Spider Sports Recap | Week of April 17

Men’s Golf

April 17-18: Second place at RedHawk Intercollegiate 

The men’s golf team finished out its regular season with the RedHawk Intercollegiate tournament in Pittsburgh, PA. The Spiders finished in second place out of 14 schools and sophomore Cole Ekert, who shot a 212 (-1) over the course of the event, came in first place to win the tournament. Ekert is the first Spider to win a full-field tournament since 2017. Overall, the Spiders were only four shots off the victorious school, Marquette University. The team will compete in the Atlantic 10 Championship in Orlando, FL from April 28 to April 30 where the Spiders tied for fourth place last season. 

Men’s Tennis

April 19: Loss 5-2 vs. the University of Delaware

After a 4-0 win away against the University of Dayton, the men’s tennis team dropped its final match of the regular season at home against Delaware. The Spiders had some success in singles play as junior Daniel Kliebhan and graduate student William Karpinski both won their individual matches. However, UR’s other four singles matches resulted in losses. In doubles play, the team did not fare much better as the Spiders lost two of their three doubles matches. The other doubles match went unfinished. The team finished the regular season with a 13-8 record and travel to Orlando, FL next to compete in the A-10 Championship against Fordham University and St. Bonaventure University at 7 p.m. April 27. 

Baseball 

April 19: Loss 20-10 vs. Towson University 

After a series win over the University of Massachusetts, the baseball team took a 10-run loss to the Tigers in Towson, MD. Towson was off and running early from an offensive standpoint as the Tigers scored six runs in the first inning. UR cut the deficit to two runs by inning four, but back-to-back five-run innings from Towson did not help the Spiders’ case for a comeback. The game even ended early in a mercy rule after three runs in the final inning for the Tigers. Despite the double-digit loss, two Spiders, redshirt junior centerfielder Alden Mathes and first-year third baseman Jordan Jaffe, hit a homerun. Mathes and Jaffe each had three RBIs in the game. On the mound, junior right-handed pitcher Dane Armson took his second loss of the season as he allowed six runs in 0.1 innings pitched. 

April 21: Win 15-8 vs. Fordham

Despite Fordham starting the game with a two-run lead, the Spiders scored six unanswered runs in the next two innings and bounced back to get a victory over the Rams at Pitt Field. In inning seven, the Spiders scored seven runs and overall the team scored 15 runs on 17 hits. Junior second baseman Jared Sprague-Lott, redshirt junior catcher Jason Neff and Mathes each hit a homerun in the game. Sprague-Lott, Mathes and Jaffe each had three hits in the contest. On the mound, despite allowing seven runs in five innings, graduate student right-handed pitcher Brock Weirather notched the win. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Esteban Rodriguez came in as a relief pitcher and picked up the save. 

April 22: Loss 12-9 vs. Fordham 

In game two of the three-game series, the Spiders were unable to carry the offensive momentum they had in game one, ultimately falling 12-9. UR scored the first run of the game and led 1-0 heading into inning two, but the Rams quickly answered with four runs of their own. The Spiders tied the game 4-4 in inning three and through seven innings, only found themselves down a run, 10-9. However, two runs in the ninth inning from the Rams sealed the victory for A-10 opponent Fordham. Offensively, the Spiders totaled 14 hits compared to the Rams’ 10, and redshirt senior left fielder Johnny Hipsman, Jaffe, Neff and Sprague-Lott each hit a home run, but UR still fell short by three runs. On the mound, graduate student right-handed pitcher Brenden Argomaniz picked up his fifth loss of the season, allowing six runs. 

April 23: Win 7-4 vs. Fordham 

In the final game of the series, the Spiders bounced back with a win to pick up the series victory. UR started strong with a 7-3 lead through the first three innings and even though the Spiders did not score any more runs, the Spiders held the Rams to only one more run, resulting in a 7-4 win. No home runs were hit this time around, but five Spiders had two hits throughout the contest. Redshirt junior left-handed pitcher Jeremy Neff took the victory on the mound, pitching eight innings and striking out 10 batters. Mathes picked up his third save of the season, taking over for Neff on the mound in the ninth inning. The Spiders’ next game is away against George Mason University at 3 p.m. April 28. With 14 games remaining, UR’s record stands at 18-22 with a 7-5 conference record. 

