Spider Sports Recap: Week of Nov. 3

Women’s Basketball

Nov. 5: Win 70-62 at University of North Carolina at Greensboro

The Spiders beat UNC Greensboro 70-62 in their season opener on Tuesday. Senior Jaide Hinds-Clarke had 14 points, six rebounds and five steals. In first-year Elaina Chapman’s first collegiate game, she scored nine points and recorded five rebounds. Sophomore Kate Klimkiewicz scored 13 points. Although the Spiders went into halftime 33-36, they outscored UNC Greensboro 21-16 in the third quarter and went into the fourth with a two-point lead. The University of Richmond has been 8-3 in its last 11 season openers.

Nov. 9: Loss 59-78 at University of North Carolina at Charlotte

The women’s basketball team lost to UNC Charlotte on Saturday 59-78 in its second game of the season, dropping its record to 1-1. Sophomore Emma Squires scored a career-high 19 points on 7-for-11 shots from the field. Sophomore Aniyah Carpenter and Hinds-Clarke each scored nine points. The Spiders were outscored 44-37 in the second half. UNC Charlotte shot 53.4% from the field and had 21 assists. 

Women's Swimming and Diving

Nov. 8: Loss 105-189 vs. Virginia Tech and loss 116-178 vs. Queens University of Charlotte at Virginia Tech 

The women’s swimming and diving team was in Blacksburg on Friday taking on Virginia Tech and Queens in a pair of dual meets. Despite finishing the meets with several first-place finishes, UR lost in both duals. Senior Hannah Gouger earned a first-place finish in the 200-yard backstroke and swam a new season-best at 2 minutes, 01.32 seconds. Sophomore Maggie Purcell had a winning 1:04.24 finish in the 100-yard breaststroke, a season best, and a first-place finish in the 200-yard breaststroke. She also finished first in the 200 IM, beating the second-place swimmer by 1.14 seconds. Senior Sydney Weiskopf earned a second-place finish with a score of 267.90 in the three-meter diving event.

Men’s Basketball

Nov. 8: Win 100-98 vs. Saint Francis University

Richmond beat Saint Francis in overtime with a 100-98 on Friday night at the Robins Center.  With less than two minutes remaining in regulation, the Spiders were able to close their 10-point deficit. With pressure from the defense, they managed a pair of 3-pointers to go into overtime after a 12-2 run. Redshirt junior transfer Blake Francis cut the deficit to seven, and redshirt junior Nick Sherod made a deep 3-pointer. This was Sherod’s first game since he tore his ACL last November. With just under a minute left, first-year Tyler Burton stole the ball at half court and followed with a dunk to make the score 86-89. After a successful free throw from Saint Francis, junior Jacob Gilyard was able to score a driving layup. He then intercepted a Saint Francis pass but was fouled and able to gain free throws. He made both shots to tie the game at 90. UR's defense held its pressure, forcing Saint Francis into overtime. Gilyard added 24 points and eight assists, a team high, during the game. This was the first time since 2016 that the Spiders have won their season opener.

Field Hockey

Nov. 8: Win 3-1 vs. University of Massachusetts

The UR field hockey team beat out No. 2 seed UMass on Friday afternoon to advance to Saturday’s Atlantic 10 Championship game. The team was led by senior Elise Zwicklbauer, who scored twice and added an assist. Zwicklbauer scored her first goal of the day 57 seconds before the end of the first quarter to give the Spiders the lead. On a penalty corner in the second quarter, Zwicklbauer assisted the ball to sophomore Steffie Bongers, who shot and scored to give UR a 2-0 advantage in the 23rd minute. Zwicklbauer scored again six minutes later, giving her five points on the day, tying her career high. The Spiders advanced to the A-10 Championship game for the first time since 2015.

Nov. 9: A-10 Championship, Loss 0-1 vs. Saint Joseph’s University

No. 1-seeded Saint Joseph’s narrowly beat out the Spiders in the A-10 Field Hockey Championship game, winning 1-0. Neither team managed to get on the board in the first quarter, however, the Hawks eventually scored in the first minute of the second quarter. The Spiders managed to prevent a single shot in the final 30 minutes of play. Four Spiders were recognized after the game, as Zwicklbauer, senior Amanda DaSilva, Bongers and first-year Tess Keppel were all named to the All-Championship team for their playing in the semifinals and final.

Football

Nov. 9: Loss 28-35 at Villanova University 

The Spiders lost 35-28 against No. 18 Villanova on Saturday afternoon. Villanova scored the last two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to win the game. In the first half, redshirt junior quarterback Joe Mancuso accounted for four touchdowns. He rushed for two touchdowns and threw the other two to graduate transfer wide receiver Keyston Fuller. First-year running back Savon Smith added 79 rushing yards on seven carries. Graduate transfer Charlie Fessler had a team-high 51 receiving yards on three catches. UR had a seven-point lead heading into the fourth quarter but Villanova scored two consecutive touchdowns to capture the lead. Villanova got the ball back with 7:20 remaining and was able to run out the clock on 11 plays.

Men’s Tennis

Nov. 8-10: Wake Forest Invitational

The men’s tennis team had its last matches of the 2019 fall season at Wake Forest University during a three-day invitational. Senior Klein Evans and sophomore John Walsh each went 3-1 in their singles matches. Sophomores Campbell Erwin and Alex Wernink also had two wins in singles. In doubles, Erwin and Evans had two wins, earning their way to the finals, where they lost to a team from Wofford College.

Contact contributor Lena Jacobson at lena.jacobson@richmond.edu.