June 30, 2006
Another athletic and academic year has come to an end and the accomplishments of the student-athletes and teams at the University of New Mexico during the 2005-06 school year are as impressive as ever.
Student-athletes combined for a school-record 3.08 grade-point-average in the spring of 2006. That made eight straight semesters with a 3.02 or higher.
Athletically, eight teams represented the University of New Mexico at NCAA postseason competition. Leading the way were the NCAA runner-up finishes by the men’s soccer team and the ski team. Also making the postseason were women’s basketball, men’s and women’s golf, women’s tennis, men’s outdoor track and men’s indoor track.
There were several outstanding individual accomplishments as 17 Lobos (in six different sports) were honored as All-Americans, while 16 student-athletes received national recognition for their academic achievement. Six student-athletes – Chris Carlson in baseball, Lars Loeseth, Dirk Grimm, Geir-Endre Rogn and Laura Van Alst 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.
Senior women’s tennis player Maja Kovacek took home the Mountain West Conference’s top honor, earning the MWC Female Student-Athlete of the Year Award. Junior Lars Loeseth also had an impressive year. The All-American skier was also a valuable member of the men’s soccer team. He has been on three of the four most successful teams in school history – 2004 NCAA champion ski team, 2005 NCAA runner-up men’s soccer squad and the 2006 NCAA runner-up ski team.
UNM finished 59th in the nation in the United States Sports Academy Director’s Cup, a ranking that measures a school’s overall athletics success. The Lobos’ best finish is 43rd in 1995-96.
Women’s basketball finished 4th in the nation in average attendance (10,354), while the Lobo men were 21st with an average crowd of 13,387 a game. Additionally, men’s soccer finished 1st in the nation in the average attendance at 3,649 per match, while the UNM women were 5th at 1,848.
2006 University of New Mexico Spring Semester Grade Point Averages
| Men | |
| Baseball | 2.87 |
| Basketball | 2.97 |
| Football | 2.66 |
| Golf | 2.91 |
| Skiing | 3.53 |
| Soccer | 3.28 |
| Tennis | 3.38 |
| Track* | 3.04 |
| Women | |
| Basketball | 3.50 |
| Golf | 3.40 |
| Skiing | 3.37 |
| Soccer | 3.28 |
| Softball | 2.96 |
| Swimming | 3.29 |
| Tennis | 3.29 |
| Track* | 3.32 |
| Volleyball | 3.43 |
| Total | 3.02 |
Men’s basketball had its highest GPA; previous high was 2.89 in the fall of 1997
Senior Maja Kovacek was the 2006 MWC Female Student-Athlete of the Year, the top honor given by the league. |
Volleyball had its highest GPA; previous high was 3.37 in the spring of 2003 Women’s basketball had its 2nd-highest GPA; best is 3.52 in fall of 2002 Football had its 2nd-highest GPA for the second straight semester; best is 2.69 in springof 2003 A total of 258 student-athletes, or 59%, had a 3.0 GPA or better A total of 139 student-athletes, or 32%, had a 3.5 GPA or better, and 36 had a 4.0 or better
2005-06 SPORT-BY-SPORT HIGHLIGHTS
Baseball (Rich Alday, head coach) 30-29 overall, 10-12 MWC / 5th
The Lobos’ 30-29 record gave them their first winning season since 2003 and the eighth under head coach Rich Alday
Juniors Chris Carlson and Danny Ray Herrera were named Louisville Slugger All-Americans…sophomores Ian Hollick and Jordan Pacheco were all-MWC with Herrera sharing the MWC Pitcher of the Year award
Carlson was named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America first team as a designated hitter…Hollick made the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VI first team as a third baseman
Junior Chris Carlson was an All-American on the field and an Academic All-American in the classroom in 2006. |
Herrera was one of the 10 finalists for CSTV’s Player of the Year award, posting a 10-0 record, 2.24 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 128.1 innings
Men’s Basketball (Ritchie McKay, head coach) 17-13 overall, 8-8 MWC / 5th
The Lobos finished 17-13 overall for their 22nd non-losing season in the past 23 years…New Mexico was 8-8 in MWC play, finishing in fifth place
UNM is tied with Utah for most wins (43) in the Mountain West Conference the past two seasons
Senior Mark Walters was named first team all-conference while senior David Chiotti earned a spot on the second team
Women’s Basketball (Don Flanagan, head coach) 22-10 overall, 11-5 MWC/T3rd
UNM finished 21st in the nation in the final ESPN Coaches’ poll and 24th in the final AP rankings
The Lobos made their ninth consecutive postseason appearance and fifth straight showing in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Don Flanagan…UNM beat Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Lobos’ first-ever win away from The Pit…New Mexico fell to defending champion Baylor in the second round
