July 5, 2012
TOP LOBO MOMENTS: The New Mexico Lobos had plenty of highlights in the season of 2011-12, but GoLobos.com has selected an even dozen to reflect back on over the next few weeks: On Saturday: A Undefeated Pack of Lobos.
New Mexico Lobos Athletics – 2011-12 Season Review
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
To toss out the complete list of honors, accomplishments, trophies, rings and excellence that came from University of New Mexico Lobo student-athletes in 2011-12 makes you pause and consider the consequences.
Can the internet really handle all this information or will that big “crash” finally become a reality?
It was a season that saw UNM grab 11 conference Players of The Year awards, five Coaches of The Year awards, 95 First Team all-Conference players, 23 All-Americans, four conference tourney MVPs and 159 All-Academic awards.
UNM pushed 15 of the 21 Lobos sports into postseason play, which helped set a program record in the final Learfield Director’s Cup standings for 2011-12.
UNM also had a national champion in Kendall Spencer (triple jump), had two Lobos pick up NCAA post-graduate scholarships in Kelly Williamson (volleyball) and Jael Fanning (soccer), and Williamson was named the 2011-12 Mountain West Female Scholar-Athlete of The Year. Maria Dudley (swimming) and Williamson were named as 2012 Rhoades Scholar candidates
And these are just a few of the highlights of a season that has become typical for Lobos performing under the watchful eyes of Paul Krebs, UNM’s Vice President in charge of athletics.
There were Mountain West championships, an undefeated season, program firsts and these winning Lobos were grabbing their glory in competition while taking care of business in the classroom.
The Lobo student-athletes set a program semester GPA record with a 3.21 cumulative GPA for the 2012 spring session with the women and the men both setting semester GPA records. The department set another all-time high with a graduation rate of 61 percent.
“Once again the core values of our athletic department have been reflected by our student-athletes, who excel at a high level in the classroom and in their respective fields of competition,” said Krebs.
“An athletic department, including its coaches and its student-athletes, is measured by that balance and we can all look back on this season with tremendous pride.”
The balance that Krebs seeks from his athletic programs was reflected in the final Learfield Sports Director’s Cup standings where the Lobos had their highest finish ever – 41st, good for second place behind Princeton in among non-BCS schools.
UNM also achieved this high level of athletic success during the same season that the New Mexico student-athletes set a program semester record for GPA (3.21) and also for NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR). UNM had 11 of 21 programs receive a perfect 1,000 score and New Mexico’s accumulative count of 981.5 was the school high in the seven-year history of the APR.
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Players of Year Kelli Cornell Coaches Of The Year |
The Lobos also claimed an unofficial Mountain West championship by dominating the Mountain West’s 2011-12 Scholar-Athlete Awards. The Lobos had the highest number of scholar-athletes (3.5 GPA or better) with 97 individuals honored. Boise State was a distant second with 70 names on the list. The MW also recognized 39 MW student-athletes with a 4.0 GPA or better. UNM had 18 on that list with swimmer Carlie McGregor leading the way at 4.33.
The Lobos also had a program first this spring by pacing the Mountain West with 108 Academic All-Mountain West (3.0 or better) recipients. UNM had 148 on the MW academic list for the entire season – good for second place behind Boise State’s 151.
The season of 2011-12 started off with a huge bang as the Lobo men’s soccer program under the direction of Jeremy Fishbein finished the season without a loss and reached the No. 1 ranking in the nation. The team was named Albuquerque’s Sports Hall of Fame Team of The Year. Kyle Venter and Lance Rozeboom were All-Americans and Levi Rossi was an Academic All-American.
The Lobo men won a league title which was matched on the pitch by Kit Vela’s Lobo women, who repeated as Mountain West champions and added on the program’s first-ever MW tourney title and first-ever automatic NCAA bid. Vela’s Lobos also had the MW Offensive Player of The Year in Jennifer Williams and the Defensive Player of The Year in keeper Kelli Cornell.
Coach Joe Franklin’s fall cross country runners also grabbed Mountain West Players of The Year honors behind MW champions Ross Millington and Ruth Senior. The Lobos won MW titles on both sides and the women went on to claim a 2011 NCAA regional crown and finished No. 9 at the NCAA Championship run.
