Spider Sports Recap | Week of Mar. 1

Men’s Cross Country

Mar. 5: First place at Atlantic 10 Championship

The men’s cross country team won their second every Atlantic 10 Championship, the first one coming in 2010. Head coach Steve Taylor was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year following his team’s performance. First-year Stuart Terrill finished second overall in the race with a time of 24:31.3. With this, he was named the Atlantic 10 Rookie Performer. Junior Peter Borger finished right behind Terrill in third place with a time of 24:36.9. Senior Noah Yuro finished in sixth place and junior Noah Campbell finished in 10th place, giving the Spiders four runners who finished in the top 10 and helping them secure the Atlantic 10 Championship.

Men’s Basketball

Mar. 1: Loss 73-76 vs. Saint Joseph’s University

In its regular-season finale and senior night, the men’s basketball team was upset 73-76 by Saint Joseph’s University. At the half, the Spiders were down 25-34 to the Hawks after shooting an extremely poor 10% from the three-point line. The team managed to claw its way back in the second half but Saint Joseph’s managed to continue hitting key shots to stay ahead. In some final-second drama, junior forward Matt Grace hit a buzzer-beating three to tie the game at 76 at the end of regulation. After official review, however, the ball was still in Grace’s hands as time expired resulting in the three being waived off and the Hawks ending up with the victory. Despite the loss, senior forward Nathan Cayo managed to notch his 1,000th career point early in the first half. Cayo would finish with a career and game-high of 25 points.

Mar. 4: Loss 62-67 vs. Duquesne University A-10 Tournament Second Round

The Spiders were eliminated in the second round of the A-10 tournament after a second-half surge put the Duquesne Dukes ahead 67-62. The team was without leading-scorer, graduate student and guard Blake Francis as he was sidelined due to a hip injury. Throughout the majority of the game the Spiders had a comfortable lead. At the half, they were up seven. With 13 minutes remaining the team was up 11. The team would then go scoreless for four minutes before a putback from sophomore forward Tyler Burton and then go nine minutes without a field goal. The team finished with 16 turnovers 11 coming in the second half. Burton led the team in points with 18 and rebounds with 11 for his fifth career double-double. 

Women’s Lacrosse

Mar. 3: Win 19-3 vs. Longwood University

The women’s lacrosse team dominated the Longwood University Lancers 19-3. The Spiders win featured 13 different goal scorers and moves them to 3-1 on the season. At the half the team was up 14-1. Sophomores Arden Tierney and Lindsey Frank both led the team in goals with three each. Graduate student goalkeeper Megan Gianforte allowed only one goal in the first half on five shots. She was rested the whole second half allowing younger goalkeepers sophomores Daniela Stelcer and Emilie Bloyer and first-year Nicole Burney to get some quality minutes. 

Men’s Tennis

Mar. 4: Loss 2-5 at Liberty University

The men’s tennis team lost a close match to the Liberty University Flames 2-5. Despite the loss, the team still managed to stay extremely competitive with Liberty, sending four matches into third sets. The Spiders started off slow, losing two of the three doubles matches, resulting in the Flames receiving the point. Liberty managed to then win the No. 5 and No. 6 singles resulting in a 3-0 lead. Junior John Walsh then got the Spiders on the board with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory. The rally was then cut short as first-year Daniel Kliebhan and graduate student Matt Fernandez lost their singles matches, resulting in Liberty taking a 5-1 lead and ultimately securing the victory. 

Mar. 5: Loss 1-6 at the College of William & Mary

In its second match of the week, the men’s tennis team lost again, this time in a lopsided 1-6 victory by the College of William & Mary Tribe. The lone point was secured in the No. 2 singles spot by Kliebhan as he won his match 4-6, 6-4 and 6-4. Despite the Spider’s slow 1-5 start on the season, Kliebhan has shown some great promise in his first year on the team.

Mar. 7: Loss 0-7 vs. Virginia Commonwealth University

Against city rival VCU, the men’s tennis team was overwhelmed in a shutout 0-7 loss. In its A-10 opener, the Spiders almost took an early lead in doubles. They managed to win the No. 3 doubles match but came up just short in the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches as each of them ended in tiebreakers. The Rams looked dominant across all the singles matches, finishing them all in two sets.

