Sports

Sports

Softball: Lobos win in dramatic fashion over Fresno State

Cameron Goeldner | March 30

Behind a strong first six innings from Jensen Main and a walk off double from Monica Salas, the University of New Mexico Softball team was able to secure its first win over the Fresno State Bulldogs since 2014, 4-3. “Main kind of kept them off balance, she was working hard,” head coach Paula Congleton said. “She gave up some walks which we will work on, she knows that. The big hitters, she stifled them tonight. They’ve got some great hitters, they’re doing quite well in the Mountain West. She did do a very nice job today for us.” The Lobos struck first in the second inning, as walks from Kasey Halleen and Aleyah Wilbon set the Lobos up with runners on the corners for Cameryn O’Grady, who doubled to drive in both runs. O’Grady advanced to third on a wild pitch, but Sydney Townes was unable to bring her in to score, as Townes struck out to end the inning.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos beat No. 23 SDSU in game one of three game series

Matthew Narvaiz | March 30

The ranking didn’t matter much to the University of New Mexico baseball team as a go-ahead RBI single in the eighth inning and a steady stream of pitching from the bullpen helped elevate the Lobos to a 5-4 victory over No. 23 San Diego State at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Sophomore Justin Slaten got the start on the mound for UNM on Thursday afternoon and was dealing early in the game, retiring the first six batters he faced. But in the third inning SDSU was able to get its first run of the game, scoring on a wild pitch to take a 1-0 lead.

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Sports

Softball: Lobos host Fresno State, looking for first MW series win

Robert Maler | March 29

The University of New Mexico softball team will look to get back in the win column when it continues conference play on Thursday, hosting a three-game slate against the Fresno State Bulldogs. New Mexico (8-24, 2-4 MW) has had a rough go of things early on in the season as the team logged a lot of miles over the first month of play, competing away from home in four tournaments in four different states. UNM picked up just three wins over those first 20 games, but seemed to find a groove when it finally got the opportunity to host the Lobo Classic, winning three of the five games played there. The team also looked pretty good in the pair of losses, making things competitive right to the end.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Pair of Lobos to leave UNM

Robert Maler | March 28

Last year, the University of New Mexico men's basketball team saw a multitude of players announce their intentions to leave the program before a new head coach took the reins and coaxed some of them into staying put. And while head coach Paul Weir has seemed to bring stability to what looked like a shaky program, a release said a pair of players were recently granted their release to pursue other opportunities. Senior forward Connor MacDougall didn't see any action during the past season after he suffered a foot injury during an exhibition game against former rival Brigham Young University.

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News

Athletics dept. pressured on deficit

Danielle Prokop | March 26

Students urged the University of New Mexico Board of Regents to not forgive the athletics department’s accumulated $7.5 million deficit at the Budget Summit Thursday. And the regents delivered. Board of Regents president Robert Doughty made the move to table the issue of UNM athletics’ deficit until the department can provide a balanced budget for 2019. “I need to be convinced now more than anything that we will not have a deficit next year,” Doughty said. “We table any discussion on dealing with the past deficit until we get a financially sound transparent budget for 2019.”

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos best Air Force in series finale

Matthew Narvaiz | March 25

The University of New Mexico baseball team finished out the weekend strong, defeating Air Force 7-4 in the series finale on Sunday afternoon at Santa Ana Star Field. Sophomore Cody Dye started on the mound for the Lobos (10-12-1, 4-5 MW). He pitched seven strong innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and struck out eight Air Force batters to put himself in line for the win. The strikeout total tied a career high for the sophomore righty, but also delivered a career-high 133 pitches towards home plate before the workhorse exited the game. The win was the Lobos’ second in their three-game series against the Falcons this weekend, as they had won Saturday’s matchup, too, behind a walk-off home run in the tenth inning courtesy of senior Danny Collier.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos down Air Force in extra innings

Matthew Narvaiz | March 24

Senior Danny Collier hit for the cycle and the University of New Mexico, after dropping the series opener yesterday, downed the Air Force Falcons 12-11 at Santa Ana Star Field on Saturday afternoon. Collier went 4-for-5 from the plate, with three runs and three RBI. Since he hit for the cycle, it included a single, a double, a triple and a homer. That home run, though, was the game winner, as he pelted it to right center with two outs in the bottom of the tenth inning. Air Force (9-13, 3-5 MW) was able to get on the scoreboard first after they scored three runs in the top of the third inning. But UNM, in the bottom of the frame, quickly responded by adding four runs of its own. 

