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Sports

SPORTS 6/22/21 8:39pm

Owls legend Jose Cruz Jr. named head baseball coach

By Pavithr Goli

Last week, Rice announced that Jose Cruz Jr. will be its next head baseball coach, the 22nd in program history. A three-time All American at Rice from 1992-95, Cruz will be replacing Matt Bragga, who was relieved of his duties at the end of this past season. 

SPORTS 6/19/21 2:59pm

Fokam, Simpson-Sullivan and Forbes excel at NCAA Championships

By Reed Myers

Rice Women’s Track and Field saw three athletes finish in the top ten of their respective events at the NCAA Championships, held earlier this month in Eugene, Oregon. Senior long jumper Michelle Fokam, freshman thrower Tara Simpson-Sullivan, and freshman distance runner Grace Forbes put together the best performance from women’s track and field at a national competition in 20 years.

SPORTS 6/7/21 4:00pm

The future of Rice baseball is in the hands of Joe Karlgaard. No pressure.

By Ben Baker-Katz and Daniel Schrager

It might be a bit of an exaggeration to describe any Rice sports program as a powerhouse. But to the extent that a Conference USA school can be a powerhouse, the Rice baseball team was one for over two decades. Between 1995 and 2017, the Owls made the NCAA postseason every single year, including a national championship in 2003, and their seven College World Series appearances (all since 1997) are tied for the twentieth most of any program.

SPORTS 6/6/21 9:38pm

Forbes, Fokam, Simpson-Sullivan and McNaney qualify for NCAA Championships

By Reed Myers

The Rice track and field teams sent a delegation of 13 athletes, six from the women's team and seven from the men’s team, to compete in the NCAA West Preliminary Championships. The meet took place in College Station from May 26-29, with qualification to the NCAA Championships on the line. The women’s team saw three of their team members earn a spot in the NCAA Championships, while the men’s team had just one of their own qualify. The four qualifiers will now set their sights on competing at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, which will take place June 9-12. 

SPORTS 5/25/21 2:01pm

Bragga fired after three seasons

By Daniel Schrager

Rice fired baseball head coach Matt Bragga, the school announced on Monday. The move comes on the heels of a season in which the Owls placed tenth out of the 12 teams in Conference USA, failing to make the C-USA tournament for the first time ever. In his three seasons at the helm, the Owls have gone 51-76-1 (25-36-1). According to athletic director Joe Karlgaard, the lack of progress shown during Bragga’s tenure prompted the change.

SPORTS 5/25/21 1:56am

Forbes, Fokam and Hicks shine for Owls at C-USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships

By Reed Myers

The Rice women’s and men’s track and field teams traveled to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to compete in the C-USA Outdoor Track and Field Championship from May 13-16. The women’s team impressed throughout the event, taking second place out of 13 teams and winning seven individual events. Meanwhile, the men’s team placed fifth out of ten teams, winning one individual event. This was the last meet of the outdoor season for both Owl teams, but qualifiers will move on to the NCAA West Preliminary Championships that begin on May 26 for the men and May 27 for the women in College Station.

SPORTS 5/8/21 10:00pm

Soccer falls to No. 12 UVA 3-0 in Sweet 16

By Reed Myers

No. 25 Rice soccer was defeated 3-0 on Wednesday night by No. 12 University of Virginia in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. This capped off the Owls’ tournament run, which saw them defeat Furman University in the opening round and upset No. 5 West Virginia University in the second round. Following the match, head coach Brian Lee looked back on the Owls’ postseason stretch fondly.

SPORTS 5/2/21 4:27pm

Soccer upsets No. 5 WVU in NCAA tournament, advance to round of 16

By Reed Myers

No. 25 Rice soccer upset No. 5 West Virginia University 1-0 on Saturday afternoon, moving on to the third round of the NCAA tournament in Cary, North Carolina next week. While the Mountaineers controlled possession for most of the game, the Owls managed to squeeze out a narrow victory behind a penalty shot in the 74th minute and lockdown defense throughout the game. In the round of 16, the Owls will play the No. 12 University of Virginia. After the match, head coach Brian Lee lauded his team’s effort in pulling off the upset.

