University of Richmond Athletics
Chapman To Compete With Athletes In Action
10/19/2006 | Women's Basketball
Oct. 19, 2006
UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND, Va. - Former Richmond women's basketball standout Saona Chapman will be joining the 2006 Athletes in Action (AIA) Fall Exhibition team later this month in challenging squads in the United States and Canada. A graduate of 2006, Chapman and nine other teammates will tour college campuses with AIA, the sports ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, from Oct. 26 through Nov. 14.
After graduating Richmond with a double-major in leadership studies and religion, Chapman was searching for opportunities to compete before enrolling in a master's degree program at Harvard Divinity School in the 2007 fall semester.
During the three-week tour with AIA, Chapman will play competitive games against NCAA Division I teams, including Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Syracuse and Michigan, among others. The team will also play Windsor University in Ontario, Canada.
While involved with the team, Chapman will have the opportunity to use her love of basketball to grow in and tell others about her Christian faith with opponents and fans alike.
"We are all proud of Saona and the opportunities that continue to come her way," stated Richmond head coach Michael Shafer. "Competing for AIA is a unique situation, especially for someone like Saona. She gets the opportunity to do two things she is passionate about - playing basketball and spreading her faith. I think Saona's professional basketball career is just getting started and this is an ideal starting point for her."
Based out of Xenia, Ohio, AIA has been sending men's and women's teams of this nature for almost three decades, often playing nationally-ranked teams on their exhibition tour. Last year, AIA visited Richmond on their exhibition tour.
"I am looking forward to directly combining my passions for Jesus and basketball," stated Chapman. "To really learn how to balance competitiveness and grace; hard work and humility; and aggressiveness and a pure heart."
A transfer from Rutgers University, Chapman played three years in a Spider uniform, reaching double figures 53 times, recording three double-doubles and eclipsing 1,000 career points. A standout point guard, Chapman earned many honors in her career at Richmond, including being named to the A-10's All-Conference second team, Preseason All-Conference first team and Academic All-Conference team two years straight, the ESPN All-District III Academic second team, the Dartmouth Blue Sky Classic All-Tournament Team, the Richmond-Times Dispatch All-State Honorable Mention team and the VaSID All-State Second Team. After just three years at Richmond, she finished second on the program's all-time career list for assists with 449, fifth for career three-point field goals made with 142 and 10th for career steals with 163.
