Philadelphia, PA. - All the Lehigh University Lightweights took gold medals home to Bethlehem, as both the men and women's varsity light eights took first place. The women ( Coxswain Chelsea Crisafulli, stroke seat Li-Ping Chew, 7-Jen Keefe, 6-Kristin Bierbauer, 5-Ashley Prichard, 4-Lisa Phyfe, 3- Erin Tormey, 2-Nicole Bayard, bow seat- Kristin Merlo) raced in fast conditions to a time of 6:37 ahead of 2nd place Penn State. Temple University and Philadelphia University rounded out the field. The men ( coxswain-John Wertan, Stroke seat-Jim Quigley, 7-Tim Matthews,6-Mike Mateja, 5-Travis Eisemann, 4-Jeff Devlin, 3-Richie Mills, 2-Matt Cowperthwait, bow seat Dalton Combs) out raced Bucknell and Lafayette to capture the trophy.

There were fast conditions in the 25th Murphy Cup Regatta. Melting snow runoff caused the waters of the Schuylkill to move ferociously leading race officials to remove the stake boats at the start of the 2000 meter race course. This resulted in races beginning off a floating start causing changes to qualifying heats.

The men's varsity heavyweight eight drew a field of 13 teams for the heats where Lehigh qualified for the grand final along with Temple, Army, Loyola, Drexel, and Lafayette. In the finals, Temple took an early lead with Lehigh in second place. At the 1000 meter mark, Temple had a one length lead over Lehigh while Lehigh held a one length lead over Army. During the third 500 meters of the race, Lehigh made their move and separated from the pack to creep back up on Temple. The Owls were able to hold off the Mountain Hawks for a five second win.

The men's novice eight had a great day of racing as well, finishing in 3rd place behind Bucknell and Army. The eight easily qualified to grand finals with a first place finish in their heat. Although the novice men had a difficult start and appeared to be fighting for fifth place after 500 meters, they walked up in the second half of the race and nearly captured second place, finishing a mere .02 seconds behind Army and 5 seconds after winner Bucknell.

Lehigh's Women had a strong showing in their heats but missed qualifying for the finals behind first place Bucknell and second place Dowling. Lehigh finished third ahead of Fairfield, Army and sixth place Lafayette. Bucknell went on to win the women's varsity eight cup in the grand final.

The novice women's event final consisted of only four of the twenty four boats advancing due to the removal of stake boats, with only the winner of each heat advancing to the final. The eight took an early lead, but were overtaken by perennial powerhouse Princeton University at the 1000 meter mark. The women finished 7 seats down, and did not advance.

Bucknell took the overall team point trophy from host Temple. Lehigh travels to San Diego next week to compete in the annual San Diego Crew Classic.

Varsity Eights compete in San Diego Crew Classic

The Lehigh men’s and women’s Varsity Eights traveled to sunny California and competed in the San Diego Crew Classic last weekend on Mission Bay in San Diego, CA.

The Men’s heat was the first race of the weekend. In the calm early morning conditions, the Mountain Hawk men faced six other boats including last year’s champions Orange Coast College.  Taking advantage of a clean start, Lehigh opened up a lead of three seats in the first five hundred meters that never diminished.  The Lehigh bow eventually crossed the line first with a length of open water.  They took the heat in a time of 6:09.27; good enough to qualify for Sunday’s Grand Final.

Less than an hour later, the women’s heat came down on a similarly pristine course against a diverse set of crews from Kansas, West Virginia, and California.  Lehigh battled from a slow and rocky start but pushed through Chapman and Claremont early.  From there, the women did not stop their move and walked through West Virginia by the 1000 meter mark.  Their 3rd place finish time of 7:14.04 in the heat (behind the two fastest times of the day) secured them a spot in Sunday’s Petite Finals.   

