Sports Release
September 13, 1999

FOOTBALL
The ENMU football team is off to a 2-0 start after defeating Western New Mexico, 33-13 in the season opener and routing New Mexico Highlands at Greyhound Stadium on Sept. 11. The Hounds have gained an impressive 974 yards (487.0 per game), while allowing just 453 yards (226.5 per game).

GREYHOUNDS ROUT N.M. HIGHLANDS
Eastern New Mexico University senior quarterback Bobby Rodriguez (Santa Teresa, NM/Las Cruces H.S.) gained 289 yards of total offense and the Greyhounds finished with 612 total yards overall, as ENMU routed N.M. Highlands, Sat., Sept. 11 at Greyhound Stadium.

The Hounds improved to 2-0 with the victory, while NMHU dropped to 0-2. Rodriguez completed 9 of 14 passes for 226 yards and 2 TDs. He also had 15 rushes for 63 yards.

The game started out as a close battle. Rodriguez opened the scoring by hitting junior wide receiver Brian Weimer (Clovis, NM/Clovis H.S.) with a 76-yard touchdown pass. Eastern’s 2-play, 77-yard drive was followed by a lengthy 9-play 78-yard drive by Highlands that ended with Thaddeus Variance scoring on a 17-yard run.

The game was tied, 7-7 ENMU gradually pulled away from the Cowboys. Siegan Keys (Sr., RB, Oakland, CA/Chabot College) scored with 1:39 left in the first quarter on a 26-yard pass from Rodriguez. Bruce Hatch (Sr., FB, Bloomfield, NM/Bloomfield H.S.) added a 4-yard run with 2:00 left in the first half, giving ENMU a 19-7 lead at halftime.

The Mustangs had a chance to cut into Eastern’s lead prior to the intermission, but a 42-yard field goal was blocked by Jermaine Washington (Sr., DT, Albuquerque, NM/Eastern Arizona College) as time expired.

Hatch opened the third quarter scoring with an 11-yard run at the 6:59 mark. Junior cornerback Tonmar Johnson (Vallejo, CA/Henderson State) intercepted a Highlands pass two plays later and returned it 17 yard to the NMHU 14-yard line.

Antoine Lacy (Jr., RB, Richmond, CA/Contra Costa J.C.) reached the end zone on a 2-yard run on Eastern’s fourth play, giving the Greyhounds a 33-7 advantage. Eastern’s remaining touchdowns were scored by Terrance Smith (Sr., WR, Fort Walton Beach, FL/Tennessee- Martin) on a 5-yard run, back-up QB James Williams (So., Earth, TX/Springlake-Earth H.S.) on a 39-yard run, and freshman wide receiver Cale Sanders (Roswell, NM/Goddard H.S.) on a 5-yard run.

Williams led all rushers with 78 yards (3 carries). Lacy finished with 39 yards on 5 carries. Eastern’s top receiver was Weimer with 3 catches for 106 yards. Keys added 2 catches for 47 yards. ENMU finished the game with 331 rushing yards on 59 carries.

The Greyhounds also completed 13 of 18 passes for 281 yards. The 612 yards of total offense fell 74 yards short of the ENMU record of 686, set against Fort Lewis College on Sept. 24, 1988.

Leading Eastern’s defensive efforts was senior linebacker Michael Walton (Earth, TX/Texas Tech U.), who earned 4 tackles and 6 assists (1 sack). Senior linebacker Floyd White (Pampa, TX/ Pampa H.S.) added 5 tackles and 3 assists, while senior defensive tackle Nelson Smith (Albuquerque, NM/U. of Miami) provided 4 tackles and 1 assist (2 tackles for losses).

Highlands gained just 82 yards on the ground (28 carries). The Cowboys added 166 yards in the air (15 of 35). Variance rushed for 55 yards on 10 carries for the Cowboys.

RODRIGUEZ REPEATS GREAT EFFORT
Senior starting quarterback Bobby Rodriguez played less than three quarters against N.M. Highlands in Eastern’s 54-7 victory on Sept. 11, but had a huge impact.

