Spider Sports Recap: Week of April 12

Women’s Swim and Dive 

April 14-17: Atlantic 10 Championship

The Richmond Swim and Dive team won the Atlantic 10 Championship at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva this week with a total of 687.5 points.

The Spiders ended their first night of the championship in second after placing second in both the 200 medley relay and the 800 freestyle relay. The team finished with 68 points -- 12 behind first place Davidson College. First-year Katelyn Pennell and sophomores Sara Greene, Claire O'Shaughnessy and Lauren Medlin took home the silver for Richmond in the 200 medley relay, finishing with a time of 1:41.14. In the 800 freestyle relay, first-years Alexa Connors and Megan Carson, junior Maggie Purcell and Medlin added another silver medal, finishing with a time of 7:19.84.

After the second day in the A-10 Championship, the Spiders jumped to the top spot after strong performances from both swimming and diving. All three of the Spiders' divers placed in either the championship final or consolation final. Six of seven Spider swimmers qualified to swim in the 500 freestyle finals. Junior Grace Palfreyman and first-year Petra Mijic swam in the consolation finals. Mijic finished 14th overall at 4:57.09, and Palfreyman came in 15th at 4:57.31. The remaining four Spiders swam in the finals. Connors finished in second place with a time of  4:50.92. Carson finished in fifth at 4:54.23. O'Shaughnessy took sixth with a time of 4:56.19. Pennell took eighth, finishing at 4:56.68.

After the third day of competition, the Spiders remained in first place with 467.5 points followed by Duquesne University and Davidson with 394 and 374, respectively. Purcell finished the 400 individual medley in third place with a time of 4:18.14. First-year Emma Martin came in sixth at 4:24.72. Jenna Miller qualified for consolation, finishing in 10th with a time of 4:26.11. O'Shaughnessy finished third in the 100 Butterfly with a time of 54.83, the fourth-best time in Spiders history. First-year Ainsley Everett finished in seventh with a time of 56.08 in the 100 Butterfly. 

The Spiders concluded the meet in first and won their 16th Atlantic-10 Championship trophy on the fourth day, ending with 687.5 points. Connors was named the meet's most outstanding rookie performer. Connors finished the meet with three silver medals in the 500 freestyle and the 1650 freestyle and  came in sixth place in the 200 freestyle race. 

Women’s Tennis 

April 16, Win 7-0 vs. Saint Joseph’s University

The Spiders swept Saint Joseph's University 7-0 on senior day. 

First-year Carly Cohen and senior Adrienne Haynes won their match 6-1. Sophomore Andrea Campodonico and first-year Sara Salemyr secured the doubles point with a 6-3 win. Graduate student Dessi Zlateva and senior Emily Dunbar trailed 3-4 in their doubles match before going on to win three straight games. For singles, Zlateva, Salemyr, and first-year Polina Shitikova won in straight sets, with Shitikova clinching the win in her matchup.

April 17, Win 4-1 vs. UNCG

The Spiders beat University of North Carolina at Greensboro 4-1, winning all three doubles and sweeping the singles matches in their final home game of the season. 

Junior Helene Heiberg and Haynes won their doubles match 6-4. Campodonico and Salemyr clinched the doubles match, winning 6-2. Zlateva and Dunbar completed the sweep with a 6-3 win at No. 1 doubles. Zlateva won the first singles match in straight sets 6-1, 6-1. Salemyr won the second singles match in straight sets with a 6-0, 6-1 score. Shitikova clinched the win for the Spiders with a 6-2, 6-0 win in straight sets. Campodonico and Haynes were unable to finish their sets and Dunbar lost in straight sets 2-6 and 1-6.

Men’s Tennis

April 14, Loss 1-6 vs. William and Mary 

The men’s tennis team lost 1-6 against the College of William and Mary. 

They lost both doubles matches and five singles. First-year Daniel Kliebhan and junior Josh Keitelman lost 0-6 in the first doubles match. William and Mary clinched the doubles point after first-year Alaister Burke and junior John Walsh lost 3-6. The Spiders earned their only point as Walsh won in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3.

April 16, Win 6-1 vs. Saint Josephs 

The Spiders came back from their three losses in doubles to sweep all six singles for a 6-1 win over Saint Joseph’s University. 

Junior Alex Wernink won in straight sets 6-3, 6-1. Walsh won in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. Kliebhan won in straight sets with a 6-2, 7-6 (7-2) second-set tiebreaker win. Junior Campbell Erwin won 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) for the Spider's second-set tiebreaker win of the day, clinching the win for the Spiders. After losing the first set 1-6, graduate student Matt Fernandez won sets two and three 6-4, 6-4. Keitelman fell 4-6 in the first set but went on to win 6-3, 7-5 in sets two and three.

Women’s Lacrosse

April 16, Win 19-13 vs. Virginia Commonwealth University

The No. 13 Spiders beat Virginia Commonwealth University 19-13, sweeping the season series and moving to 7-1 on the year and 3-0 in Atlantic 10 play. 

Redshirt senior Sam Geiersbach scored four goals and three assists. Sophomore Arden Tierney ended with seven draw controls on the day and scored three goals for the Spiders. Graduate student Megan Gianforte recorded 13 saves and allowed 13 goals. The team went 32 of 39 for shots on goal. The Spiders won more draw controls and ground balls, 20-14, and 13-12 respectively.

Men’s Lacrosse 

April 17, Win 14-7 vs. Jacksonville University 

The No. 13 Richmond men's lacrosse team improved to 4-0 in Southern Conference play with a 14-7 win over Jacksonville University on Saturday. Sophomore attack Dalton Young led the Spider scorers, tallying four goals. Sophomore attack Richie Connell added three goals in the win. Midfielders senior Mitch Savoca and graduate student Tyler Shoults each had a pair of goals. Graduate goalie Jack Rusbuldt held the Dolphins to just six goals in 57:38 of play and collected 11 saves. The Spiders went 21 for 39 on shots on goal. The team won face-offs 17-7 and went 2 for 4 on extra-man opportunities. 

Football

April 17, Loss 23-6 vs. James Madison University

The No. 10 Spiders collected their first loss of the season against No. 1 JMU on Saturday. 

Senior linebacker Tyler Dressler led with a game-high 13 tackles, including one sack. Sophomore linebacker Tristan Wheeler added 11 tackles. Redshirt junior defensive lineman Kobie Turner collected nine tackles and two sacks. The Spiders were held to only 200 total yards compared to JMU’s 384. Redshirt senior quarterback Joe Mancuso finished the game 9-24 on pass attempts for 125 yards and recorded his first interception of the season. 

Contact sports writer Anabella Pelaez at anabella.pelaez@richmond.edu.