Sports

Sports

Men's Basketball: Neal out after disappointing, injury-riddled season

Isabel Gonzalez | April 1

March Madness came to an end in the most dramatic way possible for a program that didn’t make it to the tourney. On Friday night The LoboLair — an online aggregate of UNM athletics news — tweeted the breaking news of Craig Neal being relieved of his duties as the UNM men’s basketball head coach. A press release sent by Assistant Athletic Director of Communications Frank Mercogliano about 30 minutes later confirmed Neal’s departure. This may or may not have come as a surprise to those who have been following the program.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos target 10-0 start to MW play against Fresno State

Robert Maler | March 31

The losing streak that the Lobo baseball team was stuck in nearly two weeks ago seems a distant memory, as the team returns home riding a five-game winning streak. New Mexico (16-9, 9-0 MW) looked pedestrian at times during the losing streak, especially with the bats going quiet on the road. But with one exception, the games were competitive against some of the top teams in the nation. But the Lobos have been perfect in conference play and will look to extend their conference record to 10-0 as it hosts Fresno State (14-10, 5-4 MW).

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Sports

Track and field: Lobos open outdoor season at home in Don Kirby Tailwind Invitational

Bo Yu | March 30

It may have been a rare rainy day in Albuquerque on Tuesday, but it was just a normal training morning for the Lobo Track and Field team as it prepared for the first outdoor meet coming up this weekend. Raindrops didn’t dampen the mood of the squad, but rather seemed to bring out encouragement for them to pass on their solid indoor performances to the outdoor season. “It could be raining in Utah, where the conference championship is,” head coach Franklin said in an interview. “We've got to used to run in less than ideal conditions.”

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News

Athletics symposium tackles problems in college sports

Cathy Cook | March 29

College athletes from different sports teamed up Monday at the second Symposium on College Athletics to discuss ideas of equity and fairness both on and off the field. The symposium was sponsored by the Lobo Scholars Program, which brings together the Honors College and athletics department to support students and student athletes. It featured 15 presentations on topics ranging from the challenges created by club sport structure to the societal pros and cons of football. Ryan Swanson, a UNM professor and one of the Lobo Scholars Program directors, said that this year’s symposium was shorter than last year’s because presentations were limited to only seven minutes — but he still thought the event began good conversations.

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Sports

Men’s Tennis: Lobos face Fresno State and Nevada as conference play begins

Matthieu Cartron | March 29

In their previous match two weeks ago, the Lobos beat Northern Arizona 5-2 after a difficult battle. Prior to the NAU fixture, the Lobos had lost four matches in a row, a disappointing run considering that the Lobos had managed to put together a five-match winning streak beforehand. It appears that the Lobos, thus far this season, have been heavily impacted by momentum. The Lobos have had two weeks without matches to prepare for the Mountain West Conference, something UNM head coach Ben Dunbar believed his squad needed.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos down the Aggies 5-3 in 2nd meeting this year

Matthew Narvaiz | March 29

Tuesday night boded well for Lobo baseball. UNM (16-9, 9-0 MW) managed to play an all-around game in Las Cruces on New Mexico State’s home turf, Presley Askew Field, beating the Aggies (14-12) 5-3 to win its fifth straight game and second over its in-state foe this season. The win also brings UNM’s record to 9-2 over NMSU in the past 11 games. But a victory, at least in the early innings, wasn't immediately eminent. After two scoreless innings to start the game, NMSU put runs in its scoreboard first, on two separate RBI doubles to grab ahold of a quick 2-0 lead.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Three more Lobos announce intent to leave UNM

Isabel Gonzalez | March 29

As of Tuesday evening, five players from the 2016-2017 UNM men’s basketball roster have decided to continue their college careers at a different institution. Last week, it was announced that Elijah Brown and Anthony Mathis are leaving the team. Three more players have added themselves to the transfer list since then. On January 21, LoboRadio — comprised of a group of Lobo fans who focus on the school’s basketball team — tweeted confirmation that junior guard/forward Sam Logwood was looking to transfer.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos and Aggies renew Rio Grande rivalry

Matthew Narvaiz | March 28

UNM will try and make it 2-0 this year against in-state foe the New Mexico State Aggies in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The two teams previously met on March 7 of this year, where the Lobos (15-9, 9-0 MW) escaped with a 8-2 victory over the Aggies (14-11) in El Paso, Texas. Both the Aggies and UNM have both exhibited streaky play. NMSU has boasted a 5-5 record since the last time the two teams met and are coming off of two-straight losses at UC Santa Barbara. The Lobos are on a four-game winning streak that dates back to a series split over Grand Canyon where UNM beat GCU 22-3 in Albuquerque. UNM has boasted a 7-6 record since the in-state rivals last met. The Lobos earned serie sweeps over San Jose State and UNLV.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos off to program-best start in conference play

Matthew Narvaiz | March 27

After sweeping a three-game series against UNLV in Las Vegas, Nevada, the University of New Mexico baseball team accomplished a new program record with its latest win. The Lobos (15-9) improved its Mountain West record to a perfect 9-0 start in conference play, beating UNLV (10-16, 5-7 MW) on Sunday afternoon at Wilson Stadium by a score of 7-3, as pitching proved to be the key factor in the game.

