Owls Get Old Face At New Position
Project Z has ended. Ed Zaunbrecher has left his position at offensive coordinator of the Owls to "pursue other interests". Enter David Beaty, former wide receivers coach at Rice, who oversaw NFL talent such as Jarett Dillard and James Casey during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, facilitating the move of the latter to the wide receiver/tight end position. After 2007, Beaty moved on to the University of Kansas, coaching record-breaking wide receivers such as Kerry Meier, who caught a school record 102 passes in 2008, as well as Dezmon Briscoe who flourished under Beaty's leadership, catching 24 touchdowns in 2008 and 2009 combined.
Beaty will inherit an anemic offense that struggled to find a leader for the first half of the season, and subsequently ranked near the bottom of every offensive category. Beaty will participate in the little that is left of the recruiting process in preparation for signing day on February 3, as well as spring practices. For now, Owls fans must wait to see if two David B's are better than one.
Colwick Makes Bowerman Watch List
Junior pole vaulter Jason Colwick is already receiving accolades even before he begins the 2010 indoor track and field season. The defending national champion was named to the 2010 Bowerman Award Pre-Season Watch List. For those not familiar with the honor, the Bowerman Award (named for University of Oregon track and field coach Bill Bowerman) is given to the top male and top female collegiate athlete in track and field. The other nine male athletes named to the list included senior Ashton Eaton of the University of Oregon, a two-time champion in the decathlon (and considered to be one of the great young athletes in the world), along with German Fernandez of Oklahoma State University, a sophomore who holds several junior records in the mile, and was the outdoor champion in the 1500 meter event in 2009.
Volleyball Team Drops NCAA Match to TCU
Riding a nine-match winning streak and looking to win their first NCAA Tournament match ever, the volleyball team entered last Friday's match against TCU with high expectations.
The first set only encouraged the Owls' dream of advancing, as the team built a 24-23. However, three straight kills by TCU gave the Horned Frogs a 1 set to none advantage.
A shell shocked Rice squad with no momentum could only watch as TCU opened a large advantage early in the set. The Owls were unable to fight back, eventually dropping the 2nd set 25-13.
Facing a 2-0 deficit, and with their season on the line, Rice fought valiantly in third set but the Owls were unable to get it done late once again, dropping the set 2725, and the match 3 sets to none.
With the loss, the team's season was finished, and the end of the season is the perfect time for reflection. Though the team may have a bitter taste with how their season ended, the 2009 campaign must be considered a success. Rice won 20+ games this past year, and made their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the C-USA Tournament on their home court.
Yet the team has even greater for potential next year. While Natalie Bogan, Channing Grigsby, Jessie Boulavsky, and Jenn McClean have all exhausted their eligibility, the team returns many key players. Setter Meredith Schamun, responsible for directing the team's offense returns, as does libero Tracey Lam, the heart of the team's defense. Ashleigh McCord will return following a strong finish to her sophomore season, and the comeback of Caroline Gill, who sat out the second half of the season due to a foot injury, will aid the team as well.
While the year may have ended unfavorably for the volleyball team, hopefully they use it as motivation as they prepare to defend their conference title and continue their ascent in the world of collegiate volleyball.
Volleyball Team Takes C-USA Tournament Title
Capping off a remarkable three-day run, the volleyball team defeated Tulsa on Sunday afternoon to win the Conference-USA championship and the accompanying NCAA Tournament berth.
The four-set victory was perhaps Rice's finest of the year. The Owls finished the first set strong to take a 1-0 lead before Tulsa surged ahead in the second set to take a 19-9 lead. With a 1-1 tie appearing imminent, fate intervened. Rice started to get every break, and the crowd at Tudor helped push the Owls back into the match. Kills by Ashleigh McCord and Jenn McClean gave Rice the second set in dramatic fashion.
After the exhausting second set, Rice appeared to come out slow in the third set, and a late run by Tulsa gave the Golden Hurricane the set, bringing the small group of Tulsa fans to the their feet. However, the Owls came back to win the fourth set, giving them their first C-USA championship since they joined the league in 2004.
