Rice Owl senior distance runner Allison Pye has accomplished a lot during her four years as a student-athlete. Below are Pye's highlights:
April 2012 Archives
Rice Owl senior distance runner Allison Pye has accomplished a lot during her four years as a student-athlete. Below are Pye's highlights:
On April 21 former Rice Owl Philip Humber took over
the day's sports news by throwing a perfect game in the major leagues. The
event created a whirlwind of national attention and even landed the Sid
Richardson-ex an appearance on The Late Show With David Letterman.
Perhaps the most impressive and inspiring aspect of recent
"Humber-mania"
however, was that when things settled down some for Philip, he turned his
thoughts to his alma mater and Head Coach - Wayne Graham. Earlier this
week Philip sent coach Graham a letter which is now published here with the
permission of both parties...
Coach Graham,
I read that you and the team were watching the closing moments of the game on
Saturday after you all had finished off an exciting win yourselves. The article
said that you were 'calling for the slider in the ninth inning.' That
reminded me of my first game as an Owl, when you called a 3-2 curveball from
the dugout with the bases loaded and the Aggie fans going crazy at Minute Maid.
I think that one moment sums up what you mean to me as a person and a
ballplayer. You believed that I was up to the task and because of the leader
you are, I believed it, too. There were many times in my career at Rice when
you told me what I needed to hear whether I agreed or not. The further along I
go in life and in baseball, the more I realize how right you were. You helped
me achieve more than I ever thought possible by pushing me in ways nobody else
could.
The reality of the perfect game is still sinking in and I'm trying to process
everything that has happened as a result, but as of now I would rank the
feeling I had Saturday second to winning the National Championship. The
culmination of a season of hard work within a team environment towards an
ultimate goal is the most gratifying moment in sports. Thank you for allowing
me to be a part of that.
It has taken me a lot longer to get to the big leagues in a meaningful role
than I thought it would. The ups and downs have been worth it, and I know it
has all been used to make me a better person and pitcher. However, I firmly
believe it would have happened sooner if I had you around to challenge me
mentally like you did at Rice.
I know you have been keeping up and pulling for me this whole time and I've
been doing the same for you guys. I wish you continued success and can't wait
to see the Owls bring home another Championship.
All my best!
Philip Humber
Rice's Earl Cooper recalls a far less glamorous draft day experience as he waited on a call during the 1980 NFL Draft.
Rice and Texas A&M will open the 2013 college football season. Mark it down in ink and make your travel plans now.
For the first time since 1995, two of the original eight schools who created the Southwest Conference in 1915 will return to a place that has seen them create some memorable moments both on, and off the field.... More on that in a minute.
With the shifting sands of conference membership anything but settled, future schedules are a tenuous listing at best. Rick Greenspan and the Rice Athletics administration have sought to turn this uncertainty into opportunity in order to ensure that the Owls will have at least one road game that can be counted upon to guarantee significant revenue.
The Aggies game in 2013 and the previously-announced game at Notre Dame in 2014 have addressed this need in the immediate future, and with the topsy-turvy reality of the times, these are but two of the games that are truly locked in.
But those are issues that will remain fluid for an extended period in the future. Let's get back to reuniting the Aggies and Owls and the return of a matchup that thrilled Owls fans for generations.
The two first met in 1914, and one year later they joined with six other schools to form the Southwest Conference. Two years later, their fledgling rivalry gave would give the Owls mascot its name.
A group of A&M students kidnapped the large canvas representation of an Owl that was used as Rice's mascot during games. Rice students hired a private detective to locate their taken symbol, and upon discovering its whereabouts, the detective telegraphed back to Houston that "Sammy is fairly well and would like to see his parents at 11 o'clock", the recovery mission was confirmed.
While A&M enjoyed the greater measure of success in the early years, Jess Neely's arrival on campus would mark the dawn of an extended period of dominance by the Owls.
Neely was winless in his first five tries against A&M, but beginning in 1945 he would reel of 10 consecutive wins over the Aggies, as he build Rice into a program that won three conference crowns and was ranked in the final top 20 five times.
