The University of Richmond pep band is composed of professional musicians, many of whom are graduates of Virginia Commonwealth University. Although Richmond students are invited to play with the band and sometimes do, the core group of members consists of people from outside the university.
The men's lacrosse team defeated East Carolina University, 23-4, in its third game of the season on Sunday. Richmond dominated the game from the beginning and led 13-2 at the half.
Junior Bailey Zerr scored on a rebound with seven seconds left in the first half to give the women's lacrosse team a 7-6 lead in Robins Stadium Wednesday evening. For the first time in four games against top-eight teams, the Spiders had the lead at halftime and held the momentum at the start of the second half. Yet, as in its other three games this season, the Spiders allowed a string of goals it could not match.
The Richmond women's basketball team made 12 three-pointers on its way to defeating cross-town rival, VCU, 66-62, Wednesday at the Robins Center. The game was a memorable night for sisters Sam and Rachael Bilney, who combined to score 31 of the team's points, on nine of 16 shooting from three-point range.
The Spiders remain undefeated after winning their fourth straight game to begin the season with a win over Virginia Military Institute on Wednesday. Redshirt senior Bret Williams, junior Nick Poulos and freshman Jansen Fraser led the offensive charge in the 5-4 victory. Williams went 2-for-4 with a double and scored a run, but he was quick to congratulate his teammates for their accomplishments. "Jansen had a huge hit," Williams said.
Sixty-four roster spots opened after the dismissal of the men's soccer and indoor and outdoor track and field teams last fall.
Three members of the University of Richmond equestrian team have qualified for regionals on March 30 at Goucher College in Towson, Md. Sophomore Erin Flynn will compete in novice flat, senior Caroline Elia will ride in open fences and open flat and junior Christina Cribari will compete in advanced walk, trot and canter. The team is especially proud of Elia, the outgoing president, for qualifying for regionals in two open classes, said Cribari, the incoming co-president.
Imagine running a race, and just after you take off, an opponent spikes you in the back of the ankle, causing you to lose your stride and your heel to pop out of your shoe. Junior Alyson McGonigle and her teammates not only won this race, but helped set a record in it, despite having half a foot in her shoe. McGonigle, seniors Stephanie Paradis and Lydia Morton and sophomore Taylor Clevinger composed one of two successful Richmond women's track relay teams at the Atlantic 10 Indoor Track and Field Championships Friday and Saturday at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I. McGonigle, Paradis, Morton and Clevinger ran the women's 4-x-800-meter relay in an A-10 record time of 9 minutes, 3.71 seconds on Saturday, beating the former record holder and the second-place Rhode Island team by about four seconds. And if McGonigle had run with both shoes fully on, the Spiders might have won by even more time. When McGonigle was stepped on, she said: "I was trying to get my shoe back on for the first two laps but was unable to, so I had to change my gait and try to just keep it on and keep running." As McGonigle passed her baton to Paradis, the Spiders relay team was in second place, just a few seconds behind the Rhode Island team. "I was able to come back a lot in my last lap," McGonigle said.
For a team that was supposed to be weakened by its lack of experience and offense, the Spider baseball team defied all preseason expectations in its opening series against Bucknell University. In the first game of the season, the rookies showed their merit in beating the Bucknell Bison 10-4, with solid performances from freshmen Tanner Stanley, Jansen Fraser and Aaron Newman and redshirt freshman Jon de Marte. Stanley and Newman both went 1-for-4, but their hits were their first collegiate home runs, accounting for three of the Spiders' 10 runs of the day.
A busy schedule is routine for two members of the University of Richmond's women's swim and dive team who won conference honors this month, particularly as the team prepares to go to its conference championships this week. Katherine Cook, a sophomore diver, was named Atlantic 10 Conference performer of the week, and Kelley Yang, a freshman swimmer, was named rookie of the week for the week of Jan.
Senior Rachael Bilney scored her 1,000th career point and contributed to an 81-63 win in the University of Richmond women's basketball game against the University of Massachusetts on Sunday. Bilney was 11 points away from reaching 1,000 before the game and scored the final two at the start of the second half against the Atlantic 10 conference opponent. Despite being the 19th Spider in program history to reach this accomplishment, Bilney showed no reaction after she scored, and sprinted down the court to get on defense. "The game wasn't over," she said.
Richmond men's lacrosse defeated University of Kentucky, 26-2, in its home opener on Sunday. This was the first home game for Richmond since the school announced the lacrosse team would become a varsity team next year. Richmond exerted its dominance over Kentucky early and led, 17-0, at the half.
Richmond survived a late run and was able to outlast the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, 83-80, in an overtime thriller, Saturday night at the Robins Center. Darien Brothers stepped to the free throw line with just over 24 seconds left in the overtime period, and made three straight to give the Spiders a two-point lead.
Final Score: University of Richmond- 83, Saint Bonaventure University- 80 What Happened: Richmond won another close game by sinking its free throws at the end, similar to its win two weeks ago against Xavier.
First-half score: University of Richmond- 35, Saint Bonaventure University- 29 Important Stats: UR's Derrick Williams (4-6, 9 pts), Cedrick Lindsay (4-4 FT, 7 pts), SBU's Eric Mosley (6-10, 17 pts), UR leads, 12-8, in points in the paint and teams are tied at 16 rebounds a piece. Analysis: This is looking like a bounce-back game for Williams, who's playing in just his third game back since missing nine games with a leg injury.
In Coach Mark McQueen's six years of coaching the University of Richmond baseball team, he has never had a bigger turnover year.
Brandon Jordi is trading in a soccer ball for a football, as the longtime soccer player joins the Richmond Spiders football team as a kicker. Since the university administrators announced their decision to cut the men's soccer program last semester, freshman soccer player Brandon Jordi has decided to stay and pursue other athletic opportunities.
The women's lacrosse team faced one of its toughest challenges in its opening game. The University of Maryland came into Robins Stadium on Sunday ranked 4th in the country, and it showed why. Despite four goals and one assist from senior attacker Sam Stevenson, the Terrapins got the best of the Spiders, 20-7. "We need to win more draws and hold the ball on attack to keep the pressure off us and on our opponents," Stevenson said. Sophomore midfielder Emily Doyle scored one minute and 46 seconds into the first half to tie the game at one, but then Maryland attackwoman Alex Aust scored back-to-back goals, and the Terps never looked back. After Maryland midfielder Beth Glaros scored and Stevenson put the Spiders back in the game with her first goal of the game to make the score 4-2, Aust began an eight-goal run for the Terrapins with a sharp pass to set up midfielder Katie Schwarzmann's second goal of the game.
The Richmond men's lacrosse team will play as a member the Atlantic Sun Conference when it begins Division-I play next spring, Richmond Director of Athletics Keith Gill announced on Monday. In a press conference held alongside new men's lacrosse coach Dan Chemotti, Gill made the announcement that Richmond would become the sixth member of the Atlantic Sun for men's lacrosse. "We are very excited to be joining such a great group of southern schools," Gill said.
A sign in the Richmond student section read, "Where there's D-Will, there's a way," but despite the return of Spider forward, Derrick Williams, the Spiders were unable to find a way to defeat the St.
