July 24, 2008
The 2007-08 athletics season was solid as 10 sports were represented by either individual or team at NCAA championship events. Senior Jeremy Johnson earned All-America honors in cross country and outdoor track. Junior Katie Coronado finished second in the javelin at the NCAA Championships and qualified for the Olympic Trials. Football won its first bowl game in 46 years and had two Academic All-Americans in Cody Kase and Vince Natali. Women’s basketball advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 7th straight year and men’s soccer qualified for NCAA postseason for the 6th time in the past seven years.
AcademicsThe combined grade point average of the Lobos’ 21 athletics programs for the 2008 spring semester was a school-record 3.11 according to the UNM registrar’s office. UNM’s previous high was 3.08 in the 2006 spring semester. The Lobos have now reached a G.P.A. of 3.00 or better for 11 of the last 12 semesters. UNM began tracking grades in the fall of 1988.
“This is an outstanding achievement by our student-athletes,” stated UNM Vice President for Athletics Paul Krebs. “The hard work put in by our student-athletes, coaches, academic advisement staff and mentors is definitely reflective in the G.P.A.’s from the spring semester.”
After posting a 2.98 in the fall of 2007, the Lobos 3.11 showed their biggest improvement since a jump from 2.41 to 2.67 between the fall of 1988 and the spring of 1989.
Football (2.79), men’s skiing (3.75) and swimming and diving (3.50) each posted program highs for G.P.A. while women’s soccer (3.47) and women’s tennis (3.65) had their second highest total. Men’s basketball (2.87) and women’s golf (3.54) had their third best total. Men’s basketball also made the biggest jump from the 2006 spring semester, improving 24% from their 2.30 G.P.A. posted a year ago.
Sophomore Jodi Ewart won the MWC individual title for the second consecutive year and was named honorable mention All-American. She also earned her second MWC co-Player of the Year Honor. |
2008 University of New Mexico Spring Semester Grade Point Averages
Men
Baseball – 2.92
Basketball – 2.87
Football – 2.79
Golf – 3.08
Skiing – 3.75
Soccer – 3.17
Tennis – 2.92
Track* – 2.90
Women
Basketball – 3.26
Golf – 3.54
Skiing – 3.53
Soccer – 3.47
Softball – 3.11
Swimming and Diving – 3.50
Tennis – 3.65
Track* – 3.37
Volleyball – 3.11
Total – 3.11
*includes cross country, indoor and outdoor track
Notes on the Lobos’ G.P.A.
Baseball had it highest spring semester G.P.A., 6th highest overall
Men’s basketball had its third highest semester G.P.A…only spring 2006 (2.97) and fall 1997 (2.89) were better
Women’s Basketball has had a 3.0 or better each semester since the spring of 2000
Football set a program record, bettering its previous high of 2.69 in the spring of 2003
Women’s Golf had its third highest semester G.P.A…only trailing spring 2005 (3.76) and spring 2004 (3.61)
The men’s ski team tied its best G.P.A., equaling a mark set in the spring 2001…also tied for the fifth best G.P.A. by any team in a semester in school history
The women’s ski team has had at least a 3.0 G.P.A. since the fall of 1991
Men’s soccer has had over a 3.0 for 11 of the last 12 semesters
Only women’s soccer’s 3.50 in the fall of 2004 was better than their G.P.A. this semester
Softball now has four consecutive semesters with at least a 3.0
Swimming and Diving sets a program record for the fourth straight semester
Women’s tennis’s 3.67 in the fall of 2001 is the only semester G.P.A. higher than their total for the spring of 2008
Women’s track now has 10 straight semesters of 3.0 or better
Volleyball extends its streak of 3.0 or better to 12 semesters
Senior K John Sullivan became just the 3rd consensus All-American in UNM history, joining WR Terance Mathis (1989) and S Brian Urlacher (1999)…a former walk-on who kicked with a torn ACL in his plant (left) leg all season, Sullivan was the nation’s top FG kicker with a school and MWC record 29 made…he also tied an NCAA record by converting multiple FGs in 10 games. |
UNM Student-Athlete GraduatesCongratulations to the following University of New Mexico student-athletes – some former and some current – who received their diplomas during Fall 2007 and Spring 2008 graduation ceremonies at The Pit.
