The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 83, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, January 19, 1996 Page: 9 of 12
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Sports
THE RICE THRESHER
DAY, JANUARY 19.1996
over
Senior guard drops in 24 to help
"for your favorite NBA players taking time out
from their McDonald's endorsements to pound
on powerhouse teams like Angola.
B is for blue, as in the gym uniforms here at
Rlce.The H PER department gives these rags the
boat in 4996 and realizes that the facilities get
used more when students don't feel degraded.
C is for Cornhuskers, as in the University of
pionship in a row. It's not the quarterback, folks.
that 1 could rush for 1,000 yards.
D is for the Dallas Cowboys. They win Super
Bowl XXX in a blowout.
E is for errors, of which our baseball team at
Rice made very few in 1995. We were only two,
wins from playing in the
College World Series last
year, proving that there are
other competitive teams in
the Southwest Conference
besides the University of
TexaaandTexasA&M Uni-
versity.
F is for the Fiddlers, the
Oilers' new name when
they move to Nashville.
Samecrappy team, new stu-
pid nickname.
G is for gone, as in what happens to your
money when you go to an NFL, NBA or MLB
game. Ticket prices continue?to soar in '96.
H is for hoops. In case you students'didn't
notice, Rice upset Texas over break and is now
competing for the conference lead. The Owls
keep winning big games, stop losing to cupcakes
Chuck Whitten
Staff Writer
#bid to the NCAA tournament this year.
Us for intramurals. The best part of sports at
Rice gets even better in'96. Oh yeah, Wiess wins
college basketball.
J is for Jordan. The Bulls give into his $25
million demand this month. The guy is worth the
money; He wins games and brings in the.bucks.
basketball this year. Kentucky wins in overtime.
L is for lawn darts, thecraze of the '90s. Watch
for the revolution.
Mis for merchandising. This year, every pro-
its colors to black and gray. Gang members
celebrate.
N is for New York City, the, worst sports town
in America. The Mets pick up where the Jets l&t
off in pitifulness, unathleticism and lack of talent.
0 is for Orrange, as in Diana Orrange. This
track phenom set the U.S. Olympic-Festival triple
ing in the Olympics. She will be trainingat Rice.
Pis for the Pittsburgh Penguins. NHL cham-
pions in 1996. • ;
Q is for quick, as in how fast professional
soccer will fold this year. Make the goals 30
attract fans.
R is for rugby, another sport to check out on
1996. r
$ is for Sportscenter, the greatest show on
TV. It will be there for you again in '96.
T is for-twelve, as in the Big Twelve. In its
inaugural season, the conference dominates col-
lege athletics from wrestling to baseball to foot-
ball Does anybody really miss the SWC?
U is for unbeatable, as in the Chicago Bulls
this year. Houston is no longer able to work its
V is for Vivarin, which 1 heed to take before
watching golf on TV .It's a great sport tdiplay. but
I'd rather jab out my own eye with a fork.
W is for Western Athletic Conference. The
Thresher sends me to the University of Hawaii
this year to cover the Rainbows, one of our new
conference foes.
Y is for yikes. People will say this in 1996
when they look at my column picture. Thresher
hierarchy still denies my request for a new photo.
Z is for zero, as in the number of Houston
residents who will miss the Oilers and Bud Adams
this year: *
men's team to a 2-1 SWC record
John Fredland
Sh\f! Wnin
Prior to Wednesday's con-
test against Southern Method-
ist University at Autry Court,
the last time most followers of
Rice basketball had seen their
team in person was Dec. 7, when
the Owls hosted then-top-
ranked University of Kansas.
The 83-63 defeat that night left
Rice with a 2-3 record.
Much has changed since
then. Two nights later, Rice re-
bounded with a come-from-be-
hind, last-second triumph over
a Vanderbilt University team
seemingly destined for a top-25
ranking the following week.
The win over the Commo-
dores triggered a run of five
consecutive victories.
A loss to the United States
Naval Academy on Jan. 4 broke
the streak. However, the Owls
recovered by upsetting the Uni-
versity of Texas at a game in
Austin in a game televised na-
tionally by ESPN — much like
their football brethren had done
in 1994.
The break left the Owls dis-
appointed. The Navy game was
within the Owls' grasp, as was
last Saturday's game with the
University of Houston at Autry
Court.
Rice jumped to an 18-p6int
lead in the first half but ended
up squandering the lead and
dropping a 76-74 decision to the
Cougars.
Against the Mustangs, the
Owls showed this same one-
foot- in-the-door-t he-other-one
in-the-gutler nature.
Rice had its sluggish
stretches but also demonstrated
somt*solid play, particularly on
defense, that gives them hope
for having a successful South-
west Conference campaign.
The Owls pulled away mid-
way through the first half and
held off SM11 for a 69-51 victory.
Rice improved to 9-5 overall,
2*1 in the SWC. SMU dropped
to 5-9, 1-2.
"We're on track for becom-
ing a very good basketball
team," Head Coach Willis Wil
son said.
"We need to become ar very
good team by the end of the
month, and by the end of the
year, we need to become an
excellent team. o
"A lot of people probably look
at us oil paper, and look at the
injuries, and don't expect much.
I think we have guys with high
expectations for themselves and
guys who don't put a lot of cre-
dence in the things that are said
outside our team."
Early in the game against
SMU, the Owls looked shaky
on offense. With both teams
running methodical, half-court
sets, the score stood at only 14
13 in favor of Rice at the mid-
point of the first half.
