Spider Sports Recap | Week of Feb. 26

Track & Field

March 2 & 3: ECAC/IC4A Indoor Track & Field Championships

Women’s Track & Field finished 3rd overall, and Men’s Track & Field finished 20th overall during Championships at Boston University. 

The Spiders won the Women’s 4x800 meter relay, run by juniors Ginny Beringer, Dylan Miller and Morgan Lyons, and senior Elizabeth Stockman. Beringer also performed during the 500-meter race, winning the preliminary and placing second in the finals. Senior Alicia Dawson had a strong performance in Boston, finishing first in the women’s long jump and second in the women’s triple jump. 

Junior Elke van der Westhuizen placed third in the 400-meter finals, following an eighth-place finish in the preliminary. Three Spiders finished among the top 10 in the women’s 800-meter run preliminaries, with sophomore Caroline Donohoe finishing third in the finals. In the women’s 1000-meter run final, Stockman and Miller finished fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Two Spiders finish in the top 10 in the men’s 1000-meter preliminary, with sophomore Cooper Groat finishing third and senior William Tune finishing fifth in the final round. 

Baseball

March 1: Loss 7-2 vs. Boston College

UR dropped its sixth game of the season against the Atlantic Coast Conference’s BC Eagles, who rattled off five runs before the seventh-inning stretch to put the Spiders deep in the hole. 

Graduate Phil Bernstien’s 2 RBI double down the right field line put the Spiders on the board in the bottom of the seventh, which would be their lone pair of runs in the contest. Graduate right-handed pitcher Kyle Roche worked five and a third innings in the loss, striking out six Eagles in his effort. 

March 2: Win 2-0 vs. Sacred Heart University 

The Spiders shut out the winless Sacred Heart Pioneers at home. 

Junior pitcher Brian Reinke dominated in his five-inning start, striking out 10 and working two innings with only three batters faced. The Spiders got on the board late but with authority, with graduate outfielder Aaron Whitley taking a home run deep into right field in the bottom of the seventh inning. First-year outfielder and pitcher Jackson Kraemer capped off UR’s scoring with a sacrifice fly RBI to left field. 

March 3: Win 13-3 vs. Central Connecticut State University in the Virginia Challenge 

Spider baseball demolished Central Connecticut State at home, punctuated by a seven-run seventh inning. 

The Spiders started off the scoring in the bottom of the first, with junior catcher Jason Shockley laying down a sacrifice bunt with two men on base. The Blue Devils would go up in the third inning following an RBI double, but first-year catcher Jack Arcamone answered back with a two-run bomb to right field in the bottom of the fourth. Clinging to a one-run lead going into the bottom of the seventh, another Shockley RBI would open the floodgates. Graduate infielder Jake Topolski and first-year infielder Aidan O’Keefe hit back-to-back home runs to swell the Spider lead to 11-3. In the eighth inning, a fielder’s choice netted junior outfielder D.J. Pacheco 2RBIs, and an O’Keefe sacrifice fly capped off the scoring for the contest, as UR won 13 to 3.

Baseball sits at 4-6 on the season.

Women’s Golf

Feb. 26 & 27: 1st place finish, RiverTowne International

Women’s Golf dominated the Rivertowne Invitational, setting a program record for lowest tournament score.

All five golfers ended the tournament run in the top 25 out of 81. Senior Rory Weinfurther tied for fourth place overall and shot 2-under par. Junior Lauren Jones followed with another Spider top-10 finish, her 1-under-par effort landing her in seventh place overall. First-year Maya Beasley tied with teammate Olivia Wilkie at 19th place overall, and sophomore Hannah Lydic finished in 23rd place- her sixth-consecutive top-25 finish of the year.

Women’s Basketball

Feb. 28: Win 90-74 vs. Duquesne University 

Women’s basketball bounced back from an overtime loss against George Mason University with a crucial victory against Duquesne University at home. 

Sophomore forward Maggie Doogan opened the scoring with a 3-pointer in the back-and-forth first quarter, which saw the lead change hands six times. The Spiders would close out the quarter with a 21-17 lead, going on to lead the Dukes by as many as 14 points in three of the four quarters. UR shot above 50 percent from the field in the first three quarters, with a 72 percent, 8-for-11 third quarter. 