Baseball: Quentin Andes, Matthew Foote, Matt Hibbitts, Chad Itokazo, Brett Madsen, Jay Russell, Jackie Smith, Dan Stovall
Men’s Basketball: Jamaal Smith
Cross Country/Track & Field: Robert Caldwell, Kara Henry, Cheryl Gourley, Whitney Johnson, Sheyenne Lewis, Adam Martinez, Kristan Matison, Juan Ortega, Jarrin Solomon,
Football: Yamin Bauman, Tyler Donaldson, Martellius Epps, Bo Greer, Aleem Harris, Stephen Hutchinson, Cody Kase, Anthony Kilby, Bart Miller, Major Mosley, Vincent Natali, Jon O’Brien, Jordan Scott, John Sullivan, OJ Swift, Michael Tuohy
Men’s Golf: Robb Bierbaum
Senior Jeremy Johnson won the MWC Cross Country title and placed 20th at the NCAAs to earn All-American honors. He also earned All-American honors in the 10K at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. |
Women’s Golf: Giselle Claux, Alexandra Phelps
Skiing: Lena Kaasa, Alex Mach, Petter Roering, Jedd Young
Softball: Jennie Deitrich, Becky Dover, Kelly Ninemire, Amy Ray
Men’s Soccer: Blake Danaher, Michael Graczyk, Joseph Vitagliano
Women’s Soccer: Alanna Abeyta, Kaela Kelly, Bridgette Sanchez, Martina Brtan, Terryn Granados, Kristine Sweat
Women’s Tennis: Elisa Bonner, Nora Quintal
Swimming/Diving: Victoria Clarridge, Carrie Quinn, Kelly Soldow, Jenna Syverson, Andrea Zarins
Women’s Tennis: Lucy Scott
2007-08 Sport-by-Sport Recaps
Baseball (Ray Birmingham, head coach) 34-25, 16-8 MWC/2nd
34 wins for the Lobos ties for seventh on the all-time Lobo wins list
UNM began the season 7-0, the best start for the Lobos since 1973
UNM had eight players named to the All-Mountain West Conference teams, including the entire infield on the second team – OF Brian Cavazos-Galvez (1st team), C Rafael Neda (2nd team), 1B Kevin Atkinson (2nd team), 2B Mike Brownstein (2nd team), SS Scott Gracey (2nd team), 3B Ian Hollick (2nd team), SP Bobby LaFromboise (2nd team), RP Clinton Cox (2nd team)
Rafael Neda became the first Lobo to be named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year. Neda was also named to three Freshmen All-America teams – Louisville Slugger, NCBWA, and Ping!Baseball
Brian Cavazos-Galvez’ over the fence diving catch against TCU on May 23 was the #2 play on ESPN’s May 24 Sports Center Top 10 Plays
Two Lobos were selected in the 2008 MLB Draft – SP Bobby LaFromboise (8th/Seattle Mariners) and SS/P Scott Gracey (15/Toronto Blue Jays)
Men’s Basketball (Steve Alford, head coach) 24-9 overall, 11-5 MWC / 3rd
The Lobos finished 24-9 overall as Steve Alford set a school record for most wins by a UNM rookie head coach…the 24 wins tied the school mark for victories in a regular season…New Mexico was 11-5 in the MWC, its most conference wins in nine years…the Lobos also tied a school record with 8 road wins
The 9-win improvement is 5th-best in school history
New Mexico lost to Cal in the 1st round of the NIT
Senior J.R. Giddens was named the Co-Player of the Year in the MWC…he led the league in scoring and rebounding in conference games
Home attendance increased 1,508 a game to 14,361 for 18 home games
New Mexico finished 2nd in the nation in 3-point shooting (42%), while junior Chad Toppert was 2nd nationally in 3-point accuracy (48%)
Senior J.R. Giddens was named the MWC co-Player of the Year and a first round selection of the NBA Champion Boston Celtics. |
Women’s Basketball (Don Flanagan, head coach) 20-13 overall, 9-7 MWC / 4th
UNM was 20-13 overall for its eighth consecutive 20-win season…the Lobos were 9-7 in the MWC, finishing in fourth place
New Mexico won the MWC Tournament for the fifth time in the past six years and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh consecutive season…UNM lost to No. 17 West Virginia 61-60 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at The Pit
Senior Dionne Marsh became the school’s career scoring leader and was named MVP of the MWC Tournament for the third time in four years
UNM had three student-athletes named all-MWC including senior Dionne Marsh who was a first team selection … senior Brandi Kimble and sophomore Amy Beggin were named to the third team
Lobo women’s basketball is one of 13 programs nationally to make the last seven NCAA Tournaments
Cross Country (Joe Franklin, head coach) Men 2nd Women 3rd
New Mexico placed both its men’s and women’s teams among the top-three at the conference championships for the first time since 1988 when the men won the Western Athletic Conference title and the women were third in the old High Country Athletic Conference