Paul "Bear" Bryant ended that skein in 1955 and two years later, he brought a powerful and undisputed #1 team into Rice Stadium for a later November showdown in front of a standing-room only crowd of 73,000. King Hill would put on all around performance in front of a national audience that he would earn first-team All America honors. It was his extra point kick after the Owls touchdown in the first half that would stand up and deliver on of the most memorable wins in Rice history.
Former Houston Chronicle columnist Mickey Herskowitz, a longtime Bryant friend and biographer, recalled in an interview for the "100 Years of Rice Football" documentary how deeply the loss impacted Bryant, even years later when he returned to Houston:
In later years, the series again more to the Aggies favor, but the Owls could always be counted upon to deliver a stunning blow, perhaps no more so than in 1973 when Al Conover reached deep in to his bag of special teams tricks and thwarted a spirited Aggie comeback with a kickoff return by Carl Sweirc.
Rice's last win in the series came in 1980 when Ray Alborn led the Owls in to College Station and escaped with a 10-6 wins, part of an undefeated SWC road schedule for Rice that year. In the years that followed, A&M would roll on to win 15 straight to give them their current advantage of 50-27-3.
Ironically, that streak began in 1981 on the strength of the right arm of Aggies quarterback Gary Kubiak, who threw six touchdown passes to lead A&M to a 51-26 win over Rice. When the two teams take the field in 2013, Kubiak's son, Klein, will be a senior wide receiver for the Owls.
The last two games between the two were rugged defensive affairs, with A&M winning 7-0 in College Station in 1994 and 17-10 at Rice Stadium in 1995. Such scores are not so common place in the wide open world of 21st century college football.
After nearly 20 years, two foes will get familiar again, at least for one season. Sammy can return to the city that gave him his name and countless generations of Owls will have a moment to recall games of the past.
We've barely scratched the surface of those memories.
The floor is open for your submissions....
Continue reading Returning to College Station.
After throwing a major league perfect game on April 21, former Rice Owls star Philip Humber presented the Top Ten List on the Late Night David Letterman Show on April 23.
http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=20860043&topic_id=29312742&c_id=mlb
The announcement today that the Bayou Bucket will extend at least into the first year of the separation of Rice and Houston into different conferences sets aside for the moment concerns about the immediate future of the series. The next two games will be played at Reliant Stadium as originally announced last fall, only now the second game will be a nonconference game.
The question in the minds of many Owls fans remains on why the move to Reliant in the first place? Why give up a game at Rice Stadium, when the Owls have won the last two Buckets played on their home turf?
There's no disputing the facts on paper regarding our record of success against Houston at home in recent times. Rice has won the Bucket four times in the last seven Rice Stadium contests dating back to 1993. But Rice's record as the home team in the series only improves when you factor in the 10-7 win at Reliant in 2004.
Home games at Rice Stadium have a familiarity to our fans who have a time-honored routine for each game. There is a comfort level that only comes from being in familiar surroundings and with familiar faces.
So why make the move?
Simply because Lone Star Sports, whose mission is to produce sporting events at Reliant Stadium of both high interest and quality, made it very clear that they view the Bayou Bucket as a signature event for the City of Houston, an event that is a central component of their buildup to the Meineke Car Care Bowl and to their sports lineup overall.
Moving this one game allows Rice to tap into the promotional muscle and reach that Lone Star has at its disposal. The game will be promoted inside other events at the stadium, most notably to the sellout crowds at Texans games on Sundays, reaching an audience that far exceeds anything we could do on our own. When the mission is to reach the largest audience possible to promote Rice Football specifically, as well as the Centennial Celebration of Rice University, it became an easy decision to make.
It allows us to marshall our marketing efforts on our remaining five home games, and part of that effort will include promotional messages inside Reliant during that game.
One of the greatest memories of the 2008 Texas Bowl at Reliant was the number of Houston sports fans who were in the stands that night along with our faithful Owls supporters. One of the most frustrating aspects of that game was not being able to leverage that momentum towards the future. To have those same fans in their seats and be able to reach them directly about our remaining home games is another invaluable asset.
Any reflection upon the fan experience of previous Rice games at Reliant has to be divided into two distinct periods. There were the early games dating back to our first appearance there in 2002, and then most recent game, which was the 2010 season opener against Texas.
