So proud of my SPIDERS!!!

I am so excited and so proud! This week as been the first time since undergrad that I have been able to watch my college team on TV, with sound, and I have not had to fight for a TV at a bar to be able to even see them play!
I am a proud University of Richmond Alumni and I was also a spider student athlete, I swam for 3 years and played golf my senior year at Richmond. The athletes at UR were always very supportive of each other and especially the men's basketball team and the women's swimming team. There's nothing quite like the site of 10 or more six foot + basketball players walking onto the pool deck during a swimming meet. I became very close with a few of the guys because of our freshman core class.

Freshman Year at UR, Proclamation Night 1998

UR requires all freshman to take CORE, it's a small class of 20 or so students who engage all year in discussions that push boundaries and to "explore the perspectives on the meaning of life." We read a lot of books and had a lot of intense discussions. There were 2 football players, 2 basketball players, and myself as the athletes in our class of 20 and it was made clear early on that our professor did not like athletes and did not like our missing class because we had to travel to a game. Needless to say it was a tough year but I made lifelong friends and learned a lot about basketball.

Amy and I at practice in 1998.

I love my swimmer girls and have the best memories from our training trips to florida and from practice and conferences. I got mono junior year and our coach Hammer wanted me back in the pool. It was the hardest decision I have ever had to make but at the time I was worried about my heath and eduction. A lot of my team never forgave me from walking away during my junior year but for the first time in my life I got healthy and was happy I guess I just needed time to get well.

Spider swimming cheers! I'm on the far side of the circle
in the center in a black shirt.

I joined Alpha Chi Omega sorority during my sophomore year and I love my sisters. It's unfortunate that our chapter had to close this past fall due to some unfortunate circumstances. I took up golf in the spring of my junior year, I drove home to get the clubs my parents had always pushed me to play with and suddenly I came to realize after my first club golf practice that I was good, really good, I had just never cared enough to play. I'm glad I figure out this talent while I had time in school to practice and play it still serves me well now.

Our black conference shirts had a spider and read "That's all folks"
yes kind of morbid but appropriate for the loss of our men's team.

While swimming at Richmond my freshman year we had a men's team that unfortunately was cut due to Title IX decisions made by the university.  Not their best choice. So that's why some pictures have guys and some are all girls. It was so hard to watch half your team being told their college athletics career is over. They were my friends and my family! I owe who I am to my Spider swimming team and all my experiences I had with them.

Winter Training Trip Sophomore Yea

Back to my real point of this blog posting!

MY SPIDERS HAVE MADE THE SWEET 16!! I HAVE NEVER BEEN SO PROUD!!

I have always known how good the spiders basketball program is but I guess the rest of the world didn't know. The past 10 years that I have been living in Maryland and any time I have had a chance to see my spiders on TV usually an ACC Maryland game is on and it becomes a battle to get a TV that has the channel to watch. UR never gets on network tv in the DC area unless they are playing GW (I'm usually at those games) so I have to find a bar to see them play. I watched the Spiders tear it up last week in the Atlantic 10 basketball tournament and was able to watch their last two games in that tournament on TV.

So exciting! Since Thursday when #12 Richmond knocked out #5 Vanderbilt while the St. Patty's day party was gong on suddenly I looked around the bar and realized... people were cheering for my school!! And they were excited about it!! Then yesterday Richmond did the unthinkable and knocked out #13 Moorehead State which had upset #4 Louisville. So now were on to the sweet 16 to play the #1 seed Kansas. I would like to point out at this time I had Kansas vs. UR in the sweet 16 in my bracket. So I've crossed my fingers and said my prayers to hope that the next round won't be a disaster. I'm also very proud of VCU another Richmond school for making the tournament and also progressing to the sweet 16. Let's Go SpidURs!!