Nov. 25, 2009
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
A lot of Lobos behind the scenes really have something to be thankful for this Thanksgiving Day and we’re not talking about golden-brown drumsticks or an extra piece of pumpkin pie. We’re talking about a day off — well, kind of.
The fearless leader of the UNM Sports Information Office, Greg Remington, is on a travel day to Honolulu with the Lobo men’s basketball team. He might have to grab his Turkey Day meal on Waikiki Beach. Poor, Greg. He might end up being as golden brown as his drumstick — or as red as his cranberry sauce!
Rumor has it that SID assistant, Judy Willson, has to suffer for a few days in New Orleans, tagging along with Jeff Nelson’s volleyball team. We’re quite sure that Judy will not go anywhere near Bourbon Street for her Thanksgiving cheer.
But there are a whole lot of other behind-the-scene Lobos, who surely are thankful for a break from the rush of games and activities that has hit UNM over the past few days. These are stats people, ticket takers, parking attendants, game management people, marketing, custodial, security, ticket sellers, PA announcers, scoreboard operators, mascots, cheerleaders, concessionaires and on and on and on.
Oh, it’s been a great few days for UNM athletics and a great time for Lobos to strut their stuff on a national level. If you buy into the line that an athletic department is the “front door” of a university, then a whole lot of folks have crossed that threshold to take a peek at UNM, New Mexico, and Albuquerque.
And they have dropped more than a few coins into our local economy. That financial boom for the state is something that often goes overlooked when teams visit to play Lobos. That’s one of the reasons The Pit is getting that much-needed face-lift. Here comes the NCAA Tournament!
But when programs and athletes visit New Mexico, they often learn — and tell others — why this is The Land of Enchantment.
Consider some of the schools that have shipped athletes to the UNM campus over the past days: Portland, UTEP, Utah State, Texas Tech, Montana State, Utah Valley, Weber State, Southern Utah, Idaho State, Colorado State, Northern Arizona, Brigham Young, Air Force, Colorado, Oklahoma State, Louisiana Tech, Miami (Ohio), Nicholls State.
On one weekend this month, UNM played men’s and women’s basketball, played volleyball, played football, skied, swam, played soccer and ran cross country. Thank goodness, the fall seasons for golf, tennis, baseball and softball concluded a few weeks ago.
The last several days have been crowded, but good, for the Lobos. Don Flanagan’s women reached the Preseason WNIT semis. Steve Alford’s men are off to Hawaii with a 5-0 mark that includes a win at New Mexico State.
The men’s and women’s cross country teams swept the Mountain West Conference titles and were swept into the NCAA playoffs. The women’s soccer program had one of its finest seasons ever, winning 13 games. The Lobos men’s soccer team advanced into the NCAA playoffs.
If the Lobo volleyball team gets invited to the NCAAs on Sunday, it will be the first time in school history that four “fall sports” have qualified for NCAA postseason. At the least, the Lobos will tie the 2004 school record of three programs (football, men’s cross country, men’s soccer) reaching postseason play in the fall.
Lobos always approach their sport with a strong team attitude, but this fall marked some special achievements by two Lobo soccer players. Junior Alexis Ball was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American third team – the first Lobo woman soccer player ever to make this squad.
Senior Simon Ejdemyr also made the ESPN Academic All-American team, but his first-team selection has a special footnote. There was no soccer player in America who received as many votes as this Lobo which made him the Academic All-American of The Year.
This weekend marks an easy one for most behind-the-scenes Lobos. The men’s basketball team, the volleyball team, the football team and the ski team are on the road. Actually, the ski team is always on the road. The only Lobo game in town is Don Flanagan’s women hosting their Thanksgiving Tournament.
A lot of us are happy the tourney didn’t begin today. We needed to be alone with our turkeys.
Here are some other Lobos who distinguished themselves in November:
Men’s Basketball:
Darington Hobson, MWC Player of Week.
Cross Country:
All-NCAA Mountain Region: Jacob Kirwa, Rory Fraser, Chris Barnicle, Ruth Senior, Nicky Archer. All-MWC Honors: Joe Franklin, Men’s & Women’s Coach of the Year; Jacob Kirwa – Men’s Runner of the Year; Ross Millington – Men’s Freshman of the Year.
Men’s All-MWC: Jacob Kirwa (1st), Chris Barnicle (1st), David Bishop (1st), Rory Fraser (2nd), Ross Millington (2nd), Lee Emanuel (2nd). Womens’ All-MWC: Ruth Senior (1st), Nicky Archer (1st), Lacey Oeding (1st), Ashley Gibson (1st), Vanessa Ortiz (2nd), Carolyn Boosey (2nd), Delyth James (2nd).
Football:
James Aho, MWC Special Teams Player Of Week.
Men’s Soccer:
All-MPSF: Justin Davis (1st), Simon Ejdemyr (1st), Michael Green (1st), Michael Reed (2nd), Lance Rozeboom (2nd), Ryan Farquharson (HM), Stephen Brown (HM). CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America of the Year: Simon Ejdemyr (1st Team). CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI: Justin Davis (1st), Simon Ejdemyr (1st), Lance Rozeboom (1st)
Women’s Soccer:
All-MWC First Team: Jennifer Williams (1st), Alexis Ball (2nd), Amanda Collins (2nd). MWC All-Tournament: Zaneta Wyne, Amanda Collins. MWC Player of Week: Kelli Cornell (Nov. 2). CoSIDA ESPN the Magazine Academic All-American: Alexis Ball (3rd) CoSIDA ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District VIL: Alexis Ball (1st), Jael Fanning (1st), Jess Quador (2nd), Amanda Collins (3rd).
Volleyball.
Anna Lehne, MWC Player of Week: (Nov. 2 & 9). All-MWC: Taylor Hadfield, Jade Michaelsen, Rose Morris.