Richmond Athletics Announces 2025 Hall of Fame Class
08/15/2025 | Football, General, Women's Basketball, Women's Swimming & Diving, Women's Tennis, Spider Athletic Fund
RICHMOND, Va. — Spanning more than 50 years of Spider Athletics, five individuals and a Team of Distinction celebrating its 20th anniversary comprise the 2025 University of Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame class, announced today by Vice President and Director of Athletics John P. Hardt.
The Class of 2025 consists of women's tennis coach Mark Wesselink, posthumously, who guided the Spiders for 33 years; two of his standouts who formed a record-setting doubles team, Lesia Bilak-Schinnerer '98 and Bridget Merrick '98; five-time men's swimming conference champion Brent Holsten '94; and Lawson "Buzz" Montsinger '69, a football captain and defensive starter on Richmond's Tangerine Bowl championship team. The 2004-05 women's basketball squad, which earned Richmond's first-ever NCAA Women's Tournament at-large berth, will be honored as the Team of Distinction.
The 48th Hall of Fame class will be inducted during a ceremony Friday night, October 17. The class will be introduced at the Homecoming football game Saturday October 18 against Holy Cross. Kickoff is 2pm. Tickets and registration information for Friday event's ceremony can be found at uronline.net/hw25. Tickets for the football game are available online or by calling the Richmond Ticket Office at 1-877-SPIDER-1.
Lesia Bilak-Schinnerer - Women's Tennis 1995-1998
It didn't take long for Lesia Bilak-Schinnerer to make her impact on Richmond women's tennis as a standout singles player and as part of a nationally-acclaimed doubles team with classmate Bridget Merrick.
Following a freshman season in which Bilak reached the singles finals of the CAA Tournament, she would shine at number one singles and doubles for the Spiders the following three seasons, reaching the singles finals again as a junior and earning All-CAA Singles honors as a senior. She won 50 singles matches in four seasons. Bilak shared Richmond's Senior Female Athlete of the Year honors with Merrick, as the duo reached unprecedented heights.
Playing for legendary Hall of Fame coach Mark Wesselink, the Bilak and Merrick doubles team was ranked as high as ninth nationally. During their 1997-98 senior year, they compiled a 17-2 record in the fall, highlighted by winning the Rolex East Regional Championship with a stunning victory over the nation's 13th-ranked doubles team from William & Mary, beating them in straight sets on their home court. The triumph qualified them as one of just 16 teams for the Rolex National Indoor Tennis Championship at SMU in Dallas, TX, where they reached the quarterfinals.
In the spring they were 15-2 for the Spiders, including a 13-match winning streak. Merrick and Bilak were named All-CAA First Team in doubles and as one of the top 32 pairs in the country, they qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championship. The duo won 66 doubles matches for the Spiders in their four seasons.
Following graduation, Bilak played a year on the women's professional tennis tour.
Brent Holsten - Men's Swimming 1990-1994
A local product from nearby Douglas Freeman High School, Brent Holsten traveled a short distance to the University of Richmond. Once there, he embarked on a long journey, becoming one of the most dominant and decorated Spider men's swimmers in program history.
In his first year, he was the only freshman on a 400-meter relay team that won a Colonial Athletic Association title. As a junior, Holsten captured the 50-yard freestyle at the CAA Championships at UNC Wilmington. His time of 21.02 set a team record for a squad that established a program record for wins.
At the 1994 CAA Championships at East Carolina University, Holsten, a senior captain, accomplished a personal triple crown, winning the 50, 100 and 200-yard freestyle events while shattering two school records. In the 50 free he became the first Spider to break the 21-second barrier, finishing with a time of 20.78. In the 200 free, his time of 1:41.72 in the finals secured a first-place finish and set a school record by half a second. Holsten's third win was in the 100 free, in which he improved his personal best time by more than a second, winning the title with a time of 45.83.
Holsten completed his collegiate career by qualifying for the Eastern College Athletic Conference meet at Rutgers University. He placed third in the 50 Freestyle and second in the 100 Freestyle. He also swam the 100 Butterfly, where his time of 52.10 broke the UR school record.