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos drop game one at Santa Ana Star Field to Air Force

Matthew Narvaiz | March 24

Being at home didn’t favor the University of New Mexico Lobos Friday evening. UNM, which has won two of its last three games prior to Friday’s contest, struggled against the visiting Falcons, falling 10-4 in game one at Santa Ana Star Field. Sophomore pitcher Justin Slaten, who got the start on the mound for the Lobos, wasn’t able to find his groove in 4.1 innings of play. Though he pitched a good first inning, he eventually allowed 7 runs on 11 hits in the ensuing innings.

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Sports

Women's Basketball: Lobos' WNIT Run comes to an end with loss to TCU

Cameron Goeldner | March 23

As the clock wound down to zero, tears were shed. It wasn’t the way the Lobos hoped it would end. University of New Mexico women’s basketball team saw its season come to a close Thursday night Dreamstyle Arena in an 81-72 loss to TCU in the third round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. Early on, the Lobos appeared as though they might run away from TCU in a similar fashion to Tuesday night’s contest against Rice, as Tesha Buck went 3-for-4 from the field, including two three-pointers to lead the Lobos with eight points in the first quarter, as the Lobos jumped out to a 22-15 lead.

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Sports

Softball: Lobos fall to New Mexico State

Cameron Goeldner | March 22

Wednesday night was an emotional one for new University of New Mexico softball coach Paula Congleton, as she participated in her first Rio Grande Rivalry matchup since her playing days at UNM ended in 1983. The Lobos were unable to deliver a win in the matchup, as New Mexico State used a four-run fourth and a seven-run sixth to claim a 12-7 victory over the Lobos, but that didn’t detract from what the night meant to her or what her new job means to her.

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Sports

Men's Soccer: Lobos add a pair of international players

Cameron Goeldner | March 21

The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team has added two new international players to its roster in Maliek Howell of Jamaica and Carlton McKenzie of England, the program announced on Tuesday. Howell comes to the Lobos from Kingston, Jamaica where he has competed for the national team at the U17 and U20 levels. At Jamaica College, he was named Sports Man of the Year in 2015-16, and one of the top six players at the Digicel Kickstart Clinic at the Manchester City Football Club Academy.

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Sports

Women’s Basketball: Lobos dominate Rice on both ends en route to 93-73 victory at the Pit

Matthew Narvaiz | March 21

The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team played like a well-oiled machine on Tuesday evening at the Pit, defeating the Rice Owls 93-73 in the second round of the WNIT. On both sides of the ball, the Lobos (25-10) executed. Defensively, they forced 22 turnovers, 15 of which were steals. And on offense, their best three scorers played up to par, with junior post Jaisa Nunn leading the way with a team-high 28 points on 11-for-15 from the field. Senior guards Cherise Beynon and Tesha Buck added 20 and 18 points, respectively. “Defensively, we were really good,” said UNM head coach Mike Bradbury. “They followed the plan almost perfectly. We knew we had to turn (Rice) over, and we were able to do that.”

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Sports

Baseball: Isotopes celebrate Hispanic heritage

Cameron Goeldner | March 20

The Albuquerque Isotopes announced they will participate with the Copa de la Diversiόn promotion created by Minor League Baseball. The promotion, which began last season with four teams and expanded to 33 for the 2018 season, is an initiative designed to celebrate Hispanic heritage in markets with significant Hispanic populations. For four games this season, beginning on May 5, Cinco de Mayo, the Isotopes will become the Mariachis de Nuevo México. As part of this initiative, the teams will compete for the Copa de la Diversiόn, or Fun Cup.

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Sports

Women's Basketball: New Mexico and Rice to square off at the Pit in WNIT action

Matthew Narvaiz | March 19

The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team will continue its quest to advance in the WNIT on Tuesday evening when it hosts the Rice Owls at the Pit in the second round of the tournament. Previously, the Lobos evaded a late comeback attempt from senior guard Stella Beck and Saint Mary’s at Johnson Center by coming up clutch in the final moments of the game. Some of those moments included — but not limited to — UNM freshman guard N’Dea Flye hitting two key 3-pointers down the stretch. In the end, New Mexico grabbed an 82-80 victory, behind a game-high 33 points from senior guard Cherise Beynon.