Setter Meredith Schamun was named the tournament's MVP, an honor clearly deserved. Schamun had a match-high 49 assists in the final, while also playing a crafty game to keep the Golden Hurricane on their toes. Fellow Owls McClean and Tracey Lam both made the all-tournament team. Both upperclassmen posted strong defensive performances in the finale, each notching double-digit digs.
With the tournament now behind them, Rice has one more tuneup before the NCAA Tournament against LSU on Friday evening at Tudor. They will then try to improve on last year's first-round exit. The team will potentially enter the tournament on a nine-game winning streak, leading to high expectations for their tournament performance.
Volleyball Sweeps Weekend
For the first time since September, the volleyball team swept their two weekend games, needing the minimum sex sets over two games to defeat conference foes East Carolina and Marshall.
Senior Jenn McClean led the Owls on Friday evening with 18 kills, while junior Meredith Schamun put up 38 assists to direct a strong Rice attack. The victory put an end to the team's three-match losing streak.
Marshall came into Saturday's match with a significantly better record than ECU, as the Thundering Herd sat one spot above the Owls in the C-USA Standings. Yet Rice was able to dispatch Marshall with the same ease as they did with ECU. After a hard-fought first set, Rice won the next two sets with game scores of 25-16 and 25-19. Natalie Bogan, Jess Boulavsky, and McClean all recorded double-digit kills.
With three matches left, the Owls sit percentage points behind SMU and two games back of Tulsa in the conference standings. Rice is assured of a berth in the conference tournament, to be played at Tudor Fieldhouse. Their postseason dreams will depend upon how they play in that tournament, and seeding will play a factor as well, making these next three games crucial for Rice.
Howdy!
Hey, my name is Teddy Grodek and I have been covering the women's soccer team so far this season. I'm a freshman Poli. Sci. major at Martel with a minor in IM sports. I originally hail from Cleveland, so am therefore quite a jaded and disgruntled human being, having to live through so many heartbreaks.
I'm an avid Indians fan; I practically grew up at Jacobs Field. 1997 and Jose Mesa was probably the single most depressing day of my life. The Browns were gone for most of my childhood, and have brought nothing but misery since they came back, so I begrudgingly associate with them. I'm trying to distance myself from the Cavs to avoid heartbreak this year when Lebron leaves, but I can't help but pray that he brings a championship to Cleveland. Before becoming an avid Owl, I loved the Tar Heels. I might be the only person in the state of Ohio that genuinely dislikes both Ohio State and Michigan. They're both a little too full of themselves for losing in title games.
Volleyball Team Heads into Big Weekend
The Rice volleyball team turned in a solid, yet disappointing 2-1 week. The Owls were able to defeat cross-town rival Houston in three sets on Wednesday and conference foe SMU in four sets on Saturday. Yet a three-set loss to Tulsa on Friday evening prevented the Owls from recording an undefeated weekend.
Rice traveled across town on Wednesday to take on the Cougars. Three sets later, the Owls emerged with a victory, a crucial win for a team that was looking to respond positively to a three-set loss to Tulane. Sophomore setter Ashleigh McCord had 13 kills, and junior setter Meredith Schamun notched 35 assists. Schamun’s play during the week would earn her Conference-USA Setter of the Week honors, the first time this year Schamun has earned that distinction.
Rice was unable to build on the momentum from Wednesday’s match, however, dropping their match to Tulsa in a shocking three sets. The Owls’ low hitting percentage played a large factor in their loss, as Rice cannot afford to make so many errors against one of C-USA’s best teams. The loss dropped Rice’s record to 12-5, and 3-2 in the conference.
While the loss to Tulsa constituted another disappointed defeat for the Owls, Rice bounced back solidly on Saturday against SMU. The Owls and Mustangs played three closely contested sets to begin the match, with Rice winning two and SMU taking one. The Owls were able to close out the match strongly, recording a 25-18 victory in the match’s final set. Rice had four players record double-digit kills, with McCord’s 23 leading the Owls.
Rice will once again look to start a winning streak when they travel to Orlando, Florida to take on Central Florida. UCF sits in the bottom half of the conference standings. The Owls must not look ahead to Saturday’s matchup against conference leader Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. A solid weekend by Rice could leave them on top of the C-USA standings.
