2006-07 University of New Mexico Athletics Review
July 31, 2007 The University of New Mexico finished 65th in the nation in the 2006-07 United States Sports Academy Director's Cup, a ranking that measures a school's overall athletics success. It's the Lobos' 13th finish in the top-100 in 14 years of the Cup, and the 10th time that UNM has been among the top 65 schools nationally. New Mexico ranked No. 10 among non-BCS institutions. Academics: Lobo student-athletes had another strong showing in the classroom. They combined for a 3.06 grade-point-average in the fall of 2006 and followed that with a 3.00 GPA during the 2007 spring term. That's now 10 straight semesters the combined GPA has been 3.0 or higher. 2007 University of New Mexico Spring Semester Grade Point Averages
Men Baseball 2.81 Basketball 2.31 Football 2.59 Golf 2.92 Skiing 3.74 Soccer 3.26 Tennis 2.80 Track* 2.91
Women
Golf 3.22 Skiing 3.29 Soccer 3.32 Softball 3.02 Swimming 3.47 Tennis 3.43 Track* 3.25 Volleyball 3.31
*includes cross country, indoor and outdoor track Notes • Swimming had its highest GPA for the second straight semester • Semester grades have been tabulated since the fall of 1988 • A total of 466 student-athletes were included in the tabulation • A total of 257 student-athletes, or 58%, had a 3.0 GPA or better • A total of 121 student-athletes, or 31%, had a 3.5 GPA or better, and 32 had a 4.0 or better
2006-07 Graduates: The following 34 student-athletes received their bachelor's degree from the University of New Mexico during the 2006-07 academic year (either fall or spring semester). Men's Basketball: Jeff Hart.
Women's Basketball: Timi E'Nunu, Abbie Letz, Katie Montgomery, Wande Olude.
Football: Billy Brittain, Quincy Black, Charles Brown, Kenny Byrd, Anthony Carter, Jorge Enriquez, Kole McKamey, John Mulchrone, Chris Nelson, Brian Ramsay, Robert Turner.
Men's Golf: Jay Choi.
Men's Skiing: Dirk Grimm.
Women's Skiing: Gladys Weidt.
Women's Soccer: Brittany Emerson, Erica Freese, Ashley Lowery, Eryn Paetz, Nicole Pitcock.
Softball: Ryanne Hodgins.
Swimming/Diving: Becca Barras, Jennifer Hale, Robyn Miller.
Women's Tennis: Alison Davis, Iva Gersic, Maja Kovacek.
Men's Track & Field: Dan Feltman.
Women's Track & Field: Janice Tosa.
Volleyball: Chelsea Sondrup.
Athletics: Eight teams represented UNM at NCAA postseason competition: women's basketball, women's cross country, football, men's and women's golf, skiing, men's soccer and outdoor track. Women's basketball won the Mountain West Conference Tournament for the fourth time in the past five years and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season. UNM was fifth in the nation in average attendance at 9,582 fans a game. The football team won at least six games for a school-record sixth straight season and played in its fourth bowl game in the past five seasons. Men's soccer finished the season ranked No. 12 nationally. The Lobos won their fourth conference title in the past five years and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in the past six seasons. Men's and women's golf each qualified for the NCAA Championships while the ski team finished sixth at the NCAA Championships in head coach George Brooks' 37th and final season at UNM. Outdoor track provided five qualifiers (Ariel Burr, Katie Coronado, Jeremy Johnson, Timmie Murphy and Jarrin Solomon) to the NCAA Championships and all hailed from the state of New Mexico. Johnson earned All-America honors by placing 7th in the 10,000 meters. There were several outstanding individual accomplishments as nine Lobos (in six different sports) were honored as All-Americans, while nine student-athletes received national recognition for their academic achievements. Johnson (track) and Tor Fodnesbergene (skiing) pulled off the rare and impressive feat of being named All-America in both the classroom and in their respective sport. Senior skier and soccer player Lars Loseth took home the Mountain West Conference's top honor, earning the MWC Male Student-Athlete of the Year Award. A two-sport star from 2004-07, Loseth competed for both the UNM ski and soccer teams. He was a four-time All-American skier, a two-year member of the nationally-ranked soccer squad and a three-time Academic All-American. Loseth helped New Mexico to the 2004 NCAA skiing championship as a freshman, the first and only NCAA title in school history. As a junior, Loseth was a major contributor on the 2005 NCAA runner-up men's soccer squad and an All-American for the ski team that finished second at the 2006 NCAA Championships. Freshman Alpine skier Malin Hemmingson won the individual women's slalom, the 10th individual gold medal at the NCAA Championships in school history. Hemmingson is just the second Lobo woman to win gold in the slalom at the NCAAs, joining Marte Dolva who accomplished the same feat
