Sports

Sports

Men's Soccer: Lobos ink four new players for 2017 season

Isabel Gonzalez | February 5

Last February, head coach Jeremy Fishbein and the rest of the Lobo men’s soccer staff got what Top Drawer Soccer ranked as the fifth-best recruiting class in the country. The head coach said he feels just as confident about this year’s signings. Four new players signed National Letters of Intent and will be ready to join the University of New Mexico in the fall: Nick Barreiro, Bailey Letherman, Nicolas Taylor and Alex Vedamanikam “Every class you bring in is an A+, you gotta believe that,” Fishbein said. “You believe in theses guys, you’re excited. They are our future, so yeah, I think they are all going to be stars. You don’t bring them in if you don’t feel they are capable of that.”

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Sports

Women's Soccer: Lobos sign 13 players for the 2017 season

Matthieu Cartron | February 5

Wednesday’s national letter of intent signing day was an eventful one for UNM women’s soccer, adding 13 new potential players to their roster. Future Lobos Brianna Rudolph, Madison Hirschman, Delaney Markham, Bella Starkweather, Kate Browning and Leilani Baker are all from New Mexico high schools. The duo of Brianna Rudolph and Madison Hirschman finished their high school careers with Eldorado while Delaney Markham and Kate Browning played for rival school La Cueva. Bella Starkweather played for Hope Christian and Leilani Baker ended her high school career at Rio Rancho. The heavy in-state recruitment demonstrates UNM head coach Heather Dyche’s faith in New Mexico youth soccer, which has produced many current and ex-Lobo players.

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Sports

Track and Field: Individuals shine at NM Classic & Multis

Bo Yu | February 5

The Lobo track and field team demonstrated that the New Mexico Classic & Multis was more than just a tuneup for them this weekend. New Mexico garnered one individual title and 22 top-10 finishes to provide evidence of the team’s focus on the Mountain West Championships. “It just shows they continue to get better,” head coach Joe Franklin said. “Even though it’s an off week, they are still competing very hard, taking it seriously.” Official team scores were not counted at the meet, but UNM posted impressive individual marks in several events.

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Sports

Women's Basketball: New Mexico uses big 3rd quarter to blow past San Jose State

Matthew Narvaiz | February 5

A halftime deficit wasn't going to stop the University of New Mexico women's basketball team from bringing home a win on Saturday afternoon as one Lobo put up a career high in points. Senior center Richelle van der Keijl notched a career-high 31 points as New Mexico (13-10, 8-4 MW) clinched another conference win, 82-72, on the road over San Jose State (7-15, 4-6 MW). Three Lobos ended the night with double-digit scoring performances, but none more impressive than the near-perfect 13-for-17 shooting from the field. She also reeled in 13 rebounds, giving her a double-double – her seventh of the season. Lobo junior guard Cherise Beynon scored a good amount from the floor, too, putting up 18 points against San Jose State, on 7-of-15 shooting.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos lose to SJSU for first time in 12 tries

Isabel Gonzalez | February 5

The Lobos’ second game without two key starters turned out to be more difficult than expected. New Mexico (14-10, 7-5 MW) suffered a 78-68 loss to San Jose State on Saturday evening at WisePies Arena, the Lobos’ first ever loss to the Spartans. They had previously been 14-0 against the team dating back to 1961. The victory had some additional significance for San Jose State, as the program hasn’t reached reached 10 wins since the 2010-11 season. They got their 11th of the season against a team that was 9-2 at home going into Saturday’s matchup.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos hanging around the top of the MW standings despite being short-handed

Isabel Gonzalez | February 4

New Mexico is half a game away from first place in the Mountain West again, and the team could have a chance to move up in the conference standings this weekend. “These guys have to understand that you’re a half-game back and we have to get better,” UNM head coach Craig Neal said during Friday’s press conference. “That’s the method to the madness, that’s what I’m telling them. We have to get better, we have to keep winning at home.” The Lobos are hosting the San José State Spartans on Saturday afternoon. The two teams first faced each other back in 1961, and the Lobos have yet to see a loss.

