The Rice Thresher, Vol. 91, No. 8, Ed. 1 Friday, October 10, 2003 Page: 13 of 20
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Page 13
THE RICE THRESHER
Friday, October 10, 2003
Fourth-quarter drives lift Owls to first victory
by Dylan Hedrick
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
The support of a Rice Stadium
crowd turned out to be just what the
football team needed to find victory.
The defense stopped
them when we had to
have it, and the offense
scored on two great
drives. The two last
drives were just classy.'
- Ken Hatfield
Head football coach
After falling behind by 10 points
early in the fourth quarter, Rice
needed just three minutes, 32 sec-
onds to score two touchdowns to
push past San Jose State University
for the Owls' first win of the season.
"It's great to get a win here at
home," head coach Ken Hatfield
said. "The crowd was superb tonight.
1 couldn't be happier in front of the
MOB, the Rice Owl fans and the
Rice Owl students — it is just a great
day to be an Owl."
Trailing 24-14 with 6:17 remain-
ing, Rice got the ball back at its
own 46-yard line after a Spartan
punt and an illegal blocking pen-
alty. In just over a minute, the Owls
quickly moved downfield in a
balanced passing and running at-
tack. The drive included a 21-yard
pass from junior quarterback Greg
SAFIEH NEMAZEE/THRESHER
Sophomore wide receiver Marcus Battle catches the game-winning touchdown pass from junior quarterback Greg Henderson with 1:16 remaining in the fourth
quarter Saturday at Rice Stadium. The Owls rallied from a 24-14 fourth-quarter deficit for a 28-24 win over San Jose State.
Henderson to sophomore wide re-
ceiver Marcus Battle and a 14-yard
Henderson run on a quarterback
keeper. After moving inside the
10-yard line, senior fullback Robbie
Beck ran up the middle twice,
finally punching the ball into the
end zone for the score on his sec-
ond attempt from two yards out.
Trailing only by three points, the
defense kept the crowd on its feet to
force a Spartan punt. Its defensive
stand was highlighted by sophomore
defensive end John Syptak pulling
down quarterback Scott Rislov be-
hind the line of scrimmage on third-
and-five.
Rice began the climactic drive at
its own 22-yard line with 3:46 re-
maining in the game. Struggling on
first and second downs, Henderson
threw two huge third-and-long
passes to freshman wide receiver
John Brock — one for 20 yards and
one for 16 yards — to move into San
Jose State territory.
"I couldn't be happier with the
contributions," Hatfield said. "Prob-
ably the biggest as any was John
Brock. Those two clutch catches in
that drive to keep the drive alive
when they were double covering
Marcus Battle — that opened up our
whole passing game."
After stretching the Spartan de-
fense with the pass, Rice returned to
a running game featuring sopho-
more halfback Thomas Lott,
Henderson and Beck to reach the
12-yard line. Henderson then lofted
a pass into the right corner of the
end zone, where Battle made a fan-
tastic leaping grab to give Rice the
lead with l:16remainingin the game.
The defense held on for the victory,
highlighted by a diving pass deflec-
tion by freshman defensive back
Tyler Smith.
"We turned the ball over a couple
of times and kept it an exciting game,"
Hatfield said. "In the clutch we had to
have it — the defense stopped them
when we had to have it, and the of-
fense scored on two great drives. The
two last drives were just classy."
See FOOTBALL, Page 16
Recruiting brings seven new faces to 2003-'04 swim season
by Debbie Miller
THRESHER STAFF
The swim team begins its five-month sea-
son today in Fort Collins, Colo, with a dual
meet against Colorado State University and
Sunday against the University of Wyoming
in I^ramie, Wyo. It may be a long season,
but with seven new swimmers set to
provide more depth, the team is ready for a
great season.
Rice opens its home schedule Friday when
it hosts the Bayou City Relays, a light-hearted
event where swimmers from several schools
compete together on relay teams.
By contrast, both dual meets this weekend
follow the typical 13-event format, which is
made up of 10 individual events and three
relay events. It is traditional dual-meet style,
but Rice meets will be very different this sea-
son because of the Owls' depth.
Previously, the tiny team of 11 had to
make up for its size by having swimmers
compete in one race right after another, with
minimal time to recover. In addition, half of
the Rice lanes used to be empty, because
there was no one to swim, and it took the
entire team to put together one relay event.
Second-year head coach Seth Huston has
been vigorous in his recruiting since arriving
at Rice, and the Owls have increased their
roster size to 18.