In baseball, junior Jordan Pacheco was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Year. Junior Dionne Marsh was chosen the Most Valuable Player of the MWC Women's Basketball Tournament for the second time in three years. In football, senior kicker Kenny Byrd was the Co-Special Teams Player of the Year in the MWC and sophomore Rodney Ferguson led the league in rushing with 1,234 yards. Senior Quincy Black was taken by Tampa Bay in the third round of the NFL Draft. Senior golfer Charlie Beljan was named men's player of the year in the MWC while freshman Jodi Ewart picked up co-player of the year honors on the women's side. Both were second team All-America selections. Ewart set a school record with a scoring average of 73.35. On the soccer pitch, senior Andrew Boyens was a Herman Trophy semifinalist and a consensus All-American. He was the No. 10 overall pick by Toronto in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft. Lobo fans again supported the home team in a big way. More than 600,000 fans attended football, men's basketball, women's basketball, men's soccer, women's soccer and women's volleyball competition during the 2006-07 season, the highest total among the nine institutions in the Mountain West Conference. Personnel: There were several changes among the head coaching ranks. Steve Alford replaced Ritchie McKay as head men's basketball coach. George Brooks retired after 37 years in charge of the Lobo ski program. Long-time assistant Fredrik Landstedt took over for Brooks. Ray Birmingham became the school's new baseball coach, replacing Rich Alday. Jeff Nelson is the new women's volleyball coach, former Lobo Jill Trujillo is now leading the women's golf program and Joe Franklin replaced the retired Matt Henry for track and field/cross country. 2006-07 New Mexico Sport-by-Sport Recaps
Baseball (Rich Alday, head coach) • 28-30 overall, 12-12 MWC / T3rd • The Lobos finished 28-30 overall and 12-12 in MWC play, tying Utah and San Diego State for third place...it was head coach Rich Alday's final season at UNM...Alday announced on May 21 that he would not return for a 19th season
• Junior 2B Jordan Pacheco was named third team All-America and MWC Player of the Year and picked by Colorado in the 9th round of the MLB Draft...P Bobby LaFromboise was chosen first team all-MWC while 1B Daniel Stovall earned a spot on the second team...LaFromboise was also named to the MWC All-Tournament team and chosen by Arizona in the 14th round of the draft • Ray Birmingham was named UNM's new head coach on June 20 Men's Basketball (Ritchie McKay, head coach) • 15-17 overall, 4-12 MWC / T8th • The Lobos finished 15-17 overall for only their second losing season in the past 24 years...New Mexico was 4-12 in MWC play, finishing in a tie for last place...it was the fifth losing record in the past seven seasons in conference play • Tony Danridge earned third team All-MWC honors while juniors J.R. Giddens and Darren Prentice both received honorable mention recognition...Chad Toppert finished 9th in the nation in 3-point accuracy, making 46.4% of his attempts • UNM announced on Feb. 22 that head coach Ritchie McKay would not return...McKay was 82-69 in five seasons at New Mexico...Steve Alford was named the Lobos' 19th head coach on March 23 after spending the past eight seasons at the University of Iowa Women's Basketball (Don Flanagan, head coach) • 22-10 overall, 11-5 MWC / T3rd • UNM finished 24-9 overall, 11-5 in the Mountain West and won the MWC Tournament for the fourth time in the past five years...junior Dionne Marsh was named MVP of the tournament • The Lobos made their 10th consecutive postseason appearance and sixth straight showing in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Don Flanagan...UNM won 20 or more games for the seventh consecutive season • Senior Katie Montgomery was named first team all-MWC while Marsh and senior Julie Briody