University of Richmond Athletics
Behind The Web - Siblings Add To Spider Family
10/01/2014 | Football, General, Men's Tennis, Women's Golf, Women's Tennis, Women's Track & Field
The University of Richmond is a large family. Alumni, students, parents, family, friends, faculty, staff and members of the community are all proud to be a part of that large family, defined by academic achievement, integrity and work ethic.
There is a subset of that Richmond family that forms deep bonds everyday through sweat, pain and competition: Spider student-athletes. The special connections formed by competing in Division I athletics at a special place like Richmond have drawn talented young people from all around the world for years.
Families from communities in small towns, big cities and even foreign countries send their sons and daughters to Richmond to be lifelong Spiders. In some special cases, the draw of this special University brings sibling pairs that compete together for the red and blue.
In 2014-15, six different pairs of siblings will compete on Richmond's football, soccer, women's golf, men's tennis, women's tennis and track & field teams.
The draw of going to school with a familiar face was strong enough to get Maria Pons Cano to apply to Richmond in 2012. A native of Leon, Mexico, Maria comes from a family of golfers and she wanted to continue playing her childhood sport at the collegiate level.
But when it came time to making that collegiate choice in the United States, Richmond stood out. Mostly because of how happy her older sister, Georgina, seemed to be as a UR student-athlete on the women's tennis team.
“I applied to a lot of different schools,” Maria said. “But Richmond really stood out. It's a great school in a great area. When I visited my sister here, I just saw how happy she was, and knew that it would be special to go to the same school as her.”
Georgina Pons Cano came to Richmond in the fall of 2011. The school had everything she was looking for.
“I loved Richmond when I was looking at schools,” Georgina said. “It is small and private and it has a great business school. They also gave me the opportunity to walk-on to the tennis team, so I could continue playing the game that I love.”
Georgina grew up as the athletic oddball in a family of golfers. Her father, Luis, played golf at Texas A&M. Her sister, Maria, and two brothers also played golf. But Georgina loved tennis, pure and simple. Now she gets to play it as a Division I student-athlete.
“Our father always pushed us to play a sport in college,” Georgina said. “He knew that being a college athlete was a special thing. It defines and enhances your college experience in a good way.”
Georgina and Maria have certainly earned unique college experiences. But unlike many, they did get to do it together. They have familial support right across campus when their family is otherwise thousands of miles away in Mexico.
“We don't get to go home as much as some of our American teammates do,” Maria said. “So having Georgina here is like having a little bit of home. She's helped me adjust to college life and we support each other in our different sports. Knowing someone in a different sport gives you a better perspective on the athletic department as a whole, and you have someone you can talk to about what you're going through and they can compare it to their own team dynamic.”
Maria doesn't have to look far to find another sibling pair with a similar experience. Right down the tees at the Spider training facility are Elsa Diaz and Sara Diaz.
Already playing as Richmond's top two golfers in their first season here, the Diaz sisters came to UR as a package deal.
Younger sister, Elsa, was recruited from San Antonio, Texas, after she had a breakout tournament in Virginia. Her older sister, Sara, then decided to transfer from Texas A&M-Commerce so that the two could play golf together for this one year. Sara is now a graduate student, while Elsa is a freshman.
“We've always wanted to actually play together,” Sara said. “We were four years apart, so we never got to be on the same team. Richmond has a great human resources program which is what I wanted to study, but mostly I wanted to be able to play alongside Elsa.”
Coming from yet another athletically-minded family, the Diaz sisters learned the game from their father, Adolfo, who served as their swing coach when they were younger.
“Growing up, we always pushed each other in our training,” Elsa said. “When one of us was at a tournament, we'd call and talk about our rounds. Now we get to watch each other up close and critique each other. It's great!”
While the age difference means that Sara and Elsa have very different class schedules and living circumstances, they still make time for family.
“We have a unique friendship,” Sara said. “We can talk about stuff on the team and in school, but we can also talk about family stuff. It's a little different than with your other friends and teammates. We know that we are always going to have each other's backs.”
Several years ago, another pair of Richmond siblings made a big decision based on having the other's back.
Current football redshirt-senior Reggie Barnette got hurt his senior year of high school and did not get recruited as highly as his twin brother, Stephen Barnette.
