Sports

Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos win 14th straight regular season opener on Heroes Night

Isabel Gonzalez | November 13

Head coach Craig Neal wore the cherry blazer for Friday night’s match against Idaho State. It wasn’t easy, but he is now 4-0 in season openers at UNM, and New Mexico has now won its last 14 such games. The Lobos took an 81-70 victory over the Bengals in front of 11,293 fans, during what Neal described as one of the most challenging season openers he’s experienced as a head coach.

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Sports

Cross Country: Women secure ninth straight NCAA Championship bid at Regionals

Bo Yu | November 12

The New Mexico cross country women continued their string of solid performances at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships on Friday in Logan, Utah, finishing second to qualify for their ninth straight nationals appearance. The men’s team posted a respectable ninth place among 17 teams, but the ranking isn’t enough to advance the squad to an NCAA Championship appearance. Both the men and women faced a fiercely competitive field in the Mountain Regionals.

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Sports

Men's Soccer: Lobos have chance to win C-USA Tourney on Sunday

Isabel Gonzalez | November 12

The New Mexico men’s soccer team is only one win away from hoisting its first Conference USA Championship trophy. But the next 90-plus minutes won’t be easy. On Sunday, the Lobos will have to take on the FIU Panthers, last year’s winners who are looking to post back-to-back titles. The Panthers (10-5-2, 5-2-1 C-USA) took a 2-0 win over Old Dominion (6-9-2, 2-5-1) in Friday’s semifinals. Both goals were netted in the second half by junior defender Paul Marie.

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Sports

Women's Basketball: Lobos hope to use size advantage against Fairleigh Dickinson in season opener

Matthew Narvaiz | November 11

The Lobo women’s basketball team will be taking on out-of-conference opponent Fairleigh Dickinson this Saturday in its season home opener at WisePies Arena at 2 p.m. Head coach Mike Bradbury expects the Lobos to play well in the team’s home opener, but also expects a challenge. “They bring back three starters and they play a completely different style,” Bradbury said. “It'll be a test and we're looking forward to it."

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Sports

Football: Lobos look to make it five straight against Utah State

Robert Maler | November 11

“If you were in that stadium at 1:10 a.m. on 11/5/16, my email is rdavie@unm.edu. You send me an email, send me your home address, give me a little story as to why you thought it was important that you stayed — and I will definitely commemorate the occasion.” Head coach Bob Davie is normally not one to dwell on the past, and is typically steadfast in his stance that it isn’t his place to coach fans or tell them what to do. But he took the time to reflect and deliver the above statement to start Tuesday’s press conference to show his appreciation for the Lobo fans that stayed throughout the entirety of Saturday’s affair, when the Lobos eventually beat Nevada after a lengthy rain delay to become bowl-eligible once again.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: Lobos look to make it 14 straight wins in season openers on Friday night

Isabel Gonzalez | November 11

The weather is finally cooling down in Albuquerque but WisePies Arena is about to heat up. The Lobo men’s basketball team officially tips off the season by hosting the Idaho State Bengals at 8:15 p.m. in Friday night’s season opener. New Mexico has built up some confidence, as well as momentum, after winning both of their exhibition matches last week, with 113-57 and 88-66 scores against in-state competition.

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Sports

Men's Basketball: MW Preseason Player of the Year back in time for regular season opener

Isabel Gonzalez | November 10

Elijah Brown is ready to step back on the court for the first time in 2016-17, just in time for the season opener Friday night against Idaho State at WisePies Arena. Brown did not play during last week’s exhibition matches, as he was resting a hamstring injury. Although the injury happened last season, hamstrings can take more time to recover and have have a lingering effect. But Brown appears to be 100 percent now, and the junior guard said he didn’t take it easy on the workouts during the offseason.

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Sports

Beyond Stadiums and Training Facilities: Local and national athletes who have ventured into politics

Mathieu Cartron | November 10

The spectrum of emotions incited by the presidential election has perhaps never before been seen. Universities are often at the center of such political energy, with students of different opinions, backgrounds and beliefs advocating for certain changes to be made for their futures. With fame comes power and impression. Many students across the nation have constructed legacies for themselves, pursuing careers in politics or entering politics using their previous career as a mechanism to do so. Some, however, never enter the brackish pool of politics and instead use their name to promote a candidate, idea, or even awareness of an issue.

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Sports

Football: Lobo punter named Special Teams Player of the Week in Mountain West

Robert Maler | November 10

The New Mexico football team had to wait until 1:10 a.m. Sunday to grind out a 35-26 win over Nevada, but the team’s punter had been waiting the entire season to earn an important accolade. The Mountain West named junior Corey Bojorquez as the conference’s Special Teams Player of the Week, after he averaged 52.8 yards on four punts in Saturday’s game. Nevada’s return game was essentially eliminated. Three punts weren’t returned, and Bojorquez unleashed a 66-yard bomb to pin the Wolf Pack at their own 4-yard line when the team sold out to block a punt in the waning moments of the fourth quarter.

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Sports

Cross Country: Teams continue to prepare for nationals appearance with regionals race

Bo Yu | November 10

Both New Mexico cross country teams are heading to Logan, Utah to run in the NCAA Mountain Region Championships on Friday. The women's team climbed to No. 6 in the most recent USTFCCCA National Coaches’ Poll after winning its ninth straight Mountain West title two weeks ago. “They ran very well, Alice and Calli were in front to do a good job, just a real positive experience for the women,” New Mexico head coach Joe Franklin said of the race. “And the men keep going better and better.”

