Lehighsports.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Lehigh opened its 2009 fall season on Sunday as the Mountain Hawks’ varsity 8 crews competed at the Head of the Potomac in the nation’s capital.  The Lehigh women had a solid afternoon taking second place in their opening race and following that up with a first-place medal winning performance in the second race.  The Mountain Hawk men crossed in fourth place in their lone race of the day.

On the women’s side of things, Lehigh crossed in 16:36.4 in its opening event, which was good for second place and put the Brown and White ahead of crews from Georgetown, George Washington and Mary Washington.  In the crew’s second race of the afternoon Lehigh raced its way to a first place finish with a time of 16:52.4 which earned the Mountain Hawks a medal.  Lehigh bested entries from Georgetown, Alexandria Crew Boosters, Mary Washington, University of Maryland, D.C. Strokes Rowing Club and Annapolis Rowing Club.  “I’m pleased with the work we’ve done so far but realize we still have a lot to accomplish,” women’s head coach Liz Meltzer explained.  “I’m impressed by the performances of our young ladies in back-to-back races; it speaks well for our fitness level.  This was an exciting way to begin our fall season.”

The Lehigh men finished their race in a time of 15:03.3, more than one minute faster than the crew from Mary Washington.  Potomac Boat Club won the event.  “The Head of the Potomac was a tune-up for our upcoming fall racing season – a chance to try new lineups, race plans and become sharper,” men’s club varsity coach Jason Moorehead said.  “The results showed what we expected them to show and that is we have solid boat speed, but still have a lot of work to do in order to develop our team’s chemistry, rhythm and endurance for the remainder of the fall season.” 

Lehigh will return to action on October 3 when the Mountain Hawks host their first race of the fall season on the Lehigh River in Allentown.  Iona, Loyola and Franklin & Marshall will come to town to take on the Brown and White.  The first race is set for 10:00 AM.