NMSU enters WAC Volleyball Tournament as one of four favorites to win

By Zack Ponce

The final Western Athletic Conference regular season volleyball matches will be played on Thursday before the 2012 WAC Volleyball Tournament kicks off on Monday. 

New Mexico State will be one of four favorites along with Utah State, UTSA, and Idaho to win the WAC Championship and earn an auto-bid into the NCAA Volleyball Tournament.

The 2012 volleyball season has been filled with parody and had seen many upsets along the way, including: Utah State being swept by sixth-place San Jose State; and New Mexico State losing to seventh-place Texas State. 

In summary, there is no clear favorite to win the tournament and the Aggies have as good of a shot as anyone to win the title.

“Confidence is going to be key for us. The post-season is like a new season in itself so anyone can win on any given day,” outside hitter Bradley Nash said.  “We’ve been punched in the face a few times this season so we have to go in with a good outlook and be ready to play.  That’s the key: looking forward and not back.”

NMSU head volleyball coach Mike Jordan echoed Nash’s sentiments.

“It’s just a matter of us playing well when it counts.  We know we are capable of doing it and I think everybody else knows we are capable of doing it,” he said.  “Everybody in this conference knows that every match is going to be a barn-burner.”

The New Mexico State Aggies could enter the 2012 WAC Volleyball Tournament as high as a No. 2 seed and as low as a No. 4 seed, depending on the outcomes of Thursdays’ final regular season matches throughout the WAC.

The Aggies (19-9, 12-5 WAC) host Idaho (14-13, 12-5) Thursday evening at 5:30 p.m.  The Vandals sit directly behind NMSU in fourth place in the WAC.  An Aggie loss would drop them to the No. 4 seed entering the conference tournament.

However an Aggie win coupled with a UTSA loss at San Jose State would mean NMSU could slide into the No. 2 spot.  Utah State (19-8, 14-3) has already clinched the No. 1 seed.

“I’m not concerned whether we get the No. 2 seed or the four seed, it doesn’t matter to me,” Jordan said.  “I really don’t care about the matchups at all.  Who we play and what order it doesn’t matter.  We’re going to have to beat good teams to win it.”

Jordan said he will have the teams’ top-killer Meredith Hays sit out of NMSU’s final regular season match against Idaho in order to rest and be at full strength heading into the conference tournament.

“She needs to get that body fresh and jump a little higher; hit a little harder; and she’ll be fine,” Jordan explained.

MBB: NMSU hosts Southeastern Louisiana in Home Opener

Aggies Look to Bounce Back from Loss at Oregon State 

By: Anthony Esparza

The New Mexico State men’s basketball team looks to rebound from a 71-62 season-opening loss at Oregon State when it hosts Southeastern Louisiana tonight at the Pan American Center.

Southeastern currently sits at 0-2 on the year after falling to Wisconsin and Marquette, two teams that advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament last season. The Lions were within striking distance of the Golden Eagles late in the contest Tuesday, trailing 57-51 with 4:13 remaining. However, timely baskets and free-throws propelled Marquette to the 64-53 victory.

“They got two high-level games that they’ve played on the road, so they’ll be a little battle tested in this early part of the year…” NMSU head coach Marvin Menzies said of the Lions. “We’re going to have our job cut out for us. I think that team will win a lot of games this year.”  

Southeastern returns four starters from a year ago, including junior guard Dre Evans who leads the team in scoring with 10.5 points per game. Because of the lack of size on the Lions’ roster, the team relies heavily on the production of the backcourt.

As for the Aggies, Menzies said he was pleased for the most part with his team’s defense in the season opener against Oregon State, particularly in the second half. However, NMSU was unable to contain junior guard Ahmad Stars, who scored a game-high 33 points for Beavers.  

“We did a horrible job in some areas in reference to Starks and guarding him,” Menzies said. “We let him get going and didn’t do a great job at having team awareness in stopping him, and that’s something that we’ve got to do better at.”

Offensively, the Aggies scored 34 points in the paint against the Beavers. However, Menzies hopes to see more organization on the offensive end tonight against Southeastern. Also expect NMSU to make the most of its size advantage and score inside against the Lions.

“Our offensive flow and rhythm was kind of ‘herky-jerky’ so we’ve got to improve that as well,” Menzies said.” I think we’ll do that and get more touches for the post inside.” 

What: NMSU (0-1) vs Southeastern (0-2) men's basketball game

When: Tonight at 8:00 p.m. 

Where: Pan American Center

Media: Aggie Sports Network  

Rozendaal, Williamson power NMSU to an overtime victory

Photo By Daisy Hernandez

By Zack Ponce

The New Mexico State Aggies stormed out of the gate and fought through adversity to win their first game of the 2012-13 women’s basketball season against Loyola Marymount 77-76 in overtime.

Sophomore point guard Danesia Williamson, a newcomer who transferred from San Diego, hit a jump shot with 28.7 seconds left in the second half to tie the game for the Aggies at 69-69.  The NMSU defense then held the Lions to a tough shot that fell short of the basket to send the game to overtime.