Baseball

Mar. 5: Loss 7-10 at George Mason University

The baseball team suffered their first loss of the season against A-10 foe George Mason University 7-10. George Mason got up to a big 9-0 lead throughout the first five innings. The Spiders managed to score some runs and reduce the deficit in the seventh inning as they scored five runs. The rally was not enough for the team as the lead George Mason had established in earlier innings was too big. Redshirt junior Drew Blakely managed to go 4-5 at the plate while notching two runs. Redshirt junior Dominic Toso led the team in RBIs with three. 

Mar. 6: Win 10-3 vs. Virginia Military Institute

Redshirt sophomore Jacob Marcus’s dominant performance on the mound helped the Spiders get its fifth win of the season 10-3 over VMI. Marcus managed to strike out 10 batters while only giving up one earned run in his five innings pitched. The game was tied 3-3 for the first five innings before the Spider’s offense broke out in the sixth inning for five runs. Blakely had yet another strong game at-bat going 3-5. He also managed to score one run. Graduate student Rich Ciufo went 3-4 at the plate, batting in three runs.

Women’s Cross Country

Mar. 5: Seventh place at Atlantic 10 championship

The women’s cross country team finished seventh in the A-10 Championship. First-year Elizabeth Stockman led the team with a time of 17:38.4, finishing in 8th place overall.

Women’s Golf

Mar. 5: Third place (309, +21) at Spring Creek Golf Club vs University of Virginia and Old Dominion University

Up against two of the country’s best teams, the women’s golf team managed to match its best team score in its last six competitive rounds. The team score of (309, +21) is its best since over a year ago on Feb.17, 2020, in the second round of the Tampa’s Old Friends Invitational. Three Spiders, juniors Emily Ward and Naomi Mitchell and first-year Claire Yioulos, shot a score of 76 (+4), which tied them for eight out of the field of 22. 

Football

Mar. 6: Win 21-14 vs. William & Mary

In the 131st meeting of “The South’s Oldest Rivalry,” the Richmond Spiders football team managed to take home the Capital Cup with a 21-14 victory over William & Mary. The series between the two teams is now tied up again at 63-63-5 all-time. Despite only having a seven-point lead, the Spiders managed to control the game throughout the whole first half. The sole touchdown in the half came from a seven-yard pass from redshirt senior Joe Mancuso to redshirt sophomore Aaron Dykes. In the second half, the Tribe managed to come back eventually taking a one point lead. The Spiders then went on a 14-play 77-yard drive to score a touchdown and retake the lead. The Spider’s defense led by sophomore linebacker Tristan Wheeler, senior linebacker Tyler Dressler, and redshirt junior defensive lineman Kobie Turner sealed the game for the team by stopping a final attempt by the Tribe offense. 

Swimming and Diving

Mar. 6: Loss 117-182 at James Madison University

Women’s Tennis

Mar. 6: Loss 0-7 at James Madison University

The women’s tennis team was shutout 0-7 by James Madison University. The No. 2 doubles team of first-year Sara Salemyr and sophomore Andrea Campodonico managed to win their match 6-2 but their matches did not result in any points for the Spiders as the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles lost their matches. Campodonico was also in the No. 3 singles spot and nearly won as the final set went into a tiebreaker.

Women’s Soccer

Mar. 7: Loss 0-1 vs. George Washington University

In their season opener, the women’s soccer team lost in double overtime 0-1 to the George Washington University Colonials. The Spiders were there the whole game with the Colonials but fell just short to a goal that came in the 105th minute. Despite the scoreless effort, the Spiders managed to tally 14 shots with seven being on goal. Graduate student Alyssa Walker and senior TJ Anderson lead the team in shots with 4 each.

Men’s Lacrosse

Mar. 7: Loss 6-13 vs. No. 1 Duke University

The No. 16 men’s lacrosse team now sits at 1-3 after a 6-13 loss to the No. 1 Duke University Blue Devils. The Blue Devils came hot out of the gate taking a 4-1 lead after the first quarter. They would add to this lead in the second going into the half up 9-3. The Spiders would only allow four more Blue Devil goals in the second half but the lead their opponents had built up in the first two quarters was far too large to overcome. Senior Ryan Lanchbury would lead the Spiders with three goals. His third goal which came early in the fourth was his 100th career goal. With this, he becomes the third player in team history to reach this mark.

Contact sports editor Krystian Hajduczka at krystian.hajduczka@richmond.edu.