From The AD's Desk - John Hardt - University of Richmond Athletics

Greetings from the University of Richmond and the Robins Center!

With our general student population returning to campus for the first time since before Thanksgiving, it has been comforting to see a resumption of some of the University of Richmond routines that are so familiar to us. Chats between students and professors in the Weinstein Center courtyard. Walks to class with the "bells" of Boatwright Tower ringing in the distance. A quiet moment sitting on the shores of Westhampton Lake. The process is slow, but our progress is clear. Bit by bit, we are making our way towards the light at the end of the tunnel.

All across our beautiful campus so many behind-the-scenes heroes in Student Development & Residential Life, Dining Services, the CAPS Center & Campus Health, URPD, the Physical Plant, etc., are working tirelessly to maintain another healthy, safe and successful semester of in person learning on campus, despite the challenges of this pandemic. Thanks to these on-going efforts, we are that much closer to full classrooms, crowded lunch tables, and capacity crowds eager to support their Spiders.

Here at the Robins Center, we are in the midst of the few weeks where winter sports and spring sports overlap, or "crossover season" as it is informally known in our department. While this is typically the busiest time of the year for Richmond Athletics, the 2021 crossover season is setting new marks for activity as Spiders will be on the track, in the pool, at the turn, in the cage, between the hashes, and many other places, often all at the same time in February and March!

COVID-19 Challenges
Among our top priorities at the moment is safely returning our basketball programs to competition after COVID-19 protocols forced the postponement of multiple games for both our men's and women's teams in recent days. The pandemic has made this the most challenging school year for college athletics in recent history, but our entire department is working in close collaboration with medical professionals from the University, the Atlantic 10, the NCAA, and the Commonwealth of Virginia to keep our Spiders healthy and return them to the court as soon as is safely possible.

The Department of Athletics has worked diligently with the University leadership and the Covid-19 Resilience Working Group to implement comprehensive sport protocols and travel policies for all of our varsity sport programs to mitigate risk of infection and provide a safe environment. COVID FAQ'S

These important health and safety policies and guidelines are based upon the recommended best practices set forth by the NCAA and the Sports Science Institute as well as on-going guidance from the Center from Disease Control (CDC) and Virginia Department of Health (VDH).

Men's and Women's Basketball
The COVID-19 pause interrupted a four-game win streak for the women's team and coach Aaron Roussell, the program's longest since 2016. And our men's team, under coach Chris Mooney, is 10-4 and has been projected as an NCAA Tournament team by leading bracketologists. Our student-athletes and coaching staffs have worked so hard to get to this point, and I pledge to you that Richmond Athletics will do everything in its power to ensure that both programs are able to safely and successfully complete their seasons. Neither team will have to leave town to compete in the A-10 Championship, as the women's tournament will be held at VCU's Siegel Center and the men's tournament will be co-hosted by VCU and Richmond, with nine of the 13 games – including both semifinals and the championship – taking place in the Robins Center.

The Start of Spider Spring Sports
The start of spring sports means the start of the season for our powerhouse lacrosse programs. Both our men's team and women's team enter 2021 as two-time defending conference champions and both have been picked to three-peat as league champions in their respective official preseason conference polls! The women, led by coach Allison Kwolek, have been ranked as high as 10^th in various national preseason polls and the men, led by coach Dan Chemotti, have been ranked as high as 16^th. We are incredibly proud to have two of the nation's best lacrosse teams playing in Robins Stadium this spring!

Coach Tracy Woodson and his staff have been preparing Spider baseball for a 44-game spring schedule that will include 24 A-10 games in the conference's new Southern division. The team will start its season with a four-game series against Mount St. Mary's at Pitt Field from February 26-28.

With COVID-19 impacting team travel and tournament schedules across the country, our golf teams will stay close to home to open their 2021 seasons. The men's team and coach Adam Decker will open the year in North Carolina at the Ross Collegiate Classic March 8-9. Coach Calle Barlow will lead the women's team down I-64 to take on William & Mary at Kingsmill Resort on February 20.

