Sept. 21, 2009
CROSS COUNTRY
Upcoming: The Miners will run in the Bill Dellinger Invitational on Oct. 3 in Eugene, Ore.
Looking Back: Freshman Risper Kimaiyo claimed her third straight meet title to open the season, leading the UTEP women to a second-place finish at the Kachina Classic on Saturday in Las Cruces. The Miner men scored 31 points to win the 8K meet over New Mexico (52 points), NM State (59), Dine College (102) and El Paso Community College (138). The women's 5K finish was much closer as New Mexico topped all teams with 29 points while UTEP put up 33. The tandem of Kimaiyo and Kathya Garcia teamed for a one-two finish for the second consecutive week with times of 18:07.7 and 18:13.9, respectively. Robert Menjo was the top finisher for the Miners on the men's side, taking third with a time of 26:03.1 as All-American Nicodemus Ng'etich followed in fourth place in 26:34. Justice Chirchir gave the UTEP men a third spot in the top five, clocking in at 26:37.5 to finish fifth. Rounding out the top five for the men were Felix Maritim (27:00.8, 11th place) and Elkana Rotich (27:02.8, 12th). Karina Garcia (sixth-18:38.9), Jepchirchir Kigen (11th-19:02.4) and Gladys Chumba (13th -19:11.5) completed the top five for the UTEP women.
FOOTBALL
Upcoming: UTEP (1-2) faces second-ranked Texas (3-0) in Austin for the first time since 1933 on Saturday. Kickoff is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The game will be nationally televised by FSN. Texas leads the series 3-0. UTEP and Texas met twice previously in the 1930s. The Longhorns won both games in Austin, 28-0 in 1930 and 22-6 in 1933. Texas was also victorious in the inaugural matchup between the schools in El Paso a year ago by a 42-13 count.
Looking Back: Donald Buckram ran for a career-high 113 yards as UTEP scored all five of its touchdowns on the ground in a 38-12 rout of NM State on Saturday in Las Cruces. A rain and lightning delay of nearly three hours couldn't stop the Miners from posting their 50th win in the long-running I-10 series. UTEP secured its first victory over the Aggies since 2006 while posting its first win of the 2009 season. The Miners regain possession of a pair of traveling trophies, the silver spade and brass spittoon. Buckram and Vernon Frazier both scored two rushing touchdowns for the Miners, who forced a turnover on NM State's opening possession, converted it into a TD, then withstood the long delay to score the game's next 24 points. UTEP forced three turnovers in the game, and held the Aggies to 284 yards of total offense. The Miners finished with 338 yards of offense, including 156 rushing. It marked only the third time in the last 13 meetings between UTEP and NM State that the visiting team was victorious. This also happened in 2005 (34-17 UTEP win in Las Cruces) and 2008 (34-33 NMSU win in El Paso).
MEN'S GOLF
Upcoming: UTEP joins the field of the Wyoming Desert Intercollegiate Oct. 5-6 in Palm Desert, Calif.
Looking Back: The Miners finished 17th in their first tournament of the season, the William H. Tucker Intercollegiate in Albuquerque, N.M. Sept. 11-12. The Miners posted rounds of 305, 303 and 314 for a two-day total of 922. UNLV won the 17-team event (282-273-288-843), and had two players tie for the individual title - Derek Ernst (67-68-73-208) and Colby Smith (73-64-71-208). UTEP was led by senior Tanner Taff, who tied for 61st place with an 11-over-par 227 (77-72-78-227). Four UTEP freshmen participated in the tournament, with Jerry Castrellon tying for 69th place (76-79-74-229), Devin Miertschin tying for 75th place (74-75-82-231), David Persons tying for 96th place (78-78-82-238) and Chris Ortiz tying for 102nd place (84-78-80-242).
WOMEN'S GOLF
Upcoming: UTEP will play in the ORU Invitational Oct. 5-6 in Tulsa, Okla.