He completed 9 of 14 passes for 226 yards, including 2 TDs on passes of 76 and 26 yards. Rodriguez also carried the ball 15 times for 63 yards.

He provided the Hounds with 289 total yards. Last year, Rodriguez also had an outstanding game versus NMHU. He completed 15 of 30 passes for 249 yards and gained 66 yards on 10 carries.

Three of his passes resulted in TDs (70 yards, 9 yards, and 31 yards with 20 seconds left to win the game). Rodriguez finished the night with 315 yards of offense.

WEIMER REPEATS LONG TD PLAY
Junior wide receiver Brian Weimer caught a 76-yard TD pass against New Mexico Highlands on Sept. 11 and concluded the game with 3 catches for 106 yards.

Last year against N.M. Highlands he hauled in a 70-yard scoring strike and ended the game with 6 catches for 138 yards. His combined total for the two games against NMHU is 9 receptions for 244 yards and 2 touchdowns.

ENMU OFFENSE LEADS LSC STATS
The Eastern New Mexico offense has put up big numbers in the first two games of 1999, and the Hounds have earned the top spot in several offensive categories on the Lone Star Conference statistical report.

Here are ENMU’s top-ranking stats:
Scoring Offense
87 points, 43.5 points per game

Rushing Offense
616 yards, 308.0 yards per carry, (6.3 yards per rush)

Total Offense
974 yards, 487.0 yards per game (7.6 yards per play)

Passing Efficiency
196.6 rating (19 of 30 for 358 yds., 3 TDs, 0 interceptions)

First Downs
42 total (24 Rush, 14 Pass, 4 Penalty)

The Hounds also lead the LSC in scoring defense (10.0 pts./game) and in turnover margin (+2.5/game).

UP NEXT FOR THE GREYHOUNDS
Eastern New Mexico opens Lone Star Conference play next Saturday (Sept. 18), when the Greyhounds host Ouachita Baptist University in a crossover game (ENMU is in the South Division and OBU competes in the North Division).

Kickoff at Greyhound Stadium is set for 6:00 p.m. (MDT). ENMU then travels to Northeastern State (Okla.) on Sat., Sept. 25 (5:00 p.m. MDT).

VOLLEYBALL
The ENMU volleyball team is 7-2 overall. The Zias have a solid .245 team hitting percentage, and are averaging 16.8 kills per game. Eastern also has recorded 14.6 assists and 15.4 digs per contest. ENMU has swept its last three matches in three games each.

ZIAS DEFEAT LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN
The Zias improved their record to 7-2 on the season with a three-game sweep of visiting Lubbock Christian, Sept. 7 at Greyhound Arena.

The Zias defeated the Lady Chaps, 15-9, 15-11, 15-7. Lubbock Christian fell to 9-3 with the loss. The Lady Chaps took a 5-0 lead in the first game, but ENMU rallied and took a 7-6 lead on a kill by senior outside hitter Irma Cobos (Kermit, TX/Kermit H.S.).

The Zias went on to build a 10-7 advantage before finishing the game with a 15-9 win. In the second game, LCU led 3-1, but the Zias tied the game at 5-5. The score was also tied 11-11 prior to an offensive surge by ENMU that ended in a 15-11 triumph.

The Zias hit .375 in the third game on their way to a 15-7 win. Junior outside hitter Tanya Heyko (Salem, OR/Chemeketa C.C.), who led Eastern with 16 kills and 17 digs in the match, recorded 7 kills during the third game.

Other top hitters for ENMU were Cobos, with 14 kills and 12 digs, and junior Aubrey Gladstone (MB, Kennewick, WA/Columbia Basin College), with 14 kills, a .444 attack percentage, and 11 digs. Gladstone also recorded 6 total blocks, while senior setter Lindsey Davison (Kelso, WA/ Columbia Basin) added 54 assists and 15 digs.

