Greetings Spiders!
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On the cusp of the busiest month of the year in college sports, here's how Richmond Athletics has fared this winter and what you can expect to see from your Spiders this spring. 11 of our 17 varsity teams will compete in February, with two squads — swimming & diving and indoor track & field — having an opportunity to win an A-10 title at their respective conference championships. February is also the first month for Spider football as a member of the Patriot League. The program officially joins its new conference on February 1 and is bringing its streaks of three straight NCAA Playoff appearances and two straight league titles along with it. Everyone in Spider Athletics, from administrators to coaches to support staff, is committed to keeping Richmond football as one of the premier programs in the FCS, and we're excited to meet the challenge of competing in a new conference in 2025.
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Basketball Rolls On
Women's basketball has won seven straight games and sits atop the Atlantic 10 at 8-1 in league play and 17-5 overall. The team has earned national recognition, with Maggie Doogan and Rachel Ullstrom winning national player of the week honors and coach Aaron Roussell securing a spot as a finalist for national mid-major coach of the year. The Spiders are also having an impact locally, as evidenced by the more than 3,400 fans who packed the Robins Center to see UR dispatch VCU 75-42 on January 19. This program deserves all the recognition it has received and more, and I hope you'll find your way to the Robins Center or to the A-10 Championship at Henrico Sports & Events Center in March to back this special team.
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The 2024-25 men's basketball season has shown how difficult it can be to be a defending champion. The Spiders have battled against some key injuries with a roster that includes an unprecedented nine newcomers. While the team's results have been uneven, its work ethic, preparation, and attention to detail have been steady, and the most important stretch of the season — which ends with the A-10 Championship in Washington, DC, site of UR's 2022 Atlantic 10 title — is yet to come.
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Spring Sports Preview
Women's lacrosse could have a chance to defend its Atlantic 10 title in front of a home crowd in May when Robins Stadium hosts the A-10 Women's Lacrosse Championship. The team's path to what would be a third straight conference title will begin at Penn State on February 8, and its home opener will be February 15 at 1 PM against Queens.
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Men's lacrosse has already been tabbed as one of the nation's leading teams entering the year, earning a No. 18 ranking in the preseason USILA Coaches Poll and topping the A-10 Preseason Poll. The Spiders will play a 14-game regular season schedule that begins with a road matchup vs No. 5 Maryland on Saturday. UR's eight-game home schedule starts on February 8 at noon against Robert Morris.
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Spider baseball will look to build upon its runner-up finish in last year's A-10 Championship in Mik Aoki's second season leading the team. UR's challenging schedule includes 34 (!) chances to see the team at Pitt Field.
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Women's track & field will host its lone home meet of the season on March 21 when the Fred Hardy Invitational returns to Robins Stadium. The team will stay in-state for its conference championship, which will be hosted by George Mason in May.
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Orlando, Florida will be the only place outside of Richmond where you can see a swarm of Spiders competing in April, with men's and women's tennis and men's and women's golf all heading south for their Atlantic 10 Championships. The inaugural A-10 Women's Golf Championship will be held at Evermore Resort from April 17-19, shortly before men's golf, coming off a strong fall season, tees it up at the Men's Golf Championship from April 22-24. The Men's Tennis Championship and Women's Tennis Championship will be held from April 23-27 on the USTA National Campus. The women's team made an inspired run to the championship match last season, and the men's team went 6-1 in conference play a year ago.
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Student-Athlete Achievement
Especially during a month like February, it can be easy to forget all that our Spiders are achieving outside of the scope of intercollegiate competition. Richmond student-athletes posted an average GPA of 3.37 in the fall semester, a meaningful jump from last fall's 3.32. And more than three-quarters of our student-athletes (77 percent) entered the spring semester with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better.
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We also want to ensure that our students are learning outside of the classroom. Spider Athletics hosted its second PowHER On event earlier this month, a program designed to showcase the many ways our female students have found success following their time at Richmond. Laurie Governor Curtis, '88 & '90, Allison Collins, '99, Katherine O'Donnell, '99, and Dr. Beatrice Grasu, '07, formed a panel of accomplished Spider alumnae, sharing their professional and personal experiences and how their time at Richmond helped them achieve even after their college careers were over.
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At a time when nearly every national college athletics headline is centered on lawsuits and litigants, the focus of Richmond Athletics remains entirely on developing a shared culture of athletic, academic, and personal excellence. I hope you'll join me and Spiders everywhere in assisting our efforts in that regard during Richmond's annual UR Here Giving Day on April 9-10.
Thank you for your continued support of Spider Athletics. Take care, and... Go Spiders!
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