University of Richmond athletic director Jim Miller announced today that men's basketball coach Chris Mooney and women's basketball coach Michael Shafer have agreed to contract extensions. "Goals for our men's and women's basketball programs remain the same," Miller said at a press conference.
After earning a first-round bye, the University of Richmond women's basketball team will begin the Atlantic 10 tournament in the quarterfinals at 2:30 p.m.
Sometimes you'll listen to a song and hear lyrics that describe your exact thoughts, even better than you could have yourself. This often happens to me, and the same applies to what I read in books and watch in movies.
Senior lacrosse captain Mandy Friend enters her final season at the University of Richmond having already broken and re-broken program records during all of her previous three seasons. Friend, a native of Canandaigua, N.Y., joined the Spiders during the 2005-06 season, teaming up with older sister Ashley to help lead the Spiders to their second-straight Atlantic 10 Championship and NCAA appearance. Fifty-three goals, 23 assists and 76 points later, Friend had made sure the team had achieved its objective during her first year on the team. After setting a program record for the most points scored during a single season and earning five A-10 Rookie of the week honors, individual awards followed. Friend was named a Third-Team All-American, Rookie All-American and All-Regional first team honoree as well as being selected to the Virginia Sports Information Directors' first team. She was also named to the A-10 Championship team, the A-10 All-Conference team and was named A-10 Rookie of the year for 2006. Friend attributed her success to the lack of an overwhelming expectation to perform well on an established team. "I had stand-out upperclassmen who could take over a game," Friend said, "and I felt like I was just helping them out, and if I played well, I played well and that was that." With that type of mindset, Friend said she had the ability to play her best lacrosse. After such a remarkable year, Friend said she had begun to pressure herself to "do this or do that." But she repeated her success, and then some. As a sophomore in 2007, Friend set new program records for the most goals, 62, and points in a season, 77.
The University of Richmond baseball team had another perfect weekend at home, with two wins moving its record to 7-0. The Spiders' junior starter Ian Marshall pitched seven shutout innings during Richmond's 27-2 win against the Iona College Gaels at Pitt Field on Friday. "It was one of those days when everything seemed to be going right," coach Mike McQueen said. During Marshall's last outing against Niagara University, he ran up the pitch count early.
University of Richmond students and the Richmond community have recently been criticized for not attending home basketball games, but a win against nationally ranked Xavier University on March 7 might sway students to put their work aside during spring break and support the team during the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament in Atlantic City, N.J., on March 11. Of the 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 conference, the top 12 teams advance to the tournament in Atlantic City -- a neutral site.
Former University of Richmond men's tennis coach Steven Gerstenfeld pleaded guilty Feb. 25 to one count of attempted receipt of child pornography. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine and supervised release after prison for at least five years up to life.
University of Richmond senior Johanna McKnight made sure her Senior Night would be special. McKnight scored the first six points of the game and ended with a season-high 19, adding 10 rebounds in her final game at the Robins Center to help lead the University of Richmond women's basketball team to a win over Saint Louis University on Sunday afternoon. "I was talking to my teammates and they said 'your first game you had a double-double and now your last game you got a double-double,'" McKnight said.
On paper, it was the perfect recipe for a University of Richmond men's basketball win: at home, on Senior Night, versus one of the Atlantic 10's worst teams -- a team that the Spiders had already beaten earlier this season. But all of those facts meant nothing after the opening tip-off as the Spiders fell 66-57 to George Washington University Saturday night at the Robins Center. "Their defense was much more aggressive" than in the first meeting, Richmond coach Chris Mooney said.
The Spiders put on another offensive show Saturday morning, defeating the Iona College Gaels 15-4 at Pitt Field, led by senior captain Ryan Metzroth, who hit his team-leading third home run. During Friday's game, the Spiders dominated The Gaels from the outset, but Saturday morning brought a different Iona club.
Spider junior starter Ian Marshall pitched seven shutout innings during Richmond's 27-2 trouncing of the Iona College Gaels at Pitt Field Friday afternoon, moving the baseball team's record to 6-0. "It was one of those days when everything seemed to be going right," coach Mike McQueen said. During Marshall's last outing against Niagara University, he ran up the pitch count early.
On Friday, my younger sister heard the news she'd been anxiously waiting to hear since October: Brian Roberts is staying in Baltimore. Every day, she checks masnsports.com and The Baltimore Sun to check the latest news, fearful that this year might be Roberts' last with the Baltimore Orioles.
The University of Richmond women's swimming and diving team won its eighth consecutive Atlantic 10 championship Saturday after beating seven A-10 records during four days of competition at the Flickinger Center in Buffalo, N.Y. From the first event on Wednesday to the last event on Saturday, the lineup of junior Alex Helland, senior captain Lauren Beaudreau, junior captain Katie Sieben and freshman Charlotte Brackett set A-10 and school records in the 200-yard medley relay in 1 minute 40.17 seconds and the 400-yard freestyle relay in 3:22.87. On Friday, they dropped six seconds off Richmond's 400-yard medley relay time that had set the A-10 record the year before, winning in 3:40.34. Beaudreau, who also won the 200-yard individual medley and the 100- and 200-yard breaststrokes, was named Female Performer of the Meet. "Her last swim, the 200 breaststroke, it was probably the swim of the meet," coach Matthew Barany said.
Last February, Arizona Cardinals' rookie running back Tim Hightower was finishing his degree at the University of Richmond. This February, he was catching passes from Kurt Warner on the world's largest sports stage. Readers probably already know that the 2008 Richmond graduate caught the touchdown pass that put the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.
The University of Richmond women's basketball team will play its final conference game against the Saint Louis Billikens at the Robins Center on senior day at 2 p.m.
The University of Richmond women's golf team finished 29th during the College of Charleston Invitational tournament in Kiawah Island, S.C., played from Feb.
The University of Richmond men's golf team started its 2008-09 season strongly, with two top-five finishes during its first four non-conference tournaments, and continued its success to start the spring season. The team, whose year-long schedule includes nine tournaments, also placed fifth out of 12 during the Liberty Invitational on Oct.
The University of Richmond baseball team completed its season-opening sweep of Niagara University on Sunday, Feb.
Spider right fielder Ryan Metzroth said during a recent interview that being team captain meant leading by example, both on the field and off the field. If leadership on the field means hitting 3-for-4, with a home run, four runs batted-in and three runs scored, then Metzroth was a leader during the season opener, during which Richmond won 8-6 over the Niagara University Purple Eagles Saturday at Pitt Field. Metzroth hit his first home run of the season his first time at bat, sending Eagles pitcher Marcus Spaulding's pitch over the left-center field wall, hitting the new life-sized stuffed Spiderman doll hanging upside down from the field's new scoreboard. The home run scored junior third baseman Cameron Brown, who had been injured for most of last season.
The University of Richmond men's basketball team allowed the University of Charlotte to score only 25 points during the second half en route to a 65-58 Spider home victory on Feb.