The women raced first in their Petite Finals but the mid-morning start to Sunday racing produced less than pristine racing conditions, as crews were forced to deal with a strong port-to-starboard crosswind.  The wind affected the women’s start, and they began the race in a weak 6th place position.  Undaunted they took on the strong field, and charged down the course.  By the half-way mark Lehigh had pulled ahead of Villanova and was steadily walking on UC San Diego and UC Santa Clara.  At this point, competition in the adjacent lane inexplicably veered into them, forcing Lehigh to adjust their course and loose time.  Lehigh channeled their frustrations into a powerful second half that pressed them even with the leading and unimpeded Villanova crew.  With only 150 meters to go, a hotly contested sprint ensued and Lehigh won the race, beating Villanova by a margin of .47 seconds.

The men’s Grand Final was a well contested piece all the way down the course. Nationally ranked UC San Diego was able to push out to a half-length lead in the first quarter, along with UCLA, UC Davis and Orange Coast. The Mountain Hawks were sitting in fifth over the Gophers of Minnesota, but confidently worked back into the other crews, overtaking Orange Coast by the halfway point.  Lehigh took a strong move in the 3rd quarter to push into the California schools.  This move brought them closer into the leading boats but the line came too quick.  The men still finished powerfully in 4th place, with only 5 seconds separating the leading four crews.
    
Coxed by Senior Sarah Michaels, the women’s straight port-stroked lineup from bow to stern was Jackie Cross, Becca Guzman, Ellen Sweet, Emily Marshall, Christine Porcaro, Alix Howie, Diana Philipova, and Denise Julian.

Coxed by Freshman Jack Muskett, and featuring a bucket in four and five seats, the men’s lineup from bow to stern was Kyle Miller, Joe Loguidice, John Young, Andrew Younghein, Chris Hause, Sam Anderson, Phil Bresnahan and Todd Mickelson.

Men’s V8 Heat

Men’s V8 Final

Women’s V8 Heat

Women’s V8 Final

Philadelphia, PA. -Fast water and cold weather were the conditions facing Lehigh on Saturday as the crew traveled to Philadelphia to take on the Drexel Dragons. Lehigh boats made for an exciting day of racing as most races had less than a four second margin of difference.

The varsity women started the day by defeating Drexel after a dramatic come-from-behind sprint led to a final 3.6 second gap over the Dragons. Lehigh's women's varsity eight consisted of coxswain -Sarah Michaels, Stroke seat-Denise Julian, 7-Diana Philipova, 6-Alix Howie, 5-Christine Porcaro, 4-Emily Marshall, 3-Ellen Sweet, 2-Becca Guzman, and bow-Jackie Cross.

The varsity men's eight won battled side by side with Drexel for the first 1700 meters until Lehigh finally surged ahead in the last 300 meters to win by 1.5 seconds. Lehigh's lineup was coxswain -Jack Muskett, Stroke seat-Todd Mickelson, 7-Phil Bresnahan 6-Sam Anderrson, 5-Chris Hause, 4- Andrew Younghein, 3 John Young, 2-Joe Loguidice, and bow-Kyle Miller.

Drexel took both the men's and women's JV8 events in closely contested races.

Look for the Hawks in Camden this weekend as they race in the Kencht Cup on both Saturday and Sunday.

Lightweight Men Continue Patriot League Sweep

Lehigh’s men finish 3rd in Patriot League standings while the women place 4th in the Championship.

April 29, 2007

Worcester, MA. – Lehigh Lightweights won this weekend, edging out Bucknell University by less than 1 second for the Patriot League title.  After a slow start, Lehigh's men trailed Bucknell by three and a half seats.  At the 1,000 meter mark, Lehigh took a move and clawed back even.  The two boats fought back and forth with no clear leader for the next 750 meters.  In the final sprint, Lehigh was able to hold a slight lead and take the win by half a bow deck. Lehigh’s gold medal Lightweight Eight consisted of coxswain: Katherine Meredith, Stroke: Jim Quigley, 7: Travis Eisemann, 6: Jeffrey Devlin, 5: Tim Matthews, 4: Colin Foley, 3: Dalton Combs, 2: Matt Cowperthwait, and Bow: Mikael Borneo.  This victory keeps the lightweights undefeated in the Patriot League this year. 