Sophomore Dionne Marsh earned 1st Team All-MWC honors, leading the Lobo women to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth straight year. |
Sophomore Dionne Marsh was named first team all-conference, junior Katie Montgomery earned second team honors and senior Abbie Letz received 3rd team mention
UNM finished fourth in the nation in attendance for the fourth straight year, averaging 10,354 fans a game
Cross Country (Matt Henry, head coach)
The women’s team matched its best conference finish in program history, placing second at the MWC meet, the best performance by the UNM women since 1986…head coach Matt Henry was named MWC Women’s Coach of the Year…junior Timmie Murphy and sophomore Leslie Luna earned first team all-MWC honors
Senior Cameron Clarke earned all-MWC honors for the third time in his career, tying for the most in program history, to help the UNM men finish fifth in the conference standings
Gallegos, Murphy and Luna earned all-region honors as the women finished sixth at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships, their highest since 1988
Gallegos won the Lobo Invitational and was the first UNM man or woman to be named MWC Cross Country Athlete of the Week twice in a season
Football (Rocky Long, head coach) 6-5 overall, 4-4 MWC / T4th
Senior DonTrell Moore became just the sixth player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards four consecutive seasons. |
UNM won at least six games for a school-record fifth straight season…34 wins since 2001, tying for the most ever in a five-year span
Rocky Long became the school’s winningest head coach when the Lobos won at Missouri on Sept. 10
Established school records for the third straight season for season tickets (17,404) and average attendance (38,341)
TB DonTrell Moore became just the sixth player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards four consecutive seasons…the MWC Offensive Player of the Year in 2005, Moore finished his career No. 13 in NCAA history with 4,973 rushing yards
Men’s Golf (Glen Millican, head coach) 1st in the MWC
The Lobos won their fourth consecutive MWC title…it is Glen Millican’s fourth title in five years as head coach
Jay Choi was named second team All-America and first team all-conference…Choi also won the MWC individual championship and the National Invitational Tournament…he is the 14th UNM player to win an individual conference championship and the first since Michael Letzig in 2003
Women’s Golf (Jackie Booth, head coach) 2nd in the MWC
UNM finished 25th nationally in the final Golfweek poll…the Lobos were second at the MWC Championships for the third straight year and 14th at the NCAA West Regional…UNM used three freshmen and two sophomores in the final eight tournaments
Freshmen Mikaela Backstedt and Py Bengtsson were named first team all-conference after tying for first place at the MWC Championships…Backstedt was also chosen MWC co-Freshman of the Year and honorable mention All-America
Backstedt became the first Lobo freshman to win a tournament (New Mexico State Intercollegiate) and she set a UNM season record with a 73.40 scoring average
Skiing (George Brooks, head coach) National Runner-up
The Lobos finished second at the NCAA Championships in George Brooks’ 36th season as head coach
Eight Lobos earned All-America honors, including senior Geir-Endre Rogn, juniors Dirk Grimm, Lars Loeseth and Alex Mach, sophomores Laura Van Alst and Marit Rognmo and freshmen Karin Ohlin and Tor Fodnesbergene
New Mexico finished third in the Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association, trailing only 2006 NCAA Champion Colorado and 2005 champ Denver
Junior Lars Loeseth was member of both the men’s soccer team and the ski team, leading both squads to NCAA runner-up finishes. |
Men’s Soccer (Jeremy Fishbein, head coach) 18-2-3, 9-1-2 MPSF/1st/National Runner-up
The Lobos advanced to the College Cup for the first time in school history, falling in the national championship game to Maryland, 1-0…UNM was the No. 2 seed in the tournament, ranked No. 1 in the nation for three weeks and claimed its fourth MPSF title in the last five years
Senior Jeff Rowland was a Hermann Trophy finalist, one of two runners-up for college soccer’s top award…Rowland, senior Lance Watson and junior Andrew Boyens all earned various All-America honors
Eight Lobos were named All-MPSF, including Rowland, Boyens, Watson and senior Brandon Moss on the first team…senior Ben Ashwill and sophomore Mike Graczyk were on the second team and seniors Josh Brown and Matt Wootton
UNM led the nation in attendance, averaging 3,649 fans per game…a sold out crowd of 5,600 saw the Lobos defeat Cal in the third round of the NCAA Tournament…UNM played in five of the top-10 highest attended games in 2005, including three played at the UNM Soccer Complex
Women’s Soccer (Kit Vela, head coach) 8-7-4 overall, 3-3-1 MWC / 5th