"Wearealot deeperteam thisyear," Huston
said. "We have more versatility and will be
able to move people around more. I-ast year,
we had pretty much one line-up, but this year
we will bave more options."
Senior Toni Ciffolilli said the new swim-
mers make a big difference.
"It feels like a real team," Ciffolilli said.
"This year, we have a whole team that can
contribute."
The Owls had an intrasquad practice meet
against each other Saturday, something that
would have been impossible last season, and
Huston said the team's fatigue showed.
"We looked as though we had just finished
a long hard week of training," Huston said.
"But it gave the freshmen a cbance to get used
to a 13-event format, and for me to see how
they respond to a racing situation."
'It feels like a real team. This
year, we have a whole team
that can contribute.'
— Toni Ciffolilli
Senior swimmer
While the young team brings new options,
the Owls lost fifth-year Mandy Mularz from
last season after she exhausted her eligibility.
"Last year, the girls accomplished a lot
with a small team," Huston said. "And this
year, they will have even more support."
Senior Jackie Corcoran said the added
depth should help Rice challenge deeper op-
ponents like the University of Texas and West-
ern Athletic Conference favorite Southern
Methodist University.
"I>ast year, we caught UT off guard with
all our first-place finishes, but we didn't have
the depth," Corcoran said. "This year, if we
can perform like we did last year, the score
will be closer."
The Owls are eager for the season to begin
and to reap the benefits of having a larger
team, but tbey have already noticed its advan-
tages and disadvantages in practice.
"It's more crowded, but that causes more
commotion and a higher energy level, so it's a
good thing," senior captain Elaine I>ee said.
This weekend marks the culmination of a
seven-Week progression leading up to the be-
ginning of the season, both at practice and in
the weight room. Huston said the program of
weights, running, stadium stairs and cardio-
vascular exercise outside the water is espe-
cially important because the season is so long.
"The inexperience of a team with seven
new swimmers may be a weakness, since they
are all still learning about Rice and adapting to
college," Huston said. "It all takes its toll as far
as training goes, and at the Division I level,
thi / are expected to learn fast."
Huston said he intends to build the team
toward the WAC Championships Feb. 25-28 in
San Antonio, and the team's toughest training
still lies ahead.
"We need to break things up, add variety
and build into the swimming so that the team
isn't burned by the time [the WAC Champion-
ships] come," said Huston. "These next five
weeks will be the hardest training yet."
Expectations are certainly higher than ever
before. I-ast year's season ended with the
third consecutive third-place finish at the WAC
Championships. Nationally fourth-ranked
SMU won the championship for a seventh
straight season.
"SMU graduated a lot of swimmers, so this
year we can hopefully give them a run for the
money," Corcoran said.
Swimming Roster 2003-
'04
Laura Arjona
Fr.
Denise Bear
Fr.
Adi Bichman
Jr.
Meghan Brown
So.
Toni Ciffolilli
Sr.
Jackie Corcoran
Sr.
Kirstin Doyle-Cooney
Fr.
I>aura Healey
So.
Lauren Hill
Jr.
Andrea Hum
Fr.
Jane Keith
Jr.
Corrie Kristick
Jr.
Elaine Lee
Sr.
Urska Ros
Jr.
Kiana Taheri
Jr.
Julia Tucker-Huth
Fr.
Jenny Voight
Jr.
Jenni Whitcomb
Fr.
WEEKLY SPORTS SCHEDULE
Where and when to support Rice Athletics
Friday 10/17 7 p.m.
7 p.m.
Saturday 10/18 10 a.m.
2 p.m.
Sat-Sun 10/18-9 all day
all day
Sunday 10/19 1 p.m.
Thursday 10/23 7 p.m.
Soccer vs. Nevada (Track/Soccer Stadium)
Swimming Bayou City Relays (Rice Pool)
Swimming vs. Tulane (The Reef Lake. Houston)
Football vs. Navy (Rice Stadium)
The two best option attacks in the country. On turf.
Men's Tennis Rice Reunion Classic (JHTS)
Powderpuff Week 5 (Powderpuff Field)
Sat: 11 — Baker-Lovett: 1 — Will Rice-Jones
Sun: 1 — Martel-Jones; 3 — Wiess-Brown
5 — Sid Richardson-Hanszen
Soccer vs. Boise State (Track/Soccer Stadium)
Volleyball vs. Hawaii (Autry Court)
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Berenson, Mark. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 91, No. 8, Ed. 1 Friday, October 10, 2003, newspaper, October 10, 2003; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth398490/m1/13/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.