Four burning questions for spring 2012

Can women's basketball continue its hot start?

After opening the 2011-12 season with a school-record 10-0, head coach Keitha Adams' group looked like they could not be beat. When they finally showed their vulnerability and lost a game (and another), they broke off a five-game winning streak that ran into Conference-USA play. They won their first four games in league play, including victories against pre-season favorite Memphis and last year's tournament runner-up, Tulane.

UTEP has dominated as a unit overall, especially in their post play. Three forwards in particular, senior Gloria Brown, junior Kristine Vitola and sophomore Kayla Thornton, are contributing to 40 percent of the team's season average in points and half of the rebounds.

The Miners have answered one question, so far, in their defensive performance. So far, this year's team is giving up 52 points per game, the lowest total since Adams took over in 2001-02. Their 32.7 percent opponent shooting average is the lowest since the 2006-07 NCAA Tournament team allowed 32.1 percent.

The Miners now have 12 games remaining, including two contests against Rice and a pair of home games against Tulane and UCF. All three were picked to finish ahead of, or tied, with UTEP in the pre-season polls.

Can softball rebound from its worst year since becoming a program?

The Stacie Townsend hangover left co-head coaches James and Kathleen Rodriguez's team battered and dazed. In their first year since losing the former pitching and hitting standout to graduation (although her presence can be spotted as a graduate assistant in the dugout at every game), the Miners began the season at a promising 9-6.

Then it hit the fan.

The 2011 C-USA Preseason Player of the year and senior catcher Camilla Carrera played just 12 games before re-injuring her back, 2009 C-USA Freshman of the Year, Chelsea Troupe, missed the final 14 games with multiple injuries (to say the least) and other injuries piled from there.

As a result, UTEP won just once in its last 26 games, including 15 in a row at one time, to finish 16-37-1 and 1-22-1 in league play. The Miners were also run-ruled (losing by at least eight after five innings) 11 times during that span and 15 times throughout the season.

Pitching, despite not having to deal with injuries, was still a major concern all year. Of the three pitchers returning, sophomore Megan Atchison had the best ERA last season at 6.92. No pitcher had a winning record and the three returners combined for just 108 strikeouts all season.

Better days should be expected as both Carrera and Troupe are returning for their senior years. The Miners have attempted to bolster their pitching with the additions of two junior college transfers, as well, with sophomore Colleen Hohman and junior Cynthia Villastrigo.

How will Mika Laaksonen fare in his second year?

To an extent, Mika Laaksonen's team stayed successful and relevant during his first season since taking over for legendary head coach Bob Kitchens.

During the indoor season, the women finished third and the men came in fifth at the C-USA Championships and just two athletes qualified for the NCAA Championships last year. Current seniors Risper Kimaiyo and Endurance Abinuwa were the lone athletes to make the trip to College Station, Texas, representing the women.

Kimaiyo, the star for the cross-country team, came in seventh while Abinuwa won one of her heats to qualify for the finals. Abinuwa came in fourth at the finals and both were named All-Americans by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The men seemed to have a better season than the women during the outdoor season when they finished second at the C-USA Championships and sent a total of seven athletes, including two relays, to the NCAA Championships. The women came in fourth at the C-USA and did not send any athletes to the NCAA Championships.

Dimitrios Fylladitakis, now graduated, led the men as a two-time All-American in the hammer throw. After coming in third at the preliminaries, he failed to make the finals by one spot, ending his collegiate career. Replacing him may be one of Laaksonen's greatest challenges as Fylladitakis proved to be a consistent thrower year after year.

The same goes for the relay teams as they will need to replace two graduates in Suji Adeniyan and Anderson Mutegi. The 4x100m team came in 19th out of 24 while the 4x400m finished in 22nd out of 24. Adeniyan and Mutegi were on both squads.

One promising athlete is shaping up to be a future star on the field. Sophomore Richard Olsson surprised the competition, including Laaksonen as he admitted, by qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the javelin as the only freshman. He came in last place at the competition.

What will become of the men's basketball team this year?

When head coach Tim Floyd decided to conceal this year's team with inexperienced players (eight newcomers and six freshmen), it was rather imminent that a rebuilding year was in the works. The 2011-12 campaign has become more of a roller coaster ride than anything with the Miners sitting at a perfect.500, 9-9.

UTEP opened the season up with a pre-season loss to Eastern New Mexico, the team's first exhibition loss since 2006. They then dropped their regular season opener to UT-San Antonio and eventually held a 1-4 record.