Those early games were not produced with the same level of commitment or overall marketing power that exists today. As a fan, in the days before I came to work at Rice, I stood in the heat and long lines while attempting to get into the 2004 Bayou Bucket through one of the few ticket windows that were open. I saw first-hand how many people walked away in frustration and could only be frustrated at an opportunity lost. That won't happen this year, or in 2013.
The 2010 Texas game was heavily marketed, but to a fan base that extended far outside the greater Houston area. We will benefit from that same promotional clout this time, creating an opening for our fans to invite friends and neighbors to join them at this great event.
We know our season ticket holders have been frustrated to see past home games played at Reliant were not offered as part of their package. That won't happen these next two years. Very shortly, our season ticket renewal letters will hit the mail. In them, we detail some exciting offers we are making available to those of you who have been our most devoted supporters, as well as others who want to join us for the 2012 season.
If the 2012 Bucket was the last game of the series and there was no return game there in 2013, the move of this year's game alone would be worth it for all the reasons mentioned above.
But with the added knowledge that our fans will have access to great seats for the game in 2013--rather than the smaller allotments allocated road teams--and Rice Football will tap into Lone Star's promotional energy for a second consecutive year, the positives far outweigh the negatives
Former Rice defensive back Will McClay, who now works in the front office of the Dallas Cowboys, is featured in the lastest issue of Rice Magazine... (Turn to page 46).
Rice University hosts the ninth annual J.Fred Duckett/Rice Twilight track and field meet on Saturday, April 21. Running events begin at 6 p.m. with the 4x100m relays. The women's hammer throw starts at 1 p.m. At 5:30 p.m. Rice track and field announces its team awards.
This will be the last home track and field meet for Rice for the 2012 outdoor season. Teams competing include HBU, Prairie View A&M, Sam Houston State, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, Texas A&M Kingsville, Lamar University, Texas Southern, Houston, Dallas Baptist, Incarnate Word, and Houston Community College.
While Houstonians identified J.Fred Duckett as the voice of Rice Athletics, as well as that of the Houston Astros for many years, a far greater segment of the country knew him as one of the premiere public address announcers in track and field.
A life-long fan of the sport who threw the discus for Rice in the mid 1950's, Duckett combined an encyclopedic memory of the sport with an affinity of knowing just what nugget to throw out to the fans in the stands while a race was unfolding before them. He was able to narrate multiple events that unfolded almost instantaneously before him, often armed with little more than a pair of binoculars, a heat sheet, and his trusty microphone.
Those who came to South Main to compete at Rice took note of his talents, and soon Duckett was being asked to share those gifts at meets throughout the country. Fans at Southewest Conferece, WAC, and Conference USA Championships, as well as fans at the Kansas and Texas Relays were regularly treated to Duckett's talents. No track meet was too small for Duckett's enthusiastic descriptions. He was a fixture at countless high school and age group meets, and many of those moments he called found there way into later descriptions when any of those youthful runners found themselves competing in college. His record keeping was so renowned, he became one-man archive for many local high school coaches.
Those who were privileged enough to have had him describe a race will never forget him. Those who found an extra burst of energy when they heard him announce their name, owe him a debt of thanks. But J. Fred would have just shrugged off such compliments. He did it all, for the love of the sport.
Head men's track and field coach comments below on the late J.Fred Duckett:
Morris Almond, who had a stellar career at Rice University before being selected in the first round of the 2007 NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz, signed today with the Washington Wizards. Almond was called up from the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League and is expected to be available tonight when the Wizards play at Chicago.
Almond has spent the past four seasons in the NBA D-League where he has averaged 24.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and shot .495 from the field in 119 career games.
This season, Almond has played in 29 games for the Red Claws, averaging a team-high 23.4 points to go with 6.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists. He has scored in double figures in 28 games and has scored 30 or more in seven outings.
The 2007 Conference USA Player of the Year, Almond scored 1,825 points during his career at Rice.
Rice's student-athletes are already known for their academic and sports
achievements, but fans had an opportunity to see a new side of the Owls
at the inaugural Rice student-athlete talent show.
The student-athlete talent show, titled "Owls on Stage," featured 11
performances from members of Rice's various varsity athletic teams such
as baseball, volleyball, football, soccer and more, all showcasing their
versatile `non-sports' talents.