Five players scored double-digit points for UR, with senior guard Grace Townsend leading the way with 19 points and 6 assists. Graduate guard Laren VanArsdale had a crucial impact off the bench, scoring 15 points in just as many minutes on an efficient 5-for-5 shooting line. 

March 2: Win 61-46 vs. St. Bonaventure University

The Spiders closed out the season with back-to-back victories and the first-place ranking in the Atlantic 10 after beating out St. Bonaventure.

Senior guard Siobhan Ryan would start the scoring a minute into the first quarter, which was followed by one of two Grace Townsend 3-pointers to give the Spiders a 5-0 lead. By the end of the first quarter, UR led 12-5 and never gave the lead back, leading the Bonnies by as many as 22 during the contest. 

With the victory, women’s basketball enters the A-10 tournament as the No. 1 seed and with serious momentum. 

Men’s Basketball

Feb. 28: Win 80-64 vs. Saint Louis University 

Men’s basketball took what would be the fourth of a five-game winning streak in a dominant fashion against SLU. 

Graduate forward Zae Bigelow drilled a 3-pointer 30 seconds into the first half, scoring again on a contested field goal in the paint to even the score at 5. Two free throws from senior guard Diji Bailey closed a five-point Spider lead at the half, as UR led for the rest of the game, and by as many as 20 points. 

The Spiders were led by graduate guard Jordan King’s 27-point effort. All five starters reached double-digit scoring, with graduate center Neal Quinn hitting 7 of 10 field goal attempts. Bailey grabbed 9 rebounds to pair with his 11 points, also nailing all three of his free throws. 

March 2: Win 79-76 vs. Virginia Commonwealth University  in the Capital City Classic

The Spiders closed out a close win against the A-10 and cross-city rival VCU  Rams, taking home the win for the Richmond Area Honda Dealers Capital City Classic. 

UR was shut out early in the first half until a lay-in for King opened the scoring for the Spiders. The Spiders trailed for the majority of the first half until senior center Neal Quinn slammed a dunk to tie the game at 18. The second half saw the lead fall back to the Rams, with UR trailing by seven points with 13 minutes left in the bank. Being down in the hole, the Spiders answered back hard with 12 unanswered points and dominated the rest of the game, holding tight to the lead for the rest of the contest. 

The men’s Basketball team sits atop the A-10 going into the last home game of the season, hot off a long string of wins. 

Men’s Lacrosse

March 2: Win 19-10 vs. Binghamton University

Men’s lacrosse improved its record to 3-2 with a win against the Binghamton University Bearcats at home. 

The Spiders opened the scoring early in the first half with an unassisted goal from graduate attacker Dalton Young. After falling behind 5-2 to end the first quarter, UR rallied hard to go up 8-6 with four minutes remaining in the second half, which saw the Spiders take the lead and never give it back. Leading 14-9, the Spiders put up five unanswered goals to close out the game, conceding a late goal to make the win 19 to 10. 

Senior attacker Luke Grayum played a key role in the victory, scoring 7 goals in his effort, tying a UR record for scored goals in a game. 

Women’s Lacrosse

March 2: Loss 14-5 vs. the United States Naval Academy

The women’s lacrosse team suffered its first defeat of the season following a tough loss in Annapolis against No. 17 Navy.

UR trailed for the majority of the first quarter, being down 5-1 going into the second. Sophomore attacker Juliana Stanley brought the Spiders into striking range early in the second quarter with 2 goals, following an assisted goal by junior midfielder Maggie Jordan. UR scored once more but was unable to mount a comeback after being shut out in the fourth. 

Men’s Tennis

March 2: Win 4-2 vs. Davidson College

Men’s tennis picked up a win against fellow A-10 program Davidson College. 

UR took both completed doubles matches. First-year Paxton Pritchard and senior Daniel Kliebhan started the day strong, taking the first doubles match in a 6-1 finish. First-year Dylan Atkinson and senior Sebastian Miano took the final doubles match 6-4. 

The Spiders also took four single matches. Kliebhan added another win on his day, taking two games of a three-game set. Sophomore Davis Wiley swept his opponent, with both sets going to a win by two seven-point affairs. Miano also swept his sets, winning dominantly 6-1 and 6-3, respectively. Atkinson rounded out the Spiders’ win with another two-set sweep. 

Contact sports writer Thomas Ham at thomas.ham@richmond.edu.