BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh swimming and diving teams will travel to Lewisburg, Pa. to hit the water against Patriot League foe Bucknell Saturday afternoon. The Mountain Hawks will be seeking wins against a Patriot League opponent after falling to the Army Black Knights in both the men’s and women’s competition in a home meet on January 11.
On the men’s side, the Mountain Hawks loss against Army was their first after three consecutive wins since a season-opening close loss to West Chester. Lehigh owns Patriot League wins over Colgate and Lafayette in addition to a win over NJIT. Lehigh will lean on its top trio of sprinters, senior Demetri Karedis, junior Chris Hoke, and senior Frank Cuzzola, as well as sophomore distance specialist Danny Bennett.
The Lehigh women bring a 1-3 dual meet record to Saturday’s meet. The Mountain Hawks lone win this season was a 169-125 win over Lafayette, their fifth straight win over the Leopards. Lehigh’s women have also lost to West Chester, Colgate and Army. The Mountain Hawks will rely on leadership from sophomore Alissa Leung and senior Emily DiDonato in the back and breaststroke events respectively. Freshman Courtney Patterson will also look to build on her successful first season with the Mountain Hawks.
The Bucknell men’s team boasts a 5-4 record on the season, with a 2-3 record in Patriot League competition, while the Bison women are 4-5 in dual meet competition and 3-2 in league. In their most recent meet against Army on January 12, the men suffered a 165-135 loss and the women’s team celebrated a 189-106 win.
Lehigh’s men will both be looking to beat the Bison for the first time since 2010, while the Mountain Hawk women will look for their first win over Bucknell, one of the league’s perennial favorites in swimming and diving, since 2001. The Bison swept last year’s dual meet at Jacobs Pool.
The Mountain Hawks will also host a scrimmage this weekend against Princeton Sunday at Jacobs Pool.
The remainder of Lehigh’s 2012-13 schedule features a home meet with Drexel on February 2 as well as two more trips Lewisburg. The Mountain Hawks will send a contingent of swimmers to the Bucknell Invitational February 2 and will then return to Bucknell for the Patriot League Championships, February 21-23.
Saturday’s Lehigh-Bucknell meet begins at 1 p.m. from Kinney Natatorium in Lewisburg. Sunday’s Lehigh-Princeton scrimmage begins at 1 p.m. from Jacobs Pool.
Story by Taylor Boyd ‘13