Ben Martindale, Staff Writer
Men’s tennis Atlantic-10 conference tournament
VCU men’s tennis entered this year’s A-10 tournament as the No. 1 seed in pursuit of what would be their ninth consecutive A-10 championship.
Quarterfinal — VCU vs Davidson College
VCU got off to a good start in the A-10 tournament, kicking off its first match by winning the doubles point. In singles play, second-year Mads Bredschneijder opened things off for the Rams, winning 6-3, 6-2. VCU first-year Patrik Petera followed up his A-10 rookie of the week winning performance with another excellent showing, winning in dominant fashion 6-1, 6-1. Third-year Alfred Almasi clinched the match for the Rams winning 7-5, 6-0.
Semifinal — VCU vs University of Richmond
VCU’s season, and reign as A-10 champions, came to an end in the second round of the conference tournament. Richmond won the opening doubles point and never ceded the lead to VCU. The Rams fought hard, but lost a competitive match 4-3.
Women’s tennis A-10 conference tournament
VCU women’s tennis entered this year’s A-10 tournament as the No. 2 seed looking to win their second consecutive A-10 championship.
Quarterfinal — VCU vs Saint Louis University
VCU hit the ground running against Saint Louis after an opening round bye. Second-years Sophia Thorne and Andrea Magallanes, and first-year Victoria Lackova and second-year Sara Alba won their opening matches to secure VCU the doubles point. In singles play VCU was clinical, with Thorne, Magallanes and Alba all securing victories to close out the first round sweep 4-0.
Semifinal — VCU vs University of Richmond
VCU women’s tennis avenged the men’s team conference tournament loss to Richmond by eliminating the No. 3 seeded Spiders in the A-10 semifinal. The Rams battled through early adversity to win the doubles point. In singles play the two teams battled back and forth, both refusing to give an inch. In the end VCU was too much, punching its ticket to the A-10 championship via a hardfought 4-2 victory.
Championship — VCU vs Fordham University
The Rams took on No. 1 seed Fordham in the championship match to secure their second consecutive A-10 title. VCU took the doubles point to go up 1-0 early. Singles matches were competitive throughout with the two teams battling back and forth until the two teams were tied at 3-3 with one final match yet to conclude. Seemingly immune to the pressure, second-year Andrea Magallanes stepped up big time, coming back after dropping the first set to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in an epic finish.
Baseball vs University of Richmond — Weekend series
Game 1
It was a tough start for the Rams in their weekend series vs the cross town rival Richmond Spiders. Richmond scored runs in the first two innings and was unable to score the rest of the game, but that was all it needed as it held VCU to a single run scored. Second-year Jacob Lee was the lone Ram to score, hitting home run No. 11 on the season. In a game dominated by pitching, the final score was 2-1 in favor of the Spiders.
Game 2
Game two saw the scoring pickup significantly, but still not in favor of VCU. After a rough third inning, VCU found themselves down 4-0. The Rams fought back in the top of the sixth inning, scoring three runs but Richmond responded by scoring four runs of its own in the bottom of the inning to extend its lead to 8-3. VCU scored one more run in the top of the ninth but it was not enough as the Rams fell 8-4.
Game 3
The third and final game of VCU’s weekend series against Richmond offered the Rams, coming off back-to-back losses, a chance at redemption. VCU graduate student utility Dante DeFranco opened the game with a lead off double. A Richmond error then allowed Defranco to score the game’s opening run. The rest of the game was made up of gritty defense and excellent pitching with VCU getting the win 2-1. Rams four-year pitcher Zach Peters struck out six batters in four innings of work and tallied his fifth save of the season.
Lacrosse vs George Mason University
The VCU women’s lacrosse team showed out against George Mason, winning 13-2. The two goals allowed are the fewest number of goals allowed in a game in VCU program history. The dominant victory marks the final game of the winningest season in program history. Next up the Rams will face the winner of St. Bonaventure University vs George Washington University in their first matchup of the A-10 tournament.