Last season, the Lobos were 8-10 in conference play and 22-12 overall. In the Mountain West Preseason Poll, the Lobos were selected to finish third this season. Under Head Coach Richard Pitino and assistant coaches, the University of New Mexico looks promising for the upcoming season.
The men’s basketball team won their first exhibition match 83-65 this past Thursday against the Colorado State University Pueblo Thunderwolves. The Lobos recently brought on seven new players, including one who only arrived in the country two days prior, and fans got to see the potential of the team. The Lobos won the tip off with new player Nelly Junior Joseph getting the ball. Joseph was one of three new players in the starting line up for the Lobos, alongside Mustapha Amzil and Jemarl Baker Jr. The first half was rough for the Lobos.
At the Homecoming game, University of New Mexico defeats the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors 35-14. The Lobos end their 14 game losing streak in conference play and earn their first conference win at home since 2017. The Lobos also improved to a 3-4 record and are 1-2 in conference play. The team played a complete game – showing out on offense, defense and special teams.
The University of New Mexico has added seven new players to the men’s basketball roster this year, alongside a contract extension to men’s basketball Head Coach Richard Pitino until the 2027-28 season. Pitino has helped the Lobos achieve a 20-win season last year – the best since 2014 – and a postseason appearance. Last year, the Lobos finished with a 8-10 record within the Mountain West conference, making it two games in the MW Tournament before losing to Utah State. UNM has signed three guards, three forwards and one center. This leaves half of the roster remaining from last season.
Last season, the Lobo women’s basketball team finished with a record of 21-13. In Mike Bradbury’s seventh season as Head Coach, it was a slight drop off compared to the 2021-2022 season. Despite that, Bradbury was offered a five-year $275,000 contract extension this past May, keeping him in charge through 2028. Last year, the Lobo’s production was unbelievable, scoring 75.7 points per game – the second most in the conference. Along with that, they were efficient — scoring a top thee field goal, three point and free throw percentage in the conference. A majority of last season’s offense came from University of New Mexico’s four senior starters — Amaya Brown, LaTascya Duff, LaTora Duff and Shaiquel McGruder. Together they combined for 46.5 points per game and were key players in all components of the Lobo’s system.
The University of New Mexico Lobos lost 52-24 at home against the San Jose State Spartans on Saturday, Oct. 14. A disappointing second half led to a 28 point loss for the Lobos, earning them their 14th conference loss in a row. The Lobos are now 2-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play. Early in the game, the Lobos began to switch between senior quarterback Dylan Hopkins and freshman Devon Dampier. Dampier went in for the first time midway through the first quarter and continued to play periodically throughout the game.
New Mexico United played their final game of the regular season on Friday, Oct. 13 against Memphis 901. New Mexico took the match with a dominant scoring of 4-1, and with that final score, United will be attending the 2023 United Soccer League Championship playoffs. United came into the match off the back of a 2-1 win over Phoenix Football Club but still only had a seven percent chance to make it to the playoffs. They proved this statistic wrong. The match started strong for United with the first goal in the third minute by Harry Swartz. From there, the boys in black and gold kept up on the offensive, even on defense. United’s goalie – Andrew Thomas – was scrappy.
Richard Pitino’s second year as Head Coach at the University of New Mexico proved to be a success. The Lobos were 14-1 in non-conference play and 22-12 overall – a major improvement from the 2021-22 season. Although the Lobos fell behind in conference play last year, they dominated in non-conference and are on track to do so again this season.
The University of New Mexico's softball team played a double header against the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls on Oct. 7. No official box score was released so stats were kept by hand for game one by the Daily Lobo. In game one, the Lobos defeated the Cowgirls 12-1. UNM's offense exploded for runs in multiple innings. They earned 14 hits and seven walks. Head Coach Nicole Dickson shared what she strives for in the team during Fall Ball and how it can be used to integrate newcomers.
Seven players from the Isotopes have made their Major League Baseball debut this year and have been called up for a current active roster position on the Colorado Rockies. The list includes former Isotopes players, Evan Justice, Karl Kauffmann, Riley Pint, Victor Vodnik, Julio Carreras, Hunter Goodman and Brenton Doyle. Justice, Kauffmann, Pint and Vodnick are all rookie pitchers for the Rockies. Carreras plays third base, Goodman plays first and Doyle is a center fielder.
