Less than a week entering the nation’s top 25, the Lobos couldn’t generate a win and have fallen out of the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper’s national rankings. However, Dallas Baptist completed a sweep over New Mexico this weekend and have now entered the nation’s elite teams.
Going into New Mexico’s opening weekend, the Lobos’ goal was to garner two wins against fierce competition. Upon leaving, head coach Jeff Nelson said UNM wanted to get four.
So much for the New Mexico softball team needing come-from-behind victories this weekend. The Lobos offense struck early in its home-opening series and held leads to the end. Previously this season, the Lobos had allowed their opponents the first run in 12 games, but UNM scored first in all three of its games against Northern Colorado Saturday and Sunday, resulting in a sweep over the Bears. The Lobos’ offensive output led to final scores of 7-3, 8-3 and 10-1.
The New Mexico men’s tennis team extended its winning streak to five matches after an epic battle against BYU Friday and after besting Air Force twice in a doubleheader on Saturday. Head coach Bart Scott’s prediction came to fruition Friday when New Mexico and BYU engaged in a duel that lasted more than three hours. The tightly contested match saw several lead changes throughout the night.
New Mexico heads into the Mountain West Basketball Championships as the fourth seed following the Lobos' 71-66 victory over Nevada Saturday night in Reno, Nevada. The Lobos were assured at least a sixth seed heading into the regular-season finale, but San Diego State's 92-56 rout over UNLV ensured UNM would receive a first-round bye.
The New Mexico softball team captured two wins in a home-opening doubleheader against Northern Colorado on Saturday afternoon. The Lobos (10-7) struck first in both games, resulting in a 7-3 victory in Game One and a 8-3 win in the second contest.
The Lobos’ Mountain West tournament scenarios are simple: should San Diego State beat UNLV, the outcome of Saturday’s New Mexico-Nevada contest will determine what colors those teams will wear in a rematch next week. UNM will finish either fourth, fifth or sixth in the Mountain West standings regardless of any other outcome in this weekend’s regular-season finale. As long as the Aztecs beat the Runnin’ Rebels, UNM and Nevada will jockey for the fourth or fifth seeds.
Forward Khadijah Shumpert led the surge in her final game at WisePies Arena on Friday night, propelling UNM to a 66-42 victory over Nevada. The game was back and forth until late into the third quarter. With a 36-36 tie, Shumpert decided enough was enough. The senior scored 12 of UNM’s 14 points at the end of the third and into the start of the fourth quarter.
The No. 24 New Mexico baseball team knew it would have its hands full with Dallas Baptist coming into town. The Lobos’ offense has been outstanding giving the team’s starting pitching plenty of cushion to work with. However, in the opening game of a three game stand against the Patriots (6-3), the offense fell quiet against DBU’s starter, Collin Poche.
After three straight out-of-state tournaments, the New Mexico softball team gets its first taste of home competition this weekend. The Lobos (8-7) host Northern Colorado for its home opener after playing in events in Arizona and California to open the season. Saturday’s doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. with one more game in the series Sunday at 10 a.m.
New Mexico isn’t satisfied with just an entry among the nation’s best 25 teams. Head coach Ray Birmingham said it doesn’t mean much at this point in the season and that New Mexico warrants talks of being a premier team each season.
As criticism continues to mount against Craig Neal and the New Mexico Lobos, especially on this current four-game losing streak, the negativity seems to be taking its toll on player performance. Neal said Thursday afternoon that he’s sensed some of the external noise about the team and references to the coach being “on the hot seat” has affected his players. Several players are active on Twitter, so it’s often difficult to avoid the comments, he said.
New Mexico has ridden a bumpy ride to get to the final game of the season. Seniors Khadijah Shumpert, Bryce Owens, and Alexa Chavez will say goodbye to WisePies Arena amidst the up and down 2016 campaign. While the regular season is winding to a close, the three still have a shot to end their tenures on a high note.
When Erica Beach needed two assistants to fill her softball coaching staff, she turned to two local products. One played for her during Beach’s early days at New Mexico. The other had a stellar prep career at a metro area high school.
The New Mexico men’s tennis team looks to build on the momentum of back-to-back wins when it hosts one match Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday. Last Friday, the Lobos played a pair of matches at the McKinnon Family Tennis Center. New Mexico lost the opening doubles point to DePaul, but that didn’t seem to faze the team at all. The team responded to win all six singles matches and defeat DePaul 6-1.
The New Mexico women’s tennis team looks to notch its first road victory this season when it travels to Texas this weekend to face Houston and Rice. The Lobos (5-4) suffered back-to-back road losses to top-25 competition last weekend in Kansas. The team fell to Wichita State 1-6 followed by a 0-7 loss to Kansas.
With the inaugural season in the books, New Mexico enters the 2016 beach volleyball campaign with a competitive attitude. The first season was more of a trial run, head coach Jeff Nelson said, but this season the Lobos have a better idea what to expect.
New Mexico came out of the UC Davis Tournament one game above .500 as the team prepares for its first home games of the 2016 campaign. The Lobos were able to take game one in the tourney, defeating South Dakota (1-14) by a 3-2 score on Friday night. Starting pitcher Lauren Soles did not receive much backup from her offense, but the Lobos escaped Friday night’s affair with a victory, scoring two runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Krissy Fortner, who came in for relief, her first win in the circle.
New Mexico was left with a bad taste in its mouth after San Diego State came to WisePies Arena to take down the Lobos by a 51-46 score at home on Feb. 6. The Lobos did more than return the favor to the Aztecs on their senior night.
This time around, when the fans started departing from WisePies Arena with 3:49 left to play, there was no epic comeback to regret missing. Nor did New Mexico’s 83-56 loss on Tuesday night come down to a controversial call from the officials. San Diego State’s sizable lead remained to the final buzzer. By the time the final media timeout came in the second half, the Lobos (16-14, 9-8 MW) found themselves giving up a 17-2 run and down 74-52. The Aztecs capped the blowout victory by scoring 11 of the final 15 points for the final margin.
Solutions by The State News
