.png&type=webp)
Rice Hall of Fame Ceremony on Oct. 19
9/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track & Field
Sept. 19, 2007
One of the most important and exciting events in Rice athletics takes place once every two years, and that is the Rice Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony. This year's event takes place on Friday, Oct. 19, 2007, at the Cohen House, Rice Faculty Club. The ceremony gets underway at 7 pm with the program starting at 7:30 pm. Tickets are available for $35.00 per person and may be purchased at www.riceowls.com, just click on "Buy Tickets."
The group will also be honored at halftime of the Owls' football contest vs. Memphis on Saturday, Oct. 20.
Being inducted into the Rice Athletic Hall of Fame are Victor Lopez, former women's track and field head coach, from baseball Mark Quinn (1995), footballer J.D. Smith (1959), volleyball player Samantha Waldron-Shannon (1995), and the 1997 NCAA indoor women's champion 4x400m relay team consisting of Andrea Blackett, Melissa Straker, TaNisha Mills, and Margaret Fox-Melton.
The R Association is also honoring Robert Schlanger with an Honorary "R" for his decades of loyal service to Rice athletics. Receiving the Distinguished "R" is former basketball player and current Rice Board of Trustees member, Robert Tudor III.
One of the most successful Rice head coaches in the history of the school is Victor Lopez, who served as the Owls' women's track and field head coach for 26 years. Under his tutelage the Owls captured three indoor conference titles, four outdoor conference titles, and three cross country conference titles. Additionally, his student-athletes earned All-America honors 152 times and won 14 national titles and one relay national title. Lopez currently serves as chairman of the International Association of Athletics Federations Coaches Commission, president of the IAAF-NACAC Coaches Commission (The commission is comprised of the presidents of the IAAF Regional Coaches Associations: North America/Central America/Caribbean (Lopez), Oceania, Africa, Asia, South America and Europe, plus the director of the IAAF development department), president of the Central American and Caribbean Athletics Confederation, as well as sport consultant for the city of Carolina, Puerto Rico. Victor and his wife, Evelyn, reside in Caguas, Puerto Rico. They have two grown children, Antonio and Lolita, and a granddaughter, LuLu.
Mark Quinn lettered in baseball at Rice in 1994 and 1995 as third baseman and designated hitter earning two-time All-SWC accolades. In 1995, Quinn led the Owls in hitting (.380), home runs (18), hits (95), and RBI (89). He was selected in the 11th round of the 1995 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals and on September 14, 1999, Quinn became just the third player in MLB history to hit two home runs in his major league debut. For the Wichita Wranglers, he led all of double-A in batting average at .349 with 19 homers. During the 1999 season with the Omaha Golden Spikes of the Pacific Coast League, Quinn led all of AAA with a .360 batting average in addition to slugging 25 home runs. In 2000, Quinn became the Royals regular leftfielder and hit .294 with 20 home runs, to earn The Sporting News American League Rookie Player of the Year and a spot on the 2000 Topps All-Star Rookie Team. Mark currently resides in Houston, before he heads to Japan to play for the Tokyo Giants in October.
J.D. (Jesse Daley) Smith, from Richland Springs, Texas, was a giant in the trenches standing at 6' 4" and weighing 230 pounds as an offensive tackle for the Rice Owls from 1956 to 1958. Smith earned All-SWC first team honors in 1958 and graduated in May 1959. Without a first round selection, the Philadelphia Eagles chose Smith as their first pick in the second round and 15th overall in the NFL Draft. A year later on December 26, 1960, Smith's Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers, coached by Vince Lombardi, 17-13 to claim their third NFL championship. A year later, he was named to the 1961 Pro Bowl. After eight NFL seasons, the last three with the Detroit Lions, Smith retired from professional football. Smith operated a successful grain harvesting and ranching business until he was 50 years old when he became a founding partner of Santanna Natural Gas Co., which markets natural gas and electricity. In 2000, Smith sold his interest in Santanna to his partner and retired. J.D. and his wife of 47 years, Melanie (Rice, 1962), reside in Austin. They have three children.
