The Rice Thresher

Location: http://the.ricethresher.org/sports/2007/08/24/sports_notebook

August 24, 2007 > Sports > Sports Notebook

Sports Notebook

By The Rice Thresher Editorial Staff | Thresher Editorial Staff

Harknett shines in final postseason

After helping the men’s tennis team to its fifth consecutive NCAA postseason berth, senior Ben Harknett was rewarded with his first bid to the NCAA National Singles Tournament, held May 17-22 at the University of Georgia, where he left them to the finals.

Harknett then traveled to Athens, Ga., to compete in the 64-man tournament. The senior opened up the tournament May 23 against Philip Therp, a freshman who had led his UC-Santa Barbara team to the Big West Conference championship. Harknett opened strong against Therp, battling his way to a first set win, and was able to hold off a late comeback to take the contest 6-4, 6-4.

However, Harknett found trouble in the round of 32, dropping a tight 7-6 (4), 7-5 contest with No. 6 Steven Moneke of Ohio State University.

Harknett, who graduated last May, finished 17-14 on the year.

— Casey Michel

Two Owls notch All-American honors

The women’s track and field team sent four representatives to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held June 6-9 in Sacramento, Calif. Two Owls placed well enough to earn All-American honors: senior Funmi Jimoh in the long jump and junior Marissa Daniels in the 10,000 meters.

Jimoh, one of the favorites to win the long jump heading into the meet, experienced some difficulty in getting her first All-American award. On her third attempt, she suffered an ankle injury that required significant taping. However, she managed to overcome the injury and jump 21 feet, 1.25 inches, good for a fifth-place finish. Jimoh was the highest finisher of any Rice athlete, male or female

— Stephen Whitfield

Solares ends career on high note

Pablo Solares finished his Rice career with the race of his life. Running at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif., Solares flew with a flurry over the final stretch to break his own Rice record and come within seconds of outdoor All-American honors. The senior ran 3 minutes, 40.22 seconds to finish ninth. His time was just over three seconds behind national champion Lopez Lomong of the University of Northern Arizona.

Solares was not the only Owl male to go to Sacramento. Another senior, Luke Stadel, competed in the shot put after earning an automatic berth at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships May 26. The Conference USA champion in the event, he threw 57 feet, 3.5 inches to place 19th in the preliminary round. The mark was not enough to qualify for the finals, as only the top 12 advanced.

— Stephen Whitfield

End of article

Back to top