For LCU, the top hitter was Julie Williams (Fr., OH, Dumas, TX), who provided the Lady Chaps with 16 kills (.268 hitting percentage). Mindy Ratliff (Jr., MB, Dumas, TX) added 11 kills and 4 block assists.

DAVISON BUILDS CAREER ASSIST TOTAL
ENMU senior setter Lindsey Davison has recorded 374 assists this season, an average of 12.5 assists per game. Including her school record 1,407 assists from last season, she now has 1,781 career assists at ENMU. She ranks third all-time for the Zias, and needs 612 additional assists to reach the ENMU career record of 2,393 set by Stacey Estlund from 1996-97.

IRMA COBOS KEEPS ON DIGGING
Senior outside hitter Irma Cobos has earned 93 digs in 30 games this year (9 matches). She not only leads the Zias this year, but has increased her career digs total to 1,288. She needs just 21 digs to reach Jennifer Goble Poyer (1991-95) in second place (1,309) and is 415 away from Stacy Tapper (1988-91) in first place (1,703).

UP NEXT FOR THE ZIAS
Eastern New Mexico returns to action tonight (Mon., Sept. 13) at Western New Mexico University in Silver City. Match time is set for 7:00 p.m. (MDT).

The Zias open Lone Star Conference South Division action on Fri., Sept. 17 at Texas A&M-Kingsville (6:00 p.m. MDT). The Zias remain in Kingsville on Sat., Sept. 18 to take on St. Mary’s (Texas) in a non-conference match.

CROSS COUNTRY
Veronica Samaniego (Sr., Sonora, TX/Sonora H.S.) placed 6th out of all runners scoring for their respective teams at the Red Raider Invitational hosted by Texas Tech at Mae Simmons Park, Sept. 11 in Lubbock, Texas.

David Gonzalez (So., Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad H.S.) was the top finisher for the ENMU men’s team, placing 11th out of all competitors in the men’s race.

Eastern’s women took second place with 43 points.Texas Tech won the women’s division with a perfect score of 15. Wayland Baptists took third with 52 points.

Samaniego placed 8th overall, behind Texas Tech’s five official runners, plus two other TTU entries. Samaniego finished the 5K race in 22:28.

Mindy Clark (Jr.,Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad H.S.) placed 7th among scorers and 10th overall in a time of 23:14.

Other top ENMU runners were Lindsey Pfaff (Fr., Los Alamos, NM/Los Alamos H.S.) who took 8th among scorers and 13th overall in 25:05, Jerri Begay (So., Crownpoint, NM/Crownpoint H.S.) who placed 10th among scorers and 15th overall in 26:06, and Jacqueline Atkins (So., Espanola, NM/Pojoaque H.S.) who took 12th place among scorers and 17th overall.

ENMU did not have enough healthy men’s runners to earn a team score, but Gonzalez ran well and finished in 30:12 over the 8K course.

Texas Tech won the men’s team title with a perfect score of 15, led by Boniface Ndungu who was the top scoring finisher in 26:34. Michael Mjenga, running unattached, was the overall winner in 24:46. Wayland Baptist took second as a team with 40 points.

In addition to Gonzalez, the Greyhounds received a strong performance from Juan Castanon (Jr., Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad H.S.), who completed the race in 31:53. Freshman Stephen Bogue (Fr., Albuquerque, NM/ Monzano H.S.) finished in 39:18.

SAMANIEGO PROVIDES LEADERSHIP FOR ZIAS
Senior runner Veronica Samaniego has led the Zias in both meets this season. She placed 4th at the West Texas A&M Meet on Sept. 2, then earned a 6th place finish at the Texas Tech Classic on Sept. 11. She has provided important leadership by placing high at both cross country meets and by improving her time. She finished the WTAMU Meet in 22:51 and completed the Texas Tech Classic in 22:28.

UP NEXT FOR ENMU
The Greyhounds and the Zias run again on Sat., Sept. 18 at the Fort Lewis College Meet in Durango, Colo. ENMU then hosts the Enchanted Desert Classic at 9:00 a.m. (MDT) on Sat., Oct. 2.