Lacrosse
All-American sisters lead lacrosse team
Ashley Friend, ’07, and Mandy Friend, ’09—sisters from Canandaigua, N.Y.—have made a tremendous impact on the Spider lacrosse program.
They were named preseason All-Americans in 2007 by Inside Lacrosse magazine after combining for 100 goals last year. They led the team to its first Atlantic 10 regular season title, its second straight A-10 championship and a top-10 national ranking.
Throughout the 2007 season, they did it again. With more than 90 combined goals, the sisters have helped the team maintain its high national profile, ranking as high as No. 13 this year.
Six straight championships
The Spider swimming and diving team captured its sixth consecutive Atlantic 10 championship in February. As usual, the team won the title by a wide margin—284 points—while breaking six school records, setting five new A-10 marks and sweeping the relays.
It sounds like the same old story of conference domination, but coach Matt Barany does not see it that way. “When we start a season, we don’t treat it as a sequel,” he insists. “We treat it as a single opportunity to win a championship for the school.”
Lauren Beaudreau, ’09, became the sixth-straight Spider swimmer to be named Most Outstanding Performer at the A-10 championships. She captured three gold medals while shattering three A-10 records and two school records. Katie Sieben, ’10, (pictured above) was named Most Outstanding Rookie Performer for winning the 50-freestyle and contributing to five relay wins.
The team also won many regular-season awards. Beaudreau earned the A-10 Performer of Year Award, the sixth straight by a Spider, and Sieben garnered the A-10 Most Outstanding Rookie Award, the fifth straight by a Spider. Barany was named Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year, extending Richmond’s streak to six in that category.
After the A-10 championships, Beaudreau and Jessica Witt, ’08, were invited to participate in the NCAA championships. Witt finished 16th in the 400 IM, qualifying her for All-American status.
“Jessica’s repeating her All-American honors was special,” Barany says. “This year’s NCAAs were faster than usual, so she appropriately dropped substantial time to score for Richmond.”
Looking ahead to next season, the team will lose six seniors to graduation, but Barany remains optimistic. “Our swimmers are highly competitive, and this competitive side is very difficult for other A-10 teams to match,” he says. “We don’t know the unexpected obstacles that lie ahead, but I am pretty confident we will continue to get better.”
The Friends also are rewriting the Spider record book. Ashley will finish in the top six for career goals, assists and points. Mandy, already in the career record book for all three categories, set a school record for most points in a single season during her rookie year.
Growing up, Mandy felt lucky that her big sister let her go along wherever she was asked to play lacrosse. “I can’t imagine it not getting annoying, but she must have kept it to herself,” Mandy says. “It was hard playing together at first for me because she had two years under her belt. She knew so much more, and I just tried to learn as much as I could to rise to her level. … No matter how hard I could imagine working, she will be working harder. Instead of trying to beat her, I’ve always just tried to come close, and that’s a big enough goal.”
Ashley also has plenty of respect for her younger sister. “I love playing with Mans,” Ashley says. “She is so talented and hardworking on the field, and the positive attitude and enthusiasm she brings every single day is something I look up to.”
Mandy concluded her first year with 53 goals and 23 assists, including 11 hat tricks. She was named to the A-10 Championship Team and the A-10 All-Conference Team. She also earned All-American honors as a rookie.
Ashley has been named to the A-10 All-Conference Team and the A-10 Championship Team twice. She has scored more than 100 goals in her career and started every contest during the past four years.
Meanwhile, the team has risen to national prominence—with a little help from its Friends.
Football
2007 Schedule
Sept. 1 at Vanderbilt
Sept. 8 at Northeastern
Sept. 22 at Bucknell
Sept. 29 New Hampshire*
Oct. 6 at Towson
Oct. 13 Stony Brook
Oct. 20 Rhode Island
Oct. 27 at James Madison
Nov. 3 Villanova**
Nov. 10 at Delaware
Nov. 17 William & Mary
* Family Weekend
** Homecoming
Track
Young finishes ninth at indoor championships
Jessica Young, ’09, ran 60 meters in 7.32 seconds to tie for ninth place at the NCAA’s Indoor Track and Field Championships in March. The school record time made her the fifth fastest American in the event, which earned her a spot on the All-American team.
Young narrowly missed the finals, which included the eight fastest runners overall. Her time was only 0.03 seconds behind the eighth qualifier.
“She ran a great race,” says women’s track coach Lori Taylor. “That was her best performance of the season. … It was a great experience and opportunity for her, and she just handled it like a veteran. That’s what you want, especially in her first appearance in the national championships.”
A native of Columbia, S.C., Young was seeded 16th out of 20 runners to qualify for nationals in the 60-meter dash. She was the first Richmond athlete to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships since Josephine White in 1981.
Baseball
Atkins celebrates 700th career win
The baseball team scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat James Madison University on March 28, giving head coach Ron Atkins his 700th career victory.
In his 23rd season at Richmond, Atkins already was the University’s all-time leader in coaching wins for any sport. He has led the Spiders to 30 or more victories in 10 of the past 16 seasons, including 53 wins in 2002 and 48 wins in 2003.
The 2007 Richmond Athletics Hall of Fame inductee has led the Spiders to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a super-regional tournament performance that put Richmond one win away from the 2002 College World Series.
“We’ve won a lot of ballgames,” Atkins said, during a post-game celebration at Pitt Field that started with players dousing the coach with a cooler full of water. “It’s very special getting No. 700 before our home fans. That means a lot to me.”
Atkins plans to retire this summer.
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