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Sports

SPORTS 6/3/22 1:21pm

NCAA T&F prelims see five Owls qualify for championships, Forbes take gold

By Daniel Schrager

Five Owls will be heading to next week’s NCAA outdoor track and field championships, after qualifying at the NCAA West Preliminaries which ran May 25 through 28. Headlining the meet for Rice was sophomore distance-runner Grace Forbes, who took first place in the 10,000 meters for the second consecutive year. Forbes will be joined in Eugene, Ore., by sophomore thrower Tara Simpson-Sullivan, junior thrower Erna Gunnarsdottir, senior thrower James McNaney and sophomore vaulter Alex Slinkman. Jon Warren, head coach of the men’s track and field program, said that he was impressed not only by the five qualifiers, but by all 13 Owls who participated over the course of the week in Fayetteville, Ark.

SPORTS 5/22/22 10:09pm

Men's team takes third, women's takes fifth at C-USA T&F championships

By Reed Myers

The Conference USA outdoor track and field championships saw Rice’s men’s team place third with 121 points — their best conference championship performance since 2005 — and the women’s team place fifth with 88 points. According to men’s head coach Jon Warren, he was proud to see the work his team put in all season be on full display at the meet.

SPORTS 4/26/22 9:54pm

Women’s tennis bounced by reigning champion ODU in C-USA semis

By Reed Myers

After winning their first two matches of the Conference USA tournament, the No. 57 Rice women’s tennis team were knocked out in the semifinals by Old Dominion University, the top-seeded team in the conference and No. 33 nationally, losing 4-0. According to head coach Elizabeth Schmidt, while it was disappointing not to win it all, she said she knows her team will come back with a championship-driven mindset next year.

SPORTS 4/19/22 11:38pm

Men’s tennis tops Concordia on makeshift Senior Day

By Reed Myers

The Rice men’s tennis team closed their regular season out on Monday with a 6-1 victory over Concordia University Texas on the Owls’ Senior Day. The Owls were supposed to host the University of the Incarnate Word on Sunday, which would have served as their final match; however, that match was canceled and the Owls quickly added a game against the Tornados instead.  

SPORTS 4/19/22 11:37pm

Baseball loses two to UTSA, resurrects on Easter Sunday

By Bennett Mecom

After dropping the first two games of their weekend series against the University of Texas, San Antonio, the Rice baseball tean erupted for 16 runs in the finale on Sunday to end the series on a high note. Rice fell 9-2 on Friday and 15-4 on Saturday before winning Easter Sunday’s series finale 16-7. After this weekend’s series against the Roadrunners, the Owls’ overall record sits at 11-26 with a Conference USA record of 4-11. According to sophomore infielder Pierce Gallo, the team’s response to the two tough losses showed a lot of character.

SPORTS 4/14/22 5:00pm

Golf closes regular season with sixth place finish

By Cadan Hanson

Two days after Scottie Scheffler donned the infamous green jacket by winning the 2022 Masters, the Rice Golf team took to the course to play in the Bayou City Collegiate Classic, their final tournament of the regular season. Over the course of two days, the Owls finished in sixth place out of 16 teams, ending the week 31 strokes over par. Following the tournament, head coach Justin Emil said he was pleased with how the team competed facing a tough course and weather conditions.

SPORTS 4/12/22 11:25pm

One-pitch-wonder: Linskey and his fastball are giving batters fits

By Daniel Schrager

Last season, then-freshman pitcher Matthew Linskey allowed nine runs across 11.1 innings and walked more batters than he struck out. But lost in the shuffle was the fact that opponents weren’t hitting his fastball – Linskey allowed a batting average of .135 to opposing hitters, pacing the team by .65. According to Linskey, he knew he was closer to being a top pitcher than his 7.15 ERA would suggest.

SPORTS 4/12/22 11:24pm

Women’s tennis trounces Houston on Senior Day

By Reed Myers

The Rice women’s tennis team returned home Saturday where they made quick work of the University of Houston, beating the Cougars 4-0 on the Owls’ Senior Day. According to head coach Elizabeth Schmidt, she was encouraged with how her team responded on Saturday following their 4-3 defeat a week prior to No. 42 Florida International University.

