Sports

Sports

Women's Basketball: Lobos to host ENMU in exhibition game

Matthew Narvaiz | October 31

Fresh off of an open practice last Saturday, the New Mexico women’s basketball team will be back in action in an exhibition game against Eastern New Mexico at Dreamstyle Arena on Wednesday. The exhibition match will be the first bit of live action for the Lobos this season and its first at Dreamstyle Arena, aka The Pit, in the lead up to the upcoming season. For Eastern New Mexico, the game will be its second exhibition game this week, first participating in one against the Arizona Wildcats on Monday evening — a game they lost, 69-50, on the road in Tucson.

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Sports

Men's Soccer: Lobos cap off senior night with another draw

Ajinkya Patil | October 30

The University of New Mexico men’s soccer team played to a goalless draw against North Carolina-Charlotte in their last home game that went into double overtime. This game marked senior night for the Lobos, and Sam Gleadle, Luke Lawrence, Lucas Seligman and Jason Beaulieu were honored on the evening. Having drawn their last two home games against Denver and Charlotte respectively, the Lobos are now 8-4-4 overall and 3-2-2 in Conference USA. This was an important game for the Lobos, since Charlotte was one point behind New Mexico in fourth place in C-USA.

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Sports

Day of Destiny X caps off 2017 in style

Robert Maler | October 29

Day of Destiny X, an event which marked the 10-year anniversary for Destiny Wrestling Organization, took place Oct. 21 as the wrestlers and promoters entertained their fans for the final time in 2017. The independent wrestling company had a full card in front of a packed, sold-out crowd as approximately 400 people filed into the Westside Community Center to see the signature show. Many fans stood near the bleachers to get a better view as a 13-man over-the-top-rope rumble kicked off the action.

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Sports

Cross Country: Lobo women extend conference title streak

Robert Maler | October 29

The Lobo women’s cross country team ran into the history books on Friday, notching its 10th-straight Mountain West Championship. As part of a program that ranks second nationwide, the women showed they are worthy of the high designation and expectations by snagging four of the top five finishes — and six of the top 12 spots. New Mexico head coach Joe Franklin complimented their performance and seemed pleased that the squad rose to the occasion against a quality field.

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Sports

Women’s Soccer: Aztecs edge Lobos in seven goal thriller

Matthieu Cartron | October 29

The Lobos (12-7, 7-4 MW) conceded a goal within the final five second of the game to lose to San Diego State (10-7-2, 7-2-2 MW) at the UNM Soccer Complex on Friday night—the Lobos’ senior night. Before the game, the Lobos were vying to maintain the second seed in the Mountain West Conference standings. The first and second seeds receive a bye to the semifinals. But both San Diego State and Boise State were close behind. An SDSO win would see them finish second, while a tie between SDSU and UNM would have put Boise second. SDSU started the game on the front-foot, and punished the Lobos within the first minute of the game. Freshman midfielder Chloe Frisch fed sophomore midfielder Rachel Speros at the top of the box, and the sophomore then fired the ball into the top-right corner of the goal.

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Sports

UNM volleyball sweeps Utah State and overcomes Boise State in winning week

Aaron Cowan | October 29

Lobo women’s volleyball rebounded from last week’s losses and beat both their rivals in road games in Utah and Idaho. UNM had previously defeated Utah State University (USU) in a home game on Sept. 30 of this year and shut them out again in three straight sets, 25-19, 25-21 and 25-13, which also marked head coach Nelson’s 200th victory at the helm of UNM’s program. On offensive, UNM players made a strong showing, led by Lauren Twitty who drove in 11 kills and 18 digs, notching her 11th double-double of the season. Mariessa Carrasco tallied nine kills, followed by Victoria Spragg and Hailey Rubino each credited with seven kills, as well as Carly Beddingfield and Yasmin Tan who chipped in four kills apiece. Ashley Kelsey led with a match-high 21 digs and as a team UNM outperformed USU 61-45 on digs, which was the most UNM had registered since 2014.

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Sports

Football: Lobo team dealt embarrassing road loss at Wyoming

Robert Maler | October 29

New Mexico football had more turnovers that it did points on Saturday evening, getting thoroughly dominated by Wyoming in an embarrassing road loss. The Lobos (3-5, 1-4 MW) finally got on the board early in the fourth quarter with a Jason Sanders field goal, but all it did was prevent the team from getting shut out for the second consecutive time on the road. The University of New Mexico committed seven turnovers in the game, and the Cowboys cashed in on almost all of them, scoring five touchdowns off takeaways on the way to a 42-3 slaughter in Laramie, Wyoming.