The Men's Second Varsity Eight also had great success, finishing 2nd – only four seconds behind Colgate University.  In a race stacked with nationally competitive boats, Lehigh's men shocked the field and revealed tremendous speed.  The boat with cox: John Wertan, stroke: Phil Snyder, 7: Dan Rogers, 6: Dan Smeglin, 5: Cameron Copeland, 4: Mike Kelly, 3: Richie Mills, 2: Mike Flanagan, and Bow: Kyle Miller, crossed the finish line a boat-length behind Colgate but well in front of the rest of the field.

Lehigh's women finished in a 4th place tie with Holy Cross in the Patriot League Championship.  Coming in 4th place in the Varsity 8 and the Varsity 4, and 5th in the Second Varsity 8, they totaled 10 points in the overall standings.  The Mountain Hawks showed great improvement in the depth of their squad with three competitive races.  Bucknell’s women swept all three events to win 30 points and repeat as the Patriot League Champions.

The men's team finished the morning in 3rd place, relinquishing their championship trophy from last season.  Holy Cross was the overall champion with wins in the Men's Varsity 8 and Freshmen 8. 

Lehigh's men and women head to Philadelphia’s Schuylkill River to compete in the Dad Vail Regatta on May 11th-12th.

Lehigh Men’s JV8 Takes Silver at Dad Vails

Women’s Varsity Light eights places forth while Men’s Varsity heavy eight wins Petite Finals.

May 11-12, 2007

Philadelphia, PA. – The Mountain Hawks traveled to the Schuylkill River this past weekend to race in the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta.  This two day event is the largest two-day spring regatta in the nation and features some of the most competitive racing to close out the season.  The Hawks brought a full squad of novice, varsity, heavyweight, and lightweight crews all looking to race hard.             

The racing began on Friday, with great success for Lehigh rowers.  In fact, seven of the ten boats entered placed well enough in their heats and reps to advance on to the Saturday semis and finals.  Both the Men’s JV8, and Women’s VLt.8 won their respective heats, securing top lane choices on Saturday.

Saturday racing brought hot temperatures and plenty of exciting racing.  On the Men’s side, both the Varsity and Novice rowers experienced success.  The Men’s JV8 (Cox: John Wertan, Stroke: Phil Snyder, 7: Dan Rogers, 6: Dan Smeglin, 5: Chris Mohr, 4: Mike Kelly, 3: Richie Mills, 2: Mike Flanagan, Bow: Kyle Miller) competed for the Ernie Bayer Trophy.  They blasted off the line and battled for first down the course.  By the end, Lehigh clearly established itself in the 2nd place position and earned silver medals.  The Men’s Varsity 8 (Cox: Jack Muskett, Stroke: Andrew Younghein, 7: Todd Mickelson, 6: Chris Hause, 5: Sam Anderson, 4: Joe Loguidice, 3: John Young, 2: Phil Bresnahan, Bow: Mark Chandler) qualified for the Petite Finals and raced amongst a quick field.  After the Mountain Hawk move at the 1000 they established themselves as the frontrunners and finished in 1st.  Both the JV8 2nd place and V8’s 7th place represent the best finishes for the men’s team yet at the Dad Vail.  The Novice men also raced a Light Eight for the Brendan Lynch Cup.  They took off hard, but an early crab left the boat trying to catch-up.  They raced hard and ended up walking a crew and taking fifth.

The Women’s Lightweight Varsity 8+ (Cox: Sarah Michaels, Stroke: Nicole McCormick, 7: Jen Keefe, 6: Laura Banos, 5: Ashley Pritchard, 4: Kristen Bierbauer, 3: Erin Tormey, 2: Li-Ping Chew, Bow: Kristen Merlo) took on fast competition and proudly raced to a 4th place finish, only 1.5 seconds out of medaling.  The Women’s Novice 8+ and W2- both took on tough competition and placed third in their semi’s, just seconds outside of qualifying for the Grand Finals.  The Varsity Women’s 8 raced their semi (after placing first in their rep) but didn’t quite tap the speed they needed to qualify for the Finals.

The Dad Vail marks the end of a competitive spring season for some of the rowers.  However, keep watching for the upcoming IRA championship in June.  Lehigh is looking to send competitive men’s fours, a pair, and lightweight women’s eight.

DAD VAIL RESULTS:

Heats - May 11, 2007