Sports

Sports

Volleyball: New, returning players alike vie for starting positions

Liam Cary-Eaves | August 17

New Mexico’s three starting spots for outside hitter are up for grabs. Head volleyball coach Jeff Nelson said junior Cassie House is the front-runner to fill Chantale Riddle’s big shoes on the right side. However, Nelson said nothing is set in stone, and each of the five outside hitters has a real shot at claiming the position. House, along with fellow juniors Julia Warren and Devanne Sours, is a returning starter from last year’s big hitting position. While Warren switched to libero mid-season, where she earned first team All-Conference honors, she will likely return to her natural position above the net.

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Sports

Lobos down Falcons in rainy preseason match

Isabel Gonzalez | August 17

The UNM men’s soccer team kicked off the 2015 fall sports season with a 2-1 win over Air Force during an exhibition game Saturday. Light rain was frequent, and a 42-minute lightning delay interrupted the first half of the match. However, unpleasant weather was not enough to stop the 1,180 fans who came to support their team. “That was awesome,” head coach Jeremy Fishbein said. “People are behind this team, and you can feel their energy.”

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Sports

Women's soccer: New coaches, veteran athletes

J.R. Oppenheim | August 17

Women’s soccer looks forward to strong season behind returning starters While the New Mexico women’s soccer team features a brand new coaching staff, the Lobos have plenty of experience returning for the upcoming campaign. The team will bring back 10 of its 11 starters from a roster that finished third in the Mountain West Conference. Three of those players — redshirt senior goalie Cassie Ulrich, senior midfielder Dylann O’Connor and redshirt sophomore defender Emily Chavez — earned all-conference recognition a year ago.

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Sports

Football: QB at wideout shows intellect

Thomas Romero-Salas | August 17

It didn’t take long for Patrick Reed to realize there wouldn’t be much playing time as quarterback for him. All Reed had to do was take one look at the depth chart to see that he was behind incumbent redshirt sophomore starter Lamar Jordan, redshirt junior transfer Austin Apodaca and redshirt freshman JaJuan Lawson. That prompted Reed to propose a position switch during spring football practice: He told head coach Bob Davie that he wanted to go from quarterback to wide receiver. Davie accepted Reed’s proposal, and the redshirt freshman has proven that he’s a capable wideout thus far.

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Sports

Lobos add Notre Dame to 2019 football schedule

Thomas Romero-Salas | August 13

Head coach Bob Davie won’t need a season ticket to watch his former team Notre Dame play in 2019. In fact, Davie will be on the opposite sideline against the Fighting Irish, coaching his current New Mexico team.

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Sports

Lobos adapting to life after Riddle

Liam Cary-Eaves | August 13

New Mexico will sport a completely different look this year than in recent years. After five years, UNM’s dominant right side hitter Chantale Riddle had her NCAA eligibility expire and the volleyball team must find a new identity. A season ago, Riddle was chasing two prestigious milestones in UNM history.

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Sports

Players ready to put soccer hazing scandal behind them

J.R. Oppenheim | August 11

One year removed from a hazing scandal that rocked the New Mexico women’s soccer program, two returning players said Tuesday the team has put the events behind it and is ready to move forward to its 2015 campaign. Both senior goalkeeper Cassie Ulrich and midfielder Dylann O’Connor said they and the rest of the team take responsibility for their actions when upperclassmen hazed freshmen last August. UNM’s investigation uncovered underage drinking and the spraying of a “soap and water” mixture on the freshman.

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Sports

Sports briefs for Aug. 10, 2015

Liam Cary-Eaves | August 10

New Mexico will play the Auburn Tigers in the first round of ESPN’s Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. On Thursday ESPN released the entire bracket for the eight teams playing in the tournament. UNM drew the Tigers and play is set for Dec. 22. The SEC-member Tigers finished 15-20 during the 2014-2015 season and went 4-14 against their conference opponents.

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Sports

Football: Dakota Cox ready to prove himself, team hits tackling

Thomas Romero-Salas | August 10

It’s hard to imagine that anyone would doubt Dakota Cox’s talent, but there’s been little mention of New Mexico’s best linebacker in the preseason. Cox wasn’t named in any major watch lists, nor did his name appear on the Preseason All-Mountain West Team. The main reason Cox’s name hasn’t been appearing often is because the junior linebacker is coming off a torn left ACL. He missed the final three games of the 2014 season and still led UNM in tackles with 116. “I would say yes, I was definitely frustrated, but it gives me something to play for,” Cox said after Sunday’s practice. “Every season you’ve got to go in with the mindset that you can be on any list that you want. That’s one thing I’m playing for, is to prove people wrong and that I’m back.”