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Sports

Women's Basketball: Lobos shine during scrimmages, engage fans in meet-and-greet

Matthew Narvaiz | October 28

In similar fashion to the New Mexico men’s basketball team, women’s basketball head coach Mike Bradbury and company practiced in front of fans at Dreamstyle Stadium on Saturday afternoon, giving them a glimpse at what’s to come in the upcoming season. The practice itself consisted of two 10-minute scrimmages, a five minute scrimmage and a fan meet-and-greet with players on the court. In the first scrimmage, the Silver team managed to get on the board first to go up 2-0 early on. A 3-pointer by Alex Lapeyrolerie, midway through the quarter, closed Silver team’s lead to 7-12, before she added another layup on the ensuing drive to close the gap to just three points. Then, the Cherry team’s Laneah Bryan drained a 3-pointer to tie it up at 12 points apiece. The first 10-minute scrimmage ended in favor of Silver team, 18-13.

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Sports

Football: New Mexico looking to even its season record in Wyoming

Robert Maler | October 28

Last season, New Mexico and Wyoming met with the Mountain Division title on the line, but on Saturday the teams enter the matchup looking up in the standings. New Mexico (3-4, 1-3 MW) lost a close game, 27-24, to Colorado State last Friday, Head coach Bob Davie said he received confirmation for the Mountain West that there were multiple missed calls toward the end of the game that could have affected the outcome. But it will not change the result and the head coach doesn’t seem to be the type to dwell on the past or consider what-if scenarios. He has shifted his attention to a new challenge—trying to game plan for Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen.

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Sports

Men's Soccer: In their last home game, the Lobos play Charlotte on senior night

Ajinkya Patil | October 28

Playing at home on senior night and in their final home game of the season, the University of New Mexico Lobos will face University of North Carolina, Charlotte 49ers on Oct. 28 at 6 p.m. at the UNM Soccer Complex. Seniors Sam Gleadle, Luke Lawrence, Jason Beaulieu and Lucas Seligman will be honored that night. Playing in Conference USA, the 49ers were preseason favorites and are currently in fifth place with nine points just one behind the Lobos who occupies the fourth spot with ten points.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos lose charity exhibition game to BYU

Matthew Narvaiz | October 28

Despite strong defensive efforts from the New Mexico men’s basketball team, a late foul call on a 3-point attempt all but hammered the nail into the Lobos’ coffin, as they lost Friday’s exhibition game against Brigham Young , 79-73. In the closing seconds of the game, Lobo forward Vladimir Pinchuk picked up a foul on a BYU 3-pointer. The Cougars capitalized by making all three free throw attempts, and after a free throw by Antino Jackson brought the game within four points for the Lobos, the Cougars added two more free throws to close out their victory in Albuquerque, New Mexico in front of a crowd of 4,902. Despite the loss, the Lobos still showed signs of promise, especially on the defensive end. A mix of presses, man-to-man and traps forced 23 BYU turnovers in total.

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Sports

Baseball: Birmingham says recently released 2018 schedule may be hardest in nation

Matthew Narvaiz | October 26

With baseball season still off in the distance, the University of New Mexico baseball team has released its 2018 season schedule to the general public. And its schedule, some might say, is one of the hardest in the U.S. At least that’s what head coach Ray Birmingham said. “The Lobo baseball schedule is one of the hardest — if not the hardest — in the country,” Birmingham said in a UNM press release. “We plan on with this schedule to win conference and to play in regionals.”

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Sports

Men's Soccer: After double overtime, two red cards, Lobos draw to Denver

Ajinkya Patil | October 26

Despite having most of the possession and dominating the game from start to finish, the Lobos drew to the Denver Pioneers in a scoreless match, which went into double overtime and saw two red cards, one to each of team. The game was a classic example of showing that it does not matter how long a team has the ball, what matters is what it does when it has it. Despite their solid defense, the Lobos lacked creativity and urgency to score the game-winning goal. The Lobos are now 8-4-3 overall and 3-2-1 in C-USA. For the Pioneers, this draw takes them to 8-6-1 overall and also keeps them undefeated in their last three games. The streak is also the Pioneers’ best for this season.

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Sports

Cross Country: UNM welcomes talented, nationally ranked field as it hosts MW Championships

Robert Maler and Tyrell Natewa | October 26

The New Mexico cross country teams return to their home track as New Mexico hosts the upcoming Mountain West Championships on Friday at the UNM North Golf Course. UNM has had plenty of success competing in the conference championships over the years. While the men had its consecutive Mountain West Championship streak snapped at six a couple of years ago, the women are still riding an active streak of nine straight conference titles. The women’s team, which is ranked No. 2 in the country, could be poised to protect that crown. Sophomore sensation Ednah Kurgat has posted back-to-back individual wins at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational, followed by another top performance at the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational.

