Spider Sports Recap | Week of Jan. 31

Editor's note: Andrew Cardounel wrote the women's track and field section of the recap because Kayla O'Connell is a member of the team. 

Men’s basketball

Feb. 1: Win 74-57 vs. Duquesne  

The men’s basketball team beat Duquesne University 74-57 to improve its record to 14-8 this season and 5-4 in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Junior forward Tyler Burton led all players with 18 points and 12 rebounds, recording his 11th career double-double. Graduate guard Jacob Gilyard scored 17 points and a game-high four steals. The Spiders finished 13-25 from the three-point range. The Spiders have now won four straight road games, their longest A-10 winning streak since 2011. 

Feb 4: Win 71-61 vs. St. Bonaventure 

In an exciting Friday night game in Robins Center, the men’s basketball team prevailed over St. Bonaventure University 71-61. Burton scored a career-high 36 points, with three three-pointers, seven rebounds and two steals. The Spiders collected five steals and pulled down four offensive rebounds for seven second-chance points in the first half. Graduate forward Grant Golden collected 10 rebounds and senior guard Andre Gustavson finished with nine points, three rebounds and three steals. Gilyard had a game-high of eight assists. 

Women’s basketball

Feb 2: Loss 68-72 vs. VCU 

The women’s basketball team lost to Virginia Commonwealth University 68-72, falling short with a few minutes to go. The team trailed 18-5 at the end of the first quarter. UR shot a total of 39.3% in field goals and 31.3% in three-pointers with 10 threes overall in the last three quarters. 

The team committed nine turnovers while forcing 13 with nine steals. First-year forward Cayla Williams scored a career-high of three three-pointers. Sophomore guard Grace Townsend posted her fifth-straight double-digit scoring game, with a team-high 17 points. Sophomore forward Addie Budnik scored 13 points, while senior guard Kate Klimkiewicz scored 11 points. 

Feb 5: Loss 66-74 vs St. Bonaventure

In a 66-74 loss to St. Bonaventure, Klimkiewicz recorded her first double-double of the season. Senior forward Emma Squires posted 22 points. The Spiders outrebounded St. Bonaventure 33-27 in the game. Klimkiewicz also tied a season-high 12 rebounds and 15 points. Budnik added seven rebounds, seven points and two blocks. 

Men’s tennis

Feb 5: Loss 0-7 at Virginia Tech 

The men’s tennis team fell to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University 0-7. In doubles, sophomore Sebastian Miano and senior Alex Wernink fell 0-6. Senior John Walsh and senior Campbell Erwin fell 1-6. In singles, sophomore Daniel Kliebhan, Miano, Walsh and Erwin went down in straight sets. Senior Josh Keitelman battled for a 4-6. 

Women’s tennis

Feb 6: Loss 0-4 vs. Liberty University 

The women’s tennis team fell to Liberty University 0-4. Sophomores Carly Cohen and Polina Shitikova won doubles 6-1. The pair improved to be 2-1 at No. 2 doubles. The Spiders are now 0-3 for this season. 

Women’s track and field

Feb. 5: Virginia Beach East Coast Invitational 

UR’s women’s track and field team participated in the 59th Annual Virginia Beach East Coast Invitational, where the Spiders saw success in the 3,000-meter and mile run, along with adding five season-best times. 

Sophomore Manon Stephen, first-year Kathryn Shea and Caitlin O’Hare took the top three spots in the 3,000m event with respective times of 10:54.99, 10:56.67 and 11:14.05. 

In the mile run, first-year Laurel Kurtz, junior Anna George and first-year Ashley Minns clocked times of 5:15.07, 5:19.67 and 5:50.65 — all season-best times.

In the 400-meter first-years Aylin Bruce, Amaya Jackson, Dylan Miller, Kyra Blakeslee and junior Maddie Orr all ran season-best times, running below two minutes. 

Contact sports writer Kayla O'connell at kayla.oconnell@richmond.edu.

Contact sports co-editor Andrew Cardounel at andrew.cardounel@richmond.edu.