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Sports

Women's Basketball: Team looks to rebound from UNLV loss against San Jose State

Matthew Narvaiz | February 4

Injuries have plagued the Lobos in the month of January, and it had an impact in the team’s first game of February, losing to UNLV by nine points at home. It was the Lobos’ first game since losing sophomore Jaisa Nunn after she suffered a torn ACL against Northern New Mexico on Sunday. And the squad had already lost Emily Lines earlier in the season. On Saturday, New Mexico (12-10, 7-4 MW) will travel to California to play the San Jose State Spartans in the first and only regular season conference meeting, though they could face each other again in the Mountain West tournament in March.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: UNM hangs on for a hard-fought victory to stay in MW hunt

Isabel Gonzalez | February 2

The Lobos were dealt a bad hand with some injuries prior to Wednesday night’s game, but they worked with what they had and pulled off an 80-77 victory over the UNLV Rebels. The Lobos improved to 14-9 overall and 7-4 in the Mountain West conference and sit just below Nevada and Boise State in the conference standings. UNLV remained at the bottom with a 10-13 record, just 3-7 in league play. "We were able to make plays and spread the floor tonight," UNM head coach Craig Neal said in a release. "I am proud of our guys." The win did not come easy though, as New Mexico was missing senior forward Tim Williams, who had been a key member of the Lobo offense while averaging 17.9 points per game.

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Sports

Track and Field: Lobos expect "tuneup" weekend

Bo Yu | February 2

The Lobo track and field team could be easing the throttle on the engine after posting two big weeks of performances, as it hosts a third straight home meet with the New Mexico Classic & Multis on Friday and Saturday. “Quite honestly, not a lot (are) happening this week,” head coach Joe Franklin said about the upcoming event. “This is more a tuneup week, rest week and training week.” The Lobos were still taking hard training sessions each day, will also aiming to recover from the past competitive weekend. Last weekend, the New Mexico track and field team managed to post a remarkable four individual titles and 13 top-three finishes at the New Mexico Team Invitational.

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Sports

Women's Tennis: Lobos shut out in Georgia, now seek first victory in Colorado

Robert Maler | February 2

UNM women’s tennis (0-2) left the state of Georgia without picking up a single point over two matches, but the team showed good signs against some tough competition. The team gave Georgia, which was ranked No. 6 in the nation, all it could handle on Saturday in doubles play. UNM doubles partners Andrea Leblanc and Diana Wong bowed out early, falling to Caroline Brinson and Kennedy Shaffer, 6-1.

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Sports

Women's Basketball: Lobos fall behind early, unable to climb out of hole

Matthew Narvaiz | February 2

The Lobo women’s basketball team trailed big at the half and, although it picked up the pace in the second half, wasn’t able to complete the comeback bid and fell to UNLV Wednesday evening. New Mexico (12-10, 7-4 MW) entered the locker room down 16 points. The team played better in the second half, but the deficit proved too much to overcome as UNLV (15-7, 6-4 MW) took a 61-52 victory in WisePies Arena aka The Pit. The Lobos saw three players score in double digits against the Rebels. Junior guard Cherise Beynon led the way with 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, while also bringing down nine rebounds for a near double-double. It was Beynon’s ninth game this season scoring 20 or more points in a game. UNLV earned a season sweep over UNM and she said not focusing on the little things is a big reason why. “I don't think we pay enough attention to details,” Beynon said. “Like I said, we defended them well, but we were told to rebound. They have good offensive rebounders, and since we didn't do that off the jump, they got a lot of second-chance points.”

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Williams is injured - what next?

Robert Maler | February 1

Injuries are part of the game, and the New Mexico basketball team has been hit with the injury bug on several occasions this season — but none bigger than the news that broke Tuesday. Head coach Craig Neal said the Lobos will be without senior forward Tim Williams for the foreseeable future, due to a foot injury sidelining the second-leading scorer on the team. “It’s with my great regret that I have to announce that Tim Williams is going to miss a substantial amount of time,” Neal said in a release. “We don’t know how long he will be out, but he has a stress reaction in his left foot.” Neal said the important thing was the overall health of his star forward, as they work to get him healthy.

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Men's Tennis: Lobos pick up first win of the season at Boise State

Matthieu Cartron | February 1

UNM recorded its first win of the season against Boise State in convincing fashion, winning three singles matches and two doubles matches. It was a much needed victory for the squad after opening the season with four straight losses. The beginning of the 2017 campaign was always going to be tough for the Lobos, as they faced ranked opponents UCLA, the No. 6 team in the nation, and other high profile teams such as Texas Tech and UCF. UCLA finished last season ranked as the number two team in the country, while Texas Tech ended up just outside the top 10 at No. 11.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: UNM tries to overcome injuries and recent history against UNLV

Isabel Gonzalez | February 1

After a loss in Reno, the Lobos are back in Nevada this week to try their luck in Las Vegas. But luck has not been on the team’s side lately and has been especially bad when closing out the past two seasons. In the last two seasons, the Lobos have only won three games in the month of February. On Wednesday night, the first night of February, the UNM men’s basketball team will face the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a team that has seemed to be an underdog in the Mountain West conference, but also one that doesn’t fold easily. “This UNLV game is going to be a tough matchup because it’s at their place,” said UNM head coach Craig Neal. “They beat us (in Albuquerque) so I’m sure they have confidence.“ UNLV enters Wednesday night coming off back-to-back road losses. The Rebels have not had a hot season, sitting at 10-12 overall and 3-6 in the Mountain West—dead last in the conference standings.

