Men's soccer
The UNM men's soccer team trounced San Jose State 5-1 on Sunday as the Lobos celebrated Senior Day at the UNM Soccer Complex.
"We didn't start off that hot," head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. "The guys came out a little tight and put pressure on themselves because of Senior Day. But once we relaxed a little bit, we scored some nice goals."
After battling the Spartans to a 1-1 tie at halftime, UNM's offense exploded, scoring four unanswered second-half goals.
Junior midfielder Chris Wright scored a pair of goals to lead the Lobos offensively.
Wright's first goal - a long shot from 30 yards out - tied the game at 1.
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Sophomore defender Stephen Brown had the game-winning goal in the 58th minute, connecting with the upper-left side of the net. It was Brown's first goal on the season.
Sophomore forward P.J. Wilson and senior forward Blake Danaher added the other insurance goals, while senior forward Diego Barrera contributed two assists.
With the wins, UNM improves to 11-4-1 on the season and
6-1-1 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, taking over first place in the conference.
"It feels great to get a win on Senior Day," senior goalkeeper Mike Graczyk said. "If we have a good showing in our upcoming games, we could be hosting a few more matches. Hopefully, it's not our last home game, but I'll take a win any day."
Volleyball
The UNM volleyball team ended its four-match losing streak with a victory against San Diego State in San Diego.
The Lobos were a 30-24,
30-18, 30-28 winner on
Saturday.
With the win, UNM improves to 16-11 on the season and 7-8 in the Mountain West Conference.
The Lobos' seven conference wins are the most for the program since joining the MWC in 1999.
Junior outside hitter Jeanne Fairchild led the UNM offense, notching a match-high 15 kills.
Junior middle blocker Kerri Beck established herself at the net. Beck's seven blocks were a match high, and she also contributed seven kills.
Junior libero Gayle Tripp added 15 digs to aid the Lobos
defensively.
"It felt amazing," Tripp said in a phone interview. "We weren't down in any position. Every player showed up to play, and it was a great team effort."
UNM hosts Colorado State at
4 p.m. on Saturday.
Cross country
UNM senior cross country runner Jeremy Johnson punched his ticket to the NCAA Championships with a third-place finish at the Mountain Region Championships on Saturday.
Johnson's time of 29:57 in the 10,000-meter course was just five seconds behind regional champion Lopez Lamong of Northern Arizona.
Johnson becomes only the second Lobo to place in the top three at regionals. All-American Matt Gonzales was the first in 2004.
Johnson, a 2006 All-American, will compete in the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 19 in Terre Haute, Ind.
Meanwhile, the men's team awaits confirmation of its postseason fate as it narrowly missed an automatic bid to nationals by finishing in fifth place, just 12 points behind BYU for fourth and an automatic bid.
On the women's side, UNM was led by junior transfer Michelle Corrigan who finished in 27th place. The women's team finished in seventh place, its third-straight top-seven finish at regionals after finishing no better than 12th the previous eight years.
Men's basketball
The Steve Alford era is under way for the UNM men's basketball program.
The Lobos opened their 2007 season with a win, defeating Colorado 54-47 in Boulder, Colo.
UNM led all but the opening 2:44 of the game, as freshman guard Jonathan Wills hit a
3-pointer to put the Lobos up for good early in the second half.
UNM never looked back as Wills finished with a game-high 13 points to pace the Lobos
offensively.
The only UNM player to score in double digits was junior guard Chad Toppert, who added 11 points and nine rebounds.
The game was unusually low scoring, considering last year's 106-65 trouncing of Colorado at
The Pit.
Alford said the low score can be attributed to UNM's defense.
"We've really found our identity with our defense," Alford told GoLobos.com. "If we can keep guarding like we did tonight, we're going to win games. We had five charges on the night - anytime you get five charges, that's a good game."
Women's basketball
The UNM women's basketball team won its first three games of the 2007-08 season to claim the Women's Sports Foundation Tournament on Sunday at
The Pit.
The Lobos opened the tournament with a 85-62 win over Western Michigan on Friday.
On Saturday, UNM beat Dayton 72-64.
The Lobos clinched the title with a 67-38 victory over Northwestern on Sunday.
Senior guard Brandi Kimble averaged 16.3 points and 11.7 rebounds for the tournament, earning MVP honors.
Senior forward Dionne Marsh and sophomore guard Amy Beggin were also named to the All-Tournament team.
The Lobos will have their hands full against No. 14 California on Sunday in
Berkeley, Calif.
