June 27, 2005
Academically and athletically, the accomplishments of the student-athletes and teams at the University of New Mexico during the 2004-05 school year are without precedent.
Student-athletes combined for a school-record 3.05 grade-point-average in the fall of 2004. That was followed by a 3.02 GPA during the 2005 spring term, making it six straight semesters with a 3.0 or higher.
Athletically, a school-record 15 teams (out of 20 with skiing being counted as one sport) represented the University of New Mexico at NCAA postseason competition. The previous high had been 12. The 15 sports were men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, football, men’s and women’s golf, skiing, men’s soccer, women’s swimming, men’s and women’s tennis, men’s indoor track and men’s and women’s outdoor track.
There were several outstanding individual accomplishments as 16 Lobos (in nine different sports) were honored as All-Americans, while 17 student-athletes received national recognition for their academic achievement. Five student-athletes – Chris Carlson in baseball, Lars Loeseth, Trine Lundamo and Martina Stursova in skiing and Jeff Rowland in men’s soccer – pulled the rare feat of being named All-America in both the classroom and in their sport.
UNM finished 48th in the nation in the United States Sports Academy Director’s Cup, a ranking that measures a school’s overall athletics success. Only BYU (No. 25) placed higher than the Lobos among Mountain West Conference institutions. It’s the second-highest finish for New Mexico since the standings began in 1993-94. The Lobos’ best finish is 43rd in 1995-96. UNM did accumulate 395 points in 2004-05, its highest total ever.
Three programs – men’s cross country (9th), men’s golf (5th) and skiing (4th) – placed in the top-10 at their respective NCAA championships. Men’s golf and men’s soccer each achieved No. 1 national rankings during the regular season.
CB Brandon Payne was second team All-American, leading Lobo Football to its third straight bowl game. |
New Mexico was one of just 11 NCAA Div. I institutions to have its football team play in a bowl game and also have both its men’s and women’s basketball teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament.
Men’s and women’s basketball won the postseason conference tournament in the same year for the first time. Both programs advanced to the NCAA Tournament in the same year for only the second time, the other year being 1997-98.
Women’s basketball finished 4th in the nation in average attendance (10,674), while the Lobo men were 14th with an average crowd of 14,308 a game. Additionally, men’s soccer finished 2nd in the nation in the average attendance at 2,379 per match, while the UNM women were 8th at 1,201.
“Certainly, this is a good indicator that student-athletes can excel both in the classroom and on the playing field,” said UNM director of athletics Rudy Davalos. “I am very proud of our coaches, our student-athletes and the academic support staff for their efforts.”
2005 University of New Mexico Spring Semester Grade Point Averages
| Men | |
| Baseball | 2.70 |
| Basketball | 2.73 |
| Football | 2.55 |
| Golf | 2.96 |
| Skiing | 3.52 |
| Soccer | 3.35 |
| Tennis | 3.50 |
| Track* | 3.03 |
| Women | |
| Basketball | 3.33 |
| Golf | 3.79 |
| Skiing | 3.61 |
| Soccer | 3.36 |
| Softball | 3.16 |
| Swimming | 3.02 |
| Tennis | 3.38 |
| Track* | 3.22 |
| Volleyball | 3.18 |
| Total | 3.02 |
*includes cross country, indoor and outdoor track
Notes
Semester grades have been tabulated since the fall of 1988
Men’s soccer and women’s golf recorded their highest semester GPAs
A total of 442 student-athletes were included in the tabulation
A total of 238 student-athletes, or 53%, had a 3.0 GPA or better
A total of 122 student-athetes, or 27%, had a 3.5 GPA or higher
A total of 34 student-athletes, or 7%, had a 4.0 GPA or higher
2004-05 Sports Highlights
Mandi Moore led the UNM women to their third straight MWC Tournament title. |
Baseball (Rich Alday, head coach) 26-32, 15-15 MWC (4th)
