Lehighsports.com

PHILADELPHIA – Lehigh opened its 2008 spring race schedule on Saturday morning along the Schuylkill River versus Saint Joseph’s, Delaware and Drexel.  The Mountain Hawks had several solid performances throughout on the women’s and men’s side.  The women’s freshmen four, the men’s varsity eight and the men’s freshmen eight all won their respective races. 

In the women’s varsity eight race, following a near collision with Saint Joseph’s off the start, the Mountain Hawks re-grouped to have a solid second half, unfortunately it was too little, too late as Lehigh was unable to catch the three other crews.  “Despite the rough start to the race, I really liked the way our varsity eight rowed today,” Lehigh’s Director of Rowing Liz Meltzer commented.  “They were clean, they were long, and I’m very excited to see what they’re capable of this season as we continue to pick up boat speed.”

The men’s varsity eight jumped out to a bow to stern lead on Drexel, but through the middle 1000 meters the Dragons fought back and nearly caught the Mountain Hawks.  However in the end the Brown and White was able to hold on for the victory with a time of 5:28.17.

Lehigh entered both its second varsity eight and its lightweights in the second varsity eight race and the pair of boats finished second and third within a single second of one another.  St. Joseph’s jumped out to an early lead leaving Lehigh’s two boats to battle out the finish with Delaware.  The final result came down to the sprint where the Mountain Hawks second varsity eight took a lead on Lehigh’s lightweights and the Blue Hens.  “That was a great race,” explained Meltzer.  “I wasn’t sure which crew would finish where, but I was happy that we were able to take the second and third spots.  It shows the depth we have on our team, both on the open weight and the lightweight sides.”

Lehigh and Drexel’s men both got off to a clean start in the second varsity eight race and were stroke-for-stroke throughout before the Dragons pulled away late.  Drexel finished with a time of 5:20.20 but Lehigh was not far behind crossing in 5:24.64.

In the final events of the day and perhaps the most definitive performances by the Mountain Hawk men and women, Lehigh won both of the freshmen races.  Lehigh’s women exploded off the line and cruised to a first place finish over Delaware and Saint Joseph’s with a time of 6:43.3. 

“I’m really proud of our freshmen and the way they performed in their first sprint race as Mountain Hawks,” explained Meltzer.  “I think it shows the recruits and walk-ons coming together quite nicely as one crew.”

She continued, “Overall, I was very pleased with the day and how both our women and men performed.  We have a lot of work to do and a long season ahead of us, but I am confident that we have a plan in place and the right people on our crew to accomplish our goals.”

The Mountain Hawk men’s first freshmen eight dominated their respective race as they won by nearly twenty seconds, leaving the LU second freshmen eight to battle things out for second place with Drexel.  In the end the Dragons finished slightly ahead of the Brown and White with a time of 6:08.97, just two seconds ahead of Lehigh’s second eight’s pace.

Lehigh men’s coach Jason Moorehead offered his thoughts on the initial race of 2008.  “Despite our limited spring break training due to the weather, I thought the entire men’s team had a tremendous performance today.” 

Lehigh now has two weeks off and will return to action on March 29 when the Mountain Hawks head back to Philadelphia to compete in the Murphy Cup.  The first race is scheduled for 9:00 AM.

Women’s Results

Varsity 8

2nd Varsity 8

Frosh/Novice 4+

Men’s Results

Varsity 8

2nd Varsity 8

Frosh/Novice 8