A four-year letter winner, Brent captured five conference titles, set six program records and was named 1993-94 Spider Club Male Athlete of the Year. He served as volunteer assistant coach for the Spider women's program for four seasons, winning four conference championships, including the 2004-05 team, which was inducted into the Hall of Fame as the Team of Distinction in 2012. He is just the second Spider men's swimmer to be inducted into the University of Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame.
Bridget Merrick – Women's Tennis 1995-1998
From conference and university honors to national rankings, Bridget Merrick helped define Richmond women's tennis during one of the program's most successful eras, playing number two singles and first doubles for the Spiders.
Her singles career record included 51 wins, 21 of which came during a breakout sophomore season. She culminated her career by being named first team All-CAA Doubles as a senior, and sharing Richmond's Senior Female Athlete of the Year honors with doubles partner Lesia Bilak as the duo reached unprecedented heights.
Playing for legendary Hall of Fame coach Mark Wesselink, the Merrick and Bilak doubles team was ranked as high as ninth nationally. During their 1997-98 senior year, they compiled a 17-2 record in the fall, highlighted by winning the Rolex East Regional Championship with a stunning victory over the nation's 13th ranked doubles team from William & Mary, beating them in straight sets on their home court. The triumph qualified them as one of just 16 teams for the Rolex National Indoor Tennis Championship at SMU in Dallas, TX, where they reached the quarterfinals.
In the spring they were 15-2 for the Spiders, including a 13-match winning streak. Merrick and Bilak were named All-CAA First Team in doubles and as one of the top 32 pairs in the country, they qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championship. The duo won 66 doubles matches for the Spiders in their four seasons.
Lawson "Buzz" Montsinger – Football 1967-1969
A local product from nearby JR Tucker High School, Lawson "Buzz" Montsinger's impressive and inspiring journey started as a walk-on and ended as a scholarship captain who helped lead Spider football to one of the program's all-time great triumphs.
Arriving in 1967 as a walk-on defensive end, he impressed as a student of the game who was tough, physical and athletic. Quickly earning a scholarship, "Buzz" would become a three-year starter and two-time All-Southern Conference standout in 1968 and 1969, when the Spiders captured back-to-back conference championships.
The 1968 season culminated with Richmond's Tangerine Bowl victory over previously unbeaten Ohio University, in which Buzz contributed a key third down quarterback sack. During the regular season in a dominating 38-0 homecoming victory over VMI, he intercepted a pass and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown.
As a senior in 1969, Montsinger was named a team captain. During his three seasons, the Spiders were 16-3 in SoCon contests, including 6-0 against rivals VMI and William & Mary. He was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys but his professional career was cut short by injuries.
After graduating in 1970 with a degree in psychology, Buzz turned back to his other love, music, playing the saxophone with bands led by the likes of Steve Bassett, Robbin Thompson and Ron Moody. A tragic accident in 2006 left Buzz paralyzed, but through a long and difficult rehabilitation, he again showed his never-give-up attitude that served him so well during his playing days, continuing his music career and decades-long support of Spider Football.
Mark Wesselink – Women's Tennis 1989-2022
One of the most decorated coaches in Richmond athletics history, Mark Wesselink led the Spider women's tennis program to unprecedented success for more than three decades of what he described as "a very brief 33 years."
Wesselink guided the program to nine conference championships and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. The eight-time conference Coach of the Year recorded 379 Richmond victories, leading the Spiders to a first or second place finish in the conference championship 17 times.
He began his tenure at Richmond in 1989 as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, then made the Spiders presence known immediately when they joined the Atlantic 10 in 2001, leading UR to a conference championship in its first season. Wesselink was named A-10 Coach of the Year.
Richmond dominated the A-10 for next decade, winning nine Atlantic 10 Tournament Championships in 11 years including four-straight titles in two different spans, from 2004-2007 and 2009-2012. Richmond appeared in the NCAA Tournament each of those nine years, and Wesselink was named A-10 Coach of the Year seven of those nine seasons.