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Sports

Women's Basketball: Short-handed roster gets a shot at redemption vs UNLV

Matthew Narvaiz | February 1

Injuries have plagued the Lobos in the month of January – especially ACL tears. First, sophomore guard Emily Lines had a season-ending ACL tear, and sophomore Jaisa Nunn suffered the same fate on Wednesday. New Mexico (11-9, 7-3 MW) will be without their 6’3” post player in Nunn – who was averaging 10.4 points and 7.0 rebounds per game prior to the injury. The team will face UNLV on Wednesday night for the second time this season. UNLV (14-7, 5-4 MW), beat the Lobos soundly earlier in Las Vegas, Nevada by a score of 57-42. In that game, UNLV held the Lobos to just 21.9 percent shooting as a team. Senior Richelle van der Keijl and Nunn were the only two Lobos to score in double figures, combining for 27 of the team’s 42 points.

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Women's Basketball: Lobos coast to a 40-point win over Northern New Mexico

Matthew Narvaiz | January 30

An injury to a key player wasn't going to stop the University of New Mexico women's basketball team from picking up a win, especially against a non-D1 opponent in Northern New Mexico. The Lobos (12-9, 7-3 MW) were able to throttle the Northern New Mexico Eagles Sunday afternoon by 40 points, 87-47, despite losing a key player early in the game. Sophomore Jaisa Nunn, midway through the first quarter, went up to catch a high pass and landed awkwardly on her right knee when she came down.

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Men's Basketball: Lobos' win streak halted by first-place Nevada

Isabel Gonzalez | January 29

A battle for first place in the conference did not go too well for the Lobos, as they walked away with a 82-65 loss to the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday afternoon. "I didn't think we had the same edge that we have had previously on the road," UNM head coach Craig Neal said in a release. "It was a big atmosphere today, but I still feel good about where we are." New Mexico had won three of its previous four road matchups, but the loss drops them to 13-9 overall, 6-4 in the Mountain West. Meanwhile, Nevada improved to 7-2 in conference to maintain control of first place in the Mountain West standings.

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Track and Field: Lobo men place 1st in Team Invitational, women place 2nd

Bo Yu | January 29

The chant of “Go Lobos” echoed in the Albuquerque Convention Center on Saturday after the UNM track and field team earned four individual titles and 13 top-three finishes at Team Invitational. The team met on the track afterward in a show of solidarity to recognize the men’s squad on their first-place finish and the women on their runner-up performance. “We wanted to introduce (people) on all the lifetime bests, because it’s always about getting better, not only in life but on the track,” Lobo head coach Joe Franklin explained about the team celebration. Although the biggest challenge during home meets is self-discipline, the Lobos have seemed to find the right approach to achieve results. The Lobos have continued to turn in dominant performances in both of their home meets so far. “It’s really nice to run with your teammates,” said Sophie Connor about the team approach.

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Women's Basketball: Beynon earns individual accolades in MW win over Nevada

Matthew Narvaiz | January 29

The UNM women’s basketball team overcame 20 turnovers to complete the season sweep over the Nevada Wolfpack Saturday night at WisePies Arena aka The Pit. New Mexico (11-9, 7-3 MW) emerged with a 59-50 victory in a game that saw sloppy play by both teams. The Lobos also had a career milestone set in the conference win. UNM junior guard Cherise Beynon joined an elite group of Lobo women, surpassing both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds as a Lobo—something only 13 other players had accomplished in program history. Beynon scored 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting in the game and also brought down six rebounds while dishing out six assists. But she was also responsible for eight of the Lobo turnovers.

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Women's Basketball: Lobos look to benefit from home court, hosting a pair of weekend games

Matthew Narvaiz | January 28

Lobos fans can get a double-dose of hoops this weekend as the UNM women's basketball team hosts two games at WisePies Arena. On Saturday, Jan.