From Eastern Europe to the New Mexico desert, sophomore Sandra Zmak has made the transition with flying colors. Last season, Zmak posted a 22-11 record in singles and earned All-Mountain West Conference honors in singles and doubles as a freshman. "This biggest change for me, coming from Croatia, was the change in court surface," Zmak said.
J.R. Giddens had the best game of his career Saturday, and it was the best individual performance fans at The Pit have seen in some time. Perhaps the most impressive thing about the senior guard's performance was that he was unselfish and didn't disrupt the team game, UNM head coach Steve Alford said.
UNM forced Wyoming to commit costly errors en route to a 45-point win Saturday at The Pit. The Lobos scored 38 points off of Wyoming's 23 turnovers and won 100-55. UNM head coach Steve Alford said Saturday's performance was as good as it gets. "Needless to say, I don't know if we can play much better," he said.
Track and Field Distance runner Lee Emanuel had a standout race Friday, breaking the UNM record for the men's mile, clocking a time of 4:02.47. Emanuel broke a 24-year-old record set by Ibrahim Hussein by 1.74 seconds. Emanuel - a junior transfer from Hastings, England - finished eighth overall and sixth among college runners at Notre Dame's Meyo Invitational.
If this year's recruiting class is any indication, the UNM football team will be more able to add to its roster from anywhere throughout the country. The Lobos announced Wednesday their 2008 signing class, which is made up of 22 players from 10 states. UNM head coach Rocky Long said he was pleased to grab players from around the country.
The last time the UNM men's basketball team took on Wyoming, it took 99 points and an overtime for the Lobos to come out with a win. And the way UNM head coach Steve Alford sees it, the Cowboys are clicking even more on offense. "They're a lot better," he said.
The UNM soccer team announced Wednesday the signing of 11 student-athletes. Topping the recruitment class are two All-Americans, an Elite Soccer Program all-star and a transfer from NCAA Champion Wake Forest. Michael Green, a National Soccer Coaches Association of America All-American and member of the ESP all-star team, is a top prospect for the Lobos next season.
During its three-game home losing streak, the UNM women's basketball team's biggest woes came on offense. So naturally, the Lobos ended that skid by threatening the century mark in Saturday's 94-64 win over UNLV at The Pit. UNM head coach Don Flanagan said he spent a good deal of practice tweaking the offense last week.
Senior Dionne Marsh is adjusting to her newfound leadership role on the UNM women's basketball team. Marsh leads the Lobos on the court with a team-high 14.4 points and 5.6 free throws per game. She also averages 5.8 rebounds in 30.9 minutes per game this season.
During practice this week, head coach Don Flanagan stressed one thing to the UNM women's basketball team: offense. After putting up just 38 points in a home loss to BYU last week, Flanagan said he wanted to make it clear that kind of performance can't happen again.
Two UNM jumpers are setting the bar high for the track and field team this season. Under the direction of first-year head coach Joe Franklin, senior Tiyana Peters and junior Josh Cosio have established themselves at the top of the Mountain West Conference in the high jump.
Of the UNM men's basketball team's five losses, none was due to a lack of effort like last week's fall to BYU, head coach Steve Alford said. And it won't get any easier for the Lobos this week, as they go on the road to take on Mountain West Conference co-leader UNLV.
There is no doubt the New England Patriots put together the greatest season in NFL history, and arguably any other sport, over the past six months. A new receiving core and a full season from a rejuvenated Junior Seau raised Tom Brady and Bill Belichick's team to a higher level than any team before it.
Mike Graczyk was in Denver awaiting a flight to Charlotte when he checked his voice mail. That's when the former goalkeeper for the UNM men's soccer team found out he had been drafted by the Colorado Rapids. "It was actually pretty crazy," Graczyk said. "I was on my way to visit with a team in North Carolina.
In their quest for 19-0, the Patriots have become the most polarizing sports team in ages - maybe in history. But does that say more about New England or more about sports fans in this day and age? Even though I am not a New England Patriots fan, I want to see an undefeated season happen in my lifetime.
Former UNM goalkeeper Mike Graczyk will get the chance to shut down professional offenses. Graczyk - one of the most successful Lobos in program history - was drafted in Thursday's MLS Supplemental Draft by the Colorado Rapids. He was the 19th overall pick, taken by Colorado in the second round.
The No. 67 UNM women's tennis team was steam-rolled by No. 7 Northwestern. The Wildcats blanked the Lobos 7-0 Saturday at the UNM Tennis Complex. "They were a great team," head coach Kathy Kolankiewicz said. "In doubles, I knew right from then that they had such big serves and such hard, powerful groundstrokes, this was probably the best team we've ever faced.
The UNM women's basketball team fell 41-38 to BYU on Saturday at The Pit in perhaps its worst offensive performance of the season. The Lobos shot 16.7 percent from the field in the second half and were outrebounded 49-30. UNM head coach Don Flanagan said poor shooting will happen, but he was disappointed with the team's effort in getting rebounds.
The No. 54 UNM men's tennis team experienced déjÖ vu Friday. The Lobos lost a 4-3 heartbreaker to No. 22 Boise State at home. The loss comes less than a week after falling 4-3 to the Broncos in the finals of the Mountain Regional Playoffs on Jan. 19 in Boise, Idaho.
It was just a couple years ago that the UNM women's basketball team was unstoppable at home, especially against conference opponents. In fact, the 2005-06 senior class dominated the Mountain West Conference, not losing a single conference game in their four years as Lobo basketball players.
Solutions by The State News
