The Rice Thresher, Vol. 89, No. 10, Ed. 1 Friday, October 26, 2001 Page: 19 of 28
twenty eight pages : ill. ; page 19 x 15 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
| .-&£$ -V;- Mi .w- ■
Thresher Sports
Page 15 THE RICE THRESHER JL Friday, October 26,2001
Rice in no danger of
dropping from I-A
by Chris Larson
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
Though Rice is listed as one of
several universities in danger of
being dropped from NCAA Divi-
sion I-A, Rice Athletics Director
Bobby May said there's nothing
to worry about and I^ice is stay-
ing right where it is.
One of the items on the agenda
of the NCAA's Management
Council's meeting Monday and
Tuesday was the review of mem-
bership requirements for Divi-
sion I-A, the NCAA's highest level
of collegiate competition.
'We feel membership
in I-A is mandatory to
hare the kind of
program that belongs
at Rice University/
— Bobby May
Athletics director
A set of requirements was ap-
proved by the Management
Council and will now proceed to
the NCAA Board of Directors,
who will meet Oct. 1.
May said Rice is vitally com-
mitted to remaining in I-A and
should have no trouble meeting
the standards.
"I don't anticipate any prob-
lems for Rice maintaining I-A sta-
tus," May said. "Staying in I-A is
critical. We feel membership in I-
A is mandatory to have the kind
of program that belongs at Rice
University. We want to compete
at the highest level, and nothing
else would be satisfactory. For
us, Division I-A is historically
where we've been, and that's
where we want to stay."
If ratified, the new standards
would become effective in Au-
gust 2004. The proposal has five
major components, which state
that each Division I-A program
must:
• Award 90 percent of the
maximum permissible number of
football grants-in-aid over a two-
year rolling period. (The current
maximum permissible number of
grants is 85; 90 percent is 76.5
grants.)
• Host five Division I-A foot-
ball opponents each season.
• Compete in 16 varsity sports,
at least eight for women and six
for men.
• Annually offer a minimum
of200 athletics grants-in-aid in all
sports, or expend at least $4 mil-
lion on athletics grants-in-aid to
student-athletes
• Average at least 15,000 in
football attendance for all home
games.
An Oct. 18 report by USA
Today listed Rice as a school
"on the bubble" of being
dropped, due to the fact that
Rice did not average five home
games against I-A opponents the
past two years.
Sports Information Director
Bill Cousins said, however, that
Rice having just four home games
two seasons ago was an aberra-
tion, partly caused by an eight-
team conference alignment in
which the ()wls had three confer-
ence games at home and four on
the road.
In the nine-team Western Ath-
letic Conference, Cousins said,
Rice will host four WAC games
each season, and at least one non-
conference game each season will
See CLASSIFICATION, Page 20
Beck, Owls escape with OT win
by Jason Gershman
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
Despite giving up 600 yards to
the University of Nevada, the Owls
found a way to win their fourth
straight game in a tough 33-30 over-
time victory Saturday night.
The Wolfpack dominated the first
half of the game, penetrating the
Rice 25-yard line four times. Two
goal-line stands by the Owls, how-
ever, forced Nevada to kick field
goals on fourth down after the
Wolfpack had advanced inside Rice's
two-yard line.
The other two drives ended with
Nevada kicker Damon Fine kicking
a 37-yard field goal and an intercep-
tion by Rice sophomore safety John
White at the Owls' five-yard line.
A 64-yard touchdown pass from
sophomore quarterback Kyle Herm
to senior halfback Leroy Bradley was
the lone bright spot on offense for
the Owls, who headed to the locker
room trailing just 9-7.
'On that last run, /
broke free and I knew it
was game over
— Robbie Beck
Sophomore running back
With the score tied at 20 and just
over two minutes remaining in the
fourth quarter, the Owls faced a
fourth down and one at midfield.
Sophomore running back Robbie
Beck not only picked up the critical
first down and ran 41 yards to the
Nevada nine-yard line — he also ran
into the end zone on the next play.
Nevada came right back, however,
with a 49-yard touchdown pass that
tied the score at 27 and sent the
game into overtime.