earned second team honors • UNM finished fifth in the nation in attendance, averaging 9,582 fans a game Cross Country (Matt Henry, head coach) • MWC Finish: Women - 3rd, Men - 4th • Senior Timmie Murphy became the seventh UNM woman to qualify as an individual to the NCAA Championships...she finished 115th in a field of 253 in her national meet debut • Murphy (5th), junior Leslie Luna (18th) and senior Juan Ortega (20th) earned all-Region honors at the NCAA Mountain Region Championships at the UNM North Golf Course...the UNM women finished seventh, while the men were 11th • Murphy (4th), Ortega (4th) and junior Jeremy Johnson (5th) earned first team all-MWC honors, while Luna (8th) was a second team honoree...Vanessa Ortiz (18th) was named MWC Women's Freshman of the Year...the UNM women notched their second straight top-3 finish at the conference meet, the best performance in consecutive seasons since 1987-88...the men were one point behind third place Colorado State Football (Rocky Long, head coach) • 6-7 overall, 4-4 MWC / 5th • New Mexico finished 6-7 overall, 4-4 in the MWC and played in its fourth bowl game in the past five seasons...UNM lost to San Jose State in the inaugural New Mexico Bowl at University Stadium...the Lobos have won at least six games for a school-record sixth straight season • Senior K Kenny Byrd was the Co-Special Teams Player of the Year in the MWC...S Quincy Black, WR Travis Brown, TB Rodney Ferguson and OG Robert Turner were also named first team all-MWC...Ferguson led the league in rushing with 1,234 yards
• Travis Brown and Marcus Smith became only the second UNM receiving tandem to reach 50 catches and 800 receiving yards in a season • LB Cody Kase was named an Academic All-American • Quincy Black was chosen by the Tampa Bay Buccanneers in the third round of the 2007 NFL Draft Men's Golf (Glen Millican, head coach) • 6th in the MWC / 29th at the NCAA Championships • The Lobos finished 6th at the MWC Championships, but rebounded to qualify for the NCAA Championships for the 30th time in school history and the fifth time in six seasons under head coach Glen Millican...UNM placed 29th at the NCAAs • Senior Charlie Beljan was named second team All-America and MWC Golfer of the Year after winning three tournaments Women's Golf (Jill Trujillo, interim head coach) • 3rd in the MWC / 22nd NCAAs • UNM finished third at the MWC Championships, but advanced to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2004...the Lobos finished 22nd at the NCAA Championships • Freshmen Jodi Ewart was named MWC Co-Player of the Year after winning the conference title...she became just the second UNM freshman to win a tournament...Ewart set a UNM season record for scoring average at 73.35, finishing in the top-10 in six tournament...she was also named Duramed FUTURES Tour NGCA All-American second team, the 13th Lobo to gain All-America honors • Trujillo was named the Lobos' new head coach on June 12 Skiing (George Brooks, head coach) • Tied for 6th at the NCAA Championships • The Lobos tied for sixth place at the 2007 NCAA Championships...UNM had finished in the top-5 for eight-consecutive seasons • Four Lobos earned All-American honors at the NCAAs, including Lars Loeseth, Tor Fodnesbergene and Polina Ermoshina and Malin Hemmingson...Loeseth became just the fourth four-time All-American in school history...he was also a 1st team Academic All-American by ESPN the Magazine • Long-time head coach George Brooks announced prior to the start of the season that the 2007 campaign would be his last...Brooks is the only coach in the history of the UNM ski team, leading the team for the past 37 years...Fredrik Landstedt, head Nordic coach for the past 10 years, takes over as just the second coach of the UNM ski team Men's Soccer (Jeremy Fishbein, head coach) • 14-4-3, 8-1-1 MPSF - 1st - NCAA 2nd Round • The Lobos won the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time in the past six seasons...UNM finished the season with a No. 12 national ranking • Senior Andrew Boyens was a Hermann Trophy semifinalist and a consensus All-American...he was also the MPSF Player of the Year and selected with the 10th overall pick of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft by Toronto FC...Simon Ejdemyr was also named freshman All-American by Soccer America • Chris Wright was named ESPN The Magazine Academic 2nd Team All-American, marking the fifth consecutive season the Lobos have had at least one academic All-American • Eleven Lobos were named All-MPSF, including Boyens, Ejdemyr, David Gualdarama and Mike Graczyk and Brandon Barklage on the first team Women's Soccer (Kit Vela, head coach) • 8-7-5 overall, 2-2-3 MWC / T3rd • The Lobos lost 2-1 in overtime to No. 1 seed Utah 2-1 in the semifinals of the MWC Tournament...UNM played eight games against NCAA Tournament teams and four nationally ranked opponents