SPORTS 4/29/21 10:52am

Soccer defeats Furman in first round of NCAA tournament

By Reed Myers

Rice soccer defeated Furman University 3-1 on Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Cary, North Carolina. The Owls will now advance to the second round, where they will face off against No. 5 West Virginia University on Saturday. Head coach Brian Lee was proud of his team’s complete performance in the opening round matchup.

SPORTS 4/29/21 10:47am

Baseball splits weekend series with UTSA

By Pavithr Goli

This past weekend, the Rice baseball team faced off against conference rivals University of Texas, San Antonio in a four-game series. After winning the first two games of the series, the Owls lost the final two matchups against the Roadrunners. With more than half of the season completed, the Owls have amassed an overall record of 17-23-1 (5-14-1).

SPORTS 4/29/21 10:41am

Women's track ranked No. 14 after impressive showing at Duckett meet

By Cadan Hanson

In the final home meet of the year, the Rice women’s track team made sure they left Ley Track with a bang. The Owls racked up two individual school records, 13 top-five competitors and three individual champions. Following the meet, the Owls jumped 15 spots in the latest U. S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association poll, now ranking No. 14 in the country.

SPORTS 4/27/21 11:06pm

Killgore pushes the boundaries of goalkeeping for Rice

By Reed Myers

The traditional role of a soccer goalkeeper is to prevent the opposing team from scoring goals, and nothing more — but don’t tell that to junior goalkeeper Bella Killgore. She hasn’t allowed a goal to get past her in over a month, but she’s also added an offensive component to her game this season, chipping in four goals for the Owls off of free kicks.   

SPORTS 4/27/21 11:03pm

Rice hires NC State’s Edmonds as new women’s basketball head coach

By Daniel Schrager

Rice has hired former North Carolina State University associate head coach Lindsay Edmonds to take over the women’s basketball program, the school announced on Friday. The hiring of Edmonds ends Rice’s search to replace former head coach Tina Langley, who left the Owls earlier this month to take the head coaching job at the University of Washington. According to Athletic Director Joe Karlgaard, Edmonds is exactly the kind of coach the program needs right now. 

SPORTS 4/27/21 10:05pm

Lee leads soccer into NCAA tourney in second season

By Daniel Schrager

Two years ago, Brian Lee was celebrating a Southeastern Conference soccer title with his team at Louisiana State University. Lee was coming off of his 14th season in Baton Rouge, where he had led LSU’s women’s soccer team to six NCAA tournament appearances and had just been named a finalist for National Coach of the Year. 

SPORTS 4/16/21 4:01pm

Soccer Defeats Southern Miss in C-USA Semifinals

By Pavithr Goli

Rice soccer knocked off the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles late Thursday night after winning the penalty kick shootout 5-3. With the game held scoreless throughout regulation and the two 10-minute periods of overtime, the game was forced to go to penalty kicks, where the Owls defeated the Golden Eagles to advance to the Conference USA championship. 

SPORTS 4/15/21 12:26am

Soccer defeats Old Dominion in C-USA Quarterfinal

By Daniel Schrager

The Rice soccer team defeated Old Dominion University on Tuesday night by a score of 3-0, to advance to the semifinals of the Conference USA tournament. The Owls got out to an early lead, with two goals in the game’s first 30 minutes, before putting the Monarchs away with a third goal midway through the second half.

SPORTS 4/13/21 11:37pm

Baseball swept by No. 16 LA Tech

By Ben Baker-Katz

Owl pitchers had a rough go of it this weekend, as Rice baseball lost four straight games to Louisiana Tech University by a combined total of 29 runs. Ranked No. 16 nationally heading into the weekend, the Bulldogs got to Rice’s pitching staff for 6 runs on Friday night, 7 and 20 runs, respectively, in the two games on Saturday. With the Owls losing the final game of the weekend 13-4 on Sunday afternoon, their conference record dropped to 2-9-1 on the season. 

SPORTS 4/13/21 11:33pm

Six Owls take gold at T&F meet in College Station

By Daniel Schrager

Both Rice track and field teams were in College Station over the weekend for the Texas A&M Invitational track meet. Six Owls won events at the meet, three each from the men’s and women’s teams, and 14 Owls had top-3 finishes. According to men’s head coach Jon Warren, the Owls put on a strong show against tough competition. 

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