Sophomore Chris Carlson became the third Lobo to earn All-America and Academic All-America in the same season…Carlson hit .395 with 15 homers and 79 RBI, led the MWC in runs, walks and slugging percentage
2B Jordan Pacheco was the first freshman in school history to garner All-America accolades…a third-team selection, Pacheco led the team with a .408 average and hit 15 homers with 52 RBI
Danny Ray Herrera led the MWC with eight wins, earning All-MWC honors along with Carlson, Herrera, Pacheco and Garrick Haymore
Men’s Basketball (Ritchie McKay, head coach) 26-7, 10-4 MWC (2nd)
UNM posted the second most wins in school history on its way to a MWC Tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1999…Danny Granger and Alfred Neale were named to the MWC all-tournament team with Granger earning tournament MVP honors
Granger was named first team all-MWC, honorable mention All-American by the Associated press and third-team All-American by Basketball Times
David Chiotti and Troy DeVries earned third-team All-MWC honors while Mark Walters and Alfred Neale were honorable mention All-MWC
Women’s Basketball (Don Flanagan, head coach) 26-5, 12-2 MWC (1st)
The Lobos won both the MWC regular season and tournament championships for the second consecutive season…UNM advanced to the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight season, its eighth straight postseason appearance
Head coach Don Flanagan was named MWC Coach of the Year…senior Lindsey Arndt was named first team All-MWC…senior Mandi Moore became the first player in UNM history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in her career and was named second team All-MWC…freshman Dionne Marsh was named MWC Newcomer of the Year, third team All-MWC and MVP of the MWC Tournament
UNM finished fourth nationally in attendance for the third straight season with an average of 10,674
Cross Country (Matt Henry, head coach) 9th in the NCAA (Men)
The men’s team finished a program-best ninth at the NCAA Championships…senior Matt Gonzales (2nd) and freshman Shadrack Kiptoo-Biwott (14th) earned All-America honors…Gonzales crossed the line 3.2 seconds behind the winner en route to the best NCAA finish ever by a Lobo
Kiptoo-Biwott and Gonzales finished 1-2 at the MWC Championships to lead UNM to a third place finish…both men earned All-MWC honors, while Kiptoo-Biwott took home both Runner of the Year and Freshman of the Year, becoming the first Lobo in 38 years to win a conference crown
Senior Jacquelyne Gallegos earned her second trip to the NCAA Championships and finished a career-best 69th. Gallegos earned first team all-conference with a fourth place finish, the best by a Lobo woman since 1992
Football (Rocky Long, head coach) 7-5, 5-2 MWC (2nd)
UNM won its last five regular-season games and played in a third straight bowl game for the first time in school history, losing to Navy 34-19 in the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco
Lobos set a season attendance record for the third time in the past four seasons, averaging 37,282 fans for five games…UNM also set a new standard with 15,729 season tickets sold
UNM – along with Oklahoma and Texas – finished in the top-30 in the nation in total defense for the fifth straight season
CB Brandon Payne named 2nd Team All-American, while Payne, C Ryan Cook, TB DonTrell Moore, NT Marcus Parker, LB Nick Speegle and OT Claude Terrell earned 1st Team all-MWC…DE Michael Tuohy chosen Freshman All-American
Terrell (St. Louis) and Speegle (Cleveland) were taken in the NFL Draft
Senior Becca Barras became the Lobo’s first women’s diving All-American, placing 15th at the NCAA Championships. |
Men’s Golf (Glen Millican, head coach) 5th in the NCAA, 1st in the MWC
New Mexico advanced to the NCAA Championships for the 14th time in the past 16 years…UNM ended in 5th place, the best finish by the Lobos since 1979
The Lobos won their third straight MWC title…UNM won five team titles and finished in the top-5 in 10 tournaments…the Lobos earned their first-ever No. 1 ranking early in 2004 after winning the Topy Cup
