Posted: 01/20/2012 | Last updated: January 20, 2012 at 02:38 PM
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Mountain Hawks return to Jacobs Pool for their final home meet of the season Saturday, as both the men and women take on the Bucknell Bison.
The Lehigh men will attempt to rebound from their first dual meet loss of the season against a strong Bucknell squad, who enters the pool with a dual meet record of 6-2, while the women look to return to the win column against the 4-4 Bison.
The Mountain Hawks (7-1, 3-1 Patriot League) look for senior Kevin Shoemaker to again lead the men’s squad in his last home meet. Shoemaker has been dominant this season in the butterfly and individual medley events, capturing at least one individual win in every meet this season. The men will also seek leadership from seniors Jared Blacker, Angelo DiGiacinto, Connor Styles, and Chris Toth, all swimming in their final home contest.
The men also hope for freshman Danny Bennett and sophomores Chris Hoke and Demetri Karedis to build on strong individual performances from the loss at Army last Friday. Bennett won both the 500 and 1000 yard freestyle events, while Hoke and Karedis took the top two spots in the 50 free, respectively, before teaming up with junior Frank Cuzzola and freshman Martin Kendig to take the top spot in the 200 freestyle relay.
The Lehigh women (3-4, 2-2 Patriot League) look for continued success in the backstroke events from freshman standout Alissa Leung, as well as the duo of junior Emily DiDonato and freshman Kim Weyand, who took the top two spots in the 100 and 200 yard breast last week at Army.
Seniors Lauren Armstrong, Priscilla Barletta, Elizabeth Marchese, Jill Rann, Alyssa Siano, and Paola Simon will look to end their home careers with a win against a Bucknell squad that is perennially among the top in the Patriot League.
The women’s divers face tough competition from a Bucknell team led by their own freshman standout, Katie Hetherington, who already holds Bucknell records off the one and three-meter boards, and has earned Patriot League Female Diver of the week honors three times.
On the men’s side, the Bison are led by senior swimmer Thomas Brown who has captured seven first-place finishes in 11 events over the Bison’s last three meets.
Both Bison teams are coming off of losses to non-conference opponents, the men falling just short at home to Columbia, 129.5 to 111.5, and the women losing to Rutgers, also at home. Prior to those Sunday meets, both Bucknell teams went to West Point, N.Y. coming away with wins over Army. The Bison men bring a 4-1 Patriot League record, while the women are 3-2 in conference matchups.
Saturday’s meet is slated for a 1 p.m. start from Jacobs Pool.
Story written by Gordon Stevenson ‘12