A project of the school's
Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), "Owls on Stage" included a
variety of musical, vocal and dance acts. Below are the final five videos from football player Christian Covington, volleyball player Tyler Jenkins, from men's track and field Sammy Abuhamra and Alexander Zinchenko, baseball player Michael Aquino, and from women's track and field Simone Martin and Kiri Kendall.
Christian Covington
Tyler Jenkins
Sammy & Alex
Michael Aquino
Simone Martin and Kiri Kendall
Rice's student-athletes are already known for their academic and sports achievements, but fans had an opportunity to see a new side of the Owls at the inaugural Rice student-athlete talent show.
The student-athlete talent show, titled "Owls on Stage," featured 11 performances from members of Rice's various varsity athletic teams such as baseball, volleyball, football, soccer and more, all showcasing their versatile `non-sports' talents. A project of the school's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), "Owls on Stage" included a variety of musical, vocal and dance acts. Below are two more videos, one of football player Gabe Baker and the other featuring soccer's Alexandra Trenary:
Rice's student-athletes are already known for their academic and sports achievements, but fans had an opportunity to see a new side of the Owls at the inaugural Rice student-athlete talent show.
The student-athlete talent show, titled "Owls on Stage," featured 11 performances from members of Rice's various varsity athletic teams such as baseball, volleyball, football, soccer and more, all showcasing their versatile `non-sports' talents. A project of the school's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC), "Owls on Stage" will included a variety of musical, vocal and dance acts. Below are two videos, one of soccer player Annie Kadota and the other featuring golfer Tommy Economou:
Rice University women's basketball player Jessica Kuster finished the 2012 season ranked in the top 10 in the nation for rebounding.
Kuster, a sophomore forward from San Antonio, Texas, and Reagan High School, concluded the campaign ranked ninth in the NCAA and led Conference USA with an 11.1 rebounding average. She was among the nation's top 10 leaders throughout this past season.
"Jessica ranking ninth in the nation is a tremendous individual achievement," says her coach Greg Williams. "It shows a strong work ethic, determination and consistency game-in and game-out. She was also the second best rebounder in her class for the second consecutive season. Jessica's rebounding on the defensive end was a big reason we were one of the best defensive teams in Conference USA, while giving us numerous second-chance opportunities off her offensive rebounds."
She was one of only two C-USA players that averaged a double-double for 2012, and only one of 21 nation-wide to average a double-double in scoring and rebounding. Kuster averaged 17.3 points a game (second in C-USA) to pair with her 11.1 rebounding average. The team co-captain was selected to the All-C-USA First Team and All-C-USA Defensive Team for the second straight season.
2012 Top 10 Rebounders in the Nation
Rank, Player, School, Ht., Pos., Games, Avg.
1 Courtney Hurt, VCU, Sr., 6-0, F, 34, 447, 13.1
2 Sequeena Thomas, Sam Houston State, Jr., 6-0, F, 30, 377, 12.6
3 Ashar Harris, Morehead State, Jr., 5-9, F, 29, 361, 12.4
4 Cheyenne Parker, High Point, So., 6-4, C, 33, 403, 12.2
5 Rachael Hackbarth, Drake, Sr., 6-3, F, 34,401, 11.8
6 Kylie Kuhns, Sacramento State, Jr., 6-0, F, 31, 360, 11.6
7 Avery Warley, Liberty, Sr., 6-3, C, 33, 381, 11.5
8 Megan Herbert, Central Arkanas, Jr.5-11, F, 31, 350, 11.3
9 Jessica Kuster, Rice, So., 6-2, F, 30, 334, 11.1
10 Markel Walker, UCLA, Jr., 6-1, G, 23, 252, 11.0
Rice University volleyball student-athlete Laurie McNamara is the recipient of not one, but two honors from the Side-Out Foundation.McNamara, from Coppell, Texas, was a member of the Side-Out Ambassador Program (SOAP) and she has been awarded one of seven SOAP Scholarship Awards as well as one of eight SOAP Community Service Awards.
