Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916

Friday, April 26, 2024 — Houston, TX

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Online only: Youthful squad gains valuable experience at Notre Dame Invitational

(10/09/09 12:00am)

When the women's cross country team had their first practice in August with 11 new runners, no one predicted that six of them would be among the team's top nine. However, after last week's redshirting of upperclassmen Britany Williams, Becky Wade, Nicole Mericle and Allison Pye, Head Coach Jim Bevan turned to the numerous fresh faces to step up. Bevan tested the young runners immediately, running five freshmen, three sophomores and one senior at last weekend's Notre Dame Invitational. Not only was the meet highly attended, with 22 schools competing, but it also boasted the most elite competition in the nation last weekend. Ten ranked schools were in the field, including top-ranked University of Washington, No. 5 Princeton University and No. 9 University of Florida.


Freshman leads collegiate finishers at Corpus Christi

(10/02/09 12:00am)

For the past several seasons, the women's cross country team has enjoyed myriad successes, not the least of which includes competing in the national meet for the past three years. After the impressive performances of the freshmen at last weekend's Islander Splash, held at Texas A&M- Corpus Christi, the cross country team has no reason to worry about continuing their tradition of success. Freshman Heather Olson (17:00) led the Rice finishers, placing third overall as the first varsity athlete finisher behind unattached Rice runners junior Becky Wade (16:45) and senior Britany Williams (16:49). Sophomore Marie Thompson, freshman Halsey Fowler, freshman Johanna Ohm and sophomore Michaela Reynolds placed seventh, 11th, 14th and 17th, respectively, to help Rice finish-in-second behind the University of Texas. Olson's performance earned her Conference USA Athlete of the Week honors.


Online only: Women's tennis opens in Midland

(09/25/09 12:00am)

While the men's tennis team already had a weekend's worth of competition under their belt a week ago, the women's squad traveled to Midland, Texas, to begin their fall schedule at the Midland Invitational. The doubles duo of junior Varsa Shiva-Shankar and senior Rebecca Lin performed the strongest for the Owls, playing their way to the semifinals of the tournament. Shiva-Shankar and Lin began the tournament on Friday with a win over Amy Joubert and Shannon MacKenzie of the University of North Texas by a score of 8-5. With that win, Shiva-Shankar and Lin met the No. 3 seeds in the tournament, Carla Lindlar and Karolina Filipiak of Baylor University. Although Lindlar and Filipiak came in with a higher ranking and a day of rest after enjoying a bye in the tournament's first round, Shiva-Shankar and Lin handily won the match by a score of 8-2.


Cross country squads win two titles in home meet

(09/25/09 12:00am)

Out of the 39 runners at last Saturday's Rice Invitational collegiate women's race, 17 were members of Rice's women's cross country team. Thus, not only does Head Coach Jim Bevan have more runners on his roster than ever before, but also he can almost field a full meet with just his team. "It was almost a meet between the unattached and Rice runners," Bevan said.


Online only: First women's XC meet cancelled

(09/18/09 12:00am)

After eight months of preparation, the women's cross country team will have to wait another week to get their season underway. Rice's plans for the Texas A&M Invitational in College Station, Texas, were washed out last Saturday, pushing back the team's opening meet to tomorrow's Rice Invitational.Tomorrow's race - the only home meet of the year - will feature Houston Baptist University, Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University. The meet will begin at 8:20 a.m. at O'Connor Fields near the Jones School.


Women's Cross Country 2009: Although team's leadership is depleted, women hope strength will lie in record numbers

(09/11/09 12:00am)

Typically, a coach jumps for joy at a surplus of talent. Jim Bevan, the women's cross country coach, does not share this sentiment. This year, Rice's women's cross country squad is 22 members strong - the largest in university history - with half the squad new to the team, coming in as either freshmen or first-time runners. With so many runners to choose among, Bevan is still trying to figure things out.


Texting while driving idiotic, dangerous

(09/04/09 12:00am)

Abbreves (or abbreviations) have consumed the world of speedy communication, from e-mails to instant messages to text messaging. However, even if it's possible to say "I love you" in three characters (ilu), that does not make it any safer to text while driving, no matter how proficient your no-look keypad skills may be.Fortunately, lawmakers feel the same way, as media outlets have recently been clogged with an influx of stories about legislation banning texting while driving. Several states have already made texting while driving illegal. In Utah, for example, mixing texts and driving could get offenders up to 15 years in jail if they hit someone. In addition to bans at the state levels, Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York is pushing a bill outlawing the practice nationwide.


Commentary: One sport untouched by others' transgressions

(08/28/09 12:00am)

The priorities of professional sports need some tweaking. When the NFL's biggest off-season story involves the return of a player after completing a prison sentence for cruelty to animals, when the NBA's heir apparent storms off the court without even an interview following his team's elimination, when even the seemingly-untouchable Big Papi comes out as a 'roider, I have to ask myself, "Are there no honorable athletes left?"


