July 10, 2009
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
The nature of seasons is change and so it was for the University of New Mexico during the Lobos’ dynamic athletic seasons of 2008-09. The Lobos said goodbye to old friends in Rocky Long and Kathy Kolankiewicz and embraced a fresh face in first-year football coach Mike Locksley.
The change factor also included the all-important updates in facilities beginning with the $60 million facelift to another old friend of all Lobos: The Pit.
The bulldozers and construction crews hit University Arena shortly after the 2008-09 basketball season in the beginning stages of a project that will turn one of the most storied arenas in America into one of the most high-tech.
The Pit will expand by 60,000-square feet. It will have 40 luxury suites and 244 club seats. It will have state-of-the-art locker room facilities, new scoreboards, an expanded concourse, new restrooms, expanded concessions, and a high-rise look out front.
Of course, any and all athletic departments are ultimately measured by their success, or failure, in athletic competition. The Lobos were outstanding in the season of 2008-09.
The Lobos grabbed a Mountain West Conference title in men’s basketball, women’s cross country, men’s tennis and women’s golf and another league title in skiing. The Lobos landed Coaches of The Year in Joe Franklin (women’s cross country), Steve Alford (men’s basketball), Martin Kroisleitner (alpine skiing) and Alan Dils (men’s tennis).
New Mexico set a school record with nine student-athletes being named Athletes of The Year in their sport: Lee Emanuel (men`s indoor track), Jeanne Fairchild (volleyball), Jodi Ewart (golf), Steve Saunders (golf), Johnny Parkes (tennis), Ola Abou-Zekry (tennis), Mike Brownstein (baseball), Thomas Schwab (alpine skiing) and Lacey Oeding was the MWC cross country Freshman of The Year.
“A lot of this success is a reflection of the quality of our coaches, their ability to recruit and the hard work and persistence of our athletes,” said Paul Krebs, a UNM Vice President in charge of athletics.
“Our programs are getting better; no doubt. Our expectations are to continue to make progress and win championships.”
Yes, the Lobos had tremendous success on the fields of competition, but these young Lobos also did their thing in the classroom at an extremely high level. The Lobos set a school-record GPA of 3.14 in the fall of 2008 and backed that with a 3.12 GPA this spring — the second highest of all time. UNM had 13 of its 17 sports carding a 3.0 GPA or higher in the spring of 2009.
New Mexico also validated to all Lobo athletes and all Lobo fans that the UNM athletic department is committed to the classroom success of its student-athletes. In May, UNM opened the Student Support and Services Center which includes the Lobo Center for Student-Athlete Success. It is a one-stop shop for Lobo athletes in need of academic support and information.
“We just aren’t saying that we care about our students,” said Henry Villegas, an assistant athletics director in charge of academic services. “We can point to this center and prove that we are backing up what we say.”
Said Krebs: “The most important progress we made was academically. That’s a huge and essential part of our philosophy here at UNM. Everyone likes to see that. It makes us feel good and it’s important.
“But we also know that the fans like to see competitiveness and championships from their Lobos. We are getting it done there, too. Across the board, our teams are getting better.
“We have made significant progress on three fronts: facilities, classroom and competitiveness. We are competing at a high level and our expectations are to take the next step, which is to win more championships.”
No doubt, the championship banners are nice. The one hoisted by Steve Alford’s Lobos was the first league regular-season title in 15 years. Alford did it in only his second season as a Lobo. The Lobos also crowned two national champions in Lee Emanuel, who won the NCAA indoor mile title, and Malin Hemmingsson, who flew down a snowy mountain trail to win the NCAA women’s slalom.
And these Lobos were loved by their fans. The total home attendance was 655,729 for football, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, baseball, softball and volleyball. No other school in the Mountain West could match that figure.
The Lobos finished a respectable No. 62 in the Learfield Director’s Cup, which measures a program’s overall athletic success based on finishes in NCAA Championships. UNM was No. 9 among non-BCS institutions. The success of Lobos was even noticed behind doors as the UNM sports medicine department under head trainer Dave Binder was named the best in the Mountain West Conference for 2008-09.
