The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, September 17, 1993 Page: 14 of 20
twenty 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:
14 FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 1993 THE RICE THRESHER
SPORTS
■", t <
Volleyball anticipates
tough Florida foes
by Tony Tran
Bert Emanuel prepares to ward off a Tulane defender as he heads down the sideline.
Owls hope for back-to-back wins
by Jason Katz
After rolling over the Tulane Uni-
versity Green Wave in last week's
home opener, the Rice Owls football
team will host a Sam Houston State
University Bearkat squad that is on
fire and gunning for an upset
The Division I-AA Bearkals began
their 1993 season by crushing South-
east Missouri State University 40-7
last week.
This week the Bearkats look for
more of a challenge with their only
battle of the year against a Division I-
Afoe.
They will also be seeking revenge
from their 45-14 drubbing by Rice last
season.
Bearkat quarterback Dwight
Gross, who is in his first season as a
starter, leads Sam Houston State of-
fensively.
Though he started out slowly, miss-
ing on his first three aerial attempts,
Gross settled down in the pocket He
ended up completing his next 12
passes for 185 yards, including a 25-
yard touchdown to receiver Tonzell
Green in last week's contest
On the ground, the Bearkats run a
triad of backs. Tailback Charles Har-
ris is the veteran of this unit.
Against Southeast Missouri State,
Harris carried the ball 13 times for 55
yards. Fullback Kirk Lawrence, who
rushed seven times for 43 yards, and
tailback Davy Smith, who added 46
yards on six carries, are also running
out of the backfield.
The Bearkat attack is comprised of
one of their most solid offensive lines
in years.
Left guard Kevin Johnson and left
tackle Don Henson anchor the Sam
Houston State line.
Against Southeast Missouri State,
the Bearkat line proved nearly
inpenetrable. The Indians were able
to reach the quarterback only after
the second unit was put in during the
final quarter.
Despite the loss of nine starters
due to graduation, the Sam Houston
State defense remains the backbone
of the Bearkat team. This team has
ranked in the top 10 in total defense in
Division I-AA two of the past three
years.
Noseguard Elvin Massenburge is
the star of this defensive squad. He
had six tackles, including four for
losses and a safety, against Southeast
Missouri State.
"We didn't do anything special to
get so much defensive penetration;
but we've got some guys with a lot of
quickness in our defensive line, and
we take pride in getting in there and
messing things up," said
Massenburge.
Though the Bearkats sent a mes-
sage of domination after humiliating
their opening-day opponent, this Sam
Houston State team is picked by many
media experts to finish sixth in the
eight-team Southland Conference.
The toss of 23 seniors, including
seven offensive and nine defensive
starters from last year, and the result-
ing lack of playing experience are caus-
ing much concern on the team.
Sam Houston State Head Coach
Ron Randleman disagrees with the
experts' opinions about his squad.
There's no doubt we're a young
ball club," said Randleman, "but I think
we'rean athletically-talented ballchib.
Every team has its own personality
and this one seems to be eager, in-
tense, and ready to get the job done. I
think we will have a good team this
year."
It remains to be seen whether this
Bearkat program will fare any better
than lastyear's more experienced team
against Division I-A schools likeRice.
"At our level, we always enjoy the
opportunity to see how we compare
with the Division I-A teams," said
Randleman. The young men always
look forward to games like this one,
and we are looking forward to another
visit to Rice Stadium."
The Owls, after coming off one of
their most decisive victories in many
years, took to continue their home
stand with their second victory of the
season.
Defensively, Rice leads the South-
west Conference in turnover margin
(phis 1.5 per game), rushing defense
(110.0 yards per game) and scoring
defense (17.0 points per game).
Against the Tulane Green Wave, the
Owls allowed only 215 total yards and
a mere 13 yards on the ground.
Like the defense, the Owl's offense
SEE FOOTBALL PAGE 16
The Rice volleyball team, fresh off
a tournament victory last week, at-
tempts to run its winning streak to
four games at home this weekend.
The Owls host the University of
Florida tomorrow afternoon and play
a strong FloridaState University squad
Sunday afternoon.
The Gators, a Final Four team last
year and the eighth-ranked team in
the nation, and the Seminoles, who
upset Florida earlier this season, offer
a formidable one-two punch from the
Orange State.
The Owls are excited at their pros-
pects of upsetting the Gators. Quick
hitter Yuan Yuan Zhang said that Rice
has all the tools and talents to topple
Florida
"Well have to play hard, but it's
possible to beat them," she said. "We
just have to play at our level, and we
need to work together as a team, to
communicate and to have fun."
The team feels that their strong
play against Long Beach State Univer-
sity two weeks ago will help them face
the Gators and Seminoles.
"We're going to play hard and do
whatever it takes to win," said hitter
Sammy Waldron. "We did so well
against Long Beach State that we're
excited to play these teams."
"Our match against Long Beach
State shows that we can play with
anyone in the top ten," said Head
Coach Henry Chen. "Right now, the
attitude of the team is to win some
games against these guys."
The Owls rallied from a poor show-
ing in the first game to defeat a sur-
prisingly-strong University of North
Texas squad in four games Sept 9.
Rice overcame the strong jump
serve of Dee Dee Cartock to prevail, 7-
15,15-11,15-8,15-13.
Waldron led the team with 19 kills
after having only one kill in the first
game.
