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Volume 72, Issue 112,
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Sports Rice coach Graham sets the bar high After nearly 1,300 wins, Owls coach isn't done yet by RONNIE TURNER
Chances are that when Rice skipper Wayne Graham finally decides to hang up his cap for good, he'll go down as the most successful coach of any sports team in school history. He's reached several milestones during his tenure at Rice, and Saturday he added another. Graham claimed his 700th victory at Rice after the Owls defeated Cal Poly 7-2 in the second game of their three-game series. The Owls later went on to sweep the series and Graham ended the weekend with 701 wins at Rice. Now in his 16th season as the Owls' skipper, Graham has a long track record of success. Before coming to Rice in 1991, he spent 11 seasons at San Jacinto College, where he won five national championships. He also led Rice to its only national championship in 2003. Graham's overall collegiate record now stands at 1,276-390 (not counting Tuesday's game against Texas A&M). With such a résumé, it's no wonder Graham has continued to command the respect of his peers. "I think Wayne's one of the premiere coaches in the nation," said UH head coach Rayner Noble, who worked under Graham at Rice from 1992 to 1994. "He's been very successful everywhere he's been, and it was a very good decision when they hired him at Rice. I think that was a very good decision on the part of (former Rice Athletics Director) Bobby May to bring in someone with his background and winning ways. He's an extremely good coach." More injuries, more problems The injury bug refuses to leave Houston alone. The nagging pest claimed another victim when freshman catcher Austin Goolsby went down after breaking his left forearm in the Cougars' 20-1 victory over Princeton on March 10. While batting in the second inning, Goolsby was hit by a pitch thrown by Princeton starter Christian Staehely. Goolsby will be out for four to six weeks, and freshman Chris Wallace is now the backup catcher to sophomore Luis Flores, who splits time on the mound and behind the plate. Goolsby's loss only adds to the team's growing list of injury dilemmas. Senior outfielder Jake Stewart went down with a torn rotator cuff in mid-February and chose to sit out the remainder of the season with a medical redshirt. Junior right-hander Ricky Hargrove continues to deal with soreness in his throwing shoulder and has yet to pitch this season. The Cougars (11-12) are still awaiting a definitive status on Hargrove's condition. "You would imagine with modern technology being what it is, we could get an answer on that, but so far nothing," Noble said. Quote to note After collected his 700th victory as Rice's coach in the Owls' win over Cal Poly on Saturday evening, Graham was asked how he would celebrate. Graham didn't allow many seconds to pass before he gave his answer. With the series finale between the two teams slated for an early start Sunday, Graham said, "Rest. We've got to play at noon." By the numbers Since starting 2-3, Rice has won 15 of its last 19 games. … Tulane right-hander Sean Morgan struck out a career-high 14 batters against Siena on Friday. … Marshall's 13-4 start is the program's best start through 17 games since 1988 when the Thundering Herd also started 13-4 … Memphis junior outfielder K.K. Chalmers recorded his 67th career stolen base Wednesday against Illinois State to become the school's all-time leader … Houston senior shortstop Dustin Kingsbury made his 143rd consecutive infield start in the Cougars' series finale Sunday against San Diego. Send comments to dcsports@mail.uh.edu |
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