“One of my main priorities coming out of high school was to find a place that wanted Reggie to play too,” Stephen said. “Playing together in college was just something that we kind of knew we both wanted to do, since we have spent our entire lives together. We wanted to experience college together as well.”
Richmond offered Stephen a full scholarship to play wide receiver and Reggie came as a preferred walk-on defensive back. Reggie has started every game since his redshirt-sophomore season, while Stephen has turned in two All-CAA seasons and was a preseason All-American this year.
“Playing with Stephen here at Richmond has been the best experience of my life,” Reggie said. “I mean I know that people say that college is the best four years, but being able to play football with him and share our whole college experience has been amazing.”
As redshirt-seniors on the football field, the Barnettes got to walk across the Robins Center graduation stage last May; one right after another. They've been inseparable their entire lives.
“In sixth grade, our teachers had to separate us in class,” Stephen said. “But that's about the only time we've ever been separated. We've played sports together our entire lives.”
The Barnette twins play on the opposite of the ball on offense and defense, meaning they are never on the field at the same time. That isn't the case for a pair of standout men's tennis players.
Natives of Medina, Ohio, the Dunbar brothers play doubles together on the Richmond tennis courts, relying on their years-long knowledge of the other's movements and tendencies to get a competitive advantage.
“We know each other so well on the court,” Ethan said. “It really does give us an advantage when we play doubles together. And it's also been amazing to play singles right down from each other.”
Last season, freshman Jacob Dunbar was named the A-10 Most Outstanding Rookie and garnered a place on the All-Conference First Team, losing just two matches all year. Ethan Dunbar, a redshirt-senior, was also an All-Conference First Teamer, becoming the first Spider men's tennis player to earn an individual national ranking.
The Dunbars grew up training together and honing their tennis skills in front of the other. Now in college, they can be each other's best assets on the court.
“We both kind of take on a coaching mentality with each other,” Ethan said. “We know each other's games so well from training together, that when either of us has an issue, the other one can point out something that we aren't quite seeing. We push each other pretty hard.”
Alyson McGonigle and Alena McGonigle are three years apart on the track & field team, with Alyson running distance and Alena specializing in the throws.
Alyson, a redshirt-senior, has medaled in the Atlantic 10 championships, earning bronze in the outdoor 800 meters, and gold in the 4x800-meter relay in 2012-13. She also took home three gold medals in the indoor championships that year, two from relays and one in the 800 meters.
"My sisters and I have always been an extremely close trio," Alyson said. "However, I do not think I could have ever imagined how awesome it would be to go to school with one of them. Being on the track team is such a huge, integral part of my college experience, and having Alena to share it with has proven to be completely invaluable - an incredible opportunity."
Alena, a sophomore, finished 10th in the A-10 shot put competition last season.
"We have the best parents and older sister in the world, and they try to come to almost every track meet. It's so awesome knowing that they do not have to choose which meet to go to or which school to root for and can always proudly sport Richmond Track & Field gear."
A large age gap between siblings is also found on the women's soccer roster, where senior Ashley Williams gets to play one more year with her freshman sister Lindsey Williams, after getting one year together in high school.
“I feel like it's coming full circle for me,” said Ashley. “I was recommended to Richmond and recruited because of a friend of mine from home, Lindsay Wicher, and we got to play one year together before she graduated. Now, the same thing is happening for me in the reverse because Lindsey is here.”
Ashley said she never put any pressure on Lindsey to come here so the college decision would be her own.
“When Coach (Peter Albright) came to me and asked if it would be okay to recruit my sister,” said Ashley. “I said definitely, and it became a reality at that point. Then I put the full court press on her to come here.”
But the thought process was a little different for Lindsey, after having to live the “Ashley's younger sister role” already in high school.
“My dad asked me when Ashley got there if I wanted to go to Richmond and I initially thought no, because I didn't want to go where my sister went and go on her path,” said Lindsey. “He always told me that when I made visits, I would feel like it was the choice right away. After making a visit my sophomore year to Richmond, coach and I walked around campus and talked and I felt it was right. Then I got excited to play with Ashley again.”
The sisters both acknowledged that they felt a deeper connection on the field and recognized moments where they didn't have to communicate as normal teammates do, which gave them an edge in competition.
“As soon as we got back on the field together this fall, that thing happened again where we just know what the other is thinking out there,” said Ashley.
“I can't explain it, but it's a good feeling.”
Players Mentioned
