Courtesy: Richmond Athletics
RICHMOND, Va. – With the suspension of an in-person graduation ceremony, Spider swim and dive took a different approach to one of the most memorable days in a student-athlete’s life. The program hosted a virtual graduation ceremony for its five seniors, hosted by junior swimmer Mallory Shake (Lexington, Ky.). The graduation program included a prayer from University Chaplain Rev. Dr. Craig Kocher, along with speeches from University of Richmond President Dr. Ronald A. Crutcher alumnae Lauren McRae (’18), Mariel Kush-McFadden (‘14) and Olympic Gold Medalist Maya DiRado-Andrews.
The senior class of Maddy Chao (Niskayuna, N.Y.), Lexie Gilbert (Annapolis, Md.), Hannah Gouger (Cockeysville, Md.), Eliza Manning (Frederick County, Md.) and Sydney Weiskopf (Clifton Park, N.Y.) gathered with their teammates for the normally scheduled Sunday Zoom call with the Spider swim and dive team. Instead, they were joined by over 100 family, friends, alumni, staff and teammates to help celebrate their day. All five were shipped packages earlier in the week that contained caps and gowns that were donated by Spider alumnae. Upon the direction of Shake, the five opened their packages for their graduation attire for this once in a lifetime event.
The event started with a prayer from University Chaplain Rev. Dr. Craig Kocher who introduced Dr. Ronald A. Crutcher. Alumnae McRae and Kush-McFadden spoke briefly as Kush-McFadden introduced the event’s keynote speaker, DiRado-Andrews. DiRado-Andrews, a winner of four medals in the 2016 Rio Olympics, including two gold, highlighted the event. DiRado’s message was that of finding meaning and purpose through the process.
Associate Athletic Director for Academic Support and Student Services Bruce Matthews ceremoniously conferred the degrees to the seniors before beginning the presentation of degrees. The event concluded with a video tribute to the senior class and a thank you from head coach Matt Barany.