Spencer Levin was named a PING first team All-American and Glen Millican the MWC Coach of the Year and Eaton Golf Pride Southwest Regional Coach of the Year
Levin won three tournaments and finished in the top-10 10 times to finish 2005 ranked No. 2 in the country…he also represented the United States at both the World Amateur and Walker Cup…he turned pro after the NCAAs
Women’s Golf (Jackie Booth, head coach) 2nd in the MWC
New Mexico earned its 13th consecutive postseason bid with a berth in the NCAA Central Regional as the No. 3 seed after being ranked in the top-20 all season
UNM won two tournaments: the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, N.C., in October, and the Lady Gamecock Classic in Blythewood, S.C., in March…the Lobos have won 12 tournaments the past four years
Senior Kailin Downs became the first four-time all-conference honoree in MWC women’s golf history…she closed her career as the all-time scoring average leader in UNM history with a 74.38 average
The Lobos placed three golfers on the All-MWC team (Downs, Christine Fernandez and Ashley Rollins) for the fifth straight year
Jeff Rowland was a 2004 All-American and the MPSF co-Player of the Year. |
Skiing (George Brooks, head coach) 4th in the NCAA
The Lobos placed fourth at the NCAA Championships in Stowe, Vermont…it was the school’s seventh straight top-5 finish at the NCAA’s
Dirk Grimm, Lars Loeseth, Trine Lundamo, Martina Stursova and Gladys Weidt all earned All-American honors with top-10 finishes
Lundamo, Stursova and Pirkko Pulkkanen won the women’s 15K Freestyle event at the NCAAs, the third consecutive win in the Freestyle by the Lobo women’s Nordic team
10 Lobos were honored with Academic All-NCAA awards.
Men’s Soccer (Jeremy Fishbein, head coach) 17-1-2, 10-1-1 MPSF (1st)
The Lobos advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history…UNM just missed the Final Eight, falling at Virginia on penalty kicks, 6-5…the Lobos were ranked No. 1 in the final Soccer America top-25 for the first time in school history…UNM also claimed its third MPSF title in four years
Junior Jeff Rowland became the fifth All-American in school history, posting a school-record 45 points on 19 goals and seven assists
Eight Lobos were named All-MPSF, including Rowland, Andrew Boyens, Lance Watson and Andrew Weber on the first team…Brandon Moss was a second team selection while Jeff Krause, Ben Ashwill and Hans Bevers were honorable mention honorees
Rowland and Boyens were MPSF co-Players of the Year with Boyens also earning Newcomer of the Year honors
Women’s Soccer (Kit Vela, head coach) 5-12, 1-5 MWC (6th)
Junior goalkeeper Kristen Winters broke the record for most career wins at UNM with 20
Sophomore midfielder Brittany Emerson and freshman midfielder Anna Neu made the All-MWC second team
The Lobos placed 14 players on the Academic All-MWC team and finished the fall semester with their highest cumulative team GPA ever at 3.50
Softball (Kim Newbern, head coach) 16-34, 5-15 MWC (5th)
UNM came up just shy of knocking off the eventual MWC champions, BYU, in the MWC Tournament…the Lobos fell to the Cougars 2-1 in 10 innings in the second round
Senior Ashley Perkins was named to the MWC championship all-tournament team
Freshman Lindsey Elcess was recognized by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, placing on the NFCA All-West Region second team as a designated player…sophomore Ryanne Hodgins made the ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic all-district VI first team…junior Kristina Schmallen made the all-MWC team
Swimming/Diving (Bill Spahn, head coach)
Senior Becca Barras became the University of New Mexico’s first women’s diving All-American, placing 15th at the NCAA Championships
The Lobos collected 15 honors at the MWC Championships…Barras was awarded the Co-Diver of the Year and Senior Recognition award while senior Nicole Overeem earned the first annual Sportsmanship Award…Barras, juniors Kelsey Leckovic and Robyn Miller, sophomore Jenna Syverson and freshman Tori Clarridge were named to the All-MWC first team while Clarridge, Leckovic, Miller, senior Aimee Dunavant, junior Whitney Thomson, sophomore Jen Hale and freshmen Carrie Quinn and Andrea Zarins made the all-MWC second team