Samantha (Sammy) Waldron-Shannon, is perhaps the greatest Rice Owl volleyball player of all-time. During her four seasons at Rice, Waldron tormented the opposition with her ferocious outside hitting and concluded her career as the Southwest Conference all-time kills leader with 1,830 and as the SWC season kills leader (604). She was first team All-SWC in 1993, 1994, and 1995. Waldron became Rice's only American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American in 1995. She was the squad's MVP as she earned the Hally Beth Poindexter Award three times (1993, 1994, and 1995). Waldron graduated from Rice with a double-major in human performance and health science and managerial studies in 1997. After Rice, Sammy worked eight years for Xerox Corporation and in 2000 married Michael Shannon, brother of her teammate, Vanessa Shannon. In 2004, she gave birth to their son Spencer and another son, Michael, was born in May of 2007. The family now resides in San Clemente, Calif., where they operate Michael's pediatric dental practice.
The 4x400m relay team of Andrea Blackett, Melissa Straker, Tanisha Mills, and Margaret Fox-Melton became the first Rice relay quartet to win an NCAA title when they won the 1997 NCAA indoor 4x400m event. The indoor title was Rice's fourth overall and its first in a running event ever. The winning time of 3:34.44 shattered a 10-year-old school record of 3:36.48. Blackett gave the Owls the early lead with a 53.8 split time and Mills (54.2) and Fox (53.6) kept Rice in front. With the final hand off of the baton, Texas' Tonya Brown burst ahead of the Owls' Straker. But Straker, a 1996 Olympian for Barbados, surged past Brown for the win and the NCAA crown.
These days, Andrea Blackett serves as assistant track and field coach at Rice and still competes under the tutelage of Victor Lopez. Blackett concluded her collegiate career as a six-time All-American and she qualified for the NCAA Championship in each of her four seasons. She still holds the Rice record for 400m hurdles. A native of Barbados, Blackett competed in the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games and the 2004 Athens Olympics in the 400m hurdles. She holds her country's record in both the 100m and 400m hurdles. Andrea earned a B.A. degree from Rice in 1997, majoring in Spanish and managerial studies and her master's degree in hotel management from the University of Houston. In 1995, she was inducted as an individual member into the Rice Hall of Fame.
TaNisha Mills, since leaving Rice, is still a force in the track and field world. As a 400m hurdler, Mills won the 2005 Adidas Track Classic and placed sixth at the U.S. Championship and in 2006, she placed sixth at the US vs. Great Britain vs. Russia vs. China Championship in Birmingham, England. She recently relocated to Washington D.C. where she is training under Sheila Burrell to become an Olympian as a heptahlete. Off the track, Mills started her own bookkeeping and tax preparation business. Mills held the Rice record in the 100m (11.44) and she ranks third in the 200m (23.42). In 1997, she won the WAC 400m title with a time of 53.44. Her future plans include competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2009 IAAF World Championship as well as preparing for the CPA exam. Mills graduated from Rice with a B.A. degree in economics as well as managerial studies in 1997.
Margaret Fox-Melton was a member of the 2000 Canadian Olympic team, as an alternate for the 4x400m relay team and in 2001 became a registered massage therapist. As a graduate assistant coach for track and field at the University of Nebraska, Fox-Melton earned her M.S. degree in nutritional science and dietetics in 2004. She graduated from Rice in 2000 with a degree in human performance and health science. Margaret married former Rice football player and current Carolina Panther, Terrence Melton, and they have two daughters, Malia and Arianna.
A native of Barbados, Melissa Straker-Taylor graduated from Rice in 1997 with a double-major in managerial studies and Spanish and she still ranks third in school history in the 400m (52.26). Following graduation, Straker-Taylor served as assistant coordinator for the Barbados Defence Force in its sports program, while still competing on the track. Representing Barbados, Straker-Taylor competed at the 1997 IAAF World Championship, 1998 Commonwealth Games, where she was a finalist in the 400m, the 1999 IAAF World Championship, the 1999 Pan American Games, where she earned a bronze medal as a member of the 4x400m relay team, and at the 2000 Sydney Olympic games. She is currently pursing her MBA degree from the University of Surrey. In 2000, Melissa married Dave Taylor, a Barbados national athlete and national record holder in the discus. They have two children, Zoë (5), and Zachary (3).