Looking Back: UTEP played in two tournaments last week. The Miners finished 17th at the Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational over the weekend in Albuquerque, with Pepperdine winning the 18-team tournament. The Miners put together rounds of 308, 301 and 308 for a total of 917. Deborah Martinez and Teresa Nogués tied for 50th place, each carding a nine-over-par 228 to lead UTEP. Shang-Fan Huang tied for 70th place (232), Rosana Gomez tied for 80th place (236) and Stephanie Herrera tied for 84th place (237). The Miners also took 14th place at the Ptarmigan/Ram Fall Classic in Fort Collins, Colo. UTEP compiled a total of 905 with rounds of 305, 297 and 303. Idaho won the 16-team tournament (291-277-291-859). Martinez tied for 40th place with an eight-over-par 224 (74-75-75). Huang tied for 49th place (82-70-74-226), Herrera finished 57th (77-76-75-228), Gomez tied for 64th (77-76-79-232) and Samantha Garza tied for 73rd (77-76-83-236).
RIFLE
Upcoming: UTEP continues to host the Great Southwest Invitational through Sept. 27.
2009-10 Preview: After finishing ninth nationally a season ago, the Miners come into the 2009-10 campaign loaded with ammunition. All-American Andrea Palafox and teammate Josie Burzynski look to lead the program to prominence once again after participating in the NCAA Rifle Championships last season. Also returning is UTEP's only senior, Morgan Glenn, and sophomore standout Alix Moncada, who stormed onto the scene at midseason as a freshman and shot an average of 585 in air rifle. Two new faces have been added to the roster -- Hanna Muegge and Xentri Garza.
SOCCER
Upcoming: UTEP (6-2) opens C-USA play at home this weekend against Tulsa (Friday, 7 p.m.) and SMU (Sunday, 1 p.m.).
Looking Back: The Miners picked up their third straight victory with a 4-2 dismantling of Texas State on the road Sunday. Chelsea Winbush scored twice while adding an assist to lead the offensive onslaught for the Miners, who stormed back from an early 1-0 deficit with three straight goals. Texas State sliced the lead to 3-2 midway through the second half, but Winbush's second tally of the game three minutes later put it out of reach. Skye Schultz and Brittany Thornton also tallied goals for the Miners. UTEP has now posted a school-record-setting eighth straight seasons with a winning mark in non-league action, while moving to 2-0 on the road in 2009.
TENNIS
Upcoming: UTEP will participate in the Stephen F. Austin Invite Oct. 2-3 in Nacogdoches, Texas.
Looking Back: The Miners opened up their 2009-10 season in style with a solid showing across the board at the Miner Fall Invite in Las Cruces. UTEP fashioned a record of 16-8 in singles matches and 10-4 in doubles play. Freshman Veronika Makashov led the way by going 4-0 on the way to taking home the crown in Flight C Singles. She then joined Carolina DeLuca to form the winning tandem in Flight B doubles. Other highlights were DeLuca and freshman Austin Lavallii earning runner-up honors in Flight A and Flight C, respectively. Martina Trierweiler took home third place in the top flight while Carla Murguia secured fourth place in Flight C. In Flight B, Alexandra Glebova won the back-draw bracket. Trierweiler/Glebova took home second place in Flight A doubles while the Miners accounted for three of the top four slots in Flight B doubles.
VOLLEYBALL
Upcoming: UTEP (7-6, 0-1 C-USA) has three home matches scheduled for this week. The Miners will face I-10 rival NM State on Tuesday (7 p.m.), SMU on Friday (7 p.m.) and Tulsa on Sunday (noon).
Looking Back: The Miners are coming off an 0-3 week with a five-set loss to Tulane in the C-USA opener at Memorial Gym, followed by 3-0 setbacks to New Mexico and Arizona at the Arizona Invitational in Tucson. UTEP dropped a heartbreaker to the Green Wave, falling 15-12 in the final set after rallying from an 18-11 deficit to claim the fourth set 27-25. Amy Sanders posted a season-high 21 kills and 11 digs, while Catherine Chavez also tallied a season-high 17 kills with 16 kills. Setter Patty Jarmoc dished out a season-best 44 assists. Sanders led the Miners with 10 kills, eight digs and four blocks versus UNM, while Chavez chipped in with a team-leading 12 digs and six kills. The Miners were more than competitive in the first and third sets versus the Lobos, falling 28-26 and 25-23 respectively. The 21st-ranked Arizona Wildcats handed UTEP a 25-12, 25-17, 25-17 setback on Sunday to remain unbeaten (11-0) on the year. Sanders (seven kills, 13 digs) was appointed to the all-tournament team.
