Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916
Wednesday, August 27, 2025 — Houston, TX

Sports

SPORTS 4/14/20 8:07pm

NCAA grants spring athletes extra eligibility

By Spencer Moffat

With spring student-athletes’ seasons being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the NCAA’s announcement on March 30 that all spring student-athletes would be granted an additional year of eligibility was met with surprise and joy from the collegiate athletics community. However, winter athletes were less lucky. 

SPORTS 4/7/20 9:30pm

Swimmers adjust to life without pools

By Daniel Schrager

At a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has completely uprooted the daily lives of so many, the entire country is constantly having to adjust. But for Rice student-athletes, the stakes are higher than most, given the pressure to stay in shape and train remotely. This is especially true for Rice’s swim team. With shelter-in-place orders taking effect in 42 states, and only “essential businesses” remaining open, pools and swimming facilities have been shuttered throughout the country. According to swimmer Rebecca Brandt, this has left much of the team unable to practice their craft. 

SPORTS 3/31/20 7:02pm

Football adds defensive talent through recruitment

By Ben Baker-Katz

As Rice football turns its sights on the 2020 season, the first step to take is to bring in a strong recruiting class and improve from the past years’. Recruitment has been a challenge for the Owls in the past, with their 2018 and 2019 recruiting classes being ranked nationally at 112 and 111 respectively, according to 247 Sports. 

SPORTS 3/10/20 6:37pm

Men’s basketball snags No. 12 seed in C-USA tournament

By Ben Baker-Katz

Rice men’s basketball will begin the Conference USA tournament tonight when they take on Florida International University at 6:30 p.m. in Frisco, Texas at the Ford Center at the Star. The Owls have already seen the Panthers once this year, culminating in a 92-78 Rice victory back in January.  

SPORTS 3/10/20 6:34pm

Women’s basketball enters C-USA tournament as No. 1 seed

By Ben Baker-Katz

Rice women’s basketball will look to defend its Conference USA title when the team plays its first game of the C-USA tournament tomorrow. The Owls’ opponent is not yet known, as they will be playing the winner of Wednesday’s game pitting Marshall University against the University of Southern Mississippi.  

SPORTS 3/3/20 10:31pm

Fokam jumps For C-USA Glory

By Daniel Schrager

Michelle Fokam triple-jumped 13.32 meters at last week’s Conference USA Track and Field Championships — soon, she’s hoping that her triple jump will land her over 6,600 miles away. That’s because Fokam, a three-time NCAA All-American finishing up her senior season, has her sights set on Tokyo for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. 

SPORTS 3/3/20 10:28pm

Men’s basketball wraps up Conference-USA play

By Spencer Moffat

The Rice men’s basketball team will conclude its regular season this week with a pair of matchups, first facing the University of Southern Mississippi in a Wednesday road game before returning home on Saturday to match up against the University of Texas, El Paso in the Owls’ season finale. Rice’s seniors — forwards Tim Harrison and Robert Martin and guards Ako Adams and Addison Owen — will suit up for their final game in Tudor Fieldhouse.  

SPORTS 3/3/20 10:26pm

Santiago, age 9, ‘signs on’ to Rice’s Track and Field team

By Michael Byrnes

On Saturday, Rice Athletics announced the signing of a new member of the men’s track and field team: Santiago White, from Sugar Land. The athletic department prepared a typical day of signing festivities: a press conference, some short speeches, an official backdrop for photos. But one thing was different: Santiago is 9 years old.  

SPORTS 3/3/20 10:24pm

Women’s basketball aims for C-USA No. 1 seed

By Ben Baker-Katz

Rice women’s basketball plays two crucial games at home this week, one against the University of Texas, El Paso on Thursday and the other against Old Dominion University on Saturday. Rice and Old Dominion are tied for the best record in Conference USA, which means that if both teams win their respective Thursday games, the Sunday matchup will decide both the conference champion and who gets the No. 1 seed in the C-USA tournament that starts next week. 

SPORTS 2/25/20 9:56pm

After slow start, baseball hopes for a turnaround

By Daniel Schrager

Some players might not be old enough to remember it, but when the Rice baseball team faces Missouri State University for a three-game series this weekend, it will serve as a rematch of the first game in the 2003 College World Series. For Rice, that game — an Owls win — sparked a run that culminated in the first and only College World Series title in program history. For Missouri State, that game represented the closest that the Bears have ever been to a College World Series title.

SPORTS 2/18/20 9:34pm

Grace Forbes: Lightning Fast

By Daniel Schrager

Grace Forbes has been outrunning just about everyone she’s faced this season. But, according to Forbes, the freshman track star who has taken Conference USA by storm, that hasn’t always been the case.

SPORTS 2/18/20 9:32pm

Men’s and women’s tennis set to host LSU in dual meet

By Spencer Moffat

Rice men’s and women’s tennis will face Louisiana State University on Sunday in a dual home meet. The men’s team, with a 3-3 record, hopes to first defeat Texas A&M University on Friday, while the women’s team will seek to first up its 4-4 record against Texas State University on Saturday.

SPORTS 2/18/20 9:31pm

Basketball seeks return to winning ways against UNT

By Ben Baker-Katz

Rice women’s basketball will aim to get back into the win column when the team faces the University of North Texas at home on Thursday. Rice has lost two games in a row to Conference USA opponents: Old Dominion University and the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Previously, the Owls had won 11 straight games, all against C-USA opponents.  

SPORTS 2/5/20 12:31am

Baseball 2020: Trei Cruz, a humble and hopeful Owl

By Ben Baker-Katz

Every baseball player remembers when they first picked up the game. For most, it’s playing catch in the backyard or hitting off of a tee. But for Trei Cruz, junior shortstop on this year’s Rice baseball team, his first baseball memory is everything but normal.

SPORTS 2/5/20 12:30am

Baseball 2020: Owls look for improvement over last season

By Michael Byrnes

Last year marked a brave new step into an uncharted world for the Rice baseball team. After 27 years, 23 NCAA Tournament appearances and one national championship all under the steady stewardship of Wayne Graham, Rice opted to part ways with the only coach they’d ever achieved success under. But 2018, Graham’s final season, was a far cry from the sustained success that characterized his tenure as Rice’s head coach. The Owls struggled to a 26-31-2 finish, missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1994. 

SPORTS 2/5/20 12:26am

Baseball 2020: The superstitious starter Kel Bordwine

By Spencer Moffat

Before each Rice baseball home game this season, you can find junior pitcher Kel Bordwine playing ping pong at Baker College or dining at Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers, where he always eats the same meal in a specific order. But once the game starts, you can expect to see Bordwine on the mound frequently, after he finished last season with a solid 3.69 ERA as opponents hit for a .258 average against him in nine starts. 

Editor's Picks

Most Popular

The Rice Thresher