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Sports

Hockey: Lobos down Michigan State to post winning record at ACHA Nationals

Robert Maler | March 19

The University of New Mexico hockey club may not have advanced out of pool play at the 2018 ACHA National Championships, but the team seemed to have put to rest any questions about whether or not it belongs on the national stage. In its first-ever appearance on the national stage as a program, New Mexico ended with a 2-1 record in pool play — culminating with a 6-5 victory over the No. 1 overall team in the nation for most of the season, Michigan State. Quinnipiac emerged as the winner of Pool B by winning all three of its matches, including an 11-3 shellacking of the Lobos in their lone loss.

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Sports

Women’s Basketball: Lobos survive late comeback from Saint Mary’s

Matthew Narvaiz | March 16

Survive and advance. The University of New Mexico women’s basketball team did just that Thursday afternoon at Johnson Center, when they narrowly defeated the visiting Saint Mary’s Gaels, 82-80, in the first round of the WNIT. The win, though, didn’t come easy. It was physical and emotional — and the two led to many foul calls on the floor. Freshmen Antonia Anderson and N’Dea Flye both picked up four fouls in the first half, while senior guard Cherise Beynon and junior post Jaisa Nunn both fouled out in the latter half of the fourth quarter.

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Sports

Hockey: Lobos semifinal hopes dashed after big loss to Quinnipiac

Robert Maler | March 14

The Lobos kicked off the ACHA National Championships with the thrill of an overtime victory on Tuesday, but the New Mexico hockey team felt the other end of the spectrum in a lop-sided loss just one day later. After one day of play, New Mexico and Quinnipiac sat atop the standings in Pool B after the Lobos pulled out a 5-4 overtime win over Central Florida and the Braves notched a 3-2 upset victory over No. 1 Michigan State. On Thursday, Quinnipiac proved Tuesday's win over the prohibitive favorite was no fluke — skating to an 11-3 win over New Mexico.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos drop two single games in California road trip

Matthew Narvaiz | March 14

Making a trip through California proved no easy task for the Lobos. First, they dropped a weekend series at Fresno State. Then, they dropped single game appearances at Cal Poly and Pepperdine. Below are recaps of the two standalone games UNM appeared in: Cal Poly, Monday After finishing up their series at Fresno State, the Lobos jumped right back into things when they made a trip to Cal Poly. However, for the second time this season, both teams took extra innings to get things done. In the end, it was Cal Poly who escaped with a 5-4 victory in the tenth inning.

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Sports

Men's Tennis: Lobos pick up back-to-back 4-3 wins to go 10-5

Matthieu Cartron | March 14

The University of New Mexico, after taking third in the Mountain Pacific Invitational, put together back-to-back 4-3 victories against Nebraska-Lincoln and Wichita State in Des Moines, Iowa, to build momentum heading into the match on Thursday this week against New Mexico State. The Lobos (10-5) first played Nebraska Lincoln (9-3), who had played Wichita State (7-7) the previous day and lost 4-1. The Lobos got off to a raucous start. In doubles, UNM junior Ricky Hernandez-Tong and sophomore Dominic West eased past sophomore Micah Klousia and freshman William Grattan-Smith 6-0 at the No. 2 position.

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Sports

Hockey: Lobos pick up 4-3 overtime victory over Central Florida at ACHA Nationals

Robert Maler | March 14

The University of New Mexico hockey team qualified for the ACHA National Championships for the first time in the program's history, and got off to a great start in group play when it faced off against Central Florida. New Mexico had not played a game that counted toward its record in over five weeks when it blanked the Colorado School of Mines 8-0 back on Feb. 5, but showed no signs of rust when it hit the ice on Tuesday afternoon. Central Florida had a couple of early power play chances but the Lobos were able to effectively kill two penalties and get back to full strength. But the Golden Knights were still able to strike first, notching a goal off the stick of forward Bradley Perlman with 8:57 left to play in the first period.