Senior Jeremy Johnson capped his remarkable 2007 season by finishing 20th in his NCAA Cross Country Championships debut to earn All-America honors…Johnson recorded the fourth-highest national finish in program history and became New Mexico’s seventh men’s All-American…Johnson also finished third at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships – the second-highest in school history – and became the first native New Mexican to since John Baker in 1964 to win a conference cross country title with his wire-to-wire victory at the Mountain West Conference Championship meet
The UNM men’s team had its best conference finish (2nd) since winning the WAC in 1988 and its best score (51) at a conference meet since the 1965 team won the WAC title with a program record score of 27
Football (Rocky Long, head coach) 9-4 overall, 5-3 MWC / T3rd
UNM finished 9-4 overall and 5-3 in the MWC, tying for 3rd place…the 2007 Lobos became just the 4th New Mexico team to win at least 9 games in a season
The Lobos beat Nevada 23-0 in New Mexico Bowl II, UNM’s first bowl victory in 46 years… it was New Mexico’s 5th bowl game in the past 6 seasons
Nevada had not been shut out in 329 games, the longest current streak in college football and the second longest in history…the shutout was all the more amazing considering Nevada came into the bowl game with offensive averages of 36.2 points and 488.9 yards during the regular season
UNM is the only school in the Mountain West Conference to have at least 6 wins and be bowl eligible every season since 2001
The Lobos finished 13th in the nation in total defense (319.9 ypg), the highest national ranking in Rocky Long’s 10 years as head coach
Senior K John Sullivan became just the 3rd consensus All-American in UNM history, joining WR Terance Mathis (1989) and S Brian Urlacher (1999)…a former walk-on who kicked with a torn ACL in his plant (left) leg all season, Sullivan was the nation’s top FG kicker with a school and MWC record 29 made…he also tied an NCAA record by converting multiple FGs in 10 games
Seniors Cody Kase and Vince Natali were named to the 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first and second teams, respectively…it’s the first time in program history two players have earned All-America honors in the same season…the duo were the lone Mountain West Conference representatives on the first and second teams
Men’s Golf (Glen Millican, head coach) 6th at MWC Championships
The Lobos finished sixth at the MWC Championships and missed the postseason for the first time since 1989
Freshman Tom Carlson led the team with a 73.83 season average
Juniors Jon Sauer and Steve Saunder and sophomore Brandon Putnam all had five finishes in the top-30
Senior Dionne Marsh became UNM’s all-time leading scorer and won her third MWC Tournament MVP honor in four years. |
Women’s Golf (Jill Trujillo, head coach) 1st at the MWC Championships
UNM won the MWC title for the fifth time in the past nine years … Jill Trujillo named MWC Coach of the Year
Sophomore Jodi Ewart won the MWC individual title for the second consecutive year and was named honorable mention All-American
Three Lobos were named all-MWC including junior Mikaela Backstedt, sophomores Jodi Ewart and Britney Choy … Ewart earned her second Co-MWC Player of the Year honor
Senior Alexandra Phelps competed in the NCAA Championships, finishing tied for 20th…the 2008 NCAA Women’s Golf Championships were held at the UNM Championship Course
Skiing (Fredrik Landstedt, head coach) 7th at the NCAA Championships
UNM had six All-America performances, led by sophomore Polina Ermoshina in the 5K Freestyle and the 15 K Classical
Tor-Hakon Hellebostad, Malin Hemmingson, Karin Ohlin and Thomas Schwab all had All-American performances at the NCAAs
Tor Fodnesbergene earned his sixth collegiate win, tying him for first on the UNM Alpine wins list with Lars Loseth and Stefan Lanziner
Six Lobos were named to the 2008 All-Rocky Mountain Intercollegiate Ski Association team – Malin Hemmingsson, Karin Ohlin, Tor Fodnesbergene, Thomas Schwab, Polina Ermoshina, and Simon Reissmann
11 Lobos were named to the 2008 NSCA (National Ski Coaches Association) All-Academic team – Amy Beresford, Malin Hemmingsson, Karin Ohlin, Tor Fodnesbergene, Christoffer Norell, Olivier Lacaille, Polina Ermoshina, Melanie Zemp, Casey Dyck, Tor-Hakon Hellebostad, and Simon Reissmann
Men’s Soccer (Jeremy Fishbein, head coach) 12-5-2, 7-1-2 MPSF / 1st
The Lobos won their fourth consecutive Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title, posting a 12-5-2 mark overall…the Lobos advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in the last seven years, falling to UCLA in the first round 1-0.