• Ashley Lowery was named first team All-MWC and to the MWC All-Tournament team...Bridgette Sanchez and Shannon Adragna both made second team All-MWC • Terryn Granados was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic all-District VI first team Softball (Ty Singleton, head coach) • 20-25 overall, 9-11 MWC / 4th • The Lobos finished 20-25 overall and 9-11 in MWC games under first-year head coach Ty Singleton...that's the most conference wins by a New Mexico team since gaining 10 in 2002 • Singleton's first win at New Mexico was a 13-1 shocker over No. 3 UCLA • Sophomore 3B Analise Rubalcava was named first team all-MWC Women's Swimming-Diving (Tracy Ljone, head coach) • 6-6 overall, 2-5 MWC / 7th MWC • The Lobos finished 7th at the MWC Championships • Freshman Ashley Grisdale was the only Lobo to medal throughout the championships meet...captured the bronze in the 200-yard butterfly clocking in a final time of 2:04.49. Men's Tennis (Alan Dils, head coach) • 14-9 overall, 3-3 MWC / T3rd • The Lobos were unbeaten at home in 2007, going 8-0 in dual matches...the biggest home win was a 5-2 upset over 18th-ranked Minnesota • In the March 20 FILA/ITA national poll, New Mexico was ranked No. 40, the team's highest ranking this decade • Max Jones was named to the all-MWC singles team for the third straight year while Johnny Parkes received the honor for the second consecutive season...Jones and Pajkowski earned all-MWC doubles team honors for the second season in a row Women's Tennis (Kathy Kolankiewicz, head coach) - 12-11 overall, 4-4 MWC / 5th • The Lobos finished 12-11 overall, falling to the No. 1 seed and eventual champ BYU in the second round of the MWC Championship • Three players earned all-MWC honors, Ola Abou-Zekry and Sandra Zmak in singles and Zmak and Lucy Scott in doubles Indoor Track & Field (Matt Henry, head coach) • MWC Finish: Women - 7th, Men - 6th • New Mexico won three event titles at the MWC Championships at the Albuquerque Convention Center...Tiyana Peters won the high jump, junior Ariel Burr won the 400m and the men's team of Taylor Siemon, Randle McCain, Kurt Henry and Jarrin Solomon won the 4x400m relay • Burr's conference title was the first for a UNM woman in an indoor track event, while the men captured their first 4x400m relay crown in 20 years...UNM had seven athletes earn all-MWC honors, including Solomon (400m) and Jeremy Johnson (5,000m/3,000m). Outdoor Track (Matt Henry, head coach) • MWC Finish: Women - 5th, Men - 6th • The Lobo women finished fifth with a score of 68 points - their highest since 2000 - while the men's team was sixth • Jeremy Johnson earned All-America honors by finishing 7th in the 10,000 meters at the NCAA Championships...Johnson, Jarrin Solomon (400), Ariel Burr (400), Timmie Murphy (5,000) and Katie Coronado (javelin) all qualified for the NCAA Championships, the most representation under head coach
• Solomon took first in the 400-meter dash at the MWC Championships • Head coach Matt Henry and associate head coach Mark Henry announced their retirement from UNM at the end of the 2007 outdoor season...Joe Franklin was named head coach on June 18 Volleyball (Kelley McKee, head coach) • 10-20 overall, 5-11 MWC/T6th • The Lobos finished in a three-way tie for sixth place in the Mountain West Conference, which was their highest finish in the conference since tying for fifth in 2000 • The Lobos snapped a 23-match losing streak to BYU, which dated to 1995...the Lobos subbed just once in game three en route to the four-game win over the 18th-ranked Cougars • Kelly Therkelsen was named to the ESPN the Magazine District VI all-academic second team for the second straight year • Kelly McKee resigned following the season and was replaced by University of San Francisco head coach Jeff Nelson on Jan. 29, 2007 |
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