The Lobos finished the season above .500 for the first time since 2002, posting wins against two top-25 teams in No. 6 BYU and No. 22 Utah at the MWC Tournament…the Lobos also tied No. 22 Arizona
UNM made its second-ever championship game appearance at the MWC Tournament after defeating Wyoming and Utah in the first two rounds
Juniors Alanna Abeyta, Kristine Sweat and Ashley Lowery were named to the all-conference second team, the most honorees since 2002…five UNM players (Abeyta, Lowery, Kaela Kelly, Bridgette Sanchez and Nicole McCarty) were named to the MWC all-tournament team
Softball (Kim Newbern, head coach) 23-31 overall, 4-16 MWC / 6th
The Lobos finished 23-31 overall and 4-16 in MWC games
Seniors Cassie Chavez (SS) and Kristina Schmallen (2B) were named first team all-conference for the second time…Schmallen and sophomore 1B Lindsey Elcess were named to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division I All-West Region second team by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association
Women’s Swimming (Tracy Ljone, head coach) 2-10 overall, 0-8 MWC/7th in MWC
The Lobos finished seventh at the MWC Championships…UNM brought home three medals, set one school record and swam to 12 season-best times at the Championships
Senior Robyn Miller was all-conference for the fourth straight year…she also received the MWC Co-Senior Recognition Award
Junior diver Carrie Quinn had 10 first place finishes in the 1-and 3-meter boards
Four Lobos (Quinn, freshman Kristen Naber, sophomore Tori Clarridge and junior Jenna Syverson) earned a spot on the all-conference second team
Men’s Tennis (Alan Dils, head coach) 11-9 overall, 2-4 MWC / T4th
The Lobos posted an 11-9 record despite the fact they had only three returning players…on a few occasions they started four freshman and two sophmores
Sophomore Max Jones was named to the all-MWC singles and doubles teams, his second consecutive singles selection and his first in doubles
Freshman Johnny Parkes was named MWC Freshman of the Year, all-MWC in singles and Region VII Freshman of the Year
Women’s Tennis (Kathy Kolankiewicz, head coach) 14-9 overall, 4-4 MWC/5th
Junior Iva Gersic earned All-American honors as a doubles player for the women’s tennis team. |
The Lobos finished 14-9, falling to Long Beach State in the first round of the NCAA Championships…UNM advanced to the semifinals of the MWC Championship before losing to eventual champ TCU…Senior Maja Kovacek was named the MWC Female Student-Athlete of the Year
Senior Maja Kovacek competed in singles and doubles at the NCAA Championships for the third consecutive year…junior Iva Gersic joined Kovacek in the NCAA doubles as the duo was seeded No. 4 in the nation to earn All-American honors…it was the second time Kovacek had earned that distinction and the first for Gersic
The Lobos earned MWC Player of the Week honors three times in 2006, with Gersic claiming two and sophomore Ola Abou-Zerkry taking the other
Indoor Track (Matt Henry, head coach)
Two athletes – pole vaulters Derek Mackel and Robert Caldwell – advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 1990…Caldwell tied for eighth to become the second Lobo to earn All-America honors in the pole vault New Mexico hosted the MWC Championships for the first time where the UNM men and women both finished fifth…it was the best combined performance (127 points) for the Lobo teams in 15 years…the Lobos earned all-conference honors 10 times, including a program-record six medals for the women
Five school records were set during the 2006 season, including four on the women’s side
Outdoor Track (Matt Henry, head coach)
Pole vaulters Derek Mackel and Robert Caldwell advanced to the NCAA Championships, giving the UNM men a pair of national qualifiers for the third straight year
Mackel won the pole vault at the NCAA Midwest Regional to lead the Lobo men to a program-best 16th place finish at the meet…Caldwell (6th, pole vault), freshman Anthony Fairbanks (7th, javelin) and freshman Katie Coronado (7th, javelin) also scored
The men and women both finished fifth at the MWC Championships…the women scored 67.5 points en route to the team’s highest conference finish since 1996…three women, four men and the men’s 4x100m relay team earned all-MWC honors
Sophomores Ariel Burr (400m), Whitney Johnson (pole vault) and Stasia Ploskonka (3,000m steeplechase) all set school records
Volleyball (Kelley McKee, head coach) 14-14 overall, 6-10 MWC / 7th
The Lobos finished the season 14-14 overall, producing their best season since 1996…it tied for the most wins since 1997…the tournament championship at the Montana Invite was UNM’s first on the road in 12 years
Senior Chelsea Sondrupset a UNM career blocking record with 465…she also holds the UNM career block assist record with 433
Freshman Sarah Kwasigrochhad an unbelievable start to her career, dishing out 1,088 assists, the fifth best single-season total at UNM