Prior to Richmond, he spent three seasons as an assistant at Harvard, helping the Crimson to three NCAA Tournament appearances. He served as head coach at Drake, posting a 60-24 mark in three seasons, bringing his career victory total to 439. A highly-respected and beloved figure in the tennis community, he served as chairman of the ITA Division I Eastern Regional Committee in 1993.
Wesselink announced his retirement as head coach in June 2022, but remained close to the program as a volunteer assistant coach for two seasons until his untimely passing in July 2024.
Team of Distinction – Women's Basketball 2004-05
It was a defining moment for Richmond women's basketball. When the 2004-05 team saw the name "Richmond" on the TV screen during ESPN's NCAA Selection Show broadcast, history had been written. It marked the first-ever at-large berth for the Spiders, earned by virtue of a second-consecutive 23-win campaign.
Coach Joanne Boyle's squad opened the season 9-0 and 14-1, with wins over state rival Virginia, SEC foe Florida and future NCAA Tournament teams Liberty and Dartmouth. Prior to their first loss – by six points to nationally-ranked DePaul – the Spiders had been one of just five remaining unbeaten teams in the country. In mid-January, the Spiders earned the program's first-ever national ranking at number 25 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.
Senior captain and future Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Kate Flavin led the way. She paced the Spiders in scoring (16.8) and rebounding (8.8), and was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team and All-Defensive Team, as well as Richmond Times-Dispatch State Player of the Year. Junior captain Saona Chapman led the team in assists (4.4 per game) and was second in scoring (11.6), while earning A-10 All Conference Second Team and All-Academic honors.
Flavin finished her career with 1770 points. The '04-05 team featured three other players who would go on to be 1,000-point scorers – Christina Campion (1261), Johanna McKnight (1106) and Chapman (1100).
A late-season injury to Flavin left the Spiders shorthanded, falling to Florida State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But the lofty accomplishments of the 2004-05 team – at large NCAA berth, national ranking, one of 64 teams to play for a national championship – are achievements that would stand alone for the next two decades of Spider women's basketball.
About the University of Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame
Established in 1977, the University of Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame honors the unparalleled and superior excellence of individuals and teams whose achievements, accomplishments and dedicated support have brought elite recognition and distinction to themselves, their communities and Spider Athletics.
Please click here for Frequently Asked Questions about the Hall of Fame
Please click here to nominate a person or team for the Hall of Fame
The Class of 2025 consists of women's tennis coach Mark Wesselink, posthumously, who guided the Spiders for 33 years; two of his standouts who formed a record-setting doubles team, Lesia Bilak-Schinnerer '98 and Bridget Merrick '98; five-time men's swimming conference champion Brent Holsten '94; and Lawson "Buzz" Montsinger '69, a football captain and defensive starter on Richmond's Tangerine Bowl championship team. The 2004-05 women's basketball squad, which earned Richmond's first-ever NCAA Women's Tournament at-large berth, will be honored as the Team of Distinction.
The 48th Hall of Fame class will be inducted during a ceremony Friday night, October 17. The class will be introduced at the Homecoming football game Saturday October 18 against Holy Cross. Kickoff is 2pm. Tickets and registration information for Friday event's ceremony can be found at uronline.net/hw25. Tickets for the football game are available online or by calling the Richmond Ticket Office at 1-877-SPIDER-1.
Lesia Bilak-Schinnerer - Women's Tennis 1995-1998
It didn't take long for Lesia Bilak-Schinnerer to make her impact on Richmond women's tennis as a standout singles player and as part of a nationally-acclaimed doubles team with classmate Bridget Merrick.
Following a freshman season in which Bilak reached the singles finals of the CAA Tournament, she would shine at number one singles and doubles for the Spiders the following three seasons, reaching the singles finals again as a junior and earning All-CAA Singles honors as a senior. She won 50 singles matches in four seasons. Bilak shared Richmond's Senior Female Athlete of the Year honors with Merrick, as the duo reached unprecedented heights.
Playing for legendary Hall of Fame coach Mark Wesselink, the Bilak and Merrick doubles team was ranked as high as ninth nationally. During their 1997-98 senior year, they compiled a 17-2 record in the fall, highlighted by winning the Rolex East Regional Championship with a stunning victory over the nation's 13th-ranked doubles team from William & Mary, beating them in straight sets on their home court. The triumph qualified them as one of just 16 teams for the Rolex National Indoor Tennis Championship at SMU in Dallas, TX, where they reached the quarterfinals.