SPORTS 4/12/22 11:24pm

Baseball swept by LA Tech, extend C-USA losing streak to seven

By Pavithr Goli

The Rice baseball team was swept by Louisiana Tech University last weekend in Ruston, LA. Losing all of their games against the No. 2 ranked team in Conference USA, the Owls fell 5-3 on Friday, 9-3 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday. After this weekend’s matchup against the Bulldogs, the Owls overall record sits at 9-24. with a 3-9 record against conference opponents.

SPORTS 4/6/22 12:29am

Rice Stadium gets a bath for the upcoming season

By Daniel Schrager

Rice Stadium will be getting an update next season, as the Rice athletic department announced the first phase of a new renovation project for the 72-year-old stadium. The renovations will include a new wall around the field, a new scoreboard, upgraded premium seating options and a thorough cleaning. According to Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities and Events Dan McGarry, the upgrades should provide a significant improvement for fans on gameday.

SPORTS 4/6/22 12:26am

Baseball falls victim to cannibalism, feasted on by Owls of FAU

By Cadan Hanson

Over the weekend, the Rice baseball team was swept by conference rival and fellow Owls, Florida Atlantic University at Reckling Park. The hosts were unable to steal a game from the No. 3 ranked team in Conference USA, losing 9-4 on Friday, 6-5 on Saturday, and 7-1 on Sunday, bringing their overall season record to 8-21. 

SPORTS 3/30/22 12:25am

Rice, Methodist join forces for research center in Tudor

By Reed Myers

Earlier this month, Rice announced a partnership with Houston Methodist to create a center for athletic performance at Tudor Fieldhouse where physicians, researchers and students will study athletic performance from a scientific lens. According to Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Medicine Dean Miller, the plan for a performance center has been a part of Rice’s long-term vision.

SPORTS 3/29/22 11:11pm

Women’s tennis suffers dry spell over weekend in the desert

By Reed Myers

The No. 49 Rice women’s tennis team could not pull off two upsets during their west coast trip, losing to No. 48 University of Arizona 4-3 and No. 32 Arizona State University 4-0 last weekend. According to junior Maria Budin, while the results were not what she and the team wanted, learning from this road trip can move the team forward. 

SPORTS 3/29/22 11:11pm

Rice hosts Lopez Classic for first time in three years

By Daniel Schrager

Athletes from nine colleges and over 25 high schools took over the Ley Track at Holloway Field over the weekend, as the Victor Lopez Classic returned to campus after a two year hiatus. The event, which was the first hosted by Rice this season, started on Thursday afternoon and ran nearly all day Friday and Saturday. According to Jim Bevan, head coach of the women’s team, it was great to race in front of a home crowd. 

SPORTS 3/23/22 12:03am

Place your bets now on Rice women’s basketball

By Daniel Schrager

One year ago this week, the Rice women’s basketball team beat the University of Mississippi by 13 points to win the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. That team, of course, looked very different from the team that ended their season two Fridays ago with a loss to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in the quarterfinal of the Conference USA tournament. Following their WNIT win, head coach Tina Langley was poached by the University of Washington, and four of the team’s five starters transferred to schools in bigger conferences. What was left was a roster that returned only one senior and three upperclassmen, under the guidance of a first-time head coach.

SPORTS 3/23/22 12:01am

Baseball drops 2 of 3 to UAB to open conference season

By Pavithr Goli

The Rice baseball team lost two out of their three games against the University of Alabama, Birmingham this past weekend to open their conference season. After defeating the Blazers 8-7 on Friday night, the Owls dropped their next two games in a 10-6 loss Saturday afternoon and a 9-8 loss on Sunday. The Owls are now 6-15 on the season and 1-2 in conference play. 

SPORTS 3/15/22 4:34pm

Taylor named first-team All-American at NCAAs, Simpson-Sullivan gets second-team

By Daniel Schrager

Freshman jumper Josie Taylor followed up her record-breaking high jump in last month’s Conference USA championships with an eighth place finish at last weekend’s NCAA championships, earning her first-team All-American honors. Meanwhile, sophomore thrower Tara Simpson Sullivan, the only other Owl competing in Birmingham, placed No. 14 in the weight throw to receive second-team All-American honors. According to head coach Jim Bevan, both athletes represented themselves and their school well at the sport’s highest level.

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