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Sports

Women's Tennis: Lobos earn back-to-back wins for first time of season

Robert Maler | March 26

New Mexico women’s tennis took advantage of home court to earn back-to-back wins for the first time this season. The team failed to garner the point awarded for winning doubles play, though all three matches were tightly contested. Falling behind 1-0 in the team score didn’t seem to faze the Lobos though, as all six women raced out to win their first set in singles play. Head coach Stephanie Wooten-Quijada said she saw the effort she wanted and gaining control of the matches early on was key.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos crush UNLV 29-8 in road win

Matthew Narvaiz | March 25

The University of New Mexico got back to its hitting ways again on Friday evening at Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada. UNM (13-9, 7-0 MW) racked up 24 hits on its way to a 29-8 victory over a veteran UNLV (10-14, 5-5 MW) squad – the most the Lobos have ever scored on the conference foe. And though that's the most runs the Lobos have ever produced against UNLV, it was also a night for the record books, as it was the third most points UNM has ever scored and a season-high thus far. The school record for most runs in a single game is 31.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos resume conference play with three-game series against UNLV

Matthew Narvaiz | March 24

After a 22-3 blowout win at Santa Ana Star Field on Wednesday, UNM baseball will look to get back on track in Las Vegas, Nevada, taking on conference foe UNLV. But, even facing a team whose win-loss record is below .500 23 games into the season, Lobo head coach Ray Birmingham said he realizes that a veteran team like UNLV is capable of anything. “UNLV is an older club,” so they're playing pretty well,” Birmingham said. “UNLV beat Fullerton. They've got a good team—they can hit and they can pitch.”

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos score 22 runs in victory over GCU

Matthew Narvaiz | March 22

Unlike their last game, the Lobos’ bats were more than present on Wednesday afternoon. In a game that saw UNM hit the ball on 25 separate occasions, the Lobos took away their first victory in over a week at Santa Ana Star Field over Grand Canyon, 22-3. Lobo head coach Ray Birmingham said that his hitters were being passive in the previous game on Tuesday. But on Wednesday that wasn’t the case. Every Lobo that took an at-bat was able to muster one hit or more, except for Justin Watari, who subbed in at second base in the latter innings.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobo losing skid continues at home as streak reaches six games

Matthew Narvaiz | March 22

Lobo baseball and hitting have not been synonymous with each other recently, and the trend continued at home on Tuesday evening. The Lobos (11-9, 6-0 MW) combined for just four hits in a 6-1 loss to Grand Canyon at Santa Ana Star Field, marking six straight losses and its first loss at home this season.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Brown, Mathis to transfer

Isabel Gonzalez | March 21

With the UNM men’s basketball season over, it’s time to start taking a look at what next year’s roster might look like. Two big changes have already been confirmed. On Monday, head coach Craig Neal announced that sophomore guard Anthony Mathis and redshirt junior guard Elijah Brown will be transferring.

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Sports

Baseball: UNM swept in Fullerton, California, have now lost five straight

Robert Maler | March 19

New Mexico baseball wrapped up a three-game series against Cal State Fullerton, and each game ended the same way—with the Lobos on the wrong end of a one-run game. The Lobos (11-8, 6-0 MW), dropped all three games to the Titans, extending their overall losing streak to five on the season—the most recent loss, a pitcher’s duel that favored Cal State Fullerton on Sunday, 1-0. In spite of the losses, head coach Ray Birmingham seemed pleased with the way his team competed against the No. 7 team in the country.

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Sports

Beach Volleyball: Lobos split weekend at Stetson Beach Invite

Bo Yu | March 19

The New Mexico beach volleyball team evened its performance at Stetson Beach Invite with a pair of wins and one defeat on Saturday in Tavares, Florida. The Lobos (6-8) went 3-3 overall over the weekend, dominating some of their opponents for falling to the nationally ranked ones. New Mexico dominated Jacksonville State (2-14) with a 5-0 sweep in its first match on Saturday. Then, New Mexico challenged tournament host No. 14 (DiG)/No. 12 (AVCA) Stetson (5-8), but fell 4-1. Though the team was able to rebound to end its east coast journey with a 5-0 victory over Lincoln Memorial (0-3).

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos drop another one-run decision, losing 5-4 to CS Fullerton

Matthew Narvaiz | March 19

A seventh inning lead for the University of New Mexico wasn't enough to stop Cal State Fullerton from pushing its way back into the game. After the Lobos (11-7, 6-0 MW) acquired a 4-2 lead, the Titans rallied its way back to a win on Saturday evening at Goodwin Field, 5-4, marking the second straight game in as many days that UNM lost to the opponent by a single run. Head coach Ray Birmingham said the players weren’t necessarily to blame for the loss, adding that some difficult fielding conditions played a role as well.

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Sports

Baseball: Lobos lose third straight game, falling 2-1 to Cal State Fullerton

Matthew Narvaiz | March 18

Pitching was the prowess in Friday evening’s game between the University of New Mexico and Cal State Fullerton. But, despite a strong effort by the Lobos, they fell to the Titans, 2-1, at Goodwin Field in Fullerton, California. Despite another loss on the ledger, head coach Ray Birmingham said he was pleased with his team’s performance, especially that of his starting pitcher Tyler Stevens and his team’s best hitter Luis Gonzalez. “That was a very competitive college baseball game,” Birmingham said in a press release.

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Sports

Beach Volleyball: Lobos get another shot to win against top-ranked teams in Florida

Bo Yu | March 16

The Lobo beach volleyball team will travel to Tavares, Florida to compete in the Stetson Beach Invitational on Friday and Saturday. New Mexico (3-5) one just one of its three matches last week, but made some strides in closing the gap against a pair of nationally-ranked teams on Sunday. The Lobos were narrowly defeated 3-2 against Arizona State and fell to Arizona by a score of 4-1 on Sunday. In the newest DiG Magazine poll, the Lobos were ranked 22nd, as well as 23rd in the AVCA poll.