The Owls then made their
move Tom McGhee has been
the outside-shooting star for
Rice so far this year, but it was
Eric Singletary who triggered
the run with a pair of long-range-
baskets.
With 9:29 to go in the half.
Singletary hit a long t wo-pointer.
After a Shaun lgo inside basket.
Singletary connected on a t hree
pointer from the top of the key.
and the Owls were off on a J 0-0
run.
McGhee, who had surpassed
the 30-point mark in his two
previous gabies, then got into
the act. ^
He added two, more three-
pointers as part of a 24-point
performance, his 10th game this
season with 20 points or more.
Singletary added another
three-pointer, and Robert
Johnson converted a T.J.
Armstrong alley-oop into a
crowd-pleasing slam dunk as
Rice used a 25-3 run to roll to a
t
[I
Shaun lgo and Robert Johnson rebound rn Saturday's loss to Houston.
39-16 lead late in the first hall tered great resistance inside the
The Owl defense held the paint. Johnson blocked two
Mustangsto29.6percentshoot- shots on the night, and lgo
ing on the half. SMU encoun- $trsMU )><u,i io
Swimming team builds momentum
going into Southwest Conference finale
David Gordon
ShlttiH
The- men's and women's swimming
teams traveled to California Jan. 2-11 for
over a week of intense training..
They capped off the trip with an impres-
sive performance at the University of Cali
fornia at Irvine Invitational
The team usually takes a trip over the*
wi ri t er h ol id ay to improve t hoi r perform an ce
at the Southwest Conference meet by get-
ting practice fn longer length pools. The
Rice Pool is one half the length of competi-
tion pools.
"It'scommon Corns to just go someplace
to get in a long-course pool and also just to
be someplace different," Head Coach Kris
Wingenroth said
The team seemed pleased with the train-
ing.
"We worked really hard and got our
work in. It should prove to pay off at confer
ence." Robin Davidson said.
The meet was divided into three
competitons. The distance meet took place
rm Friday followed by the individual meet
on Saturday. The relay meets took place on
Sunday.
Only a few swimmers who specialize in
the distance events hit the water on Friday.
Ginny Farmer took first place in both
the 400-yard individual medley and the 1.650
freestyle. Her time of 17:19.53 in the
freestyle event was over 30 seconds better
than the Second-place finisher.
Farmer planson attending the Olympic
trials this spring.
Tricia Besselman took third in the 1.000
freestyle with a time of 11:05.69.
Josh Kimmel and David Henry repre
sented the men's team on Friday.
Henry took third in-the 1,650 freestyle
and seventh in the 400 individual medley
Kimmel took sixth in the 500 freestyle
and finished just .29 seconds behind Henry
in the 400 individual medley.
On Saturday, the women's team faced
some tough competition from local swim-
ming clul\jj;, but they finished first with 440
points.
The accumulation of unattached com
petitors scored 433 points. The University
of San Diego took third with 17!? points.
The team had strong performances in
the freestyle and medley events.
In the 200 freestyle, Ginny Farmer and
Carrie Covington swept the first two spots
in the ^-swimmer field. Amy Ferranti fin-
ished seventh.
Covington also took second in the 100
freestyle, followed by Julie Birch in third
and Farmer in fourth. Birchlind Covington
also placed third and fourth, respectively,
in the 50 freestyle.
The team dominated the 200 individual
medley, placing six swimmers in the top
ten. Farmer took the top spot with a time of
2:08.87.
She was followed by Covington in third,
Birch*in fifth, Davidson in seventh and
Kristen Wagle in eighth.
Other top performances by the team
included taking fourth through seventh
places in the 100 butterfly, a fourth-place
finish by Heather Draper in the 100 back
stroke and a fifth through seventh sweep in
the 100 bryast stroke.
Hie men ended Saturday .witly the sve
oiid highest collegiate score, finishing be-
hind California State University at Bakers-
field
Dave Stignant was one of the team's top
..scorers. He took first in thp2(X)backstroke.
eighth in the 100 backstroke and eighth in ence meet
the 200 individual medley.
Nick Del FaverO placed sixth in the 100
backstroke.
Aaron Mullins and Steve Quance were
the top freestylers. They finished fifth and
sixth, respectively, in the 50. Quance took,
fourth in the 100. Mullins followed just one
second behind iiupnth.
The men also turned in strong perfor-
mances in the butterfly events Brant
Hasebe and Jim Bridenstine took fourth
and fifth, respectively.
Four swimmers finished in the top 10 in
the 200. Hasebe took fifth followed by
Bridenstine in seventh, Kimmel in ninth*
and Ale* Fuller in 10th.
Kimmel and Stignant were joined by Jon
Armstrong in the top 10 of the 200 indi-
vidual medley.
In the relay competition, the women's
team edged Fresno State University by one
point to take first place,- The men's team
finished second to the University ot the
Pacific. ,
• The women's team took first place in the
3x100 butterfly, the 3x100 backstroke, the
3x100 breaststroke and the 800 freestyle.
The men took first in the 3x100 back-
stroke and second in the 200 freestyle re-
lay, 3x100 backstroke and the 800 freestyle
relay.
"I was very pleased with how well they
swam under the training conditions People
can be torn down and swimming sluggish
afterwards," Wingenroth said.
The next meet is this Saturday whjui
Texas Christian University visits the Rwf*
Pool for a conference prWw
"We are feeling better and swimming
faster," men's team co-captain Brant Hasebe
said.
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Klein, Charles & Rao, Vivek. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 83, No. 15, Ed. 1 Friday, January 19, 1996, newspaper, January 19, 1996; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246528/m1/9/?rotate=270: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.