at the MWC Championships, and the men placed fourth. Senior Timmie Murphy qualified for the NCAA Championships, where she finished 115th overall.

Season highlight: At the MWC Championships, Murphy, Jeremy Johnson and Juan Ortega were named first-team all-conference. Vanessa Ortiz was named MWC Freshman of the Year.

Season lowlight: At the Prenationals meet Oct. 14, the men finished 27th out of 36. The women placed 30th out of 36.

MVP: Timmie Murphy