The Spider Update
Website: http://www.richmondspiders.
The Spider Update keeps you up-to-date on recent news about Men’s Tennis at the University of Richmond, periodic updates on Richmond tennis alums, and information on the upcoming tennis season. If you have friends or family you would like to receive this e-newsletter, email hbarrick@richmond.edu with their name and email address. For those who are new to our monthly email, we have attached last month’s Spider Update for your convenience.
Greetings,
Since our last Spider Update, our players have continued to work hard on and off the court. We have competed in two events throughout the region. The first was at the Monarch Invitational in Norfolk, VA. This past weekend we competed in the ITA Atlantic Regional Championships in Lynchburg, VA. The ITA championship was our biggest event of the fall. For those new to college tennis, the fall season is our individual season. Players still represent their university, but they are competing individually. The team portion of our season begins in January.
Monarch Invitational
We brought 4 players to participate in the ODU tournament. Sophomore George Lovitt led the Spiders with his consolation championship. George also teamed up with fellow Sophomore Matthew Fernandez to capture the doubles consolation championship. Freshman Joseph Nardini had several hard fought matches over the weekend in his 2nd career collegiate tournament. Overall the Spiders went 13-6 throughout the weekend.
ITA Regionals
The ITA Regionals took place at Liberty University with over 20 schools from the region. The winner of the Regional earns an automatic spot into the ITA National Indoors in November. The Spiders were among the last few teams remaining at the end of the tournament. Sophomore John Karlawish led the Spiders in singles before eventually falling to Virginia Tech’s top player. Junior Brice Polander and Sophomore George Lovitt reached the semi-finals of the doubles tournament, beating teams from UVA and Virginia Tech along the way.
New Facility:
Our new outdoor facility is officially open! Some construction is still in progress, but we are able to practice full-time on the new courts. We would like to thank all those that supported our efforts to build the facility. It is now one of the best outdoor facilities in the conference and region. Having ten brand new courts will allow us to enhance our program in a multitude of ways. We are planning to host several events in the future that will help grow the tennis program at Richmond and in the community.
Alumni Spotlight:
In this edition of the Spider Update, we would like to thank John McGinty for his support of the university. John played on the tennis team from 1963-1967 and graduated with an English degree. Following his tennis career, John went on to coach tennis at the Naval Academy for two years with fellow spider Coach Bob Bayliss. John’s greatest work, however, came from 1975-2009 where he served as teacher, Assistant Principal, and Principal at several schools in the Richmond area (Hermitage High School, Godwin High School, and Benedictine High School). Since his retirement, John has come back to UR, and has been working as a University Supervisor in the Teach Licensure Program. John has been a loyal supporter of all Spider athletics teams, and we are lucky to have him as one of our own!
What’s Next?
We next travel to Charlotte, NC, for the UNC-Charlotte Invitational. We will take the entire team to this event, and we will compete against teams outside of our typical region. We wrap up our fall season in Williamsburg, VA, for the I-64 Challenge. The I-64 challenge brings together teams from all across the state to compete in a dual-match format. Virginia Tech, VCU, W&M host the event. Harvard and Penn State will also send players.
Click here for the full 2017 Fall Schedule
http://www.richmondspiders.
The 2018 Spring Schedule will be coming out in the next newsletter!
Friends of Spider Tennis
As we begin a new chapter of Spider tennis, we are establishing the Friends of Spider Tennis program. Your financial support is vital to the future growth of our program. To fully reach our goals, we need to provide additional resources to our current and future Spiders. You can help us by donating directly to the Men’s Tennis program. Your generosity will provide the resources needed to help make our program one of the top programs in the country. To donate, click the link below, and scroll down to Men’s Tennis Discretionary Fund.
https://uronline.net/
Sincerely,
Houston Barrick
Head Men’s Tennis Coach
University of Richmond