Richmond Spiders

Infobox college athletics | name = Richmond Spiders

university = University of Richmond
conference = Atlantic 10 Conference | division = Division I
director = Jim Miller
city = Richmond
state = Virginia
stateabb = VA
teams = 19
stadium = University of Richmond Stadium
arena = Robins Center
mascot = Spidey
nickname = Spiders
color1 = Richmond Red
color2 = Richmond Blue
color3 = Spider Blue
hex1 = E00053
hex2 = 0031AD
hex3 = 00246B
pageurl = http://richmondspiders.cstv.com/
pagename = www.richmondspiders.comThe University of Richmond is a member of the NCAA's Division I and is a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference for all sports except football and women's golf, which participate as members of the Colonial Athletic Association. Richmond is the only university in the country with the spider as its official mascot.

Facilities

University of Richmond Stadium has served as the home of Spider football since 1929, located a few miles from campus. The university is currently in the planning process for expanding the on-campus First Market Stadium (currently home to the soccer, lacrosse, and track and field programs) to accommodate football as well.

The Robins Center arena serves as home to the men's and women's basketball programs. Other facilities at the Robins Center include the natatorium, home of the women's swimming and diving program, as well as offices and support facilities for most of the Spider athletic programs.

Varsity Sports

Baseball

The University of Richmond's baseball team ended the 2007 season with a record of 32-28 and finished third in both the Atlantic-10 regular season schedule and championship tournament. A number of Spider alumni have played in the major leagues, including All-Stars Brian Jordan and Sean Casey and 1957 World Series Most Valuable Player Lew Burdette. Other notable Spiders in the major leagues include Andy Allanson, Mike Smith, and Tim Stauffer. 23-year head coach Ron Atkins stepped down at the conclusion of the 2007 season and is being succeeded by Mark McQueen, former pitching coach at UR and Virginia Commonwealth University who returned to the Spiders in 2006 as associate head coach. The Spiders' home field is Malcolm U. Pitt Field, named for legendary Spider baseball, basketball and football coach Malcolm Pitt.

Men's Basketball

Women's Basketball

Men's Cross Country/Track & Field

The Spiders Men's Cross Country and Track and Field teams are coached by Steve Taylor, who has been the coach since 2001. In 2006, the Spiders Cross Country team finished fourth in the Atlantic Ten Cross Country Championships out of fourteen schools. At the Atlantic Ten Indoor Track and Field, the team finished 7th, and at the Outdoor championships, the team finished 10th.

Women's Cross Country/Track & Field

The Richmond Spiders Women's Cross Country and Track and Field teams are coached by Lori Taylor. In 2006-2007, she guided the Spider women to a second place finish in the Cross Country, Indoor Track and Outdoor Track. The home of the Spiders XC/Track program is the Fred Hardy Track, on the University of Richmond's campus just north of the Robins Center.

Field Hockey

The University of Richmond's women's field hockey team finished the 2006 season with a record of 17-5 and captured their fifth straight Atlantic-10 championship and NCAA Division I tournament berth. The history of the program dates to 1920, and it has been ranked as high as tenth among Division I programs in recent years. After six years with the Spiders, head coach Ange Bradley moved to Syracuse University at the conclusion of the 2006 season, and former Indiana University assistant coach Gina Lucido has taken the helm of the Spiders program. The team's home field is Crenshaw Field.

Football

Men's Golf

The University of Richmond's men's golf team finished fourth in the 2007 Atlantic-10 championship tournament. The Spiders have captured three conference championships and qualified for four NCAA Regional Championships, as well as the 1999 NCAA National Championship. The current head coach of the Spiders is Adam Decker.

Women's Golf

The University of Richmond's women's golf team competes as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association and finished fourth in the 2007 championship tournament. The program came into existence in 2002, and since that time the Spiders have finished no lower than fourth in any of the five CAA championship tournaments in which they have competed. The current head coach of the Spiders is Leighann Rastede Albaugh.

Women's Lacrosse

The University of Richmond's women's lacrosse team finished the 2007 season with a record of 14-6 and has captured three consecutive Atlantic-10 championships and NCAA Division I tournament berths. The history of the program dates to 1957, although it did not compete on the NCAA Division I level until 1992. The program has been ranked as high ninth among Division I programs. The head coach of the Spiders is Sue Murphy and the team's home field is First Market Stadium.

Men's Soccer

The University of Richmond's men's soccer team finished the 2006 season with a record of 10-7-4 and advanced to the semifinals of the Atlantic-10 championship. The history of the program dates to 1975, and the Spiders have won or shared three conference title and advanced to three NCAA Division I championship tournaments. The head coach of the Spiders is Jeff Gettler and the team's home field is First Market Stadium. Notable Spiders that have played professionally include defender Craig Ziadie, who was selected 28th overall by D.C. United in the 2001 MLS SuperDraft, and goalkeeper Shawn Alexander, who was selected in the first round of the 2002 USL A-League draft.

Women's Soccer

The University of Richmond's women's soccer team finished the 2006 season with a record of 3-13-2. The history of the program dates to 1996, and the Spiders have won the Atlantic 10 conference title once (2002) and advanced to two NCAA Division I championship tournaments. In 2002, the Spiders advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament before falling to the University of Portland, the eventual national champion. The head coach of the Spiders is Peter Albright and the team's home field is First Market Stadium. Spider standout defender Jaclyn Raveia was selected by the Carolina Courage in the second round of the 2001 Women's United Soccer Association supplemental draft.

Women's Swimming & Diving

The University of Richmond's women's swimming and diving team has captured the Atlantic-10 championship each of the last seven years, dating back to UR's entrance into the conference. In addition, the Spiders have won seven consecutive A-10 Coach of the Year and Most Outstanding Performer awards, as well as five Most Outstanding Rookie Performer awards. The Spiders have qualified at least one swimmer for the NCAA Division I championship meet in each of the past five seasons. The head coach of the Spiders is Matthew Barany and the team's home pool is the Robins Center Natatorium.

Men's Tennis

Women's Tennis

Club Sports

Men's Lacrosse

The University of Richmond men's lacrosse team plays in the Tidewater Division of the National College Lacrosse League (NCLL). In 2007, the team recorded wins against Duke (7-3)] , Hampden-Sydney (10-2), and Georgetown (5-4). The team also participated in the Beltway Bash, hosted by the University of Maryland's club lacrosse team. Richmond men's lacrosse team is coached by Fred Plaisted and the team's current president is Zach Gottlieb..

Ice Hockey

The University of Richmond's men's ice hockey team plays in the Blue Ridge Hockey Conference (BRHC) of the American Collegiate Hockey Association ( ACHA ). The University of Richmond's hockey team has won the BRHC Playoff Championship three times in a row (2003-04, 2004-05, 2005-06 seasons). They've gone to the ACHA Nationals multiple times.

Rugby

The University of Richmond's men's rugby union team plays in the Virginia Rugby Union Division II. In 2007, the team finished in 2nd place, losing to eventual national champion Radford University in the state championship game. In each of the past three seasons the Spiders have placed high enough to advance to the first round of playoffs in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union. In 2008, the Spiders lost to East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. In 2006 and 2007, they lost to Salisbury University of Maryland. Division opponents of the UR Men's team are James Madison University, the University of Mary Washington, Radford University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia Military Institute. The team is coached by Carl Schmitt, Matt Willson, and Sam Hall.

External links

* [http://www.richmondspiders.com/ Richmond Spiders]
* [http://www.spidernation.com Unofficial Message Board for Spider Athletics]
* [http://www.urhockey.com/ University of Richmond men's ice hockey team (non-varsity, club sport)]