New Mexico has gotten off to a scorching start in the 2016 campaign and has received national attention because of it. Per the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, the Lobos are now ranked amongst the top 25, coming in at No. 24 to start the week.
New Mexico’s offense again paved the way for New Mexico as the Lobos snagged the series sweep against Wichita State on Sunday afternoon. The offense was able to produce eight runs to support UNM’s starting pitcher James Harrington in his second win of the season as the Lobos garnered an 8-6 victory in the final game. New Mexico (6-1) has facilitated at least six runs in each win this season. Over the weekend, UNM plated at least eight runs in each game during the three-game home opening stretch.
New Mexico’s defensive effort continued to fall off on Saturday. For the third straight game, UNM’s defense in the second half became problematic. Fresno State took advantage of the Lobos’ lack of effort for a 92-82 win at WisePies Arena. UNM has allowed opponents to score an average of 49 points in the second half of the past three games, resulting in a three-game losing streak. After spending most of the Mountain West season near the top of the standings, UNM now sits in fifth place with two games left in the regular season.
It took the Lobos 30 minutes to get any sort of offensive production against Fresno State on Saturday afternoon. The slow start plagued New Mexico, who dropped the contest 51-43 in Fresno, California, despite a fourth quarter offensive surge. The offense was led by forward Khadijah Shumpert, who put together a sound 22 point and nine rebound showing in the loss.
New Mexico’s track and field team failed to defend their conference crown at the Albuquerque Convention Center in the Mountain West Indoor Championships, but still turned in strong performances facilitating individual titles. Despite the men’s run of three straight and the women’s streak of back-to-back conference championships ending, head coach Joe Franklin said he was pleased with the way the team competed. Both squads finished in fourth place overall. The men scored in nearly every event and tallied 101 points for the meet, which Franklin said exceeded expectations. And the women accumulated 65 points over the three-day event.
The New Mexico men’s tennis team picked up two wins Friday in its first home action, playing nearly perfect tennis against DePaul followed by a sweep of Utah. The Lobos played in Albuquerque for the first time this year after a treacherous 13-match road stretch to start the season.
It took a while for New Mexico’s bats to wake up, but when they finally did, runs came pouring in as the Lobos defeated Wichita State 8-4 on Saturday. Saturday afternoon’s game moved at quite a different pace than Friday night’s 17-7 win over the visiting Shockers.
Carson Schneider garnered his second win of the season, but it was UNM’s offensive firepower that stole the show in a 17-7 rout over Wichita State Friday night at Santa Ana Star Field. Schneider (2-0) had plenty of offense to back up his two-run, six inning night. Designated hitter Chris DeVito led the way for UNM’s dominant outing at the plate.
New Mexico head coach Yvonne Sanchez said Wednesday night’s 49-48 loss to No. 25 Colorado State still stings. With just three games left, two of which are on the road, UNM will have to quickly shake off the tight affair in order to obtain a bye in the first round of the Mountain West tournament. “As heartbreaking as last night was, and still kind of is, we had to move on,” Sanchez said in Thursday’s press conference.
It isn’t all “rainbows and unicorns,” Craig Neal said. He knew these Lobos would have ups and downs this season. But when you’re the head coach for a program that draws as much local attention as New Mexico does, expectations come with the territory. Ahead of Saturday’s showdown with Fresno State, the UNM head coach said he understands that.
The New Mexico men’s tennis program finally returns to Albuquerque to make its home spring debut, while the women’s team hits the road for six consecutive road matches. The women’s tennis team, after notching back-to-back upset wins at home, looks to build some confidence on the road as it heads to Kansas to play a pair of matches this weekend.
New Mexico’s track and field team is ready to defend its conference crowns at the Mountain West Indoor Championships, which start Thursday and conclude on Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The men enter the meet as the three-time defending MW champions, while the women have won the last two titles. The women’s squad also earned a new distinction on Monday. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association moved the women’s team into the top 25 national rankings. The team jumped up 10 spots to grab the 23rd position, which is the highest ranking in program history.
A short week to get readjusted to Land of Enchantment is in store for New Mexico as the team prepares for its home opener against Wichita State this weekend. The Lobos (3-1) took home its first series in Hawaii since 1985 on Monday, but the players are still reeling from jet lag after arriving back in Albuquerque on Tuesday.
It came down to the final shot, but New Mexico’s hopes of upsetting No. 25 Colorado State at WisePies Arena on Wednesday night were dashed with senior Khadijah Shumpert’s last second miss. The Lobos outscored the top team in the conference in the first and final quarter of the contest, but the squad’s offensive lull in the middle quarters of the game gave CSU (25-1, 15-0 MW) the advantage it needed in what resulted in a 49-48 thriller.
New Mexico hadn’t won a series in Hawai’i in over 20 years. That streak came to a halt during UNM’s 7-1 victory over the Rainbow Warriors on Monday. The victory was the final in a four game stint against Hawai’i as the Lobos improved to 3-1 to begin their season.
Another road trip, another two losses for New Mexico. The Lobos’ woes away from WisePies Arena continued Tuesday night in an 86-69 loss at Colorado State in Fort Collins, Colorado. The latest setback marked the 10th loss outside Albuquerque’s city limits, including seven losses in true road games.
Saying that Colorado State has not fared well at WisePies Arena would be an understatement. In Albuquerque, the Rams have tallied only a single win at the mile-high venue dating back to 1998. However, this year, CSU (24-1, 14-0 MW) has remained unscathed in conference play and has rallied off 21 consecutive wins. Oh, and the Rams have joined the nation’s top 25 because of it.
The New Mexico men’s tennis team got blanked by Columbia on Friday, but bounced back to earn a split on Saturday in Pennsylvania. Columbia jumped all over the Lobos on Friday, winning the first two doubles matches to garner the point for doubles competition. Columbia’s Richard Pham and Shawn Hadavi got by the reunited duo of Hayden Sabatka and Bart Van Leijsen, 6-2, followed by the pair of Miguel Alda and Eric Rubin, who defeated Jorge Escutia and Ricky Hernandez-Tong, 6-4.
The New Mexico track and field distance medley team achieved its goal at the UCS Invitational on Saturday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Sophie Connor, Callie Thackery, Emily Hosker-Thornhill and Holly Van Grinsven combined to run a time of 11:08.95 and finish in second place behind Clemson. The time, after being converted to 11:01.86 due to track size, puts the relay team’s time at seventh in the nation.
The pre-championship poll accurately predicted the Lobos’ faith in the 2016 Mountain West Women’s Swimming and Diving Championship. The Lobos were ranked seventh out of the ten teams listed in the coaches’ poll. With 248 points, that’s where UNM stood at the end of the four-day competition.
Solutions by The State News
