BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh swimming and diving teams will return to competition for the first time in more than a month when the Mountain Hawks welcome Patriot League rival Army to Jacobs Pool for a Friday evening meet. The Mountain Hawks have been conducting their winter training in the friendly confines of Jacobs Pool and will kick off the second semester of competition Friday versus the Black Knights.
Lehigh last competed on December 1, when the Mountain Hawk men defeated NJIT 142-63 in Newark, N.J. That same weekend four Mountain Hawks competed at the USA Swimming AT&T Winter National Championships in Austin, Texas. Senior Frank Cuzzola competed in the 100 yard freestyle, whle juniors Chris Hoke and Demetri Karedis swam in the 50 yard freestyle, an event that also fe
atured Olympic Gold Medalist Ryan Lochte. The Lehigh women were represented by sophomore Alissa Leung, who swam the 200 yard backstroke, an event which also featured an Olympic Gold Medalist in Missy Franklin.
On the men’s side, the Mountain Hawks have won three straight dual meets since a season-opening close loss to West Chester. Lehigh owns Patriot League wins over Colgate and Lafayette in addition to the win over NJIT. Lehigh will once again lean on its corps of sprinters, along with sophomore distance specialist Danny Bennett.
The Lehigh women bring a 1-2 dual meet record into Friday’s action. The Mountain Hawks last dual meet was a 169-125 win over Lafayette, their fifth straight win over the Leopards. Lehigh’s women have also lost to West Chester and Colgate. The Mountain Hawks will look to Leung and senior Emily DiDonato for leadership in the back and breaststroke events respectively, while Courtney Patterson will look to build on her strong freshman season.
Army opened the 2013 portion of its season with a strong winter training trip, which culminated in the combined team title at the Copa Coqui in Puerto Rico. The Black Knight men carry a 5-2 dual mark into Friday’s meet while the women are 4-4. Both Army teams are 0-1 in the league following losses to rival Navy.
Lehigh’s women will be looking to defeat the Black Knights for the first time since 2011, while the men seek their first-ever win over Army. The Black Knights swept last year’s dual meet at West Point.
The remainder of Lehigh’s 2012-13 schedule features a home date with Drexel on February 2 second plus three trips to Lewisburg, Pa. The Mountain Hawks will compete in a dual meet against Bucknell on Saturday January 26 before returning the following Saturday for the Bucknell Invitational. The Bison will also host the Patriot League Championships February 21-23 at Kinney Natatorium.
Friday’s Lehigh-Army meet begins at 5 p.m. from Jacobs Pool.