Sports Briefs Baseball Close losses have haunted the UNM baseball team this season, and this past weekend was no different. The Lobos were swept by Wichita State and two of those losses were by just one-run.
New Mexico volleyball has its sights on the NCAA tournament this season. After releasing the 2015 schedule on Friday, head coach Jeff Nelson said he devised the schedule with the vision of a playoff run, without needing to win the conference. “It’s always the goal to win the conference,” Nelson said. “But scheduling like this, it gives us an opportunity to get a second or third (place) team into the postseason, if we can do well.”
The UNM women’s tennis team made school history on Sunday by winning its first Mountain West Championship. The Lobos claimed the 2015 title tournament after defeating the Wyoming Cowgirls, though the road to the top was far from smooth. The team had to overcome poor weather conditions, match delays and a few trips to the doctor. But those obstacles were not enough to stop them.
Chris Harriman isn’t new to New Mexico and its men’s basketball program. In 2011, Harriman came to The Pit and got his first taste of UNM as a member of the Saint Louis coaching staff.
A dominating performance against Air Force fueled New Mexico to the Mountain West Men’s Tennis Championship semifinals. Not much went wrong for UNM in Thursday night’s first round at the McKinnon Family Tennis Stadium. The No. 1 seeded Lobos did not lose a single set to the No. 8 Falcons.
New Mexico men’s basketball coach Craig Neal announced on Wednesday that forward Jordan Goodman will transfer from the program to be closer to his hometown of Temple Hills, Maryland. Neal said Goodman told him that he wanted to transfer during the team’s end-of-season meeting. “We talked to him about it. He’s concerned about the health of his dad and it just didn’t work out here,” Neal said. “It’s his decision and he’s going to transfer. I’ve given him his release and we wish him the best. It just didn’t work out.”
After earning its first regular season title since 2008, the UNM men’s tennis team is still not satisfied. The No. 41 Lobos (19-9, 6-1) earned the top seed in the Mountain West men’s bracket after a 4-0 victory over the Air Force Falcons last Saturday. This was no small accomplishment, but UNM head coach Bart Scott says his team has a lot more to offer. “We are not satisfied. We are still very hungry,” he said.
Do college athletes deserve a paycheck? The debate over whether or not amateurism includes the collegiate sports realm has been a burning topic of discussion for the past couple of years. National broadcasting companies and advertisers can generate more than $1 million in revenue for major sporting events in a wide range of sports. Chris Smith wrote in Forbes magazine that CBS and Turner Warner make upwards of $1 billion on the March Madness games. For the Final Four, Smith wrote that advertisers were paying more than $700,000 for 30-second advertising slots during the two games. Collegiate players do not reap any of the financial benefits that schools, advertisers and broadcasting companies make from the big games.
All New Mexico golfer Gavin Green needed was a confidence boost. After a freshman campaign in which his best finish was ninth place, Green knew he still had plenty of room to grow to compete with some of the best amateur golfers in America. “Before I even came here, I was like, ‘Man, I don’t even know if I can win a college event,’” he said. “My first college event I shot even par and I tied 20th. Back home, you shoot even par you’re top 10, top 5. It’s just a different ball game here, I feel like.”
Youth and inexperience have New Mexico’s baseball team focusing internally rather than on competitors. Head coach Ray Birmingham said his team has been improving and must continue to grow from within rather than worry about the upcoming series tonight against the UNLV Rebels. “We’re trying to play the game right. If we can get everyone to play the game right, then we should take off,” he said. “It doesn’t have anything to do with the teams that we’re facing, it has to do with us.”
It took senior tight end Reece White longer than most to find the right position. White came to UNM as a walk-on wide receiver in 2012, but didn’t have the speed to play wide out at the Division I level. The coaches moved White to safety, but he never actually took any reps at the position because the team still needed him at wide receiver for the scout team. “I came in a wide receiver and didn’t really fit well,” White said. “I did some scout wide receiver kind of stuff, so they moved me to safety for a short period of time. I wasn’t quite as fast as everybody else.”
By Thomas Romero-Salas The importance of running track and field became clear to Carlos Wiggins after last year. The New Mexico wide receiver combined to run only two races last indoor and outdoor track season and paid for it during football.
New Mexico utilized the fierce winds Tuesday night to blow past Grand Canyon University 7-3 at Lobo Field. Not normally known for its power in the lineup, the Lobos connected on two pitches early in the contest to put pressure on GCU. New Mexico never looked back after jumping to a 7-0 lead against the Antelopes.
New Mexico lost more than its strong safety last season — it lost a leader. The Lobos are looking to replace David Guthrie after he exhausted his eligibility last year. UNM does have plenty of depth at the safety positions with several players who have in-game experience. However, safeties coach Charles McMillian said it will be difficult to replace Guthrie because of the type of leader he was.
It was a productive weekend for the New Mexico softball team as the Lobos took the series against Colorado State with a 7-4 win on Sunday. The Lobos fell 2-0 to the Rams on Friday but took a 4-3 win on Saturday. UNM head coach Erica Beach said the rubber game would be difficult. “We always have competitive series against Colorado State, no matter what the records are,” she said. “We had great pitching, great hitting and great defense today. It was a tough fought game ... I’m really proud of these girls for toughing it out and being gritty.”
The UNM women’s basketball team handed out six team awards at its end-of-year banquet, held Friday night at the Albuquerque Marriott. According to a release, freshman Cherise Beynon received the Student-athlete of the Year award and the Most Improved Player award.
Tyler Stevens made history in just his sixth career start. New Mexico’s freshman starting pitcher tossed a one-hit complete game shutout in a 5-0 win over Air Force on Sunday at Lobo Field. It was the first one-hit game thrown by the Lobos since 1976 when Tom Bepko and Craig Steiner combined to give up one hit against Colorado Mines in seven innings. The last individual pitcher to throw a one-hitter was Ron Simms, who did it against New Mexico State in 1973. “Nothing really much to say except I just attacked the zone and I had great defense,” Stevens said. “When you have hits at key times, you just have to throw strikes and pound the zone and let your defense work.”
Maybe it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Clay Davie decided to be a football coach. After all, his father, New Mexico head coach Bob Davie, has been in the coaching game for almost 30 years. But Bob Davie never tried to pressure or persuade his son into becoming a coach.
Following New Mexico’s first Mountain West series loss, the Lobos will look to get its offense back on track after being shut down by Fresno State. Head coach Erica Beach said her squad struggled against one of the best pitchers in the conference, but that the offense must maintain its confidence against a potent Colorado State team.
The New Mexico men’s and women’s outdoor track and field teams won six events at the Don Kirby Invitational on Saturday. Distance runner Peter Callahan, thrower Michael Ellis, jumper Logan Pfilsben and distance runner Sophie Connor all claimed gold, while the UNM’s men’s and women’s 4x400 meter relay teams took first.
Solutions by The State News
