Spider Sports Recap | Week of Feb. 20

Men’s Golf 

Feb. 20-21: Tied for third place at Wexford Intercollegiate 

The University of Richmond men’s golf team took home third place in Hilton Head, SC as the team competed against 17 other schools at the Wexford Intercollegiate. Sophomore Cole Ekert finished tied for second place individually, shooting a 214 over the 54-hole event. Ekert received the Atlantic 10 Golfer of the Week title for his efforts during the tournament. First-year Drew Carlin was not far behind as he finished tied for fifth place. The Spiders will next compete in the Tiger Invitational in Auburn, AL from March 5 to March 7.

Baseball 

Feb. 21: Loss 8-2 vs. the College of William & Mary 

After three losses away at the University of Alabama, the Spiders traveled to Williamsburg to take on William & Mary. UR took the lead in the top of the first inning with runs from graduate right fielder Christian Beal and redshirt junior center fielder/pitcher Alden Mathes, but the Tribe quickly evened the score. After the first inning, the Spiders did not score again. Out of the bullpen, sophomore pitcher Esteban Rodriguez pitched 4.2 innings and struck out six batters. 

Feb. 24: Loss 9-6 vs. Yale University 

In the first of a three-game series at home, the Spiders lost in a three-run game to the Yale Bulldogs. Heading into the sixth inning, the game was tied at five runs. Mathes hit two home runs in the first and fourth innings, respectively. However, Yale pulled ahead and led by four runs heading into the bottom of the ninth. Graduate catcher Matt Stinebiser came in as a pinch hitter in the ninth and got an RBI double to cut the deficit to three, but the Spiders were ultimately unable to win in their home opener. 

Feb. 26: Win 11-7, Win 16-6 in double-header vs. Yale

After Saturday’s game in the series was postponed due to rain, the Spiders played a double-header on Sunday and won both games, notching their first wins of the young season and  closing out the series on top. In the first game, the Spiders won 11-7. Rodriguez got the victory on the mound after striking out three batters and allowing two runs and Mathes got the save. On the batting side, first-year third baseman Jordan Jaffe went three for four with three RBIs and two runs. Sophomore first baseman Jake Elbeery went three for five with three RBIs. Mathes and Beal scored three and two runs, respectively. In the second game of the day, the Spiders won 16-6. The Spiders were hot in the batter’s box early on as graduate left fielder Jake Topolski hit a home run in the bottom of the second. The game opened up in the next inning, as Jaffe hit a three-run homer and redshirt junior catcher Jason Neff hit a solo shot to extend the Spiders’ lead. Sophomore pitcher Jake Michel pitched eight innings and allowed five runs, but got the victory on the mound. The Spiders’ next game is away against the Virginia Military Institute at 5 p.m. March 1. 

Men’s Basketball  

Feb. 21: Win 81-78 vs. Saint Louis University 

After a six-point loss away against La Salle University, the men’s basketball team emerged victorious at the Robins Center in a close game against Saint Louis, 81-78. The Spiders found themselves down by nine at halftime and were down by 12 points with 13:51 to go in regulation, but UR fought back and took the lead with 1:10 left in the game. With 25 seconds to go, redshirt first-year guard Jason Nelson beat the shock clock buzzer and hit a 3-pointer to put the Spiders up four late. From there, the Spiders escaped with the victory. Senior forward Tyler Burton scored 20 points and graduate forward Matt Grace had 18 points. Nelson had 17 points off the bench. 

Feb. 24: Loss 73-58 vs. Virginia Commonwealth University 

After moving back to .500 on the season with the win against Saint Louis, the Spiders met their crosstown rivals, VCU, at the Stuart C. Siegel Center for another Capital City Classic meeting. UR began the game on top, leading the Rams 17-11 with 12:29 left in the first half. However, VCU went on a 14-0 run and ended the first half up, 37-23. The Spiders were unable to get back into the game and VCU secured their second win of the season against UR. Senior center Neal Quinn led the way with 21 points. The Spiders’ next game is away against Saint Joseph’s University at 7 p.m. March 1. 

Women’s Basketball

Feb. 22: Win 53-37 vs. VCU 

After a three-point loss to the Rams in January early in conference play, the Spiders got their revenge away against VCU, defeating their crosstown rivals by 16 points. Game play was slow to start off as the Spiders and Rams combined for only 11 points in the first quarter, but slowly but surely, UR pulled ahead, leading by five at halftime. The Rams did take the lead back briefly twice in the third quarter, but the Spiders took control in the fourth quarter and never looked back. Junior guard Grace Townsend, first-year forward Maggie Doogan and junior forward Addie Budnik all scored in double-figures. 

Feb. 25: Win 87-45 vs. St. Bonaventure University 

After a win away against VCU, the Spiders won their second straight game in the team’s regular season game finale at the Robins Center against the Bonnies. The Spiders celebrated senior night and honored seniors guard Angel Burgos, forward Elaina Chapman, who was unable to attend the game and graduate forward Emilija Krista Grava. UR shot 81.3% from 3-point range in the third quarter, heading into the fourth with a 42-point lead over the Bonnies. On the night, junior forward Addie Budnik scored her 1,000th career point and led the Spiders with 18 points. With this being the Spiders’ last regular season game, Budnik was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference Second Team and the All-Academic Team. Doogan was named to the All-Rookie Team and All-Conference Third Team. UR will compete in the A-10 tournament starting March 1. 

