The University of Richmond men’s tennis team defeated top-seeded Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) 4-3 in the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinal at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., on April 24. The victory advances the No. 5 seeded Spiders to their first conference championship final since 2021 and marks their first win over VCU since February 28, 1990.
This result is significant as it ends a long-standing losing streak for Richmond against VCU, which had spanned 37 matches. The Spiders also stopped VCU’s run of eight consecutive Atlantic 10 titles and achieved their first neutral site win over the Rams.
In doubles play, Grant Cohen and Charlie Burdell secured a point for Richmond with a win on court three, while Davis Wiley and Cole Brashear clinched another on court one. Although VCU took early momentum in singles by winning two matches, Richmond responded with victories from Wiley at No.1 singles and Paxton Pritchard at No.3 singles. With the match tied after five courts, Brashear sealed the upset for Richmond with a three-set win on court six.
The updated spring records show strong performances across both singles and doubles for several Spider players this season. Notably, Wiley holds a record of 16-5 in singles while Brashear/Wiley are now 17-4 as a doubles pair.
Richmond will next face third-seeded Dayton in the Atlantic 10 Championship final scheduled for Saturday, April 25 at the USTA National Campus.
