The University of Richmond women’s tennis team beat cross-town rival VCU 4-2 on Thursday, April 10.
Coach Jacob Dunbar said that first-year Abby Lee clenched the match for the team.
The last time Richmond played VCU was when it was the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic10 tournament in 2024, a matchup the Spiders won 4-3.
The team lost the doubles point in the beginning of the match.
Doubles team junior Lara Bakhaya and graduate player Andrea Campodonico won 6-1 on court one. First year Sofia Barbulescu and junior Elizabeth Novak fell 6-4 in a tight match against the Rams. Finally, graduate student Claire Le Du and sophomore Lainey O’Neil lost 7-5 on court three.
The match took a turn in the Spiders’ favor after doubles.
Barbulescu lost 7-6, 6-4 on court one.
On court two, Campodonico had a battle after losing the first set 6-2, but she came back winning 6-4, 6-3. Dunbar said this was one of the standout matches of the day.
“This season we have been able to turn matches into battles,” Dunbar said in a post-match interview.
Lara Bakhaya won 7-5, 6-1 in a tight match on court three. Le Du was consistent on court four winning 6-2, 6-4. Novak’s match on court five did not finish because the team had already won, but the score was 6-2, 6-4, and 4-2 unfinished.
Finally, first-year Abby Lee won her first match against VCU in the standout match of the day. She fell in the first set 4-6. Lee said she appreciated the support of her teammates during the match.
“[My opponent] won three or four games in a row,” Lee said. “I was a little stressed out after losing the first set but my teammate Lucy Webber gave me some good tips. Her being out there and having teammate support really helped me get through.”
Enjoy what you're reading?
Signup for our newsletter
Lee continued on to win the second and third set both 6-4. She said she has been working on being confident in close games and staying strong in intense matches which really paid off today.
Since Lee is a first-year, it is her first time playing Richmond’s intracity rival. She said that the energy was high from both teams during the match. Dunbar said that even though VCU is our rival, the team tries to treat it as just another competitive match.
Dunbar said that the team has a lot of matches to play before starting the Atlantic 10 tournament. He thinks this will be helpful for the team to get a lot of match play under their belt.
The Spiders only have a few more matches until the A-10 championship in Orlando, Fla. starting April 24. Last year, Spider women’s tennis made it to the finals of the tournament, so there is a lot of anticipation following the team.
Contact sports writer Claire Mitchell at claire.mitchell@richmond.edu
Support independent student media
You can make a tax-deductible donation by clicking the button below, which takes you to our secure PayPal account. The page is set up to receive contributions in whatever amount you designate. We look forward to using the money we raise to further our mission of providing honest and accurate information to students, faculty, staff, alumni and others in the general public.
Donate Now
