DAILY LOBO new mexico
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November 30, 2015 | Vo l u m e 1 2 0 | Is s u e 3 2
Lobos down Air Force for winning season By Thomas Romero-Salas
New Mexico secured its first winning season in almost a decade on Saturday at University Stadium. Several big plays and three key turnovers propelled UNM to a 4735 upset over Mountain Division champion Air Force. The Lobos finish the regular season 7-5 (5-3 Mountain West) and will play in their first bowl game since 2007. “It feels real good. You come to college to have a winning season and to win games and to go to bowl games,” redshirt senior running back Jhurell Pressley said. “My senior year we accomplished that goal. We’re going to a bowl game, and we won our last game. I’m proud of my teammates and I’m glad I’m here.” The calling card for UNM’s offense this season has been big plays. That remained true Saturday as the Lobos finished with four plays of 45 yards or more in the win. For most of the game, UNM had no trouble gashing Air Force’s defense for big gains. The Lobos rushed for 377 yards—the most rushing yards the Falcons have given up this season—and earned 512 yards overall. Pressley started the game off with two big runs in the first quarter. The tailback rushed first for a 75-yard then a 57-yard touchdown,
finishing with a career-high 170 yards on 17 attempts. “We’re an explosive team. That’s what we do,” head coach Bob Davie said. “We’re not always the most consistent, but we’re explosive. Certainly tonight we were explosive.” UNM’s defense gave Air Force trouble throughout the night. The Lobos did a good job of taking away the Falcons’ option attack, forcing them to throw the ball more often. Quarterback Karson Roberts failed to adjust, completing just 6 of 16 passes for 167 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Air Force also moved to a more traditional I-formation look because of UNM taking away the option. The Falcons never established much of a rhythm, finishing with just 222 rushing yards on 38 attempts. “I think they definitely passed more. They came out and tried to run it, and we shut it down pretty quick,” linebacker Dakota Cox said. “I think guys were disciplined enough to know that they needed to play the next play. It came down to guys just doing that, and we were able to get off the field at the end.” With the Lobos’ offense stalling early in the second half, the Falcons were able to chip away at UNM’s lead. Air Force quickly cut UNM’s advantage to just 13 points after a
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Nick Fojud / Daily Lobo / @NFojud
Sophomore running back Richard McQuarley runs into the end zone at University Stadium Saturday night. The Lobos beat Air Force 47-35 in their last season game.
Student names beetle species By Elizabeth Sanchez
File photo
President Bob Frank outlined on Nov. 20 strategies for combatting budget shortfalls
Grad rates have downsides By David Lynch UNM graduation rates are higher than ever, according to UNM President Bob Frank, but that has led to some struggles when it comes to the University’s finances. During his report to the Board of Regents on Nov. 20, Frank said that the graduation rate at UNM for six-year students is at 49 percent,
with the University also holding a 79.5 percent retention rate. “We’re thrilled to have those, and we want to continue (our success),” he said. But that sustained success depends on UNM’s ability to cope with what Frank called very substantial fiscal challenges that lie ahead. Frank said issues the University faces include decreased enrollment and a continued desire
to keep tuition as low as possible. “The way we’ve done this is (by) trying to create a lot of dialogue and as many information points across the University as we can make,” Frank said. Some of those lines of communication at UNM are between Frank and various deans of colleges, and between those deans and chairs and directors on campus to
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Grey Gustafson, a graduate student at UNM studying biology, has discovered and named a new species of whirligig beetle in the southeastern United States. Whirligig beetles, part of the family Gyrinidae, are commonly found in streams in this region of the country. These beetles swim on the surface of the water in whirling patterns, their eyes divided into four parts: one pair rests above the water’s surface, while the other sits below. Gustafson said he first noticed them last summer, while doing fieldwork at the Conecuh National Forest in Alabama. “I saw these whirligig beetles that looked slightly different than the normal Dineutus discolor,” said Gustafson. They were smaller and more narrow than the common species. After collecting specimens and taking a video, he visited entomologist Robert Sites. Sites, who works at the University of Missouri’s Enns Entomology Museum, worked closely with Gustafson on the project. Sites mentioned to Gustafson that 11 whirligig specimens at the museum collected during the 1970s were identified as potentially being a new species. After comparing the museum’s collection with Gustafson’s findings, it was determined that these were members of the same unclassified species. This is Gustafson’s fifth new species discovery, and his first in the
United States. Nevertheless, he said it’s exciting to keep finding things that are new entries in his field. “That’s always the thrill you get, when you’re looking through the scope and realize that this thing needs a name and is totally unknown as of yet,” he said. “That is always a very cool feeling, but it’s even more exciting when you realize, ‘Holy cow, this is right in our backyard.’” Gustafson and Sites co-published a paper on the beetles, which Gustafson named Dineutus shorti. He said the name is based on Andrew Short, a past mentor who Gustafson said is an inspiration to him. “He was the first professor that really took me in and showed me that I could have a career in entomology,” Gustafson said. “He is very passionate about biodiversity and conservation, so it seemed appropriate to name this new species of conservation concern in the U.S. after him.” Short teaches classes on entomology and biodiversity at the University of Kansas. He said he met Gustafson when he hired him to process fieldwork insect samples. The two worked together on aquatic insects in Venezuela, Gustafson aided him in his lab with fieldwork in both Venezuela and Costa Rica, and they published two papers together on new South American beetle species. Short said having the new beetle species named after him was a pleasant surprise. “Choosing species names is a very unique and special thing that biologists get to do, and I’m very
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