Swimming and Diving

Feb. 24-26: ECAC Swimming and Diving Open Championships 

After a second place finish at the Atlantic 10 Championships, the swimming and diving team saw more success at the ECAC Swimming and Diving Open Championships. First-year diver Sally Harrington headlined the event, garnering the Diver of the Meet award after two second-place finishes in the 1m and 3m competitions. Other podium finishes included senior swimmer Claire O’Shaughnessy, who placed third in the 200m, sophomore swimmer Abby  Fuller, who placed third in the 50 freestyle and junior swimmer Alexa Connors, who finished second in the mile event. 

Men’s Tennis

Feb. 24: Win 7-0 vs. Methodist University 

After a loss away against the Naval Academy on Feb. 11, the men’s tennis team bounced back with a win against Methodist in the team’s first home match of the season. The Spiders won all their matches on the day. In doubles play, junior Daniel Kliebhan and graduate student William Karpinski defeated their opponents 6-1, junior Sebastian Miano and first-year Davis Wiley defeated their opponents 6-2 and junior Alaister Burke and first-year Mark Taranov defeated their opponents 6-0. Kliebhan, Karpinski, Miano, Wiley, Burke and Taranov all won their singles matches as well. 

Feb. 26: Win 7-0 vs. Hampton University 

In the team’s second home match of the season, the outcome was similar as the Spiders won all their matches against Hampton. Kliebhan and Karpinski won their doubles match 7-6, graduate students John Walsh and Alex Wernink won their doubles match 7-6 and Miano and Wiley won their doubles match 6-1. Singles play fared the same as all UR competitors won their matches. UR’s next match is away against James Madison University at 2 p.m. March 3. 

Men’s Lacrosse

Feb. 24: Win 10-7 vs. Towson University 

The men’s lacrosse team defeated Towson at home, winning their second game of the young season. The game was back and forth in the first half but UR eventually pulled ahead and won by three goals. First-year attacker Aidan O’Neil, junior attacker Luke Grayum and sophomore attacker Max Merklinger each scored two goals on the afternoon. Senior attacker Dalton Young totaled three assists. Redshirt sophomore goalie Zach Vigue had nine saves for the Spiders.

Feb. 26: Win 10-8 vs. Fairfield University 

The Spiders extended their winning streak to three games after emerging victorious over Farfield. The Madonna brothers, junior midfielder Lance and graduate attacker/midfielder Derrek, led the Spiders with three and two goals, respectively. Grayum added two more goals to his season total in the victory as well. Young had four assists on the day. Fairfield tied the game 8-8 with 13:53 to go in the fourth quarter, but the Spiders scored two more goals and kept Fairfield scoreless for the remainder of the game. The Spiders’ next game is away against the No. 1 ranked University of Virginia at 6 p.m. March 4. 

Women’s Track & Field

Feb. 25-26: Third place finish at Atlantic 10 Championships

The Spiders traveled to Kingston, RI to compete in the A-10 Championships over the course of the weekend. UR took home third place overall in the event and nine trips to the podium highlighted a big weekend for the women’s track and field squad. Junior Madison Trippett finished in third place in the 5000 M with a time of 16:48.97 and finished in first place in the 1 mile event with a time of 4:52.27. Junior Elizabeth Stockman finished in second place in the same event with a time of 4:56.35. In the distance medley relay, graduate student Kyra Keurentjes, sophomore Virginia Beringer, first-year Caroline Donohoe and Stockman took home gold medals with a time of 11:34.35, which broke the all-time school, facility and meet records. In the 800 M, Keurentjes and Donohoe came in second and third place, respectively. In the 1000 M, seniors Kate McAndrew and Kayla O’Connell took home the silver and bronze, respectively. Finally, in the 4 x 800 M, Keurentjes, sophomore Dylan Miller, O’Connell and McAndrew ran a collective time of 9:00.60, warranting gold medals for the event. Overall, the Spiders totaled 92 points across both days of the event. The team will compete in the ECAC/IC4A Championships from March 3 to March 4. 

Women’s Lacrosse 

Feb. 26: Win 20-3 vs. Howard University 

The women’s lacrosse team carried their undefeated record into Washington, D.C. as they took on Howard on Feb. 26. The Spiders emerged victorious behind three goals apiece from senior attacker Arden Tierney and senior midfielder Lindsey Frank. Sophomore midfielder Hannah Custer, senior midfielder Sophia DiCenso, sophomore midfielder Grace Muldoon and junior attacker Katie Riehl all scored two goals, respectively. The Spiders started strong, leading the Bison 8-2 through one quarter and 14-2 at halftime. The second half was no different as UR held Howard to one more goal for the rest of the game. The team’s next game is at home against the Naval Academy at 12 p.m. March 5.

Women’s Golf 

Feb. 26-28: 15th place at RiverTowne Invitational 

The women’s golf team came in 15th place out of 19 schools in Charleston, SC at the RiverTowne Invitational. Junior Rory Weinfurther and first-year Hannah Lydic led the Spiders, tied for 29th overall in the tournament, both shooting +7. As a team, UR shot a combined +27, finishing ahead of Longwood University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Winthrop University and The Citadel. The Spiders will compete in the Low Country Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, SC beginning March 17. 

Contact sports editor Jimmy James at jimmy.james@richmond.edu.