Sports Briefs
Women’s indoor track team
finishes first in four events
Junior pole-vaulter Lauren Stewart (Richmond/ Governor’s School) broke her own VCU school record Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Lid Lifter hosted by Christopher Newport University. Stewart vaulted 12 feet for a first-place finish, snapping the previous University best (11-1 _ ) she set a season ago.
Women’s indoor track team finishes first in four events
Junior pole-vaulter Lauren Stewart (Richmond/ Governor’s School) broke her own VCU school record Sunday, Dec. 4, at the Lid Lifter hosted by Christopher Newport University. Stewart vaulted 12 feet for a first-place finish, snapping the previous University best (11-1 _ ) she set a season ago.
Three other members of the team finished first in their events as well. Danielle Williams (Virginia Beach/ Salem High School) finished the one-mile run with a time of 5 minutes, 18.10 seconds while Frankie Moore (Chesapeake/ Great Bridge High School) tied for first with Virginia State’s Mecca Bowens. Finally Nikki Arrington (Richmond/ Midlothian High School) won the weight throw with a 45-05.50 launch.
Jacqueline Sendgikoski (Flanders, N.J.) and Megan Seay (Burke/ Lake Braddock) finished third and fourth respectively in the high jump event.
Men’s indoor track season opens in Annapolis
The men’s track team opened its indoor season Friday, Dec. 2, at the Navy Invitational in Annapolis, Md., by claiming third place in the 4×800-meter relay and fifth in the 4×400.
James Frierson’s (Richmond/Highland Springs High School) time of 6.40 seconds in the 55-meter dash was good for first place, while Derek Altizer (Chesterfield/ Thomas Dale High School) and Davion Lambert (Richmond/ Varina High School) finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Lambert was able to win first in the high jump with a jump height of 2.03 meters. Lukasz Matusiewicz (Warsaw, Poland) also displayed a solid performance in his event, finishing second in the one-mile run with a time of 4 minutes 17.77 seconds.
Francescatto acknowledged for incredible year
The American Volleyball Coaches Association gave junior outside hitter Ludmila Francescatto (Frailburga, Brazil) an honorable mention nod for the All East Region Team. She is the first Ram ever to receive the recognition and one of two players in the Colonial Athletic Association to earn the honor this season.
A first-team selection for the CAA, she averaged 3.45 kills per game as well as registering 417 on the year, both of which rank third in the program’s all-time-single season list. She also finished second on the team with 3.10 digs per game, second only to senior libero Griselle Lopez Perira (Caguas, Puerto Rico).
A two-time National Junior College Athletic Association Division I All-American when she played for Arizona Western College before transferring to VCU, Francescatto helped VCU win its first CAA tournament.
Former men’s soccer standout traded by Richmond Kickers
Former men’s soccer player Matthew Delicate, the 2003 CAA Player of the Year, had his rights traded from the United Soccer League’s local Richmond Kickers to the Rochester Raging Rhinos.
A former assistant coach to the men’s soccer team, Delicate finished his career as the Rams’ all-time leading scorer with 44 goals and 13 assists, becoming the first Ram ever to reach the 100-point mark. He also scored 25 goals and five assists during two seasons of play for the Kickers.
Men’s Basketball team earns first win in conference play
Junior Guard B.A. Walker Chesapeake, Va. (Great Bridge) hit six 3-pointers and scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Rams to their first CAA victory Wednesday, beating Hofstra 87-64.
Fourteen of the Pride’s 21 turnovers were steals by VCU players, who as a team shot 51.9 percent from behind the arc and 46.8 percent from field goal range.
Senior forward Nick George (Manchester, England) was second on the team with 16 points and junior guard Jesse Pellot-Rosa (Richmond/ George Wythe) added 15 points in the victory at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.
Women’s basketball falls to East Carolina
Michele Cosel (Mechanicsville/ Atlee High School) followed up her career-high performance with another strong one, scoring 19 points and shooting 4 of 5 from behind the 3-point arc Wednesday night.
Despite her play, the Rams fell 66-61 to lose the second game in a row after winning their first four of the season.
The Rams last lead of the came early in the first half, when redshirt freshman Quanitra Hollingsworth (Chesapeake/ Great Bridge High School) hit a jump shot to put VCU up 9-6.