Kelly Williamson was a program highlight for Jeff Nelson’s volleyball program as she became UNM’s fifth-ever Mountain West Scholar-Athlete of The Year. Williamson also received NCAA and MW post-graduate scholarships and was a First Team Academic All-American. UNM volleyball led the MW in attendance and was No. 16 in the nation.
Kendall Spencer — NCAA National Champion |
Linebacker Carmen Messina continued to carve his name deep in the New Mexico record books as he led the Mountain West in tackles for the third consecutive year. He was UNM’s only First Team All-MW selection. The Lobo program also took a step forward by naming former Notre Dame head coach, Bob Davie, as the replacement for Mike Locksley.
The UNM Lobo women’s basketball team went through a transitional year under first-year head coach Yvonne Sanchez, who had to grit her teeth during a season of injury. Sanchez’s Lobos hung tough throughout the season and reached the championship game of the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas. Porche Torrance was MW Defensive Player of The Year and Caroline Durbin was All-MW First Team and an Academic All-American.
Steve Alford’s Lobo men had a remarkable year highlighted by two Mountain West titles (regular season and tourney), 28 wins, and an NCAA ride that took a Final Four Louisville team to end. Drew Gordon won the MW tourney MVP honors and was First Team All-MW.
The high marks that UNM expects in the classroom were reflected by the UNM men’s ski team which tied the UNM semester record (set by women’s skiing) of 3.77. Armin Triendl was named the league (RMISA) Male Skier of The Year and was one of 11 UNM skiers named to the league All-Academic team. He also was Third Team Academic All-American. Triendl and Chris Acosta were First Team All-Americans.
The New Mexico women’s swimming and diving program picked up Mountain West honors when Abel Sanchez was named the 2012 Diving Coach of The Year and Ashlee Erickson was named Diver of The Year. The team set a program record with 22 All-Mountain Academic selections. The program also picked up a new head coach as Kunio Kono replaced Tracy Ljone, who resigned after seven years with the team.
The Lobo men’s tennis program was represented at the NCAA Championships by the doubles team of Jadon Phillips and Phil Anderson and five Lobos had 20-plus win seasons in singles. The UNM men had four All-MW players: Phillips, Anderson, Ben Dunbar and Conor Berg. The Lobo women’s tennis team had two All-Mountain players in Michaela Bezdickova and Maria Sablina and got a new coach when Erica Perkins Jasper replaced Roy Canada.
The Lobo softball program continued its strides forward and probably shocked the nation in the spring of 2012 by climbing into the Top 25 for the first time in 13 years. The Lobos ran to a 17-2 start and posted the program’s first winning season since 2001. UNM was ranked No. 1 in home runs during the regular season and had three All-MW players in Jessica Garcia, Stefanie Carramusa and Chelsea Anaya. Garcia was a Second Team All-American.
The Lobos men’s golf team placed three players on the All-Mountain West team in John Catlin, James Erkenbeck and Victor Perez. The Lobos advanced to the NCAA regionals only to miss the NCAA finals by a single shot. Catlin was an honorable mention PING All-American. The Lobo women’s golf team made their 20th consecutive trip into postseason play. Sammi Stevens was named to the All-Mountain team. Six Lobo women golfers made the All-MW Academic Team.
The Lobos baseball team under the guidance of Coach Ray Birmingham continued its national success by winning both the Mountain’s regular-season and MW tourney title. UNM advanced into NCAA play for the third consecutive year and DJ Peterson and Mitchell Garver were named MW Co-Players of The Year. Peterson and Garver also obtained All-American status and Ryan Padilla was a Freshman All-American.
Joe Franklin’s men’s track program finished 11th in the “Program of The Year” race and the women finished 17th. Kendall Spencer handed UNM a national title in the long jump (indoors) and was the Mountain’s Indoor Male Athlete of The Year. All-American Floyd Ross was a national runner-up outdoors in the triple jump and Sarah Waldron was an All-American at 5,000 meters.
Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former award-winning Sports Columnist and Associate Sports Editor at The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net.