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Sports

Men's Soccer: UNM looks to rebound following shutout loss, as it hosts Denver

Ajinkya Patil | October 25

Returning home from a 4-0 defeat against Florida International University, the Lobos will be eager to return to winning ways when they face Denver University for the “Lobos Love Pink” game on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. Denver competed earlier this season in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the Grange and Ashwill Invitational tournament, however, neither side played against each other. The Pioneers played two games in this tournament and in both those games, they were outshut by their opponent. The Pioneers have been here and seen the pitch, so they should know what to expect heading into the game. The Pioneers are undefeated in the Summit League, but have lost six games this season. The Pioneers are 5-2-0 when at home and are 3-2-0 when playing away. Seeing which team posts the first goal could be crucial, especially for Denver, since it is 8-1-0 this season after netting the first goal.

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Sports

Women’s Soccer: Lobos qualify for conference tournament, look to hold on to second seed

Matthieu Cartron | October 25

After beating Wyoming 3-2 in Laramie, Wyoming, on Sunday, the Lobos (12-6, 7-3 MW) guaranteed themselves a place in the Mountain West Conference Tournament. The Lobos narrowly missed out on the conference tournament last year—in part because of a 3-0 home loss to Wyoming. In the build up to the game on Sunday, UNM head coach Heather Dyche said her team would be looking to avenge themselves for last season’s loss. Heading into the game, Wyoming (7-9-2, 3-6-1 MW) was looking to keep their conference tournament hopes alive. Two wins in their final two games would have brought the Cowgirls up to 18 points—potentially enough to seal conference qualification. This was a must-win game for Wyoming.

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Sports

Men's Soccer: Lobos' unbeaten streak ends with 4-0 loss to Florida International

Ajinkya Patil | October 23

Despite a solid showing, the Lobos ended their six-game undefeated streak with a 4-0 road loss against Florida International University on Saturday. The loss denoted UNM's most lop-sided defeat of the season and dropped the Lobos to an overall record of 8-4-2 overall and 3-2-1 in C-USA. A contest between two of the top four teams in Conference USA ended with the Lobos losing and FIU carrying forward its own unbeaten streak. The Panthers (10-0-3, 5-0-1 C-USA) are unbeaten so far this season in 13 games, including wins in each of their last seven matches.

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Sports

Hockey: UNM still undefeated heading into a bye week

Alanie Rael | October 23

The second game match up between the UNM Lobo Hockey team against the UCCS Mountain Lions on Saturday was a game full of aggression and fierce competition. After two ejections and heated fights between the players, the Lobos came out on top defeating the Mountain Lions by a final score of 11-6, keeping their undefeated start to the season in tact to improve to an 8-0 record. The game started with high energy, as the Mountain Lions looked to redeem themselves and avenge the 7-4 loss suffered at the hands of the Lobos on Friday.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos conclude a week without wins

Aaron Cowan | October 22

Despite strong performances from individual players and heartbreakingly-close scores, the Lobo volleyball team went winless last week, falling to New Mexico State on the road and to Wyoming and Colorado State at home. The Lobos (11-2, 3-7 MW) started the week with an away game on Monday, where they faced their Rio Grande Rival, New Mexico State University, but things quickly went awry, and they found themselves shut out in three straight sets. The final scores put the Aggies in line for the win, 25-18, 25-16 and 28-26, on their home turf in the Pan American Center.

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Culture

Skydivers push thrills to the limit

Sherri Barth | October 22

Think jumping from an airplane sounds exciting? Skydiving enthusiasts have found a different launchpad that takes their flight to new heights and exhilarating freefalls. “You get that stomach-in-your-heart feeling” from jumping off a hot air balloon, according to skydiver Jake Cordova of Skydive New Mexico. Parachuting from a hot air balloon was first introduced as a means of safety, when in 1785 Jena-Pierre Blanchard tested this method of skydiving using a dog. Blanchard would soon have no choice but to put himself in a parachute and jump out of his own hot air balloon when it ruptured in 1793, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Skydivers have been getting a thrill from jumping, then parachuting from a hot air balloon at altitudes that can equal that of jumping out of airplanes. Cordova said jumping off a hot air balloon, or static jumps, is similar to base jumping.