In overtime, a pass interference
call on an incomplete pass gave the
Wolfpack a first and goal at the Owl
seven. But the Owls stopped Ne-
vada again, forcing the Wolfpack to
COURTESY SPORTS INFORMATION
Sophomore quarterback Kyle Herm will lead the Owls against Louisiana Tech
University tomorrow. Kickoff of the game, which is regionally televised on
Fox Sports Net/Southwest, is at 1:30 p.m.
settle for a field goal. On Rice's first
play, Beck ran the ball 25 yards into
the endzone for the Owl victory.
For the game, Beck ran for 156
yards and three touchdowns, his first
100-yard game as an Owl and the third
100-yard game for an Owl this season.
"I was in the zone — I felt more
comfortable out there than I had felt
in my entire time at Rice," Beck said.
"I was hoping they would give me the
ball. I knew that would be the decid-
ing factor in the game. On that last
run, I broke free and I knew it was
game over. It was awesome, the most
incredible feeling I've ever had."
This win moves the Owls to 6-1
for the season and marks the second
game in a row the Owls have won by
eight points or less, after defeating
the United States Naval Academv
21-13 Oct. 13.
The Owls struggled in close
games during last year's 3-8 season
Last year, the Owls were 1-3 in games
decided by a touchdown or less. This
season, the Owls are 5-0 in games
decided by eight points or less.
"This year we always find a way
See RUSHING, Page 18
mm*
Soccer stays in contention
Owls, picked to finish last in WAC, sit in tie for third at 2-2
by Wei-Han Tan
THRF.SHKK STAFF
LIANG/THRESHER
Freshman goalkeeper Amanda Garrison, right, leaps for the ball in Rice's 3-2 win over Hawaii
Sunday. Garrison had six saves In the game, which was the Owls' second overtime win this season.
After an overtime win over the University
of Hawaii and a loss at the University of Tulsa,
the women's varsity soccer team, which was
picked to finish ninth and last in the preseason
Western Athletic Conference coaches' poll,
sits in a five-way tie for third place at 2-2-0 in
conference action.
But be careful not to mention the words
"exceeding expectations" around the Owls'
players and coaches — they always knew
they'd be here.
"Being 2-1 in the WAC as a first year pro-
gram, I don't think many people expected it,"
head coach Chris Huston said after the Hawaii
win. "We as coaches expected it. and the girls
expected it, but this game was huge for us."
The 3-2 win over Hawaii Oct. 14 was Rice's first
at home since Sept. 30 and gave the Owls their
second consecutive WAC overtime victory.
"This isa huge confidence builder," Huston
said. "Every game we're getting a little more
confident as team, and now the girls know that
we can do it in overtime. When we get into
another tough game, we know that we are 2-0
in overtime games."
Freshman midfielder Kelly Potysman
scored both goals for the Owls during regula-
tion. "The first goal I didn't really think about."
she said. "I said I was going take it and I did.
Sometimes you get into a zone for a moment
IN FOCUS: WOMEN'S
VARSITY SOCCER
Record: 4-7-0
WAC record: 2-2-0 (tied for 3rd)
Since last time: Won two of three matches
defeating Hawaii and Oral Roberts but
losing to Tulsa.
What made the difference: Freshman
midfielder Sarah Voder put in the game-
winner four minutes into overtime
against Hawaii to give Rice its second
WAC win.
Up next: The Owls host UTEP tonight at
7 p.m. at the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium.
and I feel lucky that it happened at that mo-
ment. My second goal was a chance shot. 1
didn't have any time to think about it. Those
are sometimes the best times when you don't
think and you just do it."
Rice controlled the tempo throughout the
game. Hawaii was able to get several
breakaways, but Rice's defense and freshman
goalkeeper Amanda Garrison, who had six saves
in the game, were able to shut the Rainbow
Wahine down. Rice outshot Hawaii 15-13, the
See SOCCER, Page 18
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Liu, Leslie & Reichle, Robert. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 89, No. 10, Ed. 1 Friday, October 26, 2001, newspaper, October 26, 2001; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443159/m1/19/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.