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Sports

Men's Soccer: Lobos down Wildcats in PKs

Isabel Gonzalez | November 10

Last week, the Lobos took some extra time toward the end of practice to work on penalty kicks — and it paid off in a big way Wednesday in the Conference USA Tournament. The No. 5 seed Lobos (10-6-2, 4-3-1) battled through two overtime periods and 10 penalty kicks to take down the No. 4 seed Kentucky Wildcats (11-4-3, 5-3-0) during the first round of the 2016 Conference USA Championships. As of Tuesday, Kentucky was listed in the NSCAA Coaches Poll as the No.19 team in the country.

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos seek revenge against Utah State

Bo Yu | November 10

The New Mexico volleyball team will host Utah State on Saturday, expecting revenge at their penultimate home match against an Aggies squad that beat the Lobos 3-1 last month. The Lobos (14-14, 4-10 MW) dropped to No. 9 in the conference after falling in both of their road matches last week. Despite the losses against Wyoming on Thursday and Colorado State on Saturday, UNM went the distance against the Rams, playing them in a five-set battle before eventually falling.

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Sports

Men's Soccer: Lobos hope to get past road woes in first game of C-USA tourney

Isabel Gonzalez | November 8

The 2016 Conference USA Championship is just around the corner, and New Mexico men’s soccer hopes to make the most of the opportunity. It’s a big deal for the Lobos, as their performance in the single-elimination contest could determine whether they go to the NCAA Tournament this year, which they’ve missed out on two years in a row. The team is traveling to Huntington, West Virginia to compete. It will be a neutral site for all participants, since the host school, Marshall, finished last in the standings and failed to qualify.

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Sports

Who notable pro athletes are supporting this election

Robert Maler | November 8

San Francisco 49er quarterback Colin Kaepernick made headlines earlier this year when he made a deafeningly silent statement — a decision to protest racial inequality by taking a knee during the national anthem. And whether or not one thinks the cause is just or the action appropriate, it did show that an athlete can be the catalyst for a national discussion on issues that are bigger than sports. Most athletes appear to shy away from political discussion, but with Election Day on Tuesday, it might interest some to know which sports figures are endorsing candidates and why.

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Sports

Women's Basketball: Lobos win final exhibition game against ENMU

Matthew Narvaiz | November 6

Freshman guard Mykiel Burleson led the charge for New Mexico women’s basketball in an 89-70 win over the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds on Sunday afternoon at WisePies arena. Burleson led the Lobos by scoring 19 points on 7-for-14 shooting and 5-for-8 from the free throw line. Eastern New Mexico’s Johna McClelland made the first shot of the game to put the Greyhounds up two, but that didn’t sit well with Cherise Beynon. The junior guard quickly struck back with a 3-pointer to give the Lobos the lead.

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Sports

Meeting UNM Men's Soccer's seniors

Isabel Gonzalez | November 6

The 2016 UNM men’s soccer team honored five seniors during Friday’s regular season finale against Old Dominion. Head coach Jeremy Fishbein said each of them has had a positive impact on the program and that he couldn’t be more proud. “Five guys who have put in a lot of sweat, tears and hard work,” he said. “They are Lobo soccer.”

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Sports

Volleyball: Lobos unable to sustain consistency, lose two close road matches

Bo Yu | November 6

New Mexico volleyball ended its hot hand in Mountain West play by dropping two close matches over the weekend, falling 3-1 to Wyoming and 3-2 to Colorado State. The Lobos (14-14, 4-10 Mountain West) saw their 3-match winning streak halted by the Cowgirls (17-9, 10-3) losing 25-18, 25-16, 19-25, 25-13 on Thursday. Saturday proved too hard for New Mexico,to grab a win from No. 2 Colorado State (17-7, 11-2) even though it held a 2-0 lead. The Rams fight back in the last three sets and Lobos fell 23-25, 21-25, 25-16, 25-22, 15-7. As a result, New Mexico fell to ninth in the conference standings.

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Sports

Football: Lobos eligible to go bowling for second straight year

Robert Maler | November 6

“These guys’ goal is to play Sunday football, right? Well, those college kids — they got to do it.” Head coach Bob Davie had that to say after New Mexico football (6-3, 4-1 MW) played into the wee hours of Sunday morning after a lightning delay to snare a 35-26 victory over Nevada (3-6, 1-4 MW) at University Stadium. Davie said it seemed like the first half was “yesterday,” due to the time he made the comment. The late start time resulted in the first half ending near 10 p.m., as the teams played to a 14-14 draw.

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Sports

Football: Lobos beat Nevada for first 4-game win streak since 2004

Isabel Gonzalez | November 6

It was going to take more than a little rain and lightning to stop the Lobos from achieving the win that would make them bowl-eligible for the second year in a row. New Mexico took a 35-26 win over the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday night. Or, more accurately, Sunday morning, as the team began heading back into the locker room at 1:10 a.m. With the victory, the Lobos are now 6-3 overall, 4-1 in Mountain West Conference play. They are also on a four-game winning streak for the first time since 2004. New Mexico is tied for second place in the conference with Boise State, just one game behind the first place team, Wyoming.

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Sports

Men's Soccer: Lobos win to post first undefeated mark at home since 2011

Isabel Gonzalez | November 6

The Lobos blanked the Old Dominion Monarchs 2-0 on Friday’s Senior Night, making it four straight matches for UNM without a loss, and the team’s third straight win. The result also allowed the team to remain undefeated at home for the first time since 2012, posting an 8-0-1 home record over nine games. “It started off defensively, that was our goal — a shutout,” said UNM head coach Jeremy Fishbein. “I thought we played really well at key moments of the game, then created a lot of offense — two nice goals and some other quality chances.”