Former Lobo Chris Wehan recently became the third member of the 2016 UNM men’s soccer squad to be inked to a professional contract. Reno 1868 FC announced on Wednesday that the team offered Wehan a professional contract, as the UNM alum moves into the next level in his soccer career.
Another Mountain West basketball season is in the books. The Nevada Wolf Pack became the 2017 Mountain West Basketball Tournament Champions after taking down the second-seeded Colorado State Rams by a score of 79-71 on Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Perhaps no one could have guessed the destination for Josh Kerr, but the talented redshirt freshman left his mark by ending up with an individual NCAA championship on Saturday in College Station, Texas. The NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships did not witness Kerr repeat his sterling triple performance at the Mountain West Championships (he ran three times in three minutes 58 seconds), but his time of 4:03.32 was more than enough to claim his first NCAA title. Kerr entered the men’s one-mile run ranked as the seventh seed, but stunned No. 1 ranked Oregon senior Edward Cheserek in the race to win by over two seconds.
The New Mexico beach volleyball team evened its season record with an easy 5-0 win over Division II-opponent Texas A&M-Kingsville in Tempe, Ariz on Saturday. “It was nice to play one of the weaker teams and prep for tomorrow,” assistant coach Pauline Manser said in a release. “It was good for us to work on the things that we worked on during the week and focused on after last weekend.” The Lobos (3-3) did not meet many challenges in the first-ever encounter with the Javelinas (4-2).
Allowing its opponent to grab hold of an early lead didn’t stop the University of New Mexico, as the baseball team came roaring back to beat San Jose State Saturday afternoon. After letting San Jose State score eight runs in the first four innings of play, the Lobos silenced the Spartan bats. New Mexico (10-3) trailed 8-2 entering the bottom of the fourth, but scored 14 straight to take a 16-8 victory at Santa Ana Star Field. UNM’s pitching got pummeled early on, as the starter, Johnathon Tripp, allowed 10 hits and eight runs in four innings on the mound.
After losing two matches in the Mountain-Pacific Invitational tournament, the Lobos were eager to return to their winning ways. The Lobos had strung together five consecutive wins in the build-up to the Mountain-Pacific Invitational, but lost 4-1 to both Fresno State University and the University of San Francisco in Stockton, California. After the disappointing outing in California, the Lobos (6-8) had another week to prepare before playing matches against UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, and Northern Arizona University on Friday, Saturday, and Tuesday, respectively.
New Mexico beach volleyball team expects some changes in its lineup as it takes on two nationally ranked teams in Tempe, Arizona this Saturday and Sunday. “We may make some changes in partnerships, we haven’t decided yet,” head coach Jeff Nelson said in a release. “We’ve got to look at all of our options and see what makes us the deepest all the way through.” The Lobos (2-3) had a respectable opening week, but they lost all three matches against schools with national rankings, including a heartbreaker to TCU. Although UNM dropped out of the top-20 team rankings, it still received votes in both the AVCA poll and DiG Magazine poll and was unofficially ranked No. 23.
A first inning that yielded six runs and eight hits and some stellar pitching from starter Tyler Stevens is all the Lobo baseball team needed to propel itself to a win over San Jose State on Friday evening at Santa Ana Star Field. Stevens (2-1) went the distance in the game, striking out eight and scattering four hits over nine innings. New Mexico (9-3, 4-0 MW) went on to post a decisive 11-1 victory thanks in large part to his arm. But Lobo pitching wasn't the only dominating factor in the win, as the team tallied 11 total runs on 19 hits, with all of its starters producing one hit or more.
For the third year in a row, it was 1-and-done for the UNM men’s basketball team on its Mountain West Tournament journey. The Lobos lost its quarterfinals matchup to the Fresno State Bulldogs 65-60 in Las Vegas, Nevada on Thursday, finishing their season with a 17-14 record. The loss was a tough pill to swallow for Lobo fans, as it was New Mexico that held the lead for most of the game — nearly 30 minutes to be exact. Fresno State was in front for just over six minutes, but played its strongest basketball when it mattered most.
The UNM baseball team will finally return home to the friendly confines of Santa Ana Star Field as it resumes conference play against San Jose State on Friday. New Mexico (8-3, 3-0 MW) just finished up an eight-game road trip in which the team reeled off four straight wins to rebound from a shaky start and go 5-3 away from home. The Lobos have been hitting the stitches off the baseball so far, averaging over 10 runs per contest. After putting up 59 runs in a three-game sweep over Air Force, UNM took down NMSU on Tuesday night, 8-2, in a neutral site game played in El Paso, Texas.