It was a year of tremendous success for Lobos and another foundation year in which all UNM programs expect to improve upon that success. Here is a brief rundown of the accomplishments of the 2008-09 Lobos:
Baseball: There were no equals on the baseball diamond when it came to the way Ray Birmingham’s Lobos smashed a baseball. UNM led the nation in hitting at .363 and four Lobos batted .400 plus. Birmingham gave the UNM program 37 wins, which tied for third on the all-time win list. The fiery coach also produced the largest MLB Draft class in UNM history: Cole White (6th round), Brian Cavazos-Galvez (12th), Mike Brownstein (14th), John Hesketh (20th), Cameron Monger (27th) and Dane Hamilton (41st). White was the highest Lobo draft pick since 1985. Besides his MWC Player of The Year honors, Brownstein was named second team All-America (Louisville Slugger and Ping!Baseball). Cavazos-Galvez was named honorable mention All-America (Ping! Baseball) and six Lobos were named all-MWC: Rafael Neda (1st team), Kevin Atkinson (1st), Brownstein (1st), Cavazos-Galvez (1st), Hesketh (1st) and Max Willett (2nd). Brownstein and John Hesketh were named ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District.
Men’s Basketball: The Steve Alford Lobos got hot at the right time and their impressive roll of five games handed UNM a league title for the first time in 15 years. Tony Danridge was named First Team All-MWC and went on to win a national slam dunk title. The Lobos advanced to the postseason for the 21st time in the past 26 seasons. The Lobos rolled out a 16-2 Pit record and their two-year total (14) for road wins was a school mark.
Women’s basketball: Don Flanagan’s young Lobos got off to one of the more impressive starts in UNM history cracking the Top 25 and eventually going into postseason play for the 11th time in the past 12 years. It was the ninth consecutive 20-win season for Flanagan and the 25 wins was the second-most in school history. The Lobos had two players named to All-MWC, junior Amy Beggin (2nd team) and senior Angela Hartill (3rd). UNM reached the quarterfinals of the WNIT and the Lobos set a school mark with 223 made 3-pointers.
Cross Country: Joe Franklin’s women won their first-ever MWC title 31-33 over BYU in the closest championship in MWC history. The women went on to finish 18th at the NCAA nationals. It was their first NCAA appearance since 1985. The UNM women finished second at the NCAA Mountain Region. The UNM men finished third in the MWC Championships. UNM had six women and four men earn all-region honors, both program records. Freshman of The Year Lacey Oeding joined Carolyn Boosey and Nicky Archer on the All-MWC First Team. The men’s and women’s teams were both nationally ranked in the same season for the first time in school history, reaching as high as 15thand 18th, respectively. Jacob Kirwa was First Team All-MWC for the men.
Football: The big news was Rocky Long stepping down after 11 seasons and having the defensive-minded Long replaced by Mike Locksley, a coach known to love his high-powered offense. The Lobos went 4-8 in 2008. Glover Quin was First Team All-MWC and led the league in interceptions (5) and passes defended (16). Senior linebacker Zach Arnett was No. 1 in the nation with six fumbles caused and was an Academic All-American. Quinn was drafted in the fourth round of the NFL Draft by Houston and defensive back DeAndre Wright went in the sixth round to the New York Giants. Ian Clark finished second in the nation in punt return average with a school-record 19.4 yards per return. Kicker James Aho was named Freshman All-America by CollegeFootballNews.com and The Sporting News. Rodney Ferguson rushed for 1,105 yards, giving UNM a 1,000-yard back for seven straight season, the longest current streak in the nation
Men’s Golf: Senior Steve Saunders paced the Lobos with two tourney wins which helped propel him to Player of The Year honors and Third Team All-America. Senior Jon Sauer was named to the 2009 ESPN the Magazine Men’s At- Large Academic All-America team with a 4.01 GPA and he also was named the 2008-09 Lobo Club Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year. The Lobos also got individual wins from James Erkenbeck and Nick Geyer. The team won the National Invitational Tournament in March.
Women’s Golf: Jill Trujillo’s Lobos roared to the MWC title for the second straight year and went on to finish 19th at the NCAA Championships. Jodi Ewart again established herself as one of the top golfers in the nations as the MWC Player of The Year was named First Team All-America. The Lobos won two tournaments: the Dick McGuire Invitational and the MWC Championship.
Skiing: The Fredrik Landstedt Lobos won their first conference title since 1992 and finished third at the NCAA Championships where Malin Hemmingsson won her national title. The Lobos had eight skiers earn 11 All-American honors: Hemmingsson(slalom), Estelle Pecherand-Charmet (giant slalom and slalom), Stefanie Demetz (giant slalom), Petter Brenna (slalom), Polina Ermoshina (classic and freestyle), Martin Kaas (classic and freestyle), Tor-Hakon Hellebostad (classic) and Simon Reissmann (freestyle). Brenna set a UNM season mark for Alpine wins (5) and Tor-Hakon Hellebostad was named Third Team Academic All-American.