Track & Field 

April 21-22: Virginia Challenge & Collegiate 10K Road Race National Championships

The track & field team found itself in two events this past weekend. One was the Virginia Challenge in Charlottesville, VA, which took place from April 21 to April 22. In the 5k invitational event, junior Madison Trippett’s time of 16:34.02 gave her eighth place. In the 800m event, seniors Kayla O’Connell and Kate McAndrew came in ninth and eleventh place, respectively. As for the Collegiate 10K Road Race National Championships, which took place in Richmond, VA, a compilation of both cross-country and track & field runners came together to participate in the event. On the men’s side, seven runners placed in the top-10. Juniors Stuart Terrill and Jordan Bendura and senior Evan Leach anchored the Spiders, taking home second, third and fourth, respectively. On the women’s side, five Spiders placed in the top-10. Junior Elizabeth Stockman and sophomore Laurel Kurtz led the way with their respective fifth and sixth place finishes. The next event the Spiders will travel to is the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, PA, from April 27 to April 29. 

Women’s Golf

April 21-23: Patriot League Championship 

The women’s golf team took home first place in the championship event at Independence Golf Club to secure the Patriot League Championship trophy — the program’s first championship since 2018 and fourth in its history. The team had an overall score of +10 (874), which was 16 strokes better than the second place team, to secure the victory over five other schools, Boston University, Lehigh University, the Naval Academy, Bucknell University and the College of the Holy Cross. Senior Vicky Zhu led the Spiders in round 3 of the tournament, shooting a 70 and finishing in second place individually for the championship. Next were junior Rory Weinfurther and first-year Olivia Wilkie who both shot 72 in the final round to tie for third place in the championship. Zhu, Weinfurther, and Wilkie all made it onto the First Team All-Patriot League for their efforts. Sophomore Lauren Jones was the fourth Spider to place in the top-10 with her 10th place finish. Jones’ 73 in the final round got her onto the All-Patriot League Second Team. With the tournament victory, the team has qualified for the NCAA Regionals in Raleigh, North Carolina from May 8 to May 10. 

Women’s Tennis

April 21: Win 7-0 vs. Saint Joseph’s University 

The women’s tennis team continued their winning streak and moved the tally to four wins in a row to finish off the regular season. The Spiders dominated the Hawks as UR swept the match. In singles play, junior Leonor Oliveira, junior Carly Cohen, junior Andrea Campodonico, first-year Elizabeth Novak, redshirt sophomore Claire Le Du and senior Marta Buendia all won their respective matches. As for doubles play, junior Polina Shitikova and Campodonico defeated their opponents 6-1, Buendia and Le Du defeated their opponents 7-6(1) and first-year Lara Bakhaya and Novak defeated their opponents 6-1. Bakhaya earned A-10 rookie of the week honors for her play. The team finished its regular season 8-14 with a 3-2 conference record. UR will take on Saint Joseph’s again at the A-10 Championship in Orlando, FL at 9 a.m. April 27. 

Men’s Lacrosse

April 22: Win 20-15 vs. Hobart College

The men’s lacrosse team won their third straight game in an away game against Hobart College. Hobart had the upper-hand in quarter one as they led 6-4 through the first 15 minutes. However, UR fought back in the second quarter to make the score 12-9 at halftime. In the second half, the Spiders outscored Hobart 8-6, leading to a 20-15 victory. Graduate attacker/midfielder Derrek Madonna, junior attacker Luke Grayum and senior attacker Dalton Young led the surge offensively with four goals apiece. Young earned A-10 Offensive Player of the Week for his play. Redshirt sophomore goalie Zach Vigue had 15 saves in the goal. The Spiders have one regular season game remaining, which will be played at home against St. Bonaventure at 3 p.m. April 29.

Women’s Lacrosse

April 22: Win 18-11 vs. Davidson College

The women’s lacrosse team got their third straight win in an away game against Davidson. After an evenly matched first quarter where the score showed 5-5 after 15 minutes, the Spiders jumped ahead and led 11-7 at halftime. In quarter three, UR outscored the Wildcats 4-2 and in quarter four, UR outscored the Wildcats 3-2, leading to an 18-11 victory for the Spiders. Senior midfielder Lindsey Frank scored five goals and senior attacker Arden Tierney and sophomore attacker Colleen Quinn each scored four goals. Tierney and Quinn each also assisted on four goals and Quinn earned A-10 Offensive Player of the Week for her play. Quinn has scored 45 goals through 16 games this season. The Spiders’ final regular season game is at home against Duquesne University at 11:30 a.m. April 29. 

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