Senior forward Kelsie Rozendaal then proceeded to lead NMSU during the overtime period and helped the Aggies clinch a victory. 

“After being down at halftime I decided I was going to take (the game) on my shoulders and carry this team,” Rozendaal said.  “We know this is the year that we can do something big and today was our first test.  We came out and we showed that we can finish games.”

Rozendaal grabbed a key rebound after forcing LMU’s Alexis Love to shoot over her arms.  Rozendaal then hit three of her four free throws down the stretch to extend NMSU’s lead over LMU to 77-73.

“Kelsie was big time…she’s a tough kid,” said NMSU women’s head basketball coach Mark Trakh.  “I was happy with the way we came back.”

Rozendaal led the team in both points (22) and rebounds (11).  She shot 8-of-13 from inside the arch and 1-of-4 from three-point range.

Williamson showed the potential to be a solid floor general for the Aggies.  She scored 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting, but also had seven turnovers.

New Mexico State stormed out to an early lead over LMU and led by as much as seven, 21-14, with just over 10 minutes left in the first half.  A string of offensive turnovers and blown defensive assignment for NMSU allowed the Lions to erase the deficit.

“We just can’t afford to give up easy points, but unlike last year we scored easy points too.  We struggled for everything last year,” Trakh said.

Loyola Marymount led 37-30 at halftime, but NMSU slowly chipped away at the LMU margin and regained the lead at 56-55 with 9:34 to play in the second half on a jump shot by guard Jasmine Rutledge.

New Mexico State will travel tomorrow to play UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday in Calif. at 8:00 p.m. mountain time.

Trakh emphasizes recruiting to rebuild Aggie program

Photo by Tim Barnett-Queen

By Zack Ponce

Women’s head basketball coach Mark Trakh was hired last year to try and rebuild an Aggie program that had hit rock bottom under the previous administration.

Trakh has a proven record of success – he led Pepperdine to three NCAA Tournament appearances and made it back to the dance twice more with Southern California.  Trakh had just one losing season in his 17 years coaching at the collegiate level prior to joining New Mexico State.

The Aggies finished with a 6-24 record and placed at the bottom of the Western Athletic Conference last season.  But entering year two, Trakh’s impact can already be felt in Las Cruces.

Trakh snagged three prized recruits last season in the class of 2012 that were each rated three-star prospects by ESPN’s HoopGurlz recruiting website – point guard Sasha Weber, guard Shay Young, and forward Abby Scott.

“We’re recruiting kids that wanna play ball and the culture has changed,” Trakh said. 

“Kids are coming I think because they believe in the vision we have, but now we still gotta turn it around on the court and win some games.  The main reason I’ve recruited well is because I have great assistants that get out there and recruit, and develop relationships (with prospective recruits).”

The California connection is evident on this 2012-13 Aggies team.

Assistant coach Aarika Hughes was recruited by and played for Trakh at USC from 2007-09.  Four players hail from the golden state, three of whom Trakh brought to the team.

A fifth player, senior Stefanie Gilbreath, transferred to NMSU over the summer from USC, and had played under Trakh during his tenure with the Trojans.  Gilbreath was selected as a preseason Second team All-WAC player by the media.

She joins New Mexico State as a sixth-year senior – three ACL injuries and two stress fractures limited her playing career at USC.  But Trakh thinks the former McDonald’s All-American’s experience will be a huge asset for the Aggies.

“She’s played at Texas A&M and Cameron Indoor against Duke, so she’s been at that high level.  She’s also a great leader,” Trakh said.  “She might not be as good as she was when we (recruited her to USC), but she’s still gonna give us 12-14 points-per-game I think.  She’s big and strong, and she can jump out of the gym.”

The talent of the newcomers will be tested this season with a challenging non-conference schedule.  New Mexico State will play notable games against Loyola Marymount, UC Santa Barbara, and George Mason, in addition to rivalry games against New Mexico and Texas-El Paso. 

Trakh says he favors scheduling tough opponents instead of playing “guarantee” games because it toughens his team; and is another cog in his process of rebuilding the Aggie program.

“At Pepperdine, once we got it going we would (host) a tournament and I’d invite BCS schools to our tournament,” Trakh explained.  “And we beat a lot of those BCS schools after my fourth or fifth year.  So once we get it going at NMSU, we’ll invite BCS schools to our tournament and try to beat them.”

Trakh agrees this season’s schedule will be a challenge, and the results are anyone’s guess.

“We could win every game on our schedule, and we could lose every game on our schedule,” Trakh said.  “They’re all mid-major (teams).  There are no BCS schools, but there’s no one who’s really weak, they’re all solid. ”

The future for the NMSU women’s basketball program looks as bright as the Las Cruces sun; but Trakh says there is still more building to be done, and his vision won’t be fully realized for another few years.