Men’s Soccer: The Jeremy Fishbein Lobos finished second in league and barely missed the NCAA playoffs. UNM’s Justin Davis led the MPSF in scoring with seven goals and six assists for 20 points. The Lobos earned their sixth straight National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team Academic Award for 2007-08. Chris Wright and Simon Ejdemyr were named to the ESPN the Magazine Academic All-America team
Women’s Soccer: Kit Vela’s Lobos finished with their fourth consecutive winning season behind First Team All-MWC player Alexis Ball, who led the Lobos in scoring for the second consecutive year. Vela’s young squad posted eight wins and earned its second straight National Soccer Coaches Association of America Team Academic Award. The Lobos finished the year with a 3.35 GPA.
Softball: Ty Singleton’s Lobos compensated for inexperience at the pitching plate by fielding one of the top hitting and fielding teams in the Mountain West. The Lobos had two players named First Team All-MWC in Analise Rubalcava andSamantha Hughes. The Lobos upset No. 20 DePaul and played 21 games against teams that reached the NCAA Tournament. The Lobos hit .287 as a team and had four players hit over .300.
Women’s Swimming: Tracy Ljone’s Lobos had three swimmers named to the All-MWC team: Marissa Campbell (100-yard backstroke, 100-yard freestyle and 50-yard freestyle), Sasha Evangulova (1-meter dive) and Aubrey Bush (1-meter). Campbell broke UNM school marks in the 100-yard freestyle and the 100-yard backstroke. UNM had four divers qualify for NCAA zones.
Men’s Tennis: Alan Dils and his never-say-die Lobos, paced by MWC Player of The Year Johnny Parks, notched 20 wins for the second consecutive season in winning the MWC team title. The Lobos made their first NCAA appearance since 2004. Parkes also was the ITA Senior of The Year in the Mountain Region and became UNM’s all-time winningest singles player. Parkes finished the season 30-5. Parkes, Graeme Kassautzki and Miles Bugby were All-MWC.
Women’s Tennis: The Lobos lost a classy coach when Kathy Kolankiewicz decided to retire after 24 seasons and 356 wins. UNM’s Ola Abou-Zekry was MWC Player of The Year and was joined on the All-MWC team by Mackenzie White and Emma Hayman. The Lobos won 10 matches and lost in the semifinals of the MWC tourney.
Indoor Track: Joe Franklin’s men finished second in the MWC running and the women finished fifth. Lee Emanuel’s NCAA title at a mile gave UNM its first national track champ since 1977. He set school marks at 800 meters, mile and 3,000 meters. UNM’s 14 points in the NCAA finals was the second highest in program history. Jarrin Solomon joined Emanuel as an All-American when Solomon finished fifth at the NCAA finals. He was UNM’s first sprinter to claim All-American status since 1977. Deanna Young became the first UNM woman to earn indoor All-America honors, placing sixth among U.S. citizens (T-12th overall) in the triple jump.
Outdoor Track: Joe Franklin’s Lobos qualified a school-record 11 athletes for the NCAA finals and scored five All-America awards. Lee Emanuel had the highest UNM finish with his third-place run at 1,500 meters. Lobos Katie Coronado and Anthony Fairbanks swept the javelin titles at the NCAA Midwest Regionals. The Lobo men had a school record 11 All-MWC performers including wins by Jarrin Solomon (400 meters) and Jacob Kirwa (5,000). The women had a program record eight All-MWC medals, including wins by Coronado (javelin) and Whitney Johnson (pole vault). Solomon and Coronado took MWC Most Outstanding Performance awards.
Volleyball: Jeff Nelson’s surging program had 22 wins which tied for fifth on UNM’s all-time list. It was the Lobos most wins since 1991 and their third place finish in MWC was the highest since 1996. The Lobo began the season by winning a school-record 24 straight sets to go 8-0. Jeanne Fairchild was named Third Team AVCA All-American and Co-MWC Player of The Year. She made four all-tourney teams and was ESPN the Magazine Academic all-district second team. Fairchild, Gayle Tripp and Jade Michaelsen were All-MWC and Sarah Kwasigroch was named Lobo Club Co-Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.
Spirit Program: The UNM Spirit Program headed by Tracy Denton is comprised of cheerleaders, dancers and mascots who support UNM football, men’s and women’s basketball, volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer. The team competed at the national level and placed fifth, 15th and 16th in three divisions going against the top teams in the nation. The Spirit Program’s GPA exceeded 3.0 in both the fall and spring semesters during the 2008-09 school year.