Spider Sports Recap: Week of Feb. 10

Men’s Golf 

February 10: Mobile Sports Authority Collegiate Rounds 1 and 2, Mobile, Alabama 

After the first two rounds at the Mobile Sports Authority Collegiate, the men’s golf team finished with a total team score of 580 (+4), tying them for 10th place in the competition. A pair of first-years, Lou Baker and Ben Cooper, led the Spiders in scoring by finishing 29th and 35th respectively in their individual scoring. After shooting 77 (+5) in the first round, Cooper had a fantastic second-round performance shooting a 67 (-5), setting a personal record and tying for the 10th-lowest round in team history. 

February 11: Mobile Sports Authority Collegiate Round 3, Mobile, Alabama 

After the final round of the Mobile Sports Authority Collegiate, the team tied for 11th in the 14-team field. Cooper and Baker each finished the event with a 54-hole score of 214 (-2), tied for 27th in the 80-man field. Sophomore Michael Childress tied for 47th and sophomore Carter Cook finished in 76th place. Junior Michael Baker ended tied for 55th. 

Men’s Tennis 

Feb. 16: Loss 1-6 at United States Naval Academy

The men’s tennis team lost to a 9-3 Navy team on Sunday. Senior Matthew Fernandez, first-year Ricky Bell, senior Klein Evans, sophomore John Walsh and senior George Lovitt all lost their singles matches. Sophomore Campbell Erwin was the only Spider to pull out a singles win, beating his opponent in two sets by a score of 6-2 and 6-4. 

Women’s Tennis 

February 15: Loss 1-5 at Liberty University

The women’s tennis team lost the doubles point and four singles matches in a 5-1 loss at Liberty on the road. Seniors Kiana Marshall and Lyndell Giffenig lost their doubles match 6-0. Seniors Lea Owens, Marshall and Dessi Zlateva all lost their singles matches in two sets. Junior Emily Dunbar was able to force a third set in her loss, and first-year Andrea Campodonico was the only Spider to pull out a win. 

Men’s Basketball 

February 12: Win 74-47 at La Salle University

The men’s basketball team dominated La Salle on Wednesday night in its largest A-10 road win since 2001. The Spiders were stellar on defense, forcing 17 turnovers and holding the Explorers to under 30% shooting. Redshirt junior Grant Golden led the way in scoring, putting up 16 points in just 19 minutes of play. 

February 15: Win 77-59 vs. Virginia Commonwealth University

The men’s basketball team dominated rival VCU in a victory on Sunday. All five starters scored in the double-digits, and the Spiders never trailed during the game. Redshirt junior Nick Sherod scored a game-high 23 points, and Golden put up 15 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in an all-around performance. 

Women’s Basketball 

February 12: Win 67-64 vs. Duquesne University

The women’s basketball team pulled out an exciting 67-64 overtime win against Duquesne on Wednesday. Led by a career-high 21 points from sophomore Aniyah Carpenter, the Spiders rallied back from an early deficit to force overtime and snap an eight-game losing streak to Duquesne. The Spiders shot 40% from the three-point-line and 42% from the field overall as a team, displaying great efficiency to coincide with a balanced offense. 

February 16: Loss 64-47 vs. Fordham University

The team lost to the A-10 defending champion Fordham Rams on Sunday. Senior Jaide Hinds-Clarke finished with a double-double off of 14 points and 10 rebounds, but the team's 27 turnovers were costly. Led by the 29-point performance of junior Kendell Heremaia, Fordham proved to be too much for the Spiders to handle. 

Women’s Track and Field

February 14 and 15: David Hemery Valentine Invite, Boston, Massachusetts, and the VMI Indoor Classic, Lexington, Virginia 

The women’s track and field team displayed many impressive performances at the David Hemery Valentine Invite in Boston, Massachusetts, as well as at the VMI Indoor Classic in Lexington, Virginia. Sophomore Rachel Helbling finished second in the 500-meter dash after posting a time of 1:13.64. First-year Kamryn Ross erased two-hundredths off her program record in the 60-meter hurdles, crossing the finish line in 8.70 at the semifinals. Ross would finish second in the prelims with a time of 8.84. Senior Haley Berkeley finished ninth in the prelims with a time of 9.091. Junior Caroline Robelen came in third in the 5,000-meter run finishing with a time of 17:21.28. First-year Gabrielle Beneducci turned in a time of 59.75 in the 400-meter dash, .72 shy of her personal best. 

Baseball 

February 14: Loss 6-7 at University of Georgia

Richmond baseball fell to the No. 4 ranked Georgia Bulldogs in its season opener on Friday. After the Spiders held a 6-2 advantage after four innings of play, the Bulldogs chipped away at the lead by scoring runs during the fifth, sixth and seventh innings. The Bulldogs won the game with two more runs at the bottom of the ninth. The Richmond offense was led by redshirt junior Drew Blakely, who ended the game 4-for-5 with four singles and two RBIs. Additionally, junior Dominic Toso hit a solo home run and scored twice. 

February 15: Loss 3-9 at University of Georgia

Richmond lost again to the Georgia Bulldogs on Saturday. After falling behind 7-0 in the first four innings, the Spiders drove in three total runs during the fifth and sixth innings, but it wasn’t enough, as the team ended up losing 9-3. First-year Zach Lass recorded the first hit of his career. 

February 16: Loss 4-5 at University of Georgia

The baseball team lost to the Bulldogs for a third time on Sunday, falling to 0-3 on the season. Despite Toso’s three-run home run in the third inning of play, the Spiders were not able to pull out the win. 

Men’s Lacrosse 

February 14: Win 13-11 vs. Marist College

The No. 19 ranked men’s lacrosse team notched its first win of the season after pulling away from Marist in the fourth quarter. First-year Richie Connell continued his impressive campaign after putting up four goals and one assist to add to his season point total. Sophomore Ryan Dunn and junior Mitch Savoca each added three goals to the box score. Junior Ryan Lanchbury led the team with six points, dishing out a career-high four assists and notching two goals.

Women’s Lacrosse 

February 15: Win 16-3 at Radford University

The women’s lacrosse team collected its second straight win of the season on a dominating performance in Radford, Virginia. Cruising to an 11-3 lead in the first half, the Spiders shut out Radford in the second half while adding five more goals. More than a dozen players on the team contributed to the offense, with redshirt junior Sam Geiersbach leading the way with three goals.Senior Madison Ostrick, first-year Arden Tierney, junior Nicole Concannon and first-year Lindsey Frank each added two goals as well. 

Contact sports writer Stuart Schaenen at stuart.schaenen@richmond.edu