A little bit more on women’s cross country…
With the women's cross country article going online this week, I decided I'd post a few extra pieces of info here on the blog.
In this week's article - see ricethresher.org - I allude to the team's use of a "principal rhythm" for the race. Here's how Coach Bevan explained it.
The "principal rhythm" race plan was to run at a pace appropriate for its length. However, when an inexperienced runner competes in a field of very fast runners, sometimes it is a challenge to maintain the appropriate tempo, which may increase the overall time of that young runner.
“You go into debt earlier than you should,” Bevan said. “You’re just not able to run the race as fast as your body’s able to run the race because you didn’t run the right race rhythm.”
The difficulty of sticking to a race plan is one of the greatest challenges posed by any cross country race, not only elite ones, Bevan noted.
“It’s different from when you’re on a track because then you can see where you are,” the coach said. “But in a cross country race you can’t say, 'This is the right place and I know this is right.'”
Rice Volleyball Takes Care of Business
The Rice volleyball team entered the 2009 season as Conference-USA favorites. They've had a rocky beginning, dropping matches to Oklahoma, South Carolina, and current nemesis Wichita State, in addition to withdrawing from the UTSA Classic due to a team-wide flu. Instead of folding in the face of adversity, the Owls came out strong and took the first two conference matches of the season.
On Friday night, Rice took out Memphis in three sets (25-16, 25-22, 25-23). A rested Owls squad did not have much problem with the Tigers, as seniors Jessie Boulavsky and Jenn McClean and sophomore Ashleigh McCord all recorded double-digit kills.
Rice continued conference play on this afternoon against UAB, and dispatched the Blazers in four sets (25-16, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20). Junior setter Meredith Schamun led a strong Rice attack, recording 58 sets. Schamun has averaged 11.55 assists per set this season, and her play has confirmed her selection as the preseason C-USA co-player of the year.
The Owls came out strong this weekend and took care of business against two lesser opponents. Rice's early season losses make it imperative for them to win games against teams they're clearly better than. While the Owls certainly have a right to be happy with their weekend, they must move on quickly, as they have a big week coming up.
Rice plays at Tudor on Friday night against UTEP in the weekend's appetizer, before hosting perennial conference contender Tulane on Sunday. The Owls have had little success against Tulane in recent years, and the match will be a great barometer for Rice. We'll know alot more about this promising Owls squad next Sunday afternoon.
A riddle named Rosa, last weekend’s victor
Bruno Rosa is an enigma, a coil of riddles ready to be unsprung and unleash his answers to the questions that have riddled and rattled him since he showed up on campus three years ago. If he was a former No. 5 in juniors, why can't he beat these unranked opponents that keep knocking him down Rice's ladder? Is he the emotional leader this team needs? Can he focus, buck his studies, and bear down on the opponents we know, they know and he knows they can beat?
Perhaps. Perhaps, if he keeps playing like he showed at last weekend's Midland Invitational.
With five wins in three days, Rosa sloughed of the comforts of his homestay -- seriously, all competitors stay at the homes of the locals -- to snatch the title away from the University of Texas's Josh Zavala. (The last time the Owls met Zavala he was busy sealing UT's third-straight win over Rice, downing Dennis Polyakov to clinch the Longhorns' 4-3 win.)
After dropping the first set 5-7, Rosa stormed back against the lesser Longhorn to take the last two frames by a score of 6-4 apiece. Rosa reached the finals after trouncing junior Oscar Podlewski -- who is quickly making a case for a top-six spot -- in the semis.
Meanwhile, Dennis Polyakov and Sam Garforth-Bles, the other two Owls who ventured to Midland, bounced after first round losses, though they teamed up to reach the quarters of the doubles swing.
On the whole, it was a relatively impressive showing for the Owls, if you look at the tournament on a results-based scenario. But there's no reason for them to see it this way. With all the talent that Rosa is bounding with, he should be finishing on top of these tournaments. He should be the best player on the squad.
And he just might. Maybe the riddle is finally solved.
Maybe.