Commentary: Rice sports need and deserve support

(08/21/09 12:00am)

Orientation Week and the start of a new school year takes me back to when I was trying to figure out where I wanted to go to college. I was so unsure what I wanted from a school that I didn't make my final decision until the absolute last minute, April 30 of my senior year. At that point, I had pro-con lists galore for my two final schools, a la the decision techniques of Rory Gilmore. While the residential college system was definitely one of the bigger pros for Rice, so was the Owls' NCAA Championship-caliber baseball team.


Women's track looks to defend outdoor championship this weekend

(05/15/09 12:00am)

Even though classes have been finished for a month, the Rice women's track team has been training hard and busy competing in three major meets. The team has used the extra free time that comes after finals conclude to prepare and rest for the Conference USA meet this Thurdsay, Friday and Saturday in Tulsa, Okla., on the campus of the University of Tulsa.


Women's track grabs third-straight C-USA outdoor championship

(05/15/09 12:00am)

While the first female horse in 85 years was winning the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore today, the Rice women set a record of their own this evening in capturing their third-straight Conference USA Outdoor track and field championship. The championship mirrors the Owl's three consecutive C-USA Indoor track and field championships, as does the naming of Head Coach Jim Bevan as the Coach of the Year once again. Rice Sports Information covered the event.


Women's track places in first at New Mexico meet

(04/17/09 12:00am)

Usually, lightning storms and track meets do not mix well. That was not the case this weekend as the women's track team overcame cold and windy conditions, in addition to lightning delays, to take first place at the New Mexico Tailwind Invitational held at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M. Only sprinters, hurdlers, jumpers and weight throwers traveled to New Mexico, as the meet typically boasts strong tail winds - always helpful for sprinters - and fair conditions. The meet showcased the exact opposite, with headwinds both days and stormy weather on Saturday with temperatures in the 40s and 50s, far cooler than the temperatures in which the Owls typically compete.


Track teams travel to Austin for Texas Relays (Women's)

(04/10/09 12:00am)

While their classmates enjoyed the long weekend, the women's track and field team went to work at the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas last week. Their work paid off as the team medaled in three out of the six relays at the meet and qualified two more runners for regionals. The distance medley relay led the way for Rice as the foursome of senior Lennie Waite, junior Brittany Washington and freshmen Keltie John and Sophie Peters placed second in 11:26.01 on Saturday. The sprint medley relay team of juniors Shakera Reece and Vicki Walker, sophomore Alex Gibbs and Washington finished third in 3:59.72. Rice's impressive relay performance was rounded out by a third-place finish by the 4x800 meter relay, run by Waite, Peters, Walker and John in 9:03.56.


Spring brings strong start for women's track in outdoor season

(03/27/09 12:00am)

Now that spring weather is here to stay, the indoor track season has concluded and the women's track team has moved its competition outside. Rice began the airy competition last weekend taking an abbreviated squad to the Texas Southern University Relays, held in Houston. Although the meet was not scored, the Owls did quite well, winning four events and placing competitors in the top three in eight other events.



Women's track earns three-peat

(03/13/09 12:00am)

They say good things come in threes. That maxim rings true for the Rice women's track team as the Owls won their third consecutive Conference USA Indoor championship Feb. 27-28 at University of Houston's Yeoman Fieldhouse. Not only did Rice win the meet, but the Owls scored more points (148) than in the previous two championships, beating out Houston (108) and the University of Central Florida (86).


Kelley leads golf team to sixth place

(03/13/09 12:00am)

At 22 games under .500 with only four scheduled tournament left, the golf team's chances of becoming eligible for the NCAA Championship might seem a statistical impossibility. But teams only need to finish with a .500 record, and since they earn one win for every team they finish ahead of in a tournament and one loss for every team they finish behind, the Owls still have a shot.


Women's track places fifth

(02/20/09 12:00am)

So long as Lennie Waite is running, it appears as though the women's track and field team is practically unstoppable. At only the second full-squad meet of the year, theOwls finished fifth overall while downing a handful of nationally-ranked teams ranging from Texas Tech University to Arizona State University, which was especially impressive since the Sun Devils won last year's Indoor National Championships.


No. 7 Rice will face bevy of national competition

(02/20/09 12:00am)

Any preseason poll, regardless of sport, should be taken with a grain of salt. While some swear by the them, others disregard the votes as nearly useless. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. While Baseball America ranks Rice seventh in the nation, the Owls have to be wary of several other schools across the country returning ready to challenge the Owls' in the fight to reach the 2009 College World Series. Rice's in-state neighbor, Texas A&M University, earned this season's top ranking from the staff of Baseball America. The Aggies sport three preseason All-Americans in senior first baseman Luke Anders, senior outfielder Kyle Colligan and junior reliever Travis Starling. Last season, Anders led the team with 16 home runs. Colligan, a Houston native, earned College Station NCAA Regional MVP honors after hitting four home runs over the three-game weekend.