Having a top ten team come to your home court in any sport is no small feat, and speaks to the quality of the UNM program. The Lobos have been steadily improving, and with amazing support from the community, all three of the Lobo’s games were high in attendance.

Lobo Lisa Meeter digs the ball against Tulane

I caught three of the six scheduled games; Stanford vs Pepperdine, UNM vs Pepperdine and UNM vs Stanford. It was a pleasant surprise to watch Pepperdine take Stanford to four sets (mostly from errors by the Cardinals), but Stanford quickly made adjustments and, well, that was that.

I was free to shoot from wherever I choose, so photographically I mixed things up. I got some nice shots, especially during the Stanford/Pepperdine game with my 300mm f/2.8 from the top section of Johnson Gym.  I probably should have stuck around up there more, but being on the floor with all the action is the most fun–one can definitely feel the energy. For the floor time, I used mainly my 85mm and 135mm wide open, with my 70-200mm for player close-ups.

The final scheduled game of the tournament happened to be the championship game, pitting UNM against Stanford. Along with 3,831 other eager fans, I watched UNM put up  a good fight, but fall to an intimidating Cardinal team in three sets.

Stanford with the trophy

I was impressed at the friendly, supportive environment during all the matches, especially during UNM games. Fans are encouraged to come to the floor and greet the players before the match, and the team stuck around long after the game was done, talking and interacting with the fans.

Much thanks to manager Jordie Hadfield, assistant media relations director Judy Wilson and the rest of the UNM family for making me feel at home during my visit!

]]> http://blog.richchavez.com/2010/09/02/mcm-elegante-lobo-classic/feed/ 0 http://blog.richchavez.com/2010/08/24/getting-funky-with-the-james-douglas-show/ http://blog.richchavez.com/2010/08/24/getting-funky-with-the-james-douglas-show/#comments Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:43:21 +0000 Rich http://blog.richchavez.com/?p=1858

James Douglas

The James Douglas Show found their way from Albuquerque to perform in the City of Las Cruces’ “Music in the Park” series on Sunday, August 22. The group plays a wide range including funk, r&b and classic rock.

Arnold Cardon, a native of Las Cruces, is a product of the local music scene who has found success in the music business. He’s also a humble and gracious guy, one of the many reasons for his success. From my perspective of a guitarist, he’s one of “those guys”; he’ll either make you want to go home and practice or make you want to give up. Luckily, I’ve found a good use for my guitars, so you can guess the category I’m in.

The band sounded great and worked hard to get the crowd involved. By the end of the night, Douglas had a huge crowd in front of the stage dancing and enjoying the music.

The best part? My son tagged along at the last second and ended up having a great time!

Coach Jordan addresses his team before the fourth set

A competitive alumni squad played the younger NMSU much closer in years past, but lost the match in four straight sets on Saturday night.

The new players all got significant play time, and with exception of some nerves showing, they all played well. Kayleigh Giddens has been working hard in the off season, and you can tell. She was making some fantastic saves, and she a lot more hop in her jump.

The highlight of the night for me was when freshman Rocio Gutierrez accidentally beamed a cheerleader with a mini-volleyball. She quickly turned around and casually threw the ball, but didn’t see the cheerleader boosted on the shoulders of a male cheerleader until it was too late!

Injured midfielder Marisa Moya heads back on the field after halftime.

The NMSU soccer season opened on August 19 against UTEP, and I had been looking forward to this game all week.

With much of the action going on at the other side of the field, I snuck off and got some shots of the NMSU volleyball team, who showed up to support the soccer team. They sat right behind a row of Miner fans, and held their own very nicely.

As soon as the half ended, a sprinkle turned into a major storm. I found my way underneath the bridge that leads to the locker rooms. As the teams made their way back to the field for the second half, I caught the shot (above) of Aggie midfielder Marisa Moya heading down behind the rest of the team. I felt pretty bad for her—as she reached her destination, the officials ordered the teams back to the locker rooms because of the lightning.

Unfortunately, the criteria set in the NCAA severe weather guidelines were not met and the game was eventually declared a “no contest”.