In the spring they were 15-2 for the Spiders, including a 13-match winning streak. Merrick and Bilak were named All-CAA First Team in doubles and as one of the top 32 pairs in the country, they qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championship. The duo won 66 doubles matches for the Spiders in their four seasons.
Following graduation, Bilak played a year on the women's professional tennis tour.
Brent Holsten - Men's Swimming 1990-1994
A local product from nearby Douglas Freeman High School, Brent Holsten traveled a short distance to the University of Richmond. Once there, he embarked on a long journey, becoming one of the most dominant and decorated Spider men's swimmers in program history.
In his first year, he was the only freshman on a 400-meter relay team that won a Colonial Athletic Association title. As a junior, Holsten captured the 50-yard freestyle at the CAA Championships at UNC Wilmington. His time of 21.02 set a team record for a squad that established a program record for wins.
At the 1994 CAA Championships at East Carolina University, Holsten, a senior captain, accomplished a personal triple crown, winning the 50, 100 and 200-yard freestyle events while shattering two school records. In the 50 free he became the first Spider to break the 21-second barrier, finishing with a time of 20.78. In the 200 free, his time of 1:41.72 in the finals secured a first-place finish and set a school record by half a second. Holsten's third win was in the 100 free, in which he improved his personal best time by more than a second, winning the title with a time of 45.83.
Holsten completed his collegiate career by qualifying for the Eastern College Athletic Conference meet at Rutgers University. He placed third in the 50 Freestyle and second in the 100 Freestyle. He also swam the 100 Butterfly, where his time of 52.10 broke the UR school record.
A four-year letter winner, Brent captured five conference titles, set six program records and was named 1993-94 Spider Club Male Athlete of the Year. He served as volunteer assistant coach for the Spider women's program for four seasons, winning four conference championships, including the 2004-05 team, which was inducted into the Hall of Fame as the Team of Distinction in 2012. He is just the second Spider men's swimmer to be inducted into the University of Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame.
Bridget Merrick – Women's Tennis 1995-1998
From conference and university honors to national rankings, Bridget Merrick helped define Richmond women's tennis during one of the program's most successful eras, playing number two singles and first doubles for the Spiders.
Her singles career record included 51 wins, 21 of which came during a breakout sophomore season. She culminated her career by being named first team All-CAA Doubles as a senior, and sharing Richmond's Senior Female Athlete of the Year honors with doubles partner Lesia Bilak as the duo reached unprecedented heights.
Playing for legendary Hall of Fame coach Mark Wesselink, the Merrick and Bilak doubles team was ranked as high as ninth nationally. During their 1997-98 senior year, they compiled a 17-2 record in the fall, highlighted by winning the Rolex East Regional Championship with a stunning victory over the nation's 13th ranked doubles team from William & Mary, beating them in straight sets on their home court. The triumph qualified them as one of just 16 teams for the Rolex National Indoor Tennis Championship at SMU in Dallas, TX, where they reached the quarterfinals.
In the spring they were 15-2 for the Spiders, including a 13-match winning streak. Merrick and Bilak were named All-CAA First Team in doubles and as one of the top 32 pairs in the country, they qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championship. The duo won 66 doubles matches for the Spiders in their four seasons.
Lawson "Buzz" Montsinger – Football 1967-1969
A local product from nearby JR Tucker High School, Lawson "Buzz" Montsinger's impressive and inspiring journey started as a walk-on and ended as a scholarship captain who helped lead Spider football to one of the program's all-time great triumphs.
Arriving in 1967 as a walk-on defensive end, he impressed as a student of the game who was tough, physical and athletic. Quickly earning a scholarship, "Buzz" would become a three-year starter and two-time All-Southern Conference standout in 1968 and 1969, when the Spiders captured back-to-back conference championships.
The 1968 season culminated with Richmond's Tangerine Bowl victory over previously unbeaten Ohio University, in which Buzz contributed a key third down quarterback sack. During the regular season in a dominating 38-0 homecoming victory over VMI, he intercepted a pass and returned it 46 yards for a touchdown.