The men's tennis team and coach Houston Barrick are scheduled to start their season with a match at Old Dominion on February 20, while the women's team and coach Mark Wesselink will open with a home match vs Norfolk State on February 27. Both teams will head to Orlando at the end of April to compete for a conference title at the A-10 Championships on the campus of the United States Tennis Association.

In their first meet in nearly 11 months, our women's track and field team collected a pair of victories at the East Coast Invitational earlier this month, with Brooke Fazio winning the 800-meter race and Kayla Woods taking first in the long jump. With no A-10 Indoor Track & Field Championships being held this year, the team is focused on the conference's Outdoor Track & Field Championships on May 1-2 at George Mason.

For the first time ever, the Richmond sports schedule will include every Spiders team this semester as our traditional fall sports will each play a conference season this spring.

Spider Fall and Winter Sports in Action this Spring
Coach Russ Huesman will lead Spider football through a six-game schedule that includes home-and-home series against three CAA rivals: Elon, James Madison, and William & Mary. First up for the Spiders is a date with the Tribe on March 6 at Robins Stadium.

Spider field hockey will also play a six-game schedule consisting of three home-and-home series. Coach Jamie Montgomery's team will play a pair of games against VCU, Davidson, and Saint Louis in preparation for the A-10 Championship, which will be held on April 23-24.

Our cross country teams, under the guidance of coaches Lori Taylor and Steve Taylor, opened their season on February 5^th at the Richmond Winter XC Invite at Mechanicsville's Pole Green Park. The men's team took home first place, while the women finished third. Both teams will return to Pole Green next month, when Richmond hosts the Atlantic 10 Championship on March 5.

The Spider women's soccer team will play an eight-game slate in preparation for A-10 Championship, which will be decided on April 18. Coach Marty Beall's team was 5-3 at home last season -- their first playing at President's Field at River Road – and will host Davidson, George Mason, George Washington, and VCU this spring.

After being limited to virtual meets in the fall, our swimming and diving team will be back in the same pool as their competition February 20 when they travel to George Mason. Coach Matt Barany and his team will compete for another conference title at the A-10 Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio on April 14-17, one of 16 chances for the Spiders to win a team conference title from March through May!

Spider Scholar-Athletes Continue Success in the Classroom
With most teams taking a break from competition during the fall semester, it seems like many Spiders diverted some of their extra energy into their coursework. The average term GPA among all Spider teams last semester was 3.41 on a 4.0 scale, the highest on record for any semester with normal grading systems in place! Across Richmond Athletics, 77 percent of our more than 400 student-athletes achieved a GPA of 3.00 or better last fall, and 76 percent of our student-athletes ended the term with a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or better, another record for the Spiders! Whether in person or online, I couldn't be prouder of how our Spider student-athletes kept their focus in the classroom (and on Zoom!) during a uniquely challenging fall semester.

In addition to the student-athletes, our Academic Services department, led by Bruce Matthews, deserves praise for its performance over the last several months. I've been proud of the work done by all of our Spider Athletics staff this school year. Facing unforeseen and unprecedented obstacles, they have gone above and beyond to try and preserve the most critical elements of the student-athlete experience for our Spiders: competition, scholarship, leadership, and development.

#URHere Campaign – April 7 & 8
But our coaches and student-athletes can't do it alone. More than ever, they need the support of their Spider community to meet the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Spider Athletic Fund is well into preparations for this year's #URHere campaign, which will be held on April 7 and 8. In addition to making your gift on Giving Day, we ask that you find a former classmate, friend or family member to make a gift with you in support of all Spider student-athletes. The only way to make it to the end of the tunnel is if we do it together. Student-athletes, staff, alumni, parents, family, friends, and more – all supporting each other and working towards a common goal. That is how we ensure that Spider Athletics will continue to prosper this season, next season, and for years and years to come. Thank you in advance for your continued support!

Please remember that richmondspiders.com and our social media platforms are your ticket to following all the Spider action, and thank you for all you do to support Richmond student-athletes!

Stay safe, be well, and…. Go Spiders!

John P. Hardt
Vice President & Director of Athletics

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