"We weren't mentally ready for the
first game," said Chen. "I told them to
play their game without expecting
anyone to help us."
Over the weekend, Rice traveled
to San Antonio to compete in the Urn-
versity of Texas-San Antonio tourna-
ment and brought back the title, com-
piling a 3-0 mark.
"We went out and took care of
business," said Chen. "We did our job
when it came down to crunch time."
The Owls opened the tournament
against University of Texas-Pan-
American.
They regrouped after a tough third
game to win the match, 15-7,15-10,10-
15,154.
Waldron led Rice with 14 kills, while
setter Jessica Williams had 29 assists
and 11 digs.
The Lady Broncs were led by Tara
Gallagher, who had 11 kills and seven
digs.
Rice routed Texas Southern Uni-
versity 15-6, 15-7, 15-7 Sept 12.
Waldron led the balanced attack with
11 kills, quick hitter Darcy Cruikshank
added eight kills, and Williams had 28
assists and five service aces, including
a jump serve ace to end the match.
Shiwann Simpson and Janisa Watts
led the Lady Tigers with five kills
apiece.
TSU was very unconventional in
the way they played," said Chen. "We
had to be very alert in terms of our
anticipation as to what they were go-
ing to do."
That afternoon, Rice battled the
University of Texas-San Antonio to
determine the champion.
In a close, hard-fought match, the
Owls prevailed, 156,10-15,15-11,15-
12, to cap a successful weekend.
Williams had a huge match as set-
ter, with 49 assists, 12 digs and,two
service aces.
Waldron again led the way in kills,
with 18, but she had solid support from
quick hitter Lynda Yoon, who finished
with 11 kills and eight digs.
The Lady Roadrunners were paced
by Cristela Perez, who had 13 kills and
10 digs, and by Andre Schmelzle who
had 11 kills.
"I thought it [UTSA tournament]
went great" said Waldron. "We had
some little rough spots, but we came
through."
This weekend, Rice faces its last
big hurdle before the start of confer-
ence season.
"Well go outmentally knowing we
have nothing to lose," said Cruikshank.
The fans will be nice to have."
Men's soccer opens with wins against UTA and Lamar
by Grant Flowers
The Rice men's soccer team won
their first two gamesoftheyear against
the University of Texas at Arlington
and Lamar University.
The Owls beat UT-Arlington 4-1 in
Dallas Sept 11, and emerged with a 2-
1 victory against Lamar at home the
next day.
The Owls dominated UT-Arling-
ton in all phases of the game.
Randy Westbrook scored two
goals, and Pat Moriarty netted an-
other.
The Arlington goalkeeper knocked
a throw-in from Dave McMath into his
own net for the fourth score.
"[UT-Arlington was] individually
skilled, but they didn't have the fo-
cused attack we did," said team cap-
tain McMath. They were pretty easy
to defend because they came straight
at you. We just dominated the midfield
HICK THRESHER
XL
ATHLETICS
It was especially a good game for us
because eveiyone got to play."
McMath started the scoring
against Lamar with a clean shot into
the right corner of the goal.
"We won the ball at midfield," said
McMath. "I had gotten behind my
defender. Pat [Moriarty] got the ball
to me. I played the ball forward once,
and then Jim [Evans] called for the
balL That froze the keeper, and then I
blew it past him."
Evans, a forward, scored the Lads'
second goal less than a minute later.
"We had a good drive down the left
side," said Evans, "and Randall
[Westbrook] put a cross into the cen-
ter. Bob Adams made a good dummy
on the cross, he ran by it and left the
ball for me. I had a tot of goal to work
with."
After an early 2-0 lead, it looked
like the Owls would have a scorefest
but Lamar countered with a quick
goal of its own.
According to Stu Baur, the Rice
goalkeeper, the Lamar score was the
result of a bungled save.
"It was a really soft goal," he said.
The [shooter] had a lot of net and I
played foradiving save. Unfortunately,
he hit it right at me. I was so joyous to
get the save that I lost my concentra-
tion. I was already thinking about what
I'd do after the save, and the ball just
slipped through my hands."
The game remained at 2-1 the rest
of the way, but the Lads were never
really threatened by the Lamar attack.
McMath stressed the importance
m
■
* 4#-™
Dave McMath punts the ball down centerfield.
of the midfielders in both victories.
The key was the defensive play of
the midfield," he said. "We shut down
both teams."
McMath was impressed with the
Owls' offensive attack.
"We've been dominant up front
and had good ball control, and we've
had more scoring chances than we've
ever had before," he said. "It's just that
we havent been finishing."
"I thought we had a good rhythm,
and we were dominating offensively
theentiregame, butwejusthad trouble
finishing," said Evans.
To warm up for the season, the
Lads played two exhibitions against
Alvin Community College last week.
The Owls tied both "pre-season"
matches.
"We were experimenting with
people on the field, trying everybody
at eveiy position," said Baur, "and it
was hard to establish a rhythm. But
those games dont count [In the two
weekend] games, where the games
matter, we had moments of virtual
brilliance."
The Owls play at home Saturday
against Sam Houston State Univer-
sity. The first tough game is at Baylor
University on Sept 25. The Lads re-
turn home to play the University of
Houston on Sept 26.
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.
Howley, Peter & Epperson, Kraettli. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 81, No. 5, Ed. 1 Friday, September 17, 1993, newspaper, September 17, 1993; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth245847/m1/14/: accessed June 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.