The University of New Mexico's soccer team beat the Air Force Academy Falcons in their first home conference match 2-1. The Lobos improved to a 1-1-2 conference record and 4-2-4 record overall. The Lobos were resilient; they were outshot 13-11 and were down 1-0 at halftime but two second-half goals from Sofia Roberts and Paris Dalton won the match. The game was tied 1-1 when Dalton scored the game-winning goal on a free kick.
Lobos finished off set three on a three point scoring run, winning the set 25-20. UNM’s Libero Giselle Groe showed out in the last set. She got an ace, bringing the Lobos up 9-5 and later on had an amazing save, allowing the Lobos to maintain a five point lead against the Broncos, 14-9. The Lobos won the set and the match on a three point scoring run to end the set 25-20. The match was won on a service ace by Guereca, closing out the day with another win for the Lobos.
University of New Mexico Cross Country runners Nicola Jansen and Habtom Samuel are both named Mountain West Athlete of the Week on Tuesday, Sept. 26 after their performance at the Roy Griak Invitational. Jansen earned the title of Women’s Athlete of the Week and Samuel received the honor of Men’s Athlete of the Week, NCAA Runner of the Week and Freshman of the Week. This is the first time that UNM athletes have won both the MW Men’s and Women’s Athlete of the Week award since 2014.
In the fifth game of their last series, on Saturday, Sept. 23, the Isotopes play the Oklahoma City Dodgers. The ‘topes go into the series ranking third in the Pacific Coast League East, and play well, looking to close out the second half of the season on a high note. The game also is the second night of the Isotopes Fan Appreciation weekend, giving out free jerseys and a fireworks show to end the night.
A week into Hispanic Heritage Month, Uxue Guereca, Zach Vigil and Nahawa Diarra Berthe, who are all Hispanic Athletes at University of New Mexico, discussed their experiences and representing their culture through their respective sports. Hispanic Heritage Month spans from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 and is centered around celebration and representation of Hispanic culture. Outside hitter for the women’s volleyball team, Guereca is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico and is in her senior year at UNM. Despite having multiple scholarship offers to play for other schools, Guereca chose UNM to be “closer to home.” On the volleyball court she said she strives to represent her culture with her style of play.
University of New Mexico senior Dylan Hopkins is the new quarterback for the Lobos and is ready to make his mark at UNM. Before coming to UNM, Hopkins played for the University of Alabama, Birmingham (UAB) where he lettered for three years and redshirted for one. He spent five years in UAB’s football program with Bryant Vincent who is now UNM’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Throughout his years at UAB, Hopkins was able to build a relationship with Vincent that has carried over to UNM. “It’s about relationships, it’s not just about X’s and O’s. The last five years that we’ve spent together – obviously we’ve had a lot of ups and downs, but we're extremely close and we have a great relationship,” Vincent said.
The University of New Mexico lost 27-17 at home against the New Mexico State Aggies on Saturday, Sept. 16. Going into the game, the Lobos were favored to win by 2.5. Head Coach Danny Gonzales fell to a 1-2 record against the Aggies while Aggies Coach Jerry Kill advanced to 2-0. NMSU Head Coach Kill had experienced health issues early in the week and it was called into question if he was able to coach the game. During the game, Kill was struck by a football and fell to the ground but immediately stood back up and went looking for a referee to fight for his players. In his post-game press conference, Coach Gonzales still had unwavering confidence in the team.
The University of New Mexico’s football team defeated the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles 56-10. It was the home debut of the new offense led by Bryant Vincent at offensive coordinator and Dylan Hopkins at quarterback – both transfers from the University of Alabama, Birmingham. The Golden Eagles play in the Ohio Valley Conference in Football Conference Subdivision. They haven’t had a winning season since 2011. There were 17,279 fans in attendance, which is the most in a home opener since 2018.
Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley left the Pacific-12 Conference for the Atlantic Coast Conference on Friday Sept. 1. This paves the way for the Pac-12’s two remaining schools, Oregon State University and Washington State University, to join a new conference or create their own. The MWC and the American Athletic Conference originally stood as the top two contenders to take Oregon and Washington State, according to CBS. Comments made by AAC commissioner Michael Aresco on Friday seemed to remove them from the equation.
The University of New Mexico volleyball team secured their second sweep of the season, winning 3-0 against the St. John’s Red Storm on Friday, Sept. 1. The match took place on day two of the Lobo Invitational. The Lobos came in strong after going 2-1 against the University of California, Irvine Invitational the weekend before.
Solutions by The State News
