Greetings Spiders!
On behalf of every member of Richmond Athletics, I'd like to congratulate the more than 100 student-athletes who received their degrees at Commencement earlier this month. Playing sports at Richmond is not for everyone. The hours are long. The workouts are tough. The coursework is challenging. The spotlight is bright. But as you take your next steps, you'll learn that you're better for being a Spider student-athlete. Cheers on your new status as graduates of one of the nation's best universities, and best wishes for success and a happy and healthy future!
CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
With the majority of our Spider coaches, staff, and student-athletes enjoying some well-earned downtime, the relative quiet of the Robins Center has given me a chance to reflect on all they've accomplished over the past year. It's an impressive list, and I hope it gives you the same sense of Spider Pride that I feel when I think of all the "wins" Richmond Athletics had during the 2023-24 school year.
Our women's lacrosse team became the fourth different Spider sports program to win a conference championship earlier this month, defeating top-seed UMass 14-13 in the final of the A-10 Championship. Winning a title in a conference as competitive as the Atlantic 10 is never easy, and winning four of the past six league titles, as the Spiders have, is the stuff dynasties are made of. Congratulations on another championship season!
Women's lacrosse, football, men's basketball, and women's basketball combined to win five total conference championships for Richmond this school year, with women's basketball capturing both the Atlantic 10's regular season and conference tournament titles. That equals the most total conference championships for the Spiders since Richmond won six during the 2006-07 season, 17 years ago!
SILVER MEDAL SPRING
Four other Spider sports teams came THIS close to capturing a conference title this spring, as baseball, men's lacrosse, women's tennis, and women's track & field all finished as runner-up at their respective conference championships. Spider baseball made an inspiring run to the A-10 Championship final, knocking off top-seeded Saint Louis along the way. Men's lacrosse made its 10th-straight appearance in a conference title game, the longest active streak in the nation. Our women's track & field team captured four gold medals on its way to a second-place finish at the A-10 Outdoor Championships, the team's best showing since 2007. Women's tennis fought its way to the final of the A-10 Championship as an 8 seed, including a win over No. 1 VCU in the quarterfinals. With the second-place finishes by our swim & dive team and indoor track & field team this winter, more than half (10 of 17) of our Spider sports programs finished either first or second in their conference this season!
COURSE, COURT, AND TRACK STANDOUTS
Everywhere Spider fans looked this spring, it seemed like student-athletes in Richmond red and blue were experiencing success. Over spring break, sophomore Hannah Lydic won the Low Country Intercollegiate in Hilton Head, S.C., helping the women's golf team to a second-place finish among the 16 teams in the event. At the Monument Ave 10K in April, members of our men's cross-country team swept the top three spots, beating out a field of more than 20,000 runners! Congratulations to Jordan Bendura (1st), Stuart Terrill (2nd), and Henry Haase (3rd) on their monumental achievement.
Men's tennis finished the regular season with a 6-1 record in conference play and earned the No. 2 seed at last month's A-10 Championship. Following a strong regular season, Spider men's golf was invited to play in the postseason National Golf Invitational in mid-May, where the team placed fourth. And just last week, three Spiders — Elizabeth Stockman, Madison Trippett, and Alicia Dawson — earned the right to compete at the first round of the NCAA Track & Field Championships in Lexington, Ky.
RECORD-SETTING SEMESTER
For all the Spiders accomplished in competition last semester, their performance was even more impressive in the classroom. For the first time in a semester not governed by COVID-era grading policies, every single Spider sports team recorded a GPA of 3.0 or higher during the spring term! 77 percent of our Spiders achieved a GPA of at least 3.0 in the spring semester, and 73 percent of Richmond student-athletes ended the year with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. Congratulations to our Spider student-athletes and the Athletics Academic Support staff on a great semester!
SPIDER FOOTBALL MOVE
As we celebrate the accomplishments of this year's Spiders, we're also focused on making sure that we are putting the next generation of Richmond student-athletes in the best possible position for continued success. That desire is the motivating factor behind our recent announcement that Spider football will move to the Patriot League following the 2024 season. This transition is aimed at providing our team the best chance to continue capturing conference titles, advancing in the postseason, and contending at the national level. Since introducing athletic scholarships over a decade ago, the level of competition in the Patriot League has increased sharply, while the conference's commitment to scholarship, student-athlete development, and institutional stability has remained consistent. I hope Spider fans will join us on the road or in Robins Stadium in 2024 as we make our final CAA season one to remember.
SUPPORTING SPIDER ATHLETICS
Everything Spider student-athletes achieved in 2023-24 would not have been possible without the generosity and loyalty of all of those who continue to support Richmond Athletics. We're on pace to have a record year in Athletics fundraising, and this year's contributions are already providing valuable resources for our student-athletes. If you haven't contributed to the Spider Athletic Fund this year, I hope you'll consider making a donation to whichever area of Spider Athletics means the most to you. Continuing to elevate the student-athlete experience at Richmond is a tremendous task, and it's one we must pursue alongside our Spider fans, friends, and families.
REMEMBERING GREG BECKWITH
Our Spider family suffered a tragedy last week with the sudden passing of Greg Beckwith. Bob Black, who was Greg's on-air partner for more than 20 years, called him a "true Spider through and through." Chris Mooney, who joined Beckwith for a post-game interview after every Spiders win, called him "the best of us." So many others, from his teammates during his Hall-of-Fame career on the "Giant-Killing" Spiders of the mid-80s, to Spider fans he made feel like friends after a chance meeting at the Robins Center, to current players he mentored and schooled in the history of Spider basketball, have shared their memories of "Beck" and what he meant to them over the past week.
Reading those testimonials, and hearing how Greg has impacted Spiders far and wide for more than 40 years, has helped during this difficult time. And I hope Monday's Celebration of Life service for Greg, which will be held on campus in the Cannon Memorial Chapel at 1 PM, will offer this same solace for our Spider family. Following the service, a reception will be held in the Robins Center, where Greg spent many happy days as a player, coach, and broadcaster. If you can, I hope you'll join us as we remember and celebrate one of our greatest Spiders.