As a senior in 1969, Montsinger was named a team captain. During his three seasons, the Spiders were 16-3 in SoCon contests, including 6-0 against rivals VMI and William & Mary. He was signed as a free agent by the Dallas Cowboys but his professional career was cut short by injuries.
After graduating in 1970 with a degree in psychology, Buzz turned back to his other love, music, playing the saxophone with bands led by the likes of Steve Bassett, Robbin Thompson and Ron Moody. A tragic accident in 2006 left Buzz paralyzed, but through a long and difficult rehabilitation, he again showed his never-give-up attitude that served him so well during his playing days, continuing his music career and decades-long support of Spider Football.
Mark Wesselink – Women's Tennis 1989-2022
One of the most decorated coaches in Richmond athletics history, Mark Wesselink led the Spider women's tennis program to unprecedented success for more than three decades of what he described as "a very brief 33 years."
Wesselink guided the program to nine conference championships and 11 NCAA Tournament appearances. The eight-time conference Coach of the Year recorded 379 Richmond victories, leading the Spiders to a first or second place finish in the conference championship 17 times.
He began his tenure at Richmond in 1989 as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association, then made the Spiders presence known immediately when they joined the Atlantic 10 in 2001, leading UR to a conference championship in its first season. Wesselink was named A-10 Coach of the Year.
Richmond dominated the A-10 for next decade, winning nine Atlantic 10 Tournament Championships in 11 years including four-straight titles in two different spans, from 2004-2007 and 2009-2012. Richmond appeared in the NCAA Tournament each of those nine years, and Wesselink was named A-10 Coach of the Year seven of those nine seasons.
Prior to Richmond, he spent three seasons as an assistant at Harvard, helping the Crimson to three NCAA Tournament appearances. He served as head coach at Drake, posting a 60-24 mark in three seasons, bringing his career victory total to 439. A highly-respected and beloved figure in the tennis community, he served as chairman of the ITA Division I Eastern Regional Committee in 1993.
Wesselink announced his retirement as head coach in June 2022, but remained close to the program as a volunteer assistant coach for two seasons until his untimely passing in July 2024.
Team of Distinction – Women's Basketball 2004-05
It was a defining moment for Richmond women's basketball. When the 2004-05 team saw the name "Richmond" on the TV screen during ESPN's NCAA Selection Show broadcast, history had been written. It marked the first-ever at-large berth for the Spiders, earned by virtue of a second-consecutive 23-win campaign.
Coach Joanne Boyle's squad opened the season 9-0 and 14-1, with wins over state rival Virginia, SEC foe Florida and future NCAA Tournament teams Liberty and Dartmouth. Prior to their first loss – by six points to nationally-ranked DePaul – the Spiders had been one of just five remaining unbeaten teams in the country. In mid-January, the Spiders earned the program's first-ever national ranking at number 25 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll.
Senior captain and future Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Kate Flavin led the way. She paced the Spiders in scoring (16.8) and rebounding (8.8), and was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team and All-Defensive Team, as well as Richmond Times-Dispatch State Player of the Year. Junior captain Saona Chapman led the team in assists (4.4 per game) and was second in scoring (11.6), while earning A-10 All Conference Second Team and All-Academic honors.
Flavin finished her career with 1770 points. The '04-05 team featured three other players who would go on to be 1,000-point scorers – Christina Campion (1261), Johanna McKnight (1106) and Chapman (1100).
A late-season injury to Flavin left the Spiders shorthanded, falling to Florida State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But the lofty accomplishments of the 2004-05 team – at large NCAA berth, national ranking, one of 64 teams to play for a national championship – are achievements that would stand alone for the next two decades of Spider women's basketball.
About the University of Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame
Established in 1977, the University of Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame honors the unparalleled and superior excellence of individuals and teams whose achievements, accomplishments and dedicated support have brought elite recognition and distinction to themselves, their communities and Spider Athletics.
Please click here for Frequently Asked Questions about the Hall of Fame
Please click here to nominate a person or team for the Hall of Fame
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