Greetings Spider Family & Friends!
As our frenzied semester draws to a close, I’ve taken time to reflect on all that has happened since we first welcomed student-athletes back to campus for the 2020-21 school year in July. I think it’s fair to say that in more than a century of intercollegiate athletics at Richmond, there’s never been a year when being a student-athlete has been so challenging and difficult. Over the last 10 months, our student-athletes have sacrificed so much in order to represent our University. Holidays with family, nights out with friends, postgame hugs with parents and much, much more have been restricted or eliminated due to the realities of competing in college athletics during COVID-19. And yet, our Spider student-athletes have been resilient and persisted. They have strapped in and laced up to compete for Richmond without complaint. I could not be prouder of how our Spiders have handled this most-challenging year.
Congratulations to our Spider Graduates!
I’d like to offer a special congratulations to our graduating seniors, who have earned their degrees while navigating the difficulties of a hybrid virtual and in-person learning environment over the last 14 months. I’m thrilled that so many of our Spiders have found ways to excel in their academic pursuits despite the complications that come with learning during a pandemic. Last month, we were delighted to present 104 Spiders with our Scholar Athlete Award for having a cumulative grade point average over 3.50 after a minimum of two completed academic terms!
Women’s Swimming & Diving Wins A10 Championship
As remarkable as many Spiders have been in the classroom, perhaps the most spectacular performance by any group of Richmond student-athletes in some time occurred last month in Ohio, as the Spiders Swimming & Diving team captured its 16th Atlantic 10 Championship! Richmond posted the highest point total for any team at the A-10 Championship since 2013 and won 15 individual medals. Head coach Matt Barany was named A-10 Coach of the Year for the ninth time and was quick to give the credit to his athletes saying "these women were on fire this week" and calling their performance "outrageously good." I couldn’t have said it better myself!
Spiders in Action This Spring
Elsewhere during a very busy April, our football team wrapped up the first spring season in the history of the program. The Spiders finished with a 3-1 record, including two wins over Elon and a victory against longtime rival William & Mary to bring the Capital Cup back to our campus. I’m already looking forward to next fall, when we are expecting back the core of an extremely talented roster that features eight All-CAA performers from this season.
The Spider field hockey team finished the regular season with a 4-2 mark and qualified for the Atlantic 10 Championship. Richmond pushed unbeaten #1 seed VCU to the brink in the A-10 semifinals, holding the Rams scoreless for more than 57 minutes before surrendering a late goal in a 1-0 loss.
On President’s Field at River Road, Spiders Soccer unveiled a revamped youthful roster, with seven freshmen and sophomores cracking the team’s most frequent lineup. Fresh faces were also a primary feature of this year’s women’s golf team, which fielded a six-person team with just one senior at the season-ending Patriot League Championship. The Spiders finished third and were led by freshman Rory Weinfurther, who won the Patriot League individual title by a single stroke and earned a spot at this week’s NCAA Regionals in Ohio! The men’s golf team also brought a lone senior to its conference championship as the youthful Spiders finished fifth at the Atlantic 10 tournament in Orlando, Fla. earlier this month, placing a freshman and two sophomores in the top 20 on the individual leaderboard.
While soccer and golf are among our programs that will return to competition this fall, this semester was the last time we will get to see our spring sports teams until 2022. That includes our powerhouse lacrosse programs, which both earned regular-season conference championships this spring and established themselves as mainstays in the top 20 of the national rankings.
On the court, our men’s and women’s tennis teams made inspiring runs to the Atlantic 10 Championship match, with the women sweeping second-seeded Rhode Island in the semifinals and the men upsetting second-seeded Dayton to advance to the finals. While Spiders tennis was battling in the A-10 championship match in Orlando, Spiders track and field was putting the finishing touches on a stellar performance at the Atlantic 10 Outdoor Track & Field Championships. As a team, the Spiders finished fourth while winning conference titles in the long jump, the 400m, the 800m, and the 4x400m and 4x800m relays. The Spiders hope to have strong representation at the NCAA Regionals for outdoor track later this month.
Even with all the changes to the 2020-21 sports season, Spider baseball will again anchor the Richmond Athletics relay this year. UR is 16-12 on the year and has two series on the road left in regular season play.
Looking Forward to 2021-2022
In the midst of the busiest semester in the history of Richmond Athletics, we are already looking forward to the 2021-22 school year. There is so much to be excited for in the year ahead! We can’t wait to unveil a new state-of-the-art full LED videoboard at Robins Stadium and enhancements to Pitt Field, including indoor batting cages and additional outfield seating. We are thrilled that Grant Golden, Jacob Gilyard, Nick Sherod, and Nathan Cayo -- all 1,000-point scorers -- have announced that they will use their extra year of eligibility and return to the Robins Center next season.
More than anything else, we are hopeful that -- pending state regulations -- we will be able to welcome capacity crowds back to campus to support the Spiders! A packed grandstand supporting a winning team is Richmond Athletics at its best. It’s what all of us – staff, coaches, and student-athletes – strive for. And we couldn’t be more excited at the prospect of having all of our Spider faithful back on campus soon.
Transition of a Loyal Spider
Finally, I have some bittersweet news to share with you. Associate Athletics Director for Development, Jasmonn Coleman recently accepted a new position with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA). While we are excited for Jasmonn to pursue this wonderful new opportunity, we are saddened to see him depart Spider Athletics and our campus community.
As many of you know, Jasmonn has been an integral member of the Spider Athletics management team for the past 12 years leading our fundraising efforts. We are grateful for his impactful contributions and his many years of outstanding service to the University. He has represented the University well as both as a dedicated staff member and a Spider student-athlete on the gridiron! Jasmonn will certainly be missed on campus, but we wish him well with his exciting new endeavor at the VMFA. He will always be a welcomed member of the Spider family.
#URHere Giving Day – Rescheduled for May 25th and 26th
The University’s Giving Day, #URHere, has been rescheduled for May 25th and 26th. Donations made during #URHere will have an even greater impact on Spider Athletics due to the many matching and challenge gifts. To learn more about giving day and how your gift can inspire others to join you in supporting your Spider team, the Competitive Excellence Fund or the Spider Leadership Initiative please click here or email Chris Schaefer, Assistant AD for Annual Giving at
cschaefe@richmond.edu. Thank you in advance as we look to build upon last year’s successful campaign that raised over $500,000 from more than 2,500 donors.
As we wrap up the spring semester, I want to thank you all again for your tremendous support this past year, and share my best wishes for a safe and happy summer! We encourage you to get vaccinated to facilitate our return to normalcy, and we’ll look forward to seeing you next semester!
Take care, and…. Go Spiders!
All the best-
John P. Hardt
Vice President & Director of Athletics
richmondspiders.com
citadelsports.com
