Players’ Spotlight
Sometimes the scores don’t stop even though the
season is over. So far this year, a number of Rice athletes have
racked
up some impressive marks.
Football
Senior defensive end Brandon Green earned a first-team all-WAC
berth, not the least for ending his career at Rice as the Owls’ all-time
sacks leader with 25. He topped the defensive line with 71 tackles
in 2002, led Rice with five forced fumbles, and had a 13-yard interception
return for a touchdown against Louisiana Tech. It was the second
consecutive first-team recognition for Green, who also was added
to the roster for the Progressive Auto Insurance Hula Bowl. In
addition, he ended the season with the James W. Glanville Award
for Athletics and a Jess Neely Defense Award as the Owls’ top
defensive lineman.
Both senior offensive guard Keith Meyer and junior inside linebacker Jeff Vanover
were named to the WAC second team on the honor squad. Meyer helped the Owls finish
among the national leaders in rushing offense during each of his four varsity
seasons. He also won a George R. Brown Award as Rice’s top offensive lineman.
Vanover was Rice’s leading tackler in 2002, with 92 total tackles, including
four sacks and 10 TFLs. He was another Jess Neely Defense Award winner, as top
linebacker.
Basketball
January was a good month for women’s basketball player Johnetta
Hayes and men’s basketball player Omar-Seli Mance. Each took
home a WAC Basketball Player of the Week award for January 13–19
for helping propel their teams to outstanding wins over Boise State
and the University of Texas at El Paso.
It was the second career Player of the Week award for Hayes,
a junior. The center averaged 25.5 points and 10.5 rebounds
during the two matches. Her season
averages are 14.2 ppg and 8.4 rpg. She also set a career best going 9-of-121
from the free-throw line against the Miners. In the two games, she was 18-of-26
from the field and 14-of-16 from the free-throw line.
Mance, a senior, averaged a team-best 21.5 points per game during the week
leading to the wins over Boise State and UTEP. He shot a composite 55.6 percent
from the floor, converting on 15-of-27 attempts. He hit 8-of-17 three-pointers
and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free-throw line. It was his first Player
of the Week award.
Track-and-Field
Rice sophomore Allison Beckford once again made her name known
on the track as she set a new record in the 400 meters at the
North America, Central America, and Caribbean Under 25 Track-and-Field
Championships in October with a time of 51.21 seconds. She is
the reigning NCAA indoor and outdoor 400-meter champion and holds
the school record in the outdoor 400 meters with a time of 50.83.
In the men’s division, the Owls’ Adam Davis was named to the second-team
academic all-America track-and-field/cross-country team. He helped Rice take
the WAC cross-country championship in 2001 and had the third-fastest 800-meter
time in 2002. He is a two-time NCAA all-American in the indoor and outdoor
800 meters.
Soccer
By season’s end in November, the soccer team had produced
a couple of top players. Sophomore defender Caitlin Currie was
named to the WAC all-tournament team. She is Rice’s first-ever
WAC all-tournament selection. Sophomore forward Sarah Yoder was
named to the 2002 Verizon Academic All-America District VI second
team. Yoder was only one of four players from the WAC chosen for
the elite group.
Volleyball
Rice may have lost the volleyball game to Butler at the Albaturkey
Thanksgiving Classic in Albuquerque last fall, but Rice’s
Rebeca Pazo single-handedly rewrote the Rice record books. For
the match, Pazo hit .397, and her 35 kills marked a new career
best. Her 13 digs—her 20th double-double of the year—made
her the WAC leader, and she had 73 swings, also a new career
record. Pazo ends the season with 562 kills, the second-best
single-season mark in Rice history.
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