The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, December 5, 2008 Page: 14 of 20
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Football defeats Houston to capture Bayou Bucket
by Meghan Hall
THRESHER STAFF
The football team's senior class
was honored before the Owls' final
regular season matchup against The
University of Houston on Saturday.
As they stood before a record crowd
of over 35,000 fans, the players were
faced with one final chance to cap-
ture the Bayou Bucket, one of the few
previous historic imprints the squad
had been unable to make.
After one of the most meaning-
ful Bayou Buckets in recent history,
the bowl-bound Owls crossed that
accomplishment off the to-do list.
For the first time in four years, Rice
brought home the trophy with a con-
vincing 56-42 win over their cross-
town rivals.
The contest held major Conference
USA title implications: Coming into
the game, Houston was in control of
its own destiny, since a win over Rice
would have sent the Cougars to the
Conference USA Championship game
against East Carolina University. Even
Rice could have gone to the champi-
onship had a win over Houston coin-
cided with a University of Tulsa loss
to Marshall University the same day.
Unfortunately, news of Tulsa's vic-
tory over the Thundering Herd came
in as the rivalry game at Rice Stadium
was coming to a close, but the Owls,
who are currently on a six-game win-
ning streak, had much to celebrate.
Their nine wins represent the most
by an Rice squad since 1953, and the
Owls went undefeated at home for
the first time since 1949.
Rice earned their fifth consecutive
win at home two weeks ago against
Marshall. The Owls and the Herd
were tied 7-7 at halftime, but Rice ac-
cumulated more than 300 yards of to-
tal offense in the second half to blow
the game open and take a 35-10 vic-
tory. The offensive star of that game
was senior quarterback Chase Clem-
ent, who threw for four touchdowns
and ran for a fifth.
Their sixth win tallied an official
attendance of 35,534, the most at Rice
Stadium in eight years, and was the
tenth Rice victory in 32 games of the
Bayou Bucket series.
The Rice offense fired all day long,
and the Owls' 56 points were the most
ever in a matchup against Houston.
This was largely due to more heroic ef-
forts from Clement, who threw for 381
yards and five touchdowns; he also
ran for one more. However, happy fans
also had to thank sophomore tight end
James Casey, who was responsible for
his own share of the scoring.
Casey rushed for Rice's the first
touchdown of the game and then
threw a touchdown pass to junior tight
end Taylor Wardrow for the final score.
Casey — who finished with 172 receiv-
ing yards, three throwing yards and 10
rushing yards — also caught three of
Clement's touchdown passes.
"I am very thankful to have [Dil-
lard] on the other side of me all
the time," Casey said. "I probably
couldn't do much if [Dillard] wasn't
over there drawing so much coverage.
S3 see FOOTBALL, page 17
Head coach David Bailiff hoists the Bayou Bucket in the air after Rice's first defeat of the University of Houston in
four years. Rice's nine wins this season are the most the team has had since 1953, and it is the first time the Owls
have gone undefeated at home since 1949. The Owls will play in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 30 at Reliant Stadium.
Volleyball earns national bid
Team ends regular season at Autry Court with victory over TCU
by Dylan Farmer
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
Prior to last weekend's match
against Texas Christian University
at Tudor Fieldhouse, only the up-
perclassmen on the volleyball team
could remember the last time the
Owls played a home contest on Au-
try Court. But even the seniors had
no recollection of the last time Rice
received an invitation to the NCAA
Tournament.
The Owls (23-7) closed out the reg-
ular season last Friday with a 3-1 win
over the visiting Horned Frogs, but
the victory party extended through
the postseason selection show Sun-
day night, when the NCAA officially
announced that Rice was one of the
64 teams invited to the national com-
petiton. This is the second time that
the volleyball team has qualified for
the NCAA tournament in its 27 year
history — the last time was in 2004.
Rice is one of four teams in the
Austin regional, which is hosted
by No. 3 national seed University
of Texas. The Owls' first game will
be tonight at 5 p.m. against Wichita
State University, and the winner will
face either UT or Lamar University.
Wichita State brings an impressive re-
sume to the contest at Gregory Gym-
nasium — the i3th-ranked Shockers
(29-1) were undefeated before falling
to upset-minded and eventual cham-
pion Missouri State University in the
semifinals of the Missouri Valley Con-
ference tournament, which was held
in Wichita last weekend.
Volpe knows her team can play
with the Shockers, but she said the
players understand the challenge
they will be facing.
