Spider Sports Recap | Week of April 11

Baseball

April 12: Win 22-10 against Norfolk

The University of Richmond Spiders defeated Norfolk State University with a final score of 22-10. The Spiders’ bats came alive in the third inning after scoring 12 runs — a new season-best passing UR’s 10-run inning against Sacred Heart University on Feb. 26. Graduate student Christian Beal sat atop the Spiders’ leaderboard with five at-bats, four hits, two runs and five runs batted in. Junior Alden Mathes, graduate student Dom Toso and senior Johnny Hipsman had a combined 15 at-bats, six hits, five runs and seven RBIs. 

April 15: Win 7-0 against VCU

The Spiders played against their lifelong rival, the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams, and defeated them with a flawless 7-0 score. For the first five innings, the bats lay dormant, but they came alive for the Spiders in innings five, six and seven. For the Rams, on the other hand, their bats never came alive enough to tally any runs. UR scratched five runs in the fifth inning and one run in innings six and seven each to win the game. 

April 16: Loss 13-11 against VCU

The Spiders couldn’t keep the momentum going against the Rams, leading to a 13-11 loss. UR had a total of 19 hits with 11 runs, while the Rams went 13-for-13 in their runs-hits ratio. The loss left UR’s record at 16-15 in the regular season and 2-6 in the Atlantic 10 Championship. In the first inning, Beal hit his first home run of the season to tie the game. Junior Will Gersky also collected his seventh home run in the fifth inning with Beal behind to collect his second. VCU added two runs in the seventh and eighth inning to seal their victory.

April 17: Loss 13-2 against VCU

UR faced the Rams for a triple-header weekend and could not protect its web as it fell to the Rams 13-2 in the final Spider-Ram matchup of the week. The loss brought UR’s record to an even 16-16 this season and dropped to a 2-7 league record. In the first inning, the Spiders had secured a 2-1 lead but their bats fell dormant for the remainder of the game with only six total hits and 5 errors. UR’s offense wasn’t the only one feeling the pressure as UR’s pitchers felt the heat. Junior pitcher Eli Larson allowed five runs in his four-inning appearance. Sophomore reliever Josh Willitts allowed two runs on two walks. Sophomore pitcher Vincent Corso appeared for just a little over one inning and let up two runs. 

Track

April 14: Bryan Clay Invitational Outdoor

Senior Kendra Smither was the sole Spider to participate in the Bryan Clay Invitational event where she took part in the women’s 800-meter event. She placed 55th in section nine with a time of 2:10.31. 

April 14-16: Mt. SAC Relays

A total of six Spiders traveled to Walnut, California, for the Mount San Antonio College Relay event. Senior Rachel Helbling participated in the women’s 800 and placed 8th with a time of 2:07.23. Fifth-year Brooke Fazio placed 14th with a time of 2:07.96 and junior Kate McAndrew placed 20th with a time of 2:08.86. Senior Tamar Accius represented UR in the 100m and 200m, senior Kayla Woods participated in the long jump and Smither was a part of the team’s 4x400m relay. 

April 15: Bison Outdoor Classic

A combined 11 Spiders traveled to Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, for the Bison Outdoor Classic event. First-year Isabel Blaylock competed in the women’s 1500m invitational and finished 49th with a time of 4:41.22. Sophomores Elizabeth Stockman and Madison Trippett took part in the women’s 5000m invitational, both placing top 10. Stockman finished in fourth place with a time of 16:40.92 and Trippett finished in seventh place with a time of 16:53.02

Cross Country

April 16: JMU Invitational

The Spiders’ cross country team had 14 members participating in the James Madison University invitational event in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Junior Jake Schindel finished in fifth place in the men’s 800m finals with a time of 1:55.54 and sophomore William Tune finished in 11th with a time of 1:57.60. In the men’s 3000m finals, junior Tanner Crochet finished in second place with a time of 8:42.55. 

