by
Frank Mercogliano
COLLEGE STATION, Texas The University of New Mexico refused to go quietly into the night. The Lobos didn’t survive, but the served notice that they were in the NCAA Tournament for a reason, and the squad gave the No. 8 team in the nation all it could handle. The Lobos picked up their first NCAA Tournament point since 1998 and stayed right with the No. 8 Texas A&M Aggies before falling 4-1. UNM ended its season at 8-10 overall, and the squad went 0-6 against nationally-ranked opponents.
The Lobos had their moments against Texas A&M, and weren’t all that far from a total shocker. Well a shocker to the rest of the tennis world, but for UNM, which lost 4-3 to a pair of ranked opponents and 4-2 to three others with all five of those potentially wins for UNM, it would have been a little justification.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. The University of New Mexico makes its return into the NCAA Tournament with a 1 p.m. Mountain Time match with No. 8 overall and eighth-seeded Texas A&M. The Lobos, winners of the Mountain West for a second straight season, will take on a team with national championship aspirations.
If there is an unseeded team that could dash those Aggie hopes, it would be UNM.
The Lobos enter the NCAA Tournament having won six of the last seven, including a season-ending 4-1 win over Air Force that clinched a spot in the big dance. UNM’s overall record is a very deceiving 8-9. Five of those losses came to nationally-ranked teams, and all of those were close, with UNM losing 4-3 to Oregon and Arizona State and 4-2 to Arizona, Texas Tech and Denver in which UNM was leading in the lone non-decided match.
Lobos Draw Texas A&M in NCAA Tournament First Round
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. The University of New Mexico will travel to College Station, Texas to take on the No. 8 seed Texas A&M in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. It’s UNM’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament since taking on Oklahoma State in College Station in the 2015 Tournament.
The Lobos and Aggies will meet on Friday at 1 p.m. Mountain Time. Oklahoma and Denver will battle in the other match, which will start at 10 a.m. Mountain Time. The winner of the pod will advance to the Sweet 16 in Florida May 20.
Frank Mercogliano
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Raul Dobai became the first men’s tennis player in 18 seasons to earn both Mountain West Player of the Year and Newcomer of the Year honors and Ben Dunbar was named Coach of the Year as the Lobos swept all the major awards as the Mountain West announced the 2021 All-Mountain West teams.
UNM became just the second men’s tennis team to sweep all three end-of-season awards, joining San Diego State who turned that trick in 2007. The honors for Dunbar and Dobai headlined a big haul for the back-to-back Mountain West champions, which also saw Dobai and Dominic West named All-Mountain West for singles. West and Sergio Molina were both named All-Mountain West in doubles.
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Despite the pandemic’s harsh fallout on sports, it’s shaping up as a banner year for many University of New Mexico athletic teams, with conference titles and national tourneys.
While UNM’s two high-dollar teams, football and men’s basketball, hogged most of the headlines, it was multiple less-publicized teams that garnered the championships.
The UNM women’s soccer team enters the NCAA Tournament today against Navy as one of the most prolific scoring teams in the country. The Lobos are on a roll after beating San Diego State and Colorado State to close the regular season and win the Mountain West Conference title. The Lobos, led by MWC Coach of the Year Heather Dyche, are the 10th-best scoring team and 15th-stingiest defense in the nation.