Junior Chris Wright was named the MSPF Player of the Year…he led the MPSF in scoring (28) and goals (12)
Senior keeper Mike Graczyk was picked by the Colorado Rapids with the 19th overall pick in the MLS Supplemental Draft…Graczyk left UNM as the all-time leader in shutouts (30) and goals-against-average (0.65)
Wright and sophomore defender Simon Ejdemyr were both named ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans…UNM has had at least one Academic All-American each year since 2003, a claim only one other school (Maryland) in the nation can make
UNM holds the highest winning percentage (80.1%) in the NCAA since 2004, posting a 61-11-11 mark
Women’s Soccer (Kit Vela, head coach) 8-5-4 overall, 2-3-2 MWC / 7th
The Lobos went 8-5-4 overall and 2-3-2 in the MWC…the Lobos finished the year with their third consecutive winning season
Freshman Alexis Ball was named second team all-conference after leading the Lobos with six goals and an assist…Ball was the first freshman to score six goals since 1999
New Mexico earned the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team Academic Award for 2006-07 after finishing with a 3.36 team grade point average
Softball (Ty Singleton, head coach) 25-26 overall, 7-13 MWC / 5th
The Lobos finished 25-26 overall and 7-13 in the MWC … most wins since the 2004 season
Sophomore Katie Gilmore hit .418 during conference action and earns her first All-MWC honor.
Senior Lindsey Elcess was named second team all-west region by the NFCA after leading the Lobos with a .336 average and 10 home runs
Swimming & Diving (Tracy Ljone, head coach) 2-8 overall, 1-6 MWC/8th
Senior Carrie Quinn qualified for the NCAA Diving Zones for the fourth year in a row
Seniors Tori Clarridge (100 back) and Carrie Quinn (1 & 3-meter) and sophomore Ashley Grisdale (200 fly) represented UNM on the All-MWC team
Junior Carly Hilo broke the school’s 11-year mark in the 100 back at the MWC Champions with a time of 1:04.60
Clarridge, Hilo, Grisdale and sophomore Teresa Rogers also broke the school record in the 400 medley with a time of 3:51.04
Men’s Tennis (Alan Dils, head coach) 20-8 overall, 5-1 MWC / T1st
The Lobos narrowly lost to TCU in the MWC championship match, 4-3
Tied TCU and Utah for first place for the MWC regular season title
Senior Max Jones and juniors Graeme Kassautzki and Johnny Parkes all made the All-MWC team as singles players
Jones-Pajkowski and Chris Parkes-Johnny Parkes both made the All- MWC teams as doubles combinations
Head coach Alan Dils was named the MWC Coach of the Year and ITA Mountain Regional Coach of the Year
Alan Dils became the winningest coach in school history (164-112)
UNM won its most matches since 1995
Junior Chris Wright was named the MPSF Player of the Year after leading the league in scoring with 28 points on 12 goals and four assists. |
Women’s Tennis (Kathy Kolankiewicz, head coach) 15-9 overall, 6-2 MWC/T2nd
The Lobos lost in the semifinals of the MWC Championship to UNLV
Started MWC play 4-0
Junior Ola Abou-Zerky earned a spot on the All-MWC singles team while Abou-Zerky and senior Lucy Scott were all-conference in doubles
Indoor Track (Joe Franklin, head coach) Men – 6th, Women – 6th
Junior Sandy Fortner became the first Lobo multi-event athlete and first UNM woman from the state of New Mexico to compete at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, finishing 12th in the pentathlon
New Mexico captured two MWC event titles (Fortner – pentathlon, Tiyana Peters – high jump) and eight all-MWC medals.
Five school records were broken, including the 14-year-old men’s mile record (Lee Emanuel)
Outdoor Track (Joe Franklin, head coach) Men – 5th MWC/T-42nd NCAA,Women – 5th MWC/T-31st NCAA
Seven atletes – 4 men and 3 women – qualified for the NCAA Championships – the largest UNM contingent in the modern era of the NCAA meet
Three Lobos (Katie Coronado – javelin, Robert Caldwell – pole vault, Jeremy Johnson – 10K) earned All-America honors – the most since 1989…Coronado’s second place finish was the highest in UNM women’s history…she also finished 6th at the U.S. Olympic Trials
The UNM women had their highest conference score in 18 years…Coronado and Caldwell earned MWC Outstanding Performer awards…UNM won 5 event titles – the most since 1990.
Volleyball (Jeff Nelson, head coach) 16-13 overall, 7-9 MWC / 6th Began the 2007 season under first-year head coach Jeff Nelson at 7-0, the fourth-best start in program history
Junior Jeanne Fairchild was named all-Mountain West Conference, only the second Lobo to earn the honor. Fairchild led the MWC in kills and points for most of the season, despite a foot injury that limited her playing time
Lisa Meeter was named Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year, the first Lobo to ever earn the honor
Gayle Tripp moved into second place on the New Mexico career digs list with 1,143. She will have the opportunity in 2008 to pass Sharon Browning for the all-time lead at 1,504
Seven MWC wins was the most ever in league play by the Lobos in league history
Sarah Kwasigroch moved into seventh-place on the UNM career assists list, passing the 2,500 mark during the 2007 season.