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Rice Athletics experiences first self-initiated COVID-19 postponement

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The first self-initiated COVID-19 postponement occurred at South Main this week. Through the ups and downs, Rice Athletics is battling COVID-19 well.

Rice Athletics issued its first self-initiated COVID-19 postponement on Tuesday afternoon. The Owls were forced to defer a set of Rice women’s basketball games originally scheduled for this weekend “due to a positive COVID-19 test within the program and related contact tracing”.

That postponement represents the first time Rice has had to back out of an athletic contest since the Owls kicked off their 2020-2021 athletic year on Oct. 24, 2020 against Middle Tennessee, 87 days prior.

Rice has been on the opposite end of those dour phone calls on numerous occasions. Rice has three football games postponed by COVID-19 tests and contact tracing by their opponents this fall. The women’s basketball team lost games against UT Arlington and Texas Southern. The men’s basketball team missed out on the marquee non-conference game: the Bayou Bucket against Houston.

Altogether Rice has played 30 games (not counting six postponements) over the last three months without being the offending party. That streak ends on Friday.

More: Conference USA COVID-19 Postponement Tracker 

The Rice women’s basketball team was thin on numbers before COVID-19 had any impact this week. The Owls played seven out of a maximum of 15 allowable scholarship players in their most recent contest, a road win against Old Dominion. The team found ways to keep winning, but simply did not have the bodies to afford to lose any more players. Even still, they lead Conference USA with a 10-1 (6-0) record.

The way Rice Athletics has handled COVID-19 hasn’t been perfect. But through rigorous contact tracing and safety protocols, the Owls have made it longer than most every college program in the nation before bowing out of any games. They’ve given their athletes their best chance to compete.

Volleyball, soccer and baseball will all begin soon. Cases continue to climb in the Houston area. The degree of difficulty will only rise from here. But so far, it’s been (relatively) smooth sailing at South Main. Here’s hoping they can keep it up.

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Rice Baseball: 2021 schedule dates, opponents announced

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The 2021 Rice Baseball schedule has been announced. After a truncated 2020 season, the Owls are slated to have a busy spring this year.

There are 56 games on the 2021 Rice Baseball schedule as currently constructed. That includes 31 home games. Per a release by Rice Athletics, the department is “working with the University’s Crisis Management Team to determine the seating layout and how many fans will be allowed at each game for the 2021 season.”

The slate also includes another appearance in the College Classic at Minute Main Park. This year’s the Owls are scheduled to face Sam Houston State, Texas State and Texas Tech. The Owls played both Texas State and Texas Tech in last year’s shortened season.

Conference USA will play four game series each weekend, including a double header, currently scheduled for the middle day of the series. That’s a new adjustment given current safety and travel limitations. Rice has less C-USA East teams on their schedule, but otherwise it’s still a fairly full slate.

Opening Day is set for Feb. 19 against Arkansas Little Rock. The Conference Tournament is scheduled to begin on May 26.

Here is the complete schedule

February

Feb 19. Arkansas Little Rock
Feb 20. Washington
Feb 21. Houston Baptist
Feb 23. at Lamar
Feb 26-28. at Louisiana

March

Mar 3. Prairie View A&M
Mar 5. Sam Houston
Mar 6. Texas State
Mar 7. Texas Tech
Mar 9. Houston Baptist
Mar 10. Texas A&M Corpus Christi
Mar 12. Northern Illinois
Mar 13. Kansas State
Mar 14. Northern Illinois / Kansas State
Mar 17. at Texas State
Mar 19-21. Southern
Mar 23. at Texas A&M
Mar 26-28. UTSA

April

Apr 1-3. at MTSU
Apr 9-11. at LaTech
Apr 13. Incarnate Word
Apr 16-18. at ODU
Apr 23-25. at UTSA
Apr 30-May 2. So Miss

May

May 7-9. at UAB
May 14-16. Charlotte

We’ll have a few more updates on the team in the coming weeks. Stay tuned and get ready for some sunny days at Reckling Park in the not-too-distant future.

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Rice Football Recruiting: Flight School 21 wows as National Signing Day nears

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The 2021 Rice Football recruiting class is winding down, but the future Owls still in action have been impressing on the gridiron.

It’s been a relatively calm few weeks for the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class. The Owls have only added two new players to the fold since the Early Signing Period, both transfers.

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New Mexico transfer wide receiver Tre Patterson made his pledge to the Owls in mid-December, just after the Owls signed the majority of their class. Quarterback Jake Constantine made his announcement on January 5, a few days after being offered on New Year’s Day. That tandem will be among the last few additions to this class, which is starting to fill out quite nicely.