Head coach Bill Spahn announced his retirement following 24 seasons at New Mexico…assistant coach Tracy Ljone was named the new head swim coach on May 5
Men’s Tennis (Alan Dils, head coach) 9-8, 3-2 MWC (3rd)
Seniors David Kowalski and Ryan Stotland were the first doubles team to represent the Lobos in a national tournament finale, appearing in the championship match of the ITA All-American Championships in October…as a result, the duo was ranked No. 3 in the nation to start the spring season, the highest ranking any UNM tandem has ever received…Kowalski also tied the UNM record for most career doubles wins, recording his 98th in the opening match of the MWC Championships
Max Jones became the first Lobo honored as the MWC’s Freshman of the Year after going 23-10 overall and 12-4 in dual match singles…Jones also was honored on the all-MWC singles team, the only freshman to make the cut…Stotland and Kowalski both made the all-MWC singles and doubles teams
Assistant coach Loren Dils was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s Assistant Coach of the Year for the third time
Amanda Barnes was the first UNM woman to compete in the shot put at the NCAA Championships. |
Women’s Tennis (Kathy Kolankiewicz, head coach) 15-9, 6-1 MWC (2nd)
UNM was ranked No. 50 in the final national poll
The doubles team of junior Maja Kovacek and sophomore Iva Gersic reached the highest national ranking ever at UNM earlier with a No. 4 mark…Kovacek also reached the highest singles ranking a Lobo has had at No. 24
Kovacek and Gersic earned an automatic bid to the NCAA doubles championship…Kovacek also qualified in singles, making her the first Lobo to be an NCAA participant in singles and doubles two years straight
Kovacek and Gersic were named MWC Co-Players of the Year…both earned first team all-MWC in singles and doubles…senior Michelle Heidbrink was first team all-MWC and was all-league with fellow senior Tiffany Robertson in doubles
Assistant coach Roy Canada was named ITA Central Region Assistant Coach of the Year…Kovacek was named ITA Central Region Player to Watch
Indoor Track (Matt Henry, head coach)
Senior Matt Gonzales downed six higher-ranked runners in a fourth place finish in the men’s 5,000 at the NCAA Championships…Gonzales improved his own school record with a time of 13:45.72 and finished less than three seconds behind the winner to become the Lobos’ first indoor All-American in 15 years
The UNM men enjoyed their best scoring output in 15 years en route to a fifth place finish at the MWC Championships (67 points)…the Lobo women finished seventh…the two squads combined to earn all-conference honors in eight events, including conference titles by Gonzales in the 3,000 and senior Ben Ortega in the 5,000
Spencer Levin was one of the top collegiate golfer throughout the 2004-05 season. |
Outdoor Track (Matt Henry, head coach)
The Lobo men finished 4th (107.5 pts.) at the MWC Championships, the team’s second-highest output since 1990…the women placed 6th (64.5 pts.), their best finish since 2001…UNM received 11 all-conference honors, including first-place finishes by Dan Feltman (decathlon) and Matt Keeran (javelin)
Twelve Lobos qualified for the NCAA Midwest Regional while three native New Mexicans – Feltman, Keeran and Amanda Barnes (shot put) – qualified for the NCAA Championships
Jamie Fishencord was a second team Academic All-District VI selection
Volleyball (Kelley McKee, head coach) 9-17, 3-11 MWC (8th)
The Lobos claimed the Albuquerque Marriott Lobo Volleyball Classic…Nicole Ryan was named Most Valuable Player
Adah Burke was named a second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American as presented by CoSIDA, and earned first-team CoSIDA All-District VI honors for the second straight year
Freshman Samie Weber led the team in blocks with 110 (1.22 per game)..her 105 block assists ranked fourth best in a UNM season…senior Monica Meihack finished her career sixth all-time in the UNM record book with 2,840 career assists