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Sports

SPORTS 3/31/21 12:02am

Rice fight never dies: Owls take home the NIT title in dominant fashion

By Derrick Kagwanja

Following an 18-4 regular season, the Rice women’s basketball team made history in the postseason by becoming the first-ever Conference USA team to win the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. The Owls qualified for the WNIT, which consists of 32 teams who narrowly missed out on the NCAA tournament, after their last-second loss in the C-USA title game cost them a spot in March Madness.. The Owls fought past their opponents in bracket play, winning every game by double-digits, before defeating the University of Mississippi in Sunday’s final by a score of 71-58. 

SPORTS 3/30/21 10:23pm

Snubbed: Women’s basketball deserved a tourney bid

By Ben Baker-Katz

The Rice women’s basketball team, in an impressive showing, cruised to their program’s first WNIT Championship this past weekend. Despite their imminent victory, the question on my mind as the final seconds of the championship game against the University of Mississippi ticked off the clock was less than celebratory: Should the Owls have even been in the tournament in the first place? 

SPORTS 3/30/21 10:17pm

Baseball drops three of four to UTSA

By Cadan Hanson

In their first conference series of the season, Rice baseball dropped three of their four games against the University of Texas, San Antonio this weekend. Over the four games, the Owls were outscored 39-18, and their season record now sits at 12-12. Head coach Matt Bragga said he was disappointed with the team’s uncharacteristic mistakes on the mound and in the field over the weekend. 

SPORTS 3/30/21 10:04pm

Volleyball rides hot streak into conference tournament

By Reed Myers

After having their season delayed five months, the Owls set off on a journey that ended with an undefeated conference season, an overall record of 14-4 and a momentous win against No. 2 University of Texas, Austin. Ranked No. 24 in the latest national poll, the Owls will look to build off of their success in the Conference USA tournament, which starts this Thursday. 

SPORTS 3/23/21 11:02pm

Men’s basketball season ends with loss in C-USA tourney

By Pavithr Goli

Last week, the Rice men's basketball season came to a close when they were eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament by the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Prior to their elimination, the Owls had won back-to-back tournament games against the University of Southern Mississippi and Marshall University.  

SPORTS 3/23/21 10:47pm

Volleyball falls to No. 6 Baylor in a five-set thriller

By Reed Myers

Going into Friday night’s game, Rice volleyball had won their previous 12 conference matches, which capped off Rice’s first-ever undefeated conference season. On Friday night, the Owls proceeded with their conference tournament preparation by playing national powerhouse Baylor University. The Owls got out to an early lead, but fell to the Bears in five sets. Despite the loss, head coach Genny Volpe said that the match provided opportunities to test new lineups and focus on the team’s blocking.  

SPORTS 3/23/21 8:15pm

Volleyball stuns No. 2 Texas, again

By Ben Baker-Katz , Daniel Schrager and Reed Myers

The Rice volleyball team knocked off No. 2 University of Texas on Tuesday night, closing out their regular season with a shocking upset. The win handed Texas their first loss of the season, and capped off an impressive regular season for the 14-4 Owls, who have now won 13 of their last 14 matches.

SPORTS 3/16/21 11:02pm

Soccer defeats No. 12 Texas A&M in overtime thriller

By Daniel Schrager

The Rice soccer team downed no. 12 Texas A&M University at Holloway Field on Monday in dramatic fashion. The Owls fell behind 2-0 early, but they were able to climb back into the game with two goals of their own to tie it and force overtime. In the final seconds of overtime, senior defender Caleigh Page sent a shot into the back of the net, giving the Owls a 3-2 win, and securing the upset. After the game, head coach Brian Lee said that it was an important win for the Rice soccer program. 

SPORTS 3/16/21 10:38pm

What comes next for Rice women’s basketball?

By Ben Baker-Katz

Following a disappointing loss to Middle Tennessee State University in the Conference USA championship game and not being selected for the NCAA March Madness tournament, Rice women’s basketball now faces the age-old question: Where do they go from here? 

SPORTS 3/16/21 10:35pm

Owls impress at NCAA T&F, XC championships

By Daniel Schrager

In a week that saw the NCAA championships in both cross country and track and field, three Owls earned All-American honors across the two events. At the track and field championships, which were held in Fayetteville, Arkansas, juniors throwers Erna Gunnarsdóttir and Nick Hicks each took second team All-American honors, with top-15 performances in the shot put and hammer throw respectively. Sophomore distance runner Grace Forbes, meanwhile, placed No. 6 in the 5.000 meter, earning her first team All-American honors. Forbes followed up her performance with a No. 19 place finish in the 6,000 meter at the cross country championships, which earned her All-American honors as well. 

SPORTS 3/14/21 10:48am

Owls fall to Blue Raiders in championship

By Ben Baker-Katz and Daniel Schrager

After barely escaping last night with a win, Rice women’s basketball fell to Middle Tennessee State University in the final seconds of yesterday’s Conference USA tournament championship game. The Owls managed to bring it to within one point during the final minute but ultimately lost the contest 68-65.

SPORTS 3/9/21 9:30pm

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

By Ben Baker-Katz

Women’s basketball wrapped up their regular season schedule last weekend with a series against the University of North Texas. The Owls started the weekend on the right note, winning the Thursday night game 64-58 to clinch the Conference USA West Division title. The Owls fell to the Mean Green on Saturday afternoon, bringing their record on the season to 16-3. Despite this loss, they still enter the tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.  

SPORTS 3/8/21 9:56pm

Owls set to start conference tournament

By Pavithr Goli

With the Rice men’s basketball team wrapping up their regular season last weekend, the Owls head to Frisco, TX where they will compete in a play-in game for the Conference USA basketball tournament. The team enters the tournament as the No. 6 seed in the West Division, and will play the University of Southern Mississippi (the No. 7 seed in the West Division) tomorrow night. 

SPORTS 3/4/21 6:02pm

Volleyball sweeps UTSA, extends winning streak to eight

By Daniel Schrager

Rice volleyball beat the University of Texas at San Antonio in both legs of a two-match series in San Antonio this week. On Sunday, the Owls defeated the Roadrunners in five closely contested sets, while on Monday they won in straight sets. The Owls have now won all eight of their matches since conference play began, and are 9-3 on the season.

SPORTS 3/2/21 11:08pm

Owls swim their way to second place at C-USA Championships

By Pavithr Goli

Rice swimming finished No. 2 at the Conference USA Women’s Swimming Championships, placing behind Florida International University. The team amassed 905.5 points, which ranked as the program’s highest point total in the past seven years. Several members of the team won individual accolades for their performance at the C-USA Championships, with senior Ellery Parish, sophomore Madison Howe, senior Lindsay Mathys and freshman Imogen Meers all being named as members of the First Team All-Conference. 

SPORTS 3/2/21 10:46pm

Baseball drops three straight at Louisiana

By Ben Baker-Katz

Rice baseball lost all three games played against the University of Louisiana this past weekend. After opening the season 2-1 in their series against Houston Baptist University, the Owls traveled to Lafayette, where they were promptly swept by the Rajun’ Cajuns. The Owls fell 7-3 in the Friday night game, and followed that up with 5-3 and 6-3 losses over the weekend,  dropping their overall record to 2-4. Head coach Matt Bragga took a somber tone in describing the weekend, pointing to the lack of offensive production as a big reason for his team’s struggles. 

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