“If we win some games I think you could draw a decent crowd to the Pan American Center, and I think we could use our atmosphere to recruit more people.  I wanna see improvement – maybe 12 to 15 wins – and then build up, build up, build up.”

*Originally posted Nov. 1, 2012 on www.roundupdaily.com*

Aggies fall to Miners in Battle of I-10

By Zack Ponce

The Battle of I-10 was won after only one quarter of play.

UTEP defeated New Mexico State 41-28 Saturday night at the Sun Bowl.  The Miners scored on their first four possessions of the game and never relinquished the momentum and lead.

“I’m not ready to say that we’re not a very good football team, but for four quarters we’re not very good right now,” NMSU head coach Dwayne Walker said.  “If it’s not one thing, it’s another.  First the third quarter (in reference to the loss to Ohio) and now it was the first half.”

The Aggies struggled to move the ball on offense in the first half while the defense couldn’t stop the UTEP passing game.

“They were just pitch and catching [the ball] which wasn’t killing us but it was moving the sticks,” Walker said.

New Mexico State played a soft-zone coverage throughout the first half, allowing UTEP quarterback Nick Lamaison to pass for 204 first-half yards and two touchdowns.

Offensively, New Mexico State managed only two first downs through the middle of the second quarter before quarterback Andrew Manley threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to receiver Austin Franklin off a play-action pass.

The Aggies entered halftime trailing the Miners 27-7; and tallied just four rushing yards on 11 carries.

“I thought it got better as the game went on, but again we can’t get off to a start like that and expect to win against a good football team,” Walker said in reference to the running game.

The Aggies began the second half with two consecutive defensive stops and pulled within 13 points of UTEP by the middle of the third quarter – trailing 27-14.

“We came out in the second half and tried to make the adjustment to press [UTEP’s receivers] a little bit and I think it worked out quite well,” cornerback Darien Johnson said.

However New Mexico State was never able to fully curb UTEP’s momentum. 

Another Miner touchdown to start the fourth quarter gave UTEP a 41-14 lead, all but sealing the Aggies’ fate.

“We got a lot of work to do, but the good part about it is it’s only three games,” Walker said.  “Maybe this is where we should be anyway but we have some games left, and we just have to continue to get better as a football team.”

The loss drops New Mexico State to 1-2 on the season.  The Aggies have now lost the last 13 out of 14 games played at the Sun Bowl; and have dropped four consecutive games to the Miners.  The Aggies’ lone win in El Paso came in 2008.

New Mexico State won’t have any time to rest however as they host in-state rival New Mexico (1-3) in the Battle of I-25 on Saturday at 6 p.m. 

Aggie soccer has ‘deflating’ home-opening weekend

Photo By: Tim Barnett-Queen

By Zack Ponce

The New Mexico State women’s soccer team christened their brand new NMSU Soccer Complex with losses to Weber State – 4-1 on Sunday – and Sam Houston State – 1-0 in overtime on Friday.

NM State falls to a record of 1-4-1 on the season with the losses.

“It was kind of a weird day, we played way better than we did Friday,” head coach Blair Quinn said after Sunday’s match against Weber State.  “Friday there was just no emotion, no passion, no energy, and today we had a ton of that.  Right now it’s about the progress we’re making and the process, and it’s a long process.”

The Aggies continued to struggle to maintain possession of the ball against a tough and energetic Wildcat team, but were still able to create some scoring chances. 

Momentum swung permanently in Weber State’s favor when WSU’s Abbey Kennedy scored a goal in the 41st minute, not even a minute after Layla Todd scored a goal to tie the match at 1-1 for NM State.

“You score a goal and then you give one up within five minutes of that…it’s deflating,” Quinn said.  “That’s the best word for it because you’ve just done the work to put yourself in the lead or even the game, and then all your work is gone in a matter of minutes.”

“Deflating” could also be used to describe NM State’s season-to-date as a whole.

The Aggies suffered a gut-wrenching defeat to Sam Houston State on Friday in overtime after Katie Smith’s shot around the 85th minute hit the left post and started rolling near the goal line; but the ball was snatched-up by the goalkeeper before the ball crossed the line.

Quinn has also commented in the past that NM State has allowed a few “fluky” goals, and is content with the play of goalkeepers Jessica Schutter and Mikaela Bitner.

“We’ve given up five goals in five games up until today which is still not were you want to be,” Quinn said.  “But having said that…you would think our record would be better.”

However there is no time for the Aggies to hang their heads and become demoralized.  New Mexico State hosts Interstate-10 rival Texas-El Paso on Wednesday at 4 p.m., which lands in the middle of a five-games in ten-days stretch for the Aggies.

“[A win] would be huge for our confidence level right now because they’re not feeling very good about themselves,” Quinn said.  “[UTEP] will be…fast, physical, aggressive, and they will high press the heck out of us.  It’ll seem like they’re playing with four forwards sometimes because they put so many people forward,” Quinn added.  “The positive and opposite side of that is they put so many people forward there is space to play behind them, [and] we have to find that space faster.”