Posted: 03/24/2012
CAMDEN, N.J. - The Lehigh rowing team began its spring season on Saturday with a solid all-around showing at the 30th annual Murphy Cup Regatta. The Mountain Hawks saw the Women’s Collegiate Novice 8+ boat place fifth overall with a time of 8:31.27 while the Varsity Women’s 8+ placed 12th overall after taking sixth in the Petit Final. Lehigh also had one boat narrowly miss the grand final as the Varsity Men’s 4+ was the seventh fastest team of 7:55.82, just shy of a top six spot needed to qualify for the final.
“For the first race, it was a good test to see where we are competitively,” said head coach Brian Conley. “The conditions were constantly changing – the wind had a dramatic effect race-to-race. Despite that, I thought the crews did well and were able to perform where we hoped they could.”
The Women’s Collegiate Novice 8+ boat was made up of Monika Martin, Aymee Suarez, Corey Johnson, Oma Anidi, Ali Tirinec, Cara Baskin, Krista Schutt, Rebecca Sproul and Cassie Barker.
The Varsity Women’s+ boat featured Liz Miller, Katherine Menge, Kaitlyn Dennington, Jackie Ogden, Dana Seglem, Ravenna Wilkins, Adrianna Abreu, Ainsley Timmel and Elaine Ivy.
“Those two crews really stepped up and we have a lot of speed on the women’s side,” Conley said. “Both of those boats showed they were able to compete and handled the conditions.”
On the men’s side, it was the Varsity Men’s 4+ that impressed. The boat was made up of Yusuf Erkli, Kyle Meredith, Alex Fegley, Anthony Palacio and Amanda Stillwell.
“The boat outperformed where they were expected to be, so that was nice to say,” Conley said. “On the men’s side, just need some more work on the idea of racing and how to execute race plans and now allowing those conditions to affect our rowing.”
Lehigh will next compete Saturday, March 31 in the Neuweiler Plate in Lewisberry, Pa.