Richter ’03 named women’s basketball head coach

In the collegiate sports world, time never stops

, and that certainly applied to F&M this summer as the wrestling and women’s basketball teams both endured head coaching changes, with the wrestling team still waiting on a national search for a new head coach to be completed.

After struggling to a 0-11-1 record in the 2009-10 season, head wrestling coach Pete Schuyler submitted his resignation to the College, and it was immediately accepted. F&M is in the middle of a national search for the program’s next head coach.

While the school has not officially named a permanent replacement, assistant wrestling coach Matt Greenberg said he is still excited for the upcoming season after getting one year of experience at F&M under his belt.

“Being able to spend another year with the core group of guys I spent my first year coaching with is an exciting situation to return to,” Greenberg said. “Having one year under my belt should help things run more efficiently and now that [the team has] a good idea of each other’s sensibilities, personalities, and motivators, we will each be more effective in our training.”

Greenberg was a standout at Cornell University, a school that is now considered one of the premier wrestling programs in the nation. He helped lead three teams to top-ten rankings during his time there.

After having such a positive experience at Cornell, Greenberg said that he will look to instill some of the values and methods used at Cornell to try to improve F&M’s wrestling program. He has already begun that process by bringing captain Matt Fullowan ’12 to the Cornell wrestling camp this summer.

“This summer I was able to bring Matt Fullowan to Ithaca with me for Cornell’s summer wrestling camps,” Greenberg said. “[Fullowan] was able to train with Mack Lewnes (Cornell’s returning NCAA finalist) and see how the [number one] team in the nation trains and spends its summers. To me, [witnessing what is being done at this level] is what was needed to take our program to the next level.”

While the wrestling team is still searching for the next head coach to take the reins, the women’s basketball team, which saw head coach Ashlee Courter depart for her alma mater Marymount University over the summer, has hired Kirsten Richter ’03 to fill the vacant position.

Richter, who is coming to F&M following a four-year stint as an assistant coach at Randolph-Macon, said that it is very special to be returning to her alma mater, where she hopes to add to the history the women’s basketball program here has already put together.

“It is an honor to be back at F&M leading the women’s basketball program,” Richter commented. “There have been a number of great teams and players through the years here and I am looking forward to continuing that tradition.”

While at Randolph-Macon, the Yellow Jackets amassed 89 wins, including a 67-13 mark against conference opponents and two conference titles.

Working alongside Randolph-Macon’s Carroll LaHaye was a great opportunity for Richter, as it allowed her to learn from one of the most winningest coaches in NCAA Division III women’s basketball history.

“Coaching at Randolph-Macon was a tremendous experience for me,” Richter said. “I worked side-by-side with head coach Carroll LaHaye, one of the winningest coaches in NCAA Division III. I learned a great deal from coach LaHaye about building a championship program.”

Last season, the F&M women’s basketball team posted a 10-15 overall record, struggling within the Centennial Conference and finishing with a 6-14 record. The team also missed out on the conference playoffs after hosting them just a year earlier.

Richter said that she is eager to begin work with the team as the Dips look to improve on their 2009-10 season and get back into contention.

“I am excited to start working with our women’s basketball players and learning more about the strengths of each individual and the team,” Richter said. “We will work hard to develop as a team and maximize our potential right from the start.”