Sports

A cut above the rest

This year has been a wild one for UH sports, and The Daily Cougar believes these Cougars have made it memorable

Cougar Sports Staff

With just 18 issues of The Daily Cougar remaining after today, it's time to start reflecting back. The DC Sports staff is giving you, the reader, a unique opportunity to join in.

The Daily Cougar will present a Best of UH Athletics feature on April 28, honoring the players, coaches and teams that have made UH Athletics interesting in the past year. Awards will be presented for Best Female Athlete, Best Male Athlete, Best Newcomer (freshman or transfer), Best Coach and Best Team.


Below are our nominations for the awards. Write to dcsports@mail.uh.edu to vote for one of the nominees or to nominate someone who might have been overlooked.

Best Female Athlete

An obvious contender is Chandi Jones, a senior guard on the women's basketball team. Jones became the first UH woman to be named a Kodak All-American, averaging 22.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game.

Sophomore Azul Almazan had a strong season, finishing in the top 10 in both the 3-meter springboard and the platform diving events at the NCAA championships.

And don't forget Houston's two-sport star Jaci Gonzales, a two-year starter on the volleyball and Cougar softball teams.

Best Male athlete 

Three football players heads up this category:

Senior wide receiver Brandon Middleton was a first-team All-Conference USA selection and an honorable mention All American for the football team. He had 1,250 receiving yards on 55 catches and caught 14 touchdown passes.

The man throwing the ball to Middleton had a pretty good year, too. Freshman quarterback Kevin Kolb threw for 3,131 yards and 25 touchdowns while completing 61.1 percent of his passes.

Offensive linemen don't generally rack up awards, but senior center Rex Hadnot certainly deserves them. Hadnot was a four-year starter on the offensive line and seamlessly made the move from guard to center his senior season.

Another football player should get recognition -- for his contributions in track. Junior Stanford Routt was named the C-USA Male Athlete of the Year after dominating the sprint events at the conference indoor championships.

Senior first baseman and pitcher Brett Cooley has been big for UH this season With most of the season still to come, Cooley is arguably the best offensive player on the baseball team and helped keep the pitching staff together. 

Best Newcomer

Junior college transfer Sancho Lyttle joined the women's basketball team and instantly provided a much-needed post presence. For the season, Lyttle averaged 16.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game and shot 52.5 percent from the field.

Kolb's impact on the Cougars is remarkeable, especially considering the difficulty of playing quarterback straight out of high school. 

Freshman diver Anna Kiess had a strong rookie season for the Cougars, joining teammate Almazan at the NCAA championships.

And don't forget freshman Ricky Romano on the golf team, who has been an anchor for UH. 

Best Coach

Women's basketball head coach Joe Curl won just about every national coach of the year honor in his sport this season, and deservedly so.

Leroy Burrell continues to churn out top athletes and Conference USA championships in track and field. Burrell was named the C-USA Coach of the Year and the Regional Coach of the Year as well.

And of course, football's Art Briles. In his first year as the head football coach of his alma mater, Briles took the team to a winning record and a bowl game.

Best Team

Certainly the football team deserves credit for the team's first winning season in four years and a bowl game appearance for the first time in eight seasons, particularly given where the program was coming from.

The men's track and field team repeated as Conference USA indoor champions and should be the favorite heading into the outdoor season as well.

And there's still softball to consider. The softball team is putting together what might be the best season in the team's history, and the Cougars still have a ways to go.

But women's basketball might have the best case. With a 28-4 record, a Conference USA championship and a NCAA tournament victory to its credit, this team had the best season in the program's history.

 Send comments to dcsports@mail.uh.edu