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Friday • 12 p.m. MTCalling the University of New Mexico beach volleyball program young is hardly a misnomer — it is still a young team, entering just its fourth year of action in the 2018 season.
However, despite the talent and the potential, saying New Mexico is young this year is especially true.
The youthful and talented Lobos open their 2018 season with a sizable challenge this weekend as they travel to the Arizona Invitational to take on three nationally ranked teams in No. 10/10 Arizona, No. 17/20 Loyola Marymount and No. 20/19 Washington.
With six freshman, eight total underclassmen and tons of raw potential, New Mexico’s talented roster will be put to the test right away as the Lobos look for some early-season wins at Bear Down Beach in Tucson.
UNM opens its season vs. the host Wildcats Friday at noon, followed by the Lions at 5 p.m. on Friday and the Huskies at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
But, youth notwithstanding, head coach Jeff Nelson and assistants Pauline Manser and Daniel Foo have the pieces to convert all of the Lobos’ potential into real success and build on the program’s burgeoning pedigree.
That pedigree, which includes back-to-back 17-win season and numerous wins over Power Five teams, is now in the charge of a largely new cast of characters, with just five veterans back in 2018.
However, New Mexico’s five returning players have all contributed during the program’s first few season, helping turn the program into a respected team that enters March receiving votes in both the AVCA Coaches Poll and the DiG Magazine Poll.
For this first weekend, the Lobos will rely on their veterans for contributions across their projected starting lineup.
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| Eastyn Baleto |
Senior Eastyn Baleto looks to spearhead New Mexico efforts this season after reaching 50 individual career wins last spring. The only Lobo in program history to reach that plateau, Baleto has been one of the most consistent players for Nelson since the start of the program.
She will likely team up with Lauren Twitty in Arizona, a rising sophomore who tallied a freshman-record 18 wins in 2017.
Senior Chloe Crappell, another four-year veteran of the team, will also be looked upon for strong results. The only player in program history to play in all five positions in the Lobos’ lineup, Crappell is slated to partner with freshman Yasmin Tan in the No. 2 slot.
Emily Nenninger & Carly Beddingfield, another set of returners, will be counted on as they team up in the No .4 spot.
Bookending the team’s projected lineup are two pairings of newcomers, with senior Maddie Irwin & freshman Erin Martin in the No. 1 position and freshmen Abbey Willison & Kayla Long in the No. 5 spot.
New Mexico’s youth also translates into additional flexibility across the lineup. A number of the Lobos can switch partners and positions from match to match, giving Nelson and his staff some versatility that can pay dividends in the early part of the season.
Such versatility will be particularly important this opening weekend as UNM vies with some teams that have already gotten their toes in the sand this season.
Arizona heads into this weekend having already kicked off its 2018 campaign with the Cactus Classic in Tucson. There, the 10th-ranked Wildcats swept three matches against Benedictine at Mesa, Abilene Christian and San Jose State.
In fact, UA only lost two sets the entire weekend, and the Wildcats allowed their opponents to score more than 15 points in just nine sets the entire tournament.
Like Arizona, No. 17/20 Loyola Marymount has also opened its season already, sweeping a pair of matches vs. CSU Bakersfield and Vanguard last Saturday in Huntington Beach, California.
The Lions, under third-year head coach John Mayer, had little problem in both contests, dropping just a single set all weekend. LMU’s opponents scored more than 15 points in just four sets.
Washington comes into this weekend looking to open up its season like the Lobos. Ranked 19th in the AVCA Coaches Poll and 20th in the DiG Magazine poll, the Huskies are already commanding respect after an 11-7 campaign in 2017 that saw UW finish third at the Pac-12 Championships.
Led by new head coach Steve Whitaker, a former Washington volunteer assistant, the Huskies are balanced with six seniors and nine upperclassmen.
Fans can follow @UNMLoboBeach on Twitter and Instagram to keep track of the Lobos!