The fierce competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships are the pinnacle of the world of track and field, and College Station, Texas will host the event this weekend. The national meet will be held on Friday and Saturday in Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium. The host school, Texas A&M has hosted the event in 2009, 2011 and will be the venue again in 2018. The seasonal winds at College Station will not be enough to put out the fire that will burn for four Lobo newcomers to the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley retained his crown as the UFC’s welterweight champion over the weekend in a chess-like rematch against No. 1 ranked, Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson. The rematch between Woodley and Thompson proved to be nearly identical to the first match at UFC 205, lasting all five rounds. Both fighters set a strategic pace, spending the majority of the match dancing with each other, but landing a few good hits throughout. During the third round, "The Chosen One" executed an Olympic-caliber double-leg takedown and whaled on "Wonderboy" while he kept the opponent on the ground for the majority of the round.
March Madness is finally here, and with it comes the much-awaited Mountain West Tournament for the UNM men’s basketball team. After a 64-59 victory over San Diego State on Saturday, the Lobos (17-13, 10-8 MW) were able to finish the regular season in the top five of the conference, which earned them a bye that sent them straight into next Thursday’s quarterfinals to face the Fresno State Bulldogs. The tournament is a big deal because it will most likely decide who gets to go to this year’s NCAA Tournament. “I think (the Lobos) understand that and are hungry for that. We’ll find out,” said UNM head coach Craig Neal. “You can’t win the championship unless you win the first one.”
A buzzer-beater jumper ended the Lobos’ hopes of advancing further in the Mountain West Tournament. New Mexico (15-15, 10-8 MW) lost a heartbreaker on Tuesday afternoon to Boise State with the final score favoring the Broncos (23-7, 12-6 MW) 64-62 — the same score as the previous matchup between the two teams on Feb. 15. Despite the loss, first-year head coach Mike Bradbury had nothing but praise for his team.
New Mexico baseball saw a slowdown in offensive production, but still had plenty to get by in-state rival New Mexico State Tuesday night. The Lobos (8-3) averaged nearly 20 runs per game in their most recent three-game series sweep against Air Force. And though the team didn’t reach that lofty benchmark, the bats were anything but silent as UNM notched an 8-2 neutral site win in El Paso, Texas. UNM sophomore lefty Austin Isenhart (1-0) only saw two innings of work but put himself in line for the win—his first of the season.
After stringing together five wins in a row, the Lobos were eager to continue their fine run of form. The Lobos traveled to Stockton, California last weekend to participate in the 3rd annual Mountain Pacific Invitational, a tournament they had won the previous year. This time, though, it wasn’t meant to be. The Lobos played Fresno State University for their first round match, which consistent solely of singles play, and the Lobos lost all but one.
The UNM men’s soccer team got back on the pitch on Saturday to kick off its 2017 spring season. Unfortunately for the Lobos, the result was not what they were looking for, as they ended up falling 2-1 in overtime to the Southern Methodist Mustangs in Dallas, Texas. The Mustangs were the first team on the board, finding the back of the net halfway through the first period. New Mexico was unable to get a goal of their own by halftime, at which point Southern Methodist enjoyed a 1-0 lead.
Three Lobos took home individual honors from the Mountain West on Tuesday in recognition of their strong seasons. Senior Richelle van der Keijl, junior Cherise Beynon and freshman Mykiel Burleson were all named to All-Mountain West teams. Van der Keijl was awarded Newcomer of the Year, while Burleson was named to the Mountain West All-Freshman Team and Beynon was named to the Mountain West All-Defensive Team.
Lobo baseball will pack its bags and go on the road once again for their next matchup, this time facing New Mexico State in El Paso at the home of the Chihuahuas, the minor league Triple-A affiliate for the San Diego Padres. The game marks the 243rd meeting between the two teams, with the Lobos leading the all-time series 158-84. Last season, the Lobos won three of its four games against NMSU, with the lone loss coming in El Paso on the same field they’ll be playing at Tuesday.
The UNM women’s basketball team has its sights fully set on the Mountain West Tournament, as the Lobos enter Tuesday’s match in Las Vegas, Nevada as the fifth seed. New Mexico (15-14, 10-8 MW) will play fourth-seeded Boise State — a team that they split games with this season. The Lobos won the first matchup with the Broncos at WisePies Arena on Jan. 18, 75-68. But that was when the Lobo lineup still boasted sophomore Jaisa Nunn – who in February tore her ACL and is out for the season.
Solutions by The State News