McNamara represented the Owls volleyball squad during its Dig Pink campaign for the 2011 season. She showed exceptional commitment toRice, the community, and in raising funds for breast cancer awareness.
Says McNamara's head coach Genny Volpe, "Laurie is one of those special individuals that's driven to be a well-rounded person. She impacts the team in many ways by organizing several community service events and she spends a lot of her down time in the community.
"I am really proud of Laurie because she embodies what a scholar-athlete is at Rice, someone that is driven to be their best on the court, in the classroom, and in the community and she represents Rice in each of those aspects."
With a 3.9 grade point average, McNamara was named to the 2011 Conference USA All-Academic squad and she received the team's 2011 Commitment Award. McNamara, one of the squad's co-captains, was second on the team in kills per set with a 2.51 average and second in kills with 294 during the 2011 campaign.
"This really means a lot to me, because working with the Side-Out Foundation is something that I have wanted to do for some time. I worked on a Dig For the Cure event while in high school and it is something that I am really passionate about. I am passionate about helping people," stated McNamara. "My grandmother was diagnosed this year with breast cancer, she's in the clear now, but it just means a lot to be acknowledged for all of the hard work that I have put into this."
Besides working with the Side-Out Foundation, McNamara also spends at least three hours per week at Texas Children's Hospital as a volunteer and she worked as a volunteer at the Texas Med 5K that was sponsored by Ben Taub General Hospital.
The Side-Out Foundation (Side-Out) was established in 2004 to unite volleyball players and coaches and to have them work toward the common goal of furthering breast cancer awareness, education and patient services.Side-Out supports teams nationwide in their volleyball tournaments, clinics, and other fundraising efforts.
In the midst of the greatest stretch of tennis of his Rice career, a rejuvenated Christian Saravia will return on Wednesday to the site of one of his most memorable moments to make good on a prediction his late father once made. 
Saravia, who had lost his fire for the game in the fall and appeared to have called it a career, and his resurgent Rice teammates will put a seven-match winning streak on the line when the 39th ranked Owls take on 25th ranked Texas A&M at 6 p.m. at the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center in College Station.
The match is crucial for the Owls, who continue to rebound from a loss to UTSA in early March, in their drive to earn Rice's 10th consecutive NCAA bid in head coach Ron Smarr's final season. But for Saravia, it will fulfill a prediction and give him a chance to honor his late father.
As a 16-year old junior player from Guatemala, Saravia and his parents, Carlos and Jean, walked the grounds of Mitchell Tennis Center after competing in an ITF event. When they arrived at Courts 1 and 2, which are divided by the facilities club area and serve as the featured courts in the complex, Carlos Saravia predicted that one day his youngest son would be playing on these center courts.
Tennis was a part of the Saravia family. Christian's first experienced the game as a toddler and as the youngest of their four children, Christian's parents had taken the steps to allow him to reach a level of success that gave him the chance to play collegiately at Rice where he could hone his game while earning his degree from a respected institution.
Three years later, while he was with his new Rice teammates in Oxford, Mississippi competing in the opening round of the National Indoor Championships, Saravia was suddenly summoned home to Guatemala City because his parents had been involved in a serious accident that had taken his father's life and left his mother and a brother in critical condition.
Saravia immediately returned home to be by his mother's side, but even as she began a long and arduous recovery, Jean Saravia made it quickly clear that Christian had other responsibilities he could not forget.
"She reminded me how important school was. There was never a question that I would not be going back to Rice, but she didn't want me to fall behind. My mother wanted me to go back, so how could I not do as she said?"
Tennis and the challenge of catching up on school gave him brief moments of distraction from concerns about his mother's recovery.
"It helped me get busy and focus on something," he recalled. "That was a tough time, but I think those things give you clarity as to seeing things in the bigger picture and not stressing out about small things."
In early April of 2009, Saravia found himself taking the Mitchell Center courts to face the 12th ranked Aggies in a dual. He would not be playing on those main courts as his father had predicted, but the emotions were the same and Saravia delivered his greatest performance to that time. He combined with fellow freshman Sam Garforth-Bles to clinch the doubles point with a 9-8 tiebreak win. Saravia then gutted out a three-set win at No. 6 to clinch the match for Rice, a win that propelled that year's team to a seventh-straight NCAA bid.