Women’s Lacrosse

April 14: Win 24-9 against St. Bonaventure

The women’s lacrosse team defeated the St. Bonaventure University Wolves with a tied-program history of 24 goals. Juniors Arden Tierney and Lindsey Frank led UR with four goals each. Junior Sophia DiCenso followed with three goals and first-year Colleen Quinn with two goals. Senior Jillian Becker and first-year Caroline Murphy also scored one goal each. Their goals marked Becker’s first of the season and Murphy’s first goal of her career. Graduate goalie Delaney Galvin protected the Spiders’ web with 11 saves. 

April 16: Win 15-11 against Davidson

For the Spiders’ senior special event, they collected their second straight win and sent the Davidson University Wildcats home from E. Claiborne Robins Stadium. Frank led UR with her career-high six goals, followed by Tierney who scored four goals. Quinn tallied two goals but had a season-high five assists. The Spiders had 44 shots and 24 shots on goal, while the Wildcats could only get off 24 shots and 18 SOG. The Wildcats had 12 turnovers throughout the game while UR sat two below with 10 turnovers. The seniors recognized included Marina Miller, Galvin, Brittney Wright, Lauren Kingsbury, Nicole Concannon, Jillian Becker, Caroline Atkinson and Evelyn Roberts. 

Men’s Lacrosse

April 16: Win 22-9 against Mercer

The Spiders men’s lacrosse team collected its eighth straight win after defeating Mercer University 22-9. The win over the Bears marked the end of the Southern Conference regular season for UR. Senior Ryan Dunn led UR with four goals and one assist. Graduate student Ryan Lanchbury and junior Dalton Young both scored three goals, with Lanchbury sitting one assist higher than Young with three assists. First-year Jared Chenoy won 13 of 20 faceoffs and sophomore goalie Zach Vigue had nine saves. 

Women’s Golf

April 15-17: Second Place in Patriot League Championship

The women’s golf team placed second with a stroke score of 929, falling to Boston College which sat at 928. The Spiders were led by sophomore Rory Weinfurther, who shot a score of 228–just 12 over par for the 54-hole course. Weinfurther placed second in the roster of 36 golfers. Junior Vicky Zhu shot 229 and tied for third. Zhu and Weinfurther earned First Team All-Patriot League recognition for their second and third placements in the championship. First-year Lauren Jones earned Second Team All-Patriot League recognition for her 10th place finish.

Men’s Golf

April 16-17: Rutherford Intercollegiate 

The Spiders finished day one of two of the Rutherford Intercollegiate and found themselves in last place in the 14-team tournament. First-year Cole Ekert had back-to-back rounds where he shot for 73, just two over par. The Spiders had a combined score of 302, 18 over par after completing round one on Saturday. 

Women’s Tennis

April 15: Win 5-2 against St. Bonaventure

UR’s women’s tennis team collected their fourth straight win after defeating the Wolves 5-2. The Spiders won five of their six singles matches with wins coming from fifth-year Emily Dunbar, sophomore Carly Cohen, senior Helene Heiberg, juniors Marta Buendia and Emily Garvin. In the doubles matches, the Spiders had a clean 3-for-3 sweep on the Westhampton Tennis Courts. 

April 16: Loss 6-1 against William and Mary

The Spiders traveled to Williamsburg, Virginia, to face the College of William and Mary, but while on the road, UR fell to the Tribe 6-1. In the singles competition, Heiberg was the only Spider to win her match and won in overtime. Her match scores included 7-6 (5), 2-6 and 11-9. In the doubles competition, UR was struck down 3-0 against the Tribe who are currently 4-1 in the conference and on a three-win streak. 

Men’s Tennis

April 15: Win 5-2 against St. Bonaventure

The men’s tennis team closed and sealed their regular season with a 5-2 win against the Wolves. Their record for the regular season sat at 11-10 overall and 3-3 in conference matches. The Spiders won four of their six singles matches — their wins accredited to senior John Walsh, senior Alex Wernink, senior Campbell Erwin and sophomore Sebastian Miano. UR had almost flawless doubles matches, winning two out of their three. 

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