July 25, 2010
By Richard Stevens — Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
It was a University of New Mexico season of few equals with so many neat places to stop in 2009-10 and shake your head in wonder at what these Lobos achieved on so many levels in so many sports.
There were Coaches of The Year, Players of The Year, Mountain West titles, national champions, and a few NCAA doors were knocked down after many years of frustration and heartbreak.
It was a sensational year on the field of competition and in the classroom and the balance of this season probably was depicted best in the final Learfield Sports Director’s Cup standings.
The Lobos had a school-record 522 points to post their best finish (47th) in 14 years and UNM’s second-best ever. It was a remarkable finish for a non-BCS school which doesn’t have the athletic budget of the NCAA big boys and does not field so many of the sports that bring points to the front-runners. UNM finished in the 62nd spot a season ago.
“There are a couple of ways to reflect on a season, but you can never ignore athletic success,” said Paul Krebs, UNM`s Vice President of Athletics. “As an athletics department, you want to challenge for championships and win championships. You want to advance in NCAA play. I think overall we had a great year. I`m proud of our coaches and our student-athletes.”
Malin Hemmingsson |
Surely, a good start in looking back on some of the dynamics of 2009-10 is to reflect on what Ray Birmingham’s baseball team did in the spring of 2010. The Lobos shook off the demons of a 48-year jinx by charging into NCAA play for the first time since 1962. The Lobos upset Stanford in the first round at the Cal State Fullerton Regional.
Another NCAA demon was broken a couple of months earlier when Jeff Nelson’s women’s volleyball team crashed down a door that had been slammed on the Lobos since 1994. UNM ran into a powerhouse in No. 3-seed Hawaii, but the Lobos’ at-large bid was a big step for UNM validating itself as an NCAA-caliber program.
Birmingham’s and Nelson’s Lobos were joined by 11 other UNM programs that pushed into NCAA Championships. The 13-team total was the second-most in school history as men’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s golf, women’s golf, skiing, men’s soccer, and men’s and women’s indoor and outdoor track also played in the NCAA postseason.
Krebs said that league titles are important and four UNM teams roared to MWC titles: men’s basketball went back-to-back behind Steve Alford, Jill Trujillo’s women’s golf team won their third straight league crown, and Joe Franklin’s runners got titles in women’s and men’s cross country.
The Lobos, for the second year in a row, had two national champions: Lee Emanuel (indoor mile) and skier Malin Hemmingsson (slalom).
The Lobos claimed 11 Player/Athlete of The Year awards: Petter Brenna (alpine skiing), John Catlin (Freshman of Year, golf), Lee Emanuel (indoor and outdoor track), Jodi Ewart (golf), Sandy Fortner (indoor track), Darington Hobson (basketball), Martin Kaas (Nordic skiing), Jacob Kirwa (cross country), Ross Millington (Freshman/cross country) and Jadon Phillips (Freshman/tennis).
“When your athletes have success at this level, you have to give a lot of credit to the coaches and the structure within their program,” said Krebs.
The good work of the coaches was noted. UNM’s Alford repeated as the MWC Coach of The Year. Franklin got loaded down with his track accomplishments that produced Coach of The Year titles in men’s cross country, women’s cross country, and men’s outdoor. Martin Kroisleitner was conference Coach of Year and national Coach of Year in alpine skiing.
The success on the field of competition is something easily noticed and remembered by Lobo fans and the media. But these young student-athletes also excelled at a high level in the classroom. The combined grade point average of the 21 Lobo programs was 3.15 for the 2010 semester. How good was that? It was a school record, snapping the 3.14 GPA mark set in the fall of 2008.
UNM’s hard-working athletes have reached a GPA of 3.11 or higher for five consecutive semesters. Lobos have been 3.00 or better for 15 of the past 16 grading periods. The Lobo athlete continues to perform in the classroom at a higher rate than the average student.
“How we perform in the classroom is very important to us and our coaches,” said Krebs. “It also means a lot to people who contribute to The Lobo Club. They know they are supporting good students as well as good athletes. Our GPA is up and that’s nice, but what is more significant to me is our graduation rate and that’s up, too.
“Our GPA and our graduation rate is the direct result of a lot of people who care about these athletes as students. It’s also a reflection of the values of our coaches and the work ethic of our student-athletes.”
The Lobos posted 84 graduates during the 2009-10 season. There were 104 UNM student-athletes named MWC Scholar-Athlete recipients, the most of any school in the league. There were 118 Lobos on the Spring 2010 MWC All-Academic Team and 50 on the 2009 Fall team. Here are a few more academic highs posted in 2009-10:
— Men’s basketball : Second highest ever at 2.92.
— Women’s basketball: Tied program record of 3.51; 3.00 or better every semester since spring of 2001.
— Football: Second highest ever at 2.71
— Men’s golf: Set program record for third straight term at 3.55.
— Women’s golf: A 3.05 or higher for 18 straight semesters; 3.01 or higher 28 of past 29 terms.
— Men’s skiing: A 3.50 or higher for nine straight semesters.
— Women’s skiing: A 3.28 or higher for 19 straight grading periods.
— Men’s soccer: A 3.12 or higher 12 of past 13 semesters.
— Women’s soccer: Has posted 11 consecutive semesters of 3.16 or better.
— Swimming/diving: A 3.28 or higher for nine consecutive semesters.
— Women’s tennis: UNM’s top GPA at 3.63; has 3.05 or higher for 37 straight semesters.
— Men’s track: Compiled its highest spring GPA (3.19) and second-best ever.
— Women’s track: Has posted 3.25 GPA or higher for 13 straight semesters.
— Volleyball: Highest spring GPA ever (3.48); 16 straight terms at 3.06 or higher.
The seasons often bring a change in coaching. UNM’s only loss was Ty Singleton, who resigned his softball post. That brought in the enthusiastic Erica Beach to revive the Lobo program in her first command as a head coach.
The changes of The Pit also continue to excite Lobo administrators, Alford, Don Flanagan and all Lobo basketball fans. The Pit continued its $60 million facelift in 2009-2010 and as it nears its completion date in November, the beauty of this structure is obvious.
Maybe one of the more stunning facts from the 2009-10 basketball season was the number of Lobo fans who showed up for some Pit watching of Lobos despite having to face a few (very minor) hurdles in construction.
The remodeling of The Pit emphasizes the improvement at UNM in facilities as well as in the classroom and on the field of competition.
“Our challenge now is to improve on our success,” said Krebs. “Our expectation at UNM is always to take the next step.”
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is the former Associate Sports Editor and Sports Çolumnist for The Albuquerque Tribune.