Saravia earned C-USA Men's Tennis Athlete of the Week honors for his effort. One year later, he and his teammates ground out an electrifying win over Tulsa to capture the C-USA title on their home court. Last year, the Owls once again reached the conference finals and made their head coach college tennis' career wins leader.
Yet when faced with the start of his final season of tennis this past fall, Saravia found himself strangely indifferent.
"I had always loved playing tennis, but it had come to a point last fall when I wasn't having any fun anymore. The coaches were very supportive and told me to just take a break."
His time away allowed him to reassess his goals and he began to feel that perhaps he had not played his last match. When offered the chance to return, he did so with no expectations other than to savor every groundstroke as special, no matter if it was a winner or wide.
"I honestly didn't think I was going to come back after last semester, but once I did, I saw this was my last chance to give it my all. I knew it was my last few months of tennis and it really has helped me to approach the game better," he added.
"The first few years, I practiced really hard and played really hard, but wasn't really playing my best," Saravia recalled. "After taking a break in the fall, I wasn't really expecting to be playing this well. But I think I've been seeing the game differently. I enjoy it more and have a better view of how to approach the game. I've just been happier overall. I'm playing pretty well and been really happy with how the team has been playing, especially in the last six or seven matches," he added.
Saravia gradually broke back into the lineup, playing No. 2 doubles with Nuesslein. At the end of January, he returned to the singles lineup at No. 6. On the fateful day vs. UTSA, he won his match at No. 5, but then had to watch as his teammates could not overcome listless play in a 4-3 loss.
In the aftermath of that match, the Owls' lineup was retooled and Saravia found himself playing at No. 2 singles, while Garfoth-Bles took over at No. 1. Both had long sought a chance to play at the top of the lineup, and now they had their chance.
The move yielded quick results as the Owls have won 10 of the last 11. But wins are only numbers on paper, the true change at Jake Hess has been the energy and spirit that has generated those wins.
"I feel like everyone who is playing now is trying really, really hard. It feels like a team. We've been talking to each other about how it feels like a team and that everyone wants to win. We might not be the most talented team right now, but we are the ones who fight the hardest," Saravia said.
The atmosphere at match time is very similar to the feel in 2010, when the Owls ground their way to the conference crown.
"We were talking that in the last seven or eight matches. It feels like it did in 2010," Saravia said. "This team is fighting. Even if a guy is losing 6-1, 6-0 but is battling on the court next to you, that gets to you and rubs off on the whole team. It feels pretty good to be ending the year this way. "
He finds himself with a greater perspective on the game that has been a part of his life since he could walk.
"I practice more relaxed, I play more relaxed and it's amazing how four years of tennis can teach you about pressure situations. I used to lose a lot of matches 7-6 6-4 at number six. I would lose a lot of matches that I thought I should have won, but I let them get away. Now when I get into those tiebreakers, I feel very comfortable. Now I do it because I like it. That (perspective) is not just something you can get at a young age," he said.
When Saravia strikes his first return of service on Mitchell's number two court on Wednesday, it will be impossible to not think of his father, Carlos, and the fulfillment of his prediction.
But of equal importance will be the challenge at hand. Significant wins need to be compiled to build the Owls' resume in the eyes of the NCAA. Saravia and his fellow seniors in the lineup know what is on the line.
"None of us want this to end badly. We don't want that for Coach Smarr. When we lost to UTSA, I sat and thought about how bad it would be for this to be the last of our tennis, and the last of coach's tennis career. We don't want to be the ones to break the NCAA streak for all of us," he stated.
His mother, now fully recovered, will be in the stands on Wednesday, as will his brothers and his sister. It's an opportunity that could only have happened after Saravia decided to give tennis one more try.
"I was talking to my mom at lunch today about how cool it would be if both of them (his parents) could be there (on Wednesday) to see me play on that court. But everything happens for a reason, and I'm excited about the chance to play there in front of all my family and in a match that is so important," he said.
"I see things so much differently now. I don't feel the pressure I used to feel or stress about the small things. I just see the big picture... give your best and enjoy. The rest of it will take care of itself.
"I really feel that I am playing tennis for the best reason of all, because I enjoy it."