If ever a person deserved an Honorary R it is Bob Schlanger. Schlanger not only has donated countless hours of his time but also has aided Rice University financially as well. After earning his B.A. degree in economics from Rice in 1973, he attended law school at the University of Texas and graduated with honors in 1976. Schlanger and two of his former Sid Richardson alumni eventually established a real estate practice in Houston in 1980. With his return to Houston, Schlanger became heavily involved with the Rice athletic department and assisted with game day operations as game timer and scoreboard operator at Rice's basketball, soccer, and baseball events. Furthermore, he has worked in some capacity with Houston's professional franchises (Rockets, Texans, Oilers, Comets and the USFL's Gamblers). He has also assisted the Rice football radio broadcasts as statistician and still does so today. When not working with Rice football radio, Schlanger has also worked with ESPN, CBS Sports, and Fox Sports International for Super Bowl XVIII in Houston. Since the Baylor game in 1983, Bob has attended 253 of 255 Rice football games at home and on the road!
The Distinguished R Award is given to a member of the Rice Association who has earned a letter, has shown an interest in Rice athletics since graduation, has led an exemplary life, and has served his or her community in an outstanding manner. It really is hard to top what former basketball letterman Bobby Tudor has accomplished since his days on South Main.
While a student-athlete at Rice, Tudor was a resident and an officer at Hanszen College. He lettered in basketball from 1979-82 and was a team captain. He received the Bob Quin Award in 1982 for being the male senior athlete who most exemplified distinction in athletics, academics and leadership.
Tudor, a member of the Rice Board of Trustees, graduated from Rice in 1982 with a B.A. degree in English and legal studies and earned his J.D. from Tulane Law School in 1987. He then embarked on a nearly 20-year career with Goldman Sachs & Co., working in the New York, London and Houston offices, in varying capacities including head of southwest region and head of European industrial & natural resources group. Tudor became partner with Goldman Sachs in 1998 and remained so until his retirement from the company in May of 2006.
A new phase in Tudor's life began when he started Tudor, Pickering & Co., an energy investment and merchant banking firm in August of 2007 of which he serves as Chairman and CEO. The Pineville, La., native also presently serves on the following civic boards:
• Society for the Performing Arts: President of Board of Directors (2006 - present)
• United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast: Board Member (1998 - 2000) and (2005 - present)
• Houston Public Library Foundation: Director (2005 - present)
• Houston Symphony: Senior Vice President, Board Governance (2005 - present)
• Board of Visitors and Executive Committee of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center: (2005 - present)
• Houston Katrina/Rita Fund: Board Member and Head of Development (2005 - present)
• Tulane Law School Advisory Board (2002 - present)
• Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival: National Advisory Board Member (2005 - present)
• St. John the Divine Church: Member of Endowment Committee (2005 - present)
• Rice University Board of Trustees: (2006 - present)
• Association of Rice University Alumni: Board Member (1998 - 2000)
• President of the R Association (Rice University): (1995)
• Co-Chair Rice University Design Alliance Gala: (1997)
• Rice University Fund Counsel: (1996 - 2000)
• Rice University Humanities Advisory Board Member: (2005 - present)
• Deltic Timber Corporation - Board of Directors
Bobby and his wife of 23-years, Phoebe, reside in Houston and are the parents of three children. They recently donated $7 million to Rice athletics towards the extensive renovation of Autry Court, home of the Rice Owls men's and women's basketball and volleyball teams.
Rice Athletic Hall of Fame
In 1970, the R Association honored 14 former athletes and one former coach as first members of the Rice Athletic Hall of Fame.
The criteria for consideration for the honor, as set forth by the R Association, states that to be eligible, a candidate "must possess or shall have possessed, in addition to outstanding ability in sports, other qualifications such as sportsmanship, character and integrity, and be one who has brought great distinction to Rice University; and shall have completed his or her athletic eligibility or service with the Athletic Department or Rice University at least five years prior to his or her selection."
New members were inducted at an annual banquet until 2000, when the decision was made to induct new members every other year.