May 10, 2001

By Mike Hall
Albuquerque Tribune Assoc. Sports Editor

ALBUQUERQUE - The University of New Mexico will honor its graduating seniors during various ceremonies all day Saturday, but the Lobos softball seniors hope to have only one thing in mind that day -- winning the Mountain West Conference tournament championship.

The fourth-seeded Lobos begin that quest this morning at 11:30 against fifth-seeded Colorado State at Lobo Field.

In reality, only one of the five UNM seniors -- Nikki Heckroth -- would have a conflict if the Lobos make it to Saturday's semifinals or championship game.

Heckroth, a late addition to the team after four years as a standout guard in basketball, will get her degree in accounting.

That means if the Lobos have a Saturday 9 a.m. semifinal, Heckroth -- who so far has been used only as a pinch runner -- will have a conflict with the general graduation ceremonies scheduled for same time in the Pit.

"I don't know what I'm going to do," she says. "We'll take it one step at a time and see how far we get."

The remaining four seniors are taking advantage of a fifth scholarship year to finish their degrees, mainly because they wanted to dedicate more time to softball.

And that, coach Susan Craig says, is what makes this senior class special. "They've helped bring back a team attitude, something we lacked for a few years when some individuals had their own agendas."

The winner of the MWC tournament gets an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, and that, senior first baseman/pitcher Kathy Moore says, "Is a big goal, but we want to end big."

Craig believes the Lobos, with a 37-22 record, should get an at-large bid if they don't win the tournament. But she's thought that before and come up empty. "There's always an excuse," she says of the selection committee. "You should play more in your region, you should play more out of your region. ..."

Moore, the Lobos career home run leader (34) from Garden Grove, Calif., says playing at home should give the Lobos an edge. "We won't have to do any adjusting. We know the field, we'll have our crowd and we get to sleep in our own beds."

Brigham Young, only in its second year as a program but the beneficiary of a large budget and a brand new stadium, goes into the tournament as the top seed. However, most of the Lobos seniors tab Utah -- in the opposite bracket from UNM -- as the team to beat.

"By far, Utah," Krissy Keene says. Keene is an outfielder from Westminster, Calif., who hit .306 this season and was perfect in 11 stolen-base attempts. "BYU is first and Utah is second, but we have some rivalry with Utah. They're not the team we favor the most."

Adds Marianna Fenelli, a shortstop from San Diego: "BYU is number one, but Utah is always a game that gives us trouble. The thing is, we have beaten every team, but Utah, for us, is the team to beat."

And to make it unanimous, infielder Rachel Wennekamp of Lake Forest, Calif., says, "For us, it will be Utah, though all the teams are pretty close."

NCAA Tournament or not, the Lobos seniors know their athletic careers are nearing an end. Wennekamp, who will graduate next May with a degree in biology and then enter UNM's master's program, jokes, "There's no women's fastpitch in New Mexico ... just for fun I might join a beer league."

Wennekamp and Keene plan to get into professional physical therapy careers.

"I've been hurt before, and you know athletes want to get back as soon as possible. I can relate, so I think I can help," Keene says.

Moore also wants to be a therapist, but a different kind. She's majoring in psychology. "Not physical, I want to mess with people's minds," she says.

Fenelli is getting her degree in accounting and management, and could have graduated Saturday with her roommate, Heckroth, if she had taken 15 hours instead of a lesser load the past semester.

But she decided to spend more time on the diamond. However, if she was graduating this weekend, "I'd definitely miss graduation. There's nothing better than playing in a championship game."

In fact, Fenelli had some advice for Heckroth. "Wear your uniform under your cap and gown."