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Sports

Volleyball: Coach Nelson confident in growing team

Liam Cary-Eaves | August 10

After a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Mountain West last year, New Mexico head coach Jeff Nelson said his volleyball squad may be deeper than ever heading into the 2015 campaign. The Lobos began fall practices Wednesday morning with the first two-a-day practice of the season. Nelson scheduled two practices almost every day in order to get his squad ready for the season opener at the Ball State tournament beginning on 
August 28. “We really only lost one position, and we have six returning starters,” Nelson said. “... I think, overall, it’s a better group.”

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Sports

Last chance for Davie's first four-year seniors

Thomas Romero-Salas | July 29

Time has almost run out for most of Bob Davie’s first recruiting class.The 2015 season will most likely be the last for eight of Davie’s first 24 recruits. During the last three years, those players haven’t had much success on the field, with a record of 11-35.

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Sports

Lobos predicted to finish last in Mountain Division

Thomas Romero-Salas | July 28

Expectations are still low for New Mexico. At the Mountain West Media Days in Las Vegas, Nevada, the conference announced the preseason polls for the Mountain and West Divisions.

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Sports

Men's basketball schedule features seven NCAA teams

J.R. Oppenheim | July 21

Since New Mexico won’t make the trip to Wyoming this year for a Mountain West basketball game, Lobo coach Craig Neal said he received an offer via text from Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt. Come up for a vacation and experience Laramie, Neal joked. The 11-team conference schedule means teams drop one half of a home-and-away series with two different foes, and the Lobos will not face the defending conference tournament champion in Wyoming.

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Sports

Being a Lobo: Top five basketball alumni

Liam Cary-Eaves | July 20

Dating back to 1956, the University of New Mexico has helped guide a multitude of players into the NBA. New Mexico fans have witnessed many dominant players blossom right before them. Ranking the top five Lobo basketball players of all time is a difficult task; accounting for individual careers in Cherry and Silver followed by life after UNM, I have taken on the task of ranking the best to ever wear a Lobo uniform.

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Sports

Being a Lobo: Top five Lobo athletes to watch this year

Thomas Romero-Salas | July 20

UNM has plenty of athletes to watch this upcoming year. There are several players on every team to keep an eye out for, but there wasn’t room for everybody on this list. The list of the top five athletes to watch isn’t meant to honor these athletes, but to highlight some of the better players that UNM puts on the field.

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Sports

Sports briefs for July 13, 2015

Thomas Romero-Salas | July 13

The New Mexico baseball team officially announced the hire of Buddy Gouldsmith, who will join the staff as third base coach. The move comes a month after former UNM pitching coach Dan Spencer left the team to take the same position at Washington State. Assistant coach Ken Jacome will take over as pitching coach for the departed Spencer. Jacome was the pitching coach for UNM from 2005-08.

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Sports

Basketball: Lobos howl above the rest

July 13

New Mexico fans turn out for their Lobos. For the 16th consecutive year, New Mexico fans have topped the Mountain West for attendance in both men and women’s basketball. It is the 49th straight year that UNM’s fan base scaled the top-25 plateau for attendance at men’s basketball games. “I’m not surprised at all,” New Mexico Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs said. “I truly believe we have the best fans in the country.”

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Sports

Sports briefs for July 7, 2015

Thomas Romero-Salas and J.R. Oppenheim | July 6

Sports Briefs AD contract extension Paul Krebs has a new four-year contract to remain as athletic director for New Mexico, the Albuquerque Journal reported Thursday.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: New assistant coach announced

Liam Cary-Eaves | July 6

Head coach Craig Neal’s journey to court his team and staff for the 2015-2016 season has come to a close. Terrence Rencher was named the latest addition among New Mexico’s men’s basketball coaches after garnering an assistant coach position on Neal’s staff. “I know what this program stands for and I know the passion behind it,” Rencher said. “I know the expectations that come with it and I’m up for that challenge.”

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Sports

Basketball: Old lobos, new tricks

Thomas Romero-Salas | June 29

The atmosphere of The Pit doesn’t disappear — not even for an All-Star game. The inaugural Lobo All-Star game on Sunday saw 9,497 fans watch some of the greatest UNM players in the history of the program face off against one another in a Cherry vs. Silver match. The Cherry team narrowly beat the Silver team 127-124. Drew Gordon hadn’t played a game at The Pit since the 2011-12 season, and yet he had to remind himself that he was playing in an exhibition game.