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Rice Football 2020: NFL Owls Divisional Round update

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Rice Football is well represented on 2020 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in the Divisional Round.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player. Four Rice football alums made the playoffs this year.

Divisional Round Schedule

Green Bay def. Los Angeles Rams, 32-18
Buffalo def. Baltimore, 17-3
Tampa Bay def. New Orleans, 30-20
Kansas City def. Cleveland (Sendejo), 22-17

Championship Round Schedule

Buffalo at Kansas City, Sunday – 2:05 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Green Bay, Sunday – 5:40 p.m.

NFL Owls Update

Luke Willson, Chris Boswell and Vance McDonald were each eliminated from the NFL Playoffs in the Wild Card Round. Willson’s Seahawks fell to the Rams. Boswell and McDonald’s Steelers were bounced by the Browns.

Andrew Sendejo – Saf, Browns

Sendejo played in both of the Browns’ playoff games this season. He had five tackles and one pass deflection in their victory over the Steelers in the Wild Card Round. On Sunday against the Chiefs, he had one tackle. The Browns have been eliminated. Sendejo finishes the year with 72 total tackles and three pass deflections.

Offseason Owls

Jack Fox picked up more accolades this week, being named an NFL’s second-team All-Pro selection. He was the only Owl to receive All-Pro honors.

Former Rice football defensive lineman Myles Adams has signed a futures contract with the Seahawks. Adams spent time with the Panthers’ practice squad this year before signing with the Seahawks practice squad at the end of the season.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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Rice Women’s Basketball 2021: ODU makes Owls work for series sweep

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Rice women’s basketball was pushed to the wire twice, but prevailed each time, earning an important road series sweep over Old Dominion.

Despite entering the weekend undefeated in conference play, Rice women’s basketball was weary of what waited for them inside the confines of Chartway Arena. The Old Dominion Monarchs broke the Owls’ 30-game conference winning streak on that very court a season ago. Both programs had experienced turnover since, but there were no illusions amongst either side: this was going to be a battle.

Old Dominion came out ready on Friday night, taking advantage of some early miscues from Rice and adding some second-chance points of their own. A 20-17 first quarter lead would not last long, though. Rice rallied quickly, exploding for 26 points in the second quarter to take an eight-point lead into halftime. Nancy Mulkey’s near-perfect sowing from the field proved to be more than enough to power the Owls to a game one victory.

Rice came out more composed in game two, earning an early lead and extending it to a 38-28 lead at halftime. This time it was Katelyn Crosthwait with three big three point makes to give the Owls some breathing room. But Old Dominion would not go quietly. The Monarchs retook the lead with their first bucket of the fourth quarter.

Then it was the Owls’ turn for a statement. Mulkey and Lauren Schwartz powered a late run, capped off by a Jasmine Smith three point shot to put Rice comfortably ahead in the final minutes. Old Dominion would try to extend the game, but Rice hit their free throws and finished off the road sweep.

Player Spotlight | Nancy Mulkey

A short bench meant the Owls would have to ask a lot from their star center. Mulkey came through in a big way, delivering 21 points and eight rebounds on Friday with an encore of  25 points and five rebounds on Saturday. She was essential on both sides of the court, prevent the Monarchs from ever getting into a rhythm for two long and making what felt like every shot she took.

Mulkey began the Friday game 8-for-8 from the field before finishing 10-of-13. She was 10-of-16 from the field on Saturday, averaging 76.9 percent from the floor in the series. If she’s shooting at that clip, it’s opens up the offense. And when Rice can score, their defense will do the rest. That was the formula against Old Dominion and it’s probably not the last we see of it this spring.

Stat Corner | The few, the proud, the undefeated

NCAA scholarship restrictions put the cap at 15 players available per team each season. Eight players saw action for the Owls on Friday night. Only seven played on Saturday. That’s a far cry from the 10 players that suited up and got on the court for Rice in their season opener against Houston Baptist.

Injuries played a part in what became a rather lean contingent against Old Dominion. Nevertheless, the Owls persevered. Even when tasked with playing two games in less than 24 hours, they found a way to dig deep and finish in the fourth quarter.

For the first time this season, Rice was outscored in the third quarter in both games of a conference series. On both occasions this weekend, Rice answered by outscoring Old Dominion in the fourth quarter and held on for two important road victories.

Up Next

Rice returns home next weekend to face UAB. The Blazers are in the middle of the pack in the West with a series win over Southern Miss and a series loss to North Texas. This past weekend they were swept by Charlotte.

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