Greetings Spiders!
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Like a few lucky members of our Richmond Athletics staff, my week started in Los Angeles, where I was fortunate enough to have a courtside seat for the best NCAA Tournament trip in the history of Spider women's basketball. While the on-court results were outstanding — securing the first NCAA win in program history over Georgia Tech and then testing overall No. 1 seed UCLA in Round 2 — I want to make sure the manner in which the team represented Richmond during its six days in California doesn't go unnoticed. In addition to their hard work and attention to detail in practice, film sessions, and team meetings, the staff and student-athletes couldn't go more than a moment without telling anyone who would listen how proud they were to be representing each other, Spider Athletics, and the University of Richmond. The 2024-25 Spiders will rightfully be remembered as the first UR women's basketball team to win on the sport's biggest stage. But what I'll never forget is the grace and poise with which they handled their moment in the spotlight, as exemplified by what Addie Budnik said after the last game of her Hall-of-Fame career: "It's been incredible to represent this University and play with people I love. I couldn't imagine it any other way. … I'm so proud of this group, and this program means everything to me."
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WINTER SPORTS WIN BIG
Spider swimming & diving also just wrapped up a thrilling championship season. Sophomore Melissa Nwakalor advanced to last week's NCAA Championships in Washington, where she finished 24th in the 50m freestyle, 70th in the 100m freestyle, and became the first Spider to swim at the NCAAs since Hannah Gouger in 2019. At the Atlantic 10 Championships last month, Nwakalor captured three gold medals as the team combined for eight podium finishes, five school records, and a team runner-up finish to A-10 champ George Washington. At the conclusion of the meet, Matt Barany was named A-10 Coach of the Year for the 10th time in his 20 seasons at Richmond. Congratulations to Matt and his entire program on an excellent season!
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Indoor track & field placed third at February's A-10 Championships behind five gold-medal performances. The Spiders won the 4x400m relay, the 4x800m relay, and three individual events. Molly Wise won the long jump, Virginia Beringer won the 500m, and Molly Flanagan won the 800m and was named the A-10's Most Outstanding Rookie Performer following the meet. The team opened its outdoor season with the 25th annual Fred Hardy Invitational at Robins Stadium last Friday and returns to action this weekend at NC State's Raleigh Relays.
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After a difficult season, men's basketball has attacked the early stages of the offseason. The staff has been aggressive in the transfer portal and sensible in its evaluation of how the program operates in this new era of college basketball. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of its efforts next season and beyond.
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SPRING SPORTS
Even with all the program's success in its short history, it's possible that Spider men's lacrosse has never entered a conference season in better shape than in 2025. Richmond begins its A-10 campaign ranked No. 10 in the nation at 6-3, with a pair of wins over top-15 teams (No. 7 Virginia and No. 13 Georgetown), marking the first time since 2022 UR has a pair of wins versus ranked opponents.
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Women's lacrosse is already midway through its A-10 season with a 4-1 mark in league play. The Spiders are preparing to defend their back-to-back conference titles at the A-10 Championship at Robins Stadium in May, but the next step is a home matchup vs Rhode Island Saturday at 11 AM. The men's team will face St. Bonaventure at 2 PM, and with temperatures expected to be in the high 70s, it's shaping up to be a perfect day to take in some top-tier lacrosse action on campus.
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Spider baseball is also off to its best start in some time, as Richmond enters its weekend home series vs Fordham with a record of 21-4. Among Richmond's wins are a trio of victories over ACC opponents Boston College, NC State, and Virginia, as well as 12 straight wins from March 1-19, the program's longest win streak on record.
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Men's golf, women's golf, men's tennis, and women's tennis are just weeks away from their respective A-10 Championships, which will be held in Orlando between April 17 and April 27. Men's and women's golf have both already won an event this spring, and both were picked No. 1 in the official Atlantic 10 preseason polls last month.
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ACADEMIC HONORS
Last month, we honored more than 125 student-athletes at our annual Scholar-Athlete Breakfast. This group of sophomores, juniors, seniors, and grad students with cumulative GPAs of 3.5 or greater included members of all 16 Spider sports programs. Special honors were won by the men's cross country team, which posted the highest GPA among men's teams, and the swimming and diving team, which registered the highest GPA among women's teams for the fourth straight year. Isabel Blaylock from women's cross country and track & field was named Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the top individual honor.
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GIVING DAY GOALS
While the achievements of our Spider student-athletes are primarily a reflection of their own talents and drive, our job is to help them turn good outcomes into great outcomes and minor successes into major ones. And no single event is as critical to our mission as our annual UR Here Giving Day, which will be held on April 9-10 this year. We've set an ambitious goal: $1.25 million to help our Spiders in their pursuit of academic, athletic, and personal excellence. I hope you'll join me in supporting our student-athletes on Giving Day and throughout the year. Thank you for your continued loyalty to the Spiders.
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Take care, and…. Go Spiders!
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