Sports

Maryland's Tina Langley named women's coach

In response to Greg Williams’ recent retirement, the Rice University Athletic Department has appointed a new women’s basketball coach: former Maryland University Assistant Coach Tina Langley. Langley will be stepping down from her current position as Associate Head Coach at Maryland to join the Rice women’s team next season. The new head coach made an official visit to Rice last week to assess the campus and the team and to share her vision with the community.

Baseball falls to third

Rice vs. UAB: 1-2

The Quest for the Cup

 April has rolled around, and with it, hockey fans around the world are buckling up for the most exciting two months of the year. It’s time for the Stanley Cup playoffs, which I would humbly describe as the most exciting playoffs in sports.

Baseball takes series against conference leader

Club rowing to host women’s speaker series

Baseball suffers first conference series loss of season

Women’s tennis continues five-match winning streak

Despite winning only four of their first 11 matches, the Rice women’s tennis team has been on a winning streak recently, having won their fifth straight match. The Owls knocked off the No. 34 College of William and Mary 5-2 on Sunday.

Swimmers compete in NCAA championships

No Rice swimmers placed at the NCAA Championships in Greensboro, North Carolina this past weekend.

Williams steps down from basketball program

Rice University women’s basketball Head Coach Greg Williams announced his retirement on March 17 after 10 seasons of coaching at Rice.

Former Owl named to College Hall of Fame

18 years after his final season as an Owl, Lance Berkman has been elected for induction into the National College Baseball Hall of Fame. One of eight players inducted this year, Berkman was recognized for his outstanding contributions to Rice baseball and college baseball as a whole.

The Fifth Quarter: Embracing the Madness

Track and field competes in NCAA indoor championships

Men's hoops falls in C-USA second round

Baseball sweeps second consecutive series

Men's hoops finishes regular season

Jeremy Jones transitions between two sports

Uke breaks school shot put record

Baseball sweeps opening conference series

Women’s club ultimate continues history of success

Rice University’s club women’s ultimate frisbee team, Torque, competed in and won the Houston Antifreeze Tournament this weekend. After winning the Division III national championship last season, Torque hopes the victory in the tournament is the first step in repeating in 2015.Rice placed first in the tournament after posting an undefeated 7-0 record. The other teams represented at the tournament were the University of Texas, Austin, Carleton College, Trinity University, University of Texas, San Antonio, Texas A&M University and Texas State University.On the first day of the tournament, Texas State proved to be the hardest match of the weekend. The game was close throughout, going back and forth between the two sides until Rice won on the deciding point, 7-6. One of the more anticipated matchups for Rice was against the Carleton Eclipse. They were Rice’s opponent last year at the 2014 USA Ultimate Division III College Championship, in which Rice defeated Carleton 15-9. During this match, Rice was able to close the gap with a score of 11-5. On the second day, Rice played Texas State in the finals. Although the game remained tight until halftime with Rice leading 6-4, Rice gained momentum and shut out Texas State in the second half to beat them 13-4.Senior captain and handler Nichole Kwee said the team’s improvement on defense during the second half led to the team’s victory in the championship round.“We used halftime to really refocus,” Kwee, a Baker College senior, said. “We made adjustments to have smart matchups on their key players and shut down their deep game. The whole team really stepped it up on defense.”The team hopes to continue with their dominant play and hopefully repeat at this year’s College Championships as well.According to senior deep Erika Danckers, the team’s season goal is to perform to the best of their ability, even if it means not repeating as champions.“I think there’s a lot of success that can’t be defined by winning or losing at a tournament,” Danckers, a Hanszen College senior, said. “My goal for the team this season is to reach our full potential as a group and really learn to play well with each other.”Danckers said she hopes to see the team improve over the next few years and possibly advance to higher levels of competition.“I hope to see our program continue to grow in size and increase our level of play,” Danckers said. “It’d be amazing if in five to 10 years from now we can support multiple teams that are competitive at both the [Division I] and [Division III] level.”

Baseball takes non-conference series against Arizona in extra innings

Following a 5-2 home victory over Houston Baptist University on Feb. 17, the Rice University baseball team traveled to Tucson, AZ to face the University of Arizona. Rice won both the Friday and Sunday games, giving them the series victory and improving Rice’s record to 5-3.Junior pitcher Kevin McCanna started Friday night, pitching 6.0 innings and allowing three runs on four hits. The Owls’ offense connected for fourteen hits and drove in eight runs. Rice senior duo of Ford Stainback and John Williamson led the charge offensively. The two combined for five hits and three RBIs on the afternoon. Owls junior closer Matt Ditman came into the eighth inning with the bases loaded in an 8-5 ballgame and secured a crucial two-out strikeout. He went on to pitch a scoreless ninth inning to clinch the victory by the same score and grant McCanna his first victory of the season.Saturday’s matchup featured a similar start to Friday’s game when the Owls scored two runs on a bases-loaded single by junior Connor Teykl in the top of the first inning. The Owls later tacked on one more run in the third inning off an error to take a 3-0 advantage. With a 6-5 lead headed into the ninth inning, the Owls committed four errors in the inning and conceded a steal of home plate to lose 7-6. On Sunday, back-to-back doubles by Stainback and junior shortstop Leon Byrd helped manufacture two runs for Rice in the first inning for the third straight game. In the seventh inning, a costly error by senior catcher John Clay Reeves allowed the tying run to score, and the game was even at 4-4 through seven innings. In the top of the 10th inning, freshman Ryan Chandler hit a leadoff double and scored after a throwing error by Arizona at third base. Reeves added an insurance run in the inning, giving Rice a 6-4 lead. Junior Austin Orewiler earned the win for the Owls, shutting down the Wildcat offense for the final 3.1 innings, allowing one hit and walking zero batters.Despite the loss in Saturday’s game, assistant coach Pat Hallmark said the Arizona series was important for Rice’s ranking.“[Road wins are] the best kinds of wins you can get,” Hallmark said. “Anytime you can go on the road and win a series it’s a huge boost in terms of where our RPI will be. We understand that it’s just one weekend … but it was a major boost for the team.”Hallmark said the team’s habit of trying to do too much led to the 10 errors over the weekend.“On defense, we need to play more relaxed and a bit more confident,” Hallmark said. “We know physical errors are part of the game, and we have to forget [them] as soon as they happen. They do not come from a lack of talent, because I feel we are super talented at every position.”Rice totaled 43 hits in the series, keeping the streak of averaging double-digit hits to start the season. Williamson said having a complete lineup that can drive the ball is a huge advantage for the Owls. “Hitting is contagious and … having a stacked lineup from start to finish is huge for us,” Williamson said. “If we ... get people in scoring position and execute the way we are taught to, we have been hitting the ball real well and driving guys in.”As a senior, Williamson said this team has the best team chemistry he’s seen.“We’ve faced some adversity in terms of having close games,” Williamson said. “That is really going to pay dividends in the postseason.” The Owls host Stephen F. Austin University on Feb. 25 at 4:30 p.m. before hosting a four-game series this upcoming weekend at home against Stanford University. First pitch is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 27 at 6 p.m.