"They had a really good season,"
Volpe said of the Shockers. "[But| it's
definitely a match we think we can
win. We played them in the spring, so
we know we can be competitive with
them...However, they have won a lot
*>
#88 9R*»
ariel sqglltzer/th
Women's XC finishes '
22nd at national meet ,
Sophomore setter Meredith Schamun sets a ball for junior middle
blocker Natalie Bogan during Rice's win over UAB on Nov. 7.
this season so they have a lot of confi-
dence, I'm sure."
Wichita State has been dispatch-
ing opponents with ease thanks to an
offense that averages an MVC-leading
13.7 kilis per set, most of which come
from junior Emily Stockman. She has
a total of 404 kills on the season,
nearly 150 more than anyone else
on the team, and her 3.71 kills per
set lead the MVC. The Shockers also
boast a strong supporting cast: Fresh-
man setter Mary Elizabeth Hooper
averages 10.5 assists per game, and
senior libero Kelly Broussard has 591
digs so far this year.
Despite Wichita State's notable
credentials, the Shockers will be
tested by a Rice team with its own im-
pressive array of talent. Seniors Karyn
Morgan and Jessica Holderness, and
junior Natalie Bogan all logged over
300 kills during the regular season
S3 see Tourney, page 18
by Natalie Clericuzio
THRESHER EDITORIAL SAFF
To complete one of the best sea-
sons the women's cross country team
has ever had, the team placed 22nd
overall out of 31 squads at the NCAA
National Championships in Terre
Haute, Ind., on Monday, Nov. 24.
Considering the temperature at race
time was 42 degrees, well below the
Houston average, the Owls ran an im-
pressive race.
The Owls' invitation to the meet
marked the first time a Rice team has
ever made it to nationals two years
consecutively. And in conjunction
with second-place spots at both the
Conference USA championship and
South Central Regional, the showing
revealed Rice's ability to compete at
the top levels of collegiate running.
Head coach Jim Bevan credited
much of the team's success to leader-
ship from seniors Lennie Waite and
Laura Hudson.
"Lennie Waite has made a huge
transition from soccer player to team
leader," Bevan said. "She performed
exceedingly well, improved tremen-
dously, and ran much better at Na-
tionals. Laura Hudson has come so
far based on the past four years. It's
wonderful to have two people like
that for leadership and experience."
Junior Nicole Mericle, the South-
Central Regional Athlete of the Year,
led the Owls with a s8th-place finish
and a time of 21:00. Sophomore Alli-
son Pye finished just behind Mericle,
placing 65th with a time of 21:05.
Waite finished third for the Owls and
112th overall. Junior Britany Williams
and sophomore Becky Wade rounded
out Rice's top five, finishing with
times of 21:41 and 22:05, respectively.
Hudson and freshman Keltie John
also completed the race, finishing
close behind the top five with times
of 23:17 and 23:32.
Bevan was surprised at the high
level of performance across the board
at nationals.
"I'm happy to make it to nation-
als two years in a row," Bevan said.
"[But,] I'm a little disappointed: I felt
we could've finished higher. We tied
Baylor, which was 19th and ran rea-
sonably well. We're trying to under-
stand why we weren't a little better.
The median time this year at nation-
als was 21 seconds faster than a year
ago. Same course, colder, and wind-
ier and it ran 20 seconds per person
faster.Jt just doesn't make sense why
the whole country performed better
at nationals...It's mind boggling."
The Owls also improved on their
average times from last year, with the
first, second, and fifth-place runners
all running faster than their counter-
parts. In fact, according to Bevan, if
the team last year ran at the speed
of this year's team, they would have
ended up eight spots better than their
actual i6th-place finish.
The cool weather likely affected
Rice's performance to some degree.
Mericle, for instance, typically is
known for her "kick" at the end of
the race, according to Bevan, but for
whatever reason, she was unable to
sprint ahead this time.
"Nicole ran a good race, but she
just couldn't kick," Bevan said. "I
don't know why...[but) weather was
probably a factor with her muscles
being too cold."
Mericle also believed the cold may
have affected her race.
"I locked up really badly the last
400 meters or so," Mericle said. "I
don't know if that was due to cold
weather or what, but...it was cold, I
felt it."
Without the extra boost at the
end of the race, Mericle likely added
about 30 seconds to her overall time,
the difference between her nationals
S3 see Cross, page 18
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Chun, Lily & Farmer, Dylan. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 96, No. 14, Ed. 1 Friday, December 5, 2008, newspaper, December 5, 2008; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443148/m1/14/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.