Women's Rowing
- Title:
- Steven J. '69 & Karen A. Lee Head Rowing Coach
- Alma Mater:
- First season
Brian Conley enters his ninth season as the Steven J. ’69 and Karen A. Lee Head Rowing Coach in 2018-19. As head coach, he oversees Lehigh’s women’s and men’s rowing programs while coaching the women’s varsity boats. Before Lehigh, Conley spent four seasons as an assistant varsity coach, recruiting coordinator and the head freshman coach for the lightweight crew at Dartmouth College.
Conley has brought the Lehigh rowing program to new heights. In each of the last two years, the Mountain Hawks have posted their best performance in school history at the Patriot League Championships. In 2017, Lehigh’s 26 points were most in school history, tying for sixth out of nine teams overall. The Mountain Hawks followed in 2018 by tying for fourth with 33 points. Lehigh won the first two medals in program history, as the Varsity Four and Second Varsity Eight each won bronze. The Mountain Hawks entered the final race of the day just two points out of first place.
In 2017-18, the women’s team cracked the NCAA Regional Rankings for the first time in school history and won its first Patriot League Boat of the Week in program history (Second Varsity Eight on Apr. 3). Jules Malachin was named second team All-League while garnering All-Region recognition by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association for a second consecutive year. Liz Gagliardi also earned first team All-Patriot League in 2017 as Lehigh’s Varsity Eight finished in fifth place overall, ahead of rival Bucknell.
Meanwhile, the men's season also featured plenty of highlights in 2017-18, including the Varsity Eight defeating archrival Lafayette in the River Cup, the Varsity Eight and Second Varsity Eight advancing to the petite finals at the Murphy Cup and the Second Varsity Eight reaching the petite final at the Kerr Cup.
Ever since arriving on campus, Conley has made an immediate impact. The team has continually improved and the interest in the program has never been higher. In his first year, Conley led the women’s team to 10 points in the Patriot League Championships, almost double the previous year’s output. Then in 2012, the squad improved to fifth at the championships.
With the addition of Boston University, Loyola and Georgetown to Patriot League rowing in 2013-14, the league reached nine teams. The Mountain Hawks finished the 2014 championships in seventh place, ahead of both Colgate and Loyola. The Varsity Four and Second Varsity Eight finished third in their respective heats before placing sixth overall. Other highlights from the 2013-14 season included a strong effort at the Murphy Cup, which featured four crews reaching the finals - including a silver medal by the Men’s Freshmen Eight. Lehigh won seven of eight races against Colgate and Hamilton while placing every boat into the grand finals at the Kerr Cup.
Lehigh has enjoyed tremendous success in the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta as well. In 2018, all three men’s boats advanced to day two with the Varsity Eight finishing 11th overall, the Second Varsity Eight coming in 14th and the Junior Varsity Four placing 15th. A year prior, the JV Eight and Varsity Eight finished eighth and 11th, respectively, both marks higher than their seeds entering the regatta. The 2016 Dad Vail Regatta was highlighted by the Men’s Varsity Four finishing fifth in the semifinals. In 2014, three crews advanced to the semifinals while the Men’s Varsity Eight reached the Petite Finals. In 2013, the Women’s Freshmen Eight won bronze at Dad Vails while six crews reached the semifinals or beyond. A year prior, the Mountain Hawks’ Women Freshmen Eight captured silver in the grand finals as Conley’s program has continued to develop impressive freshmen.
Conley’s athletes have impressed off the water as well. Both Leah Paulson and Corey Johnson were named to the Academic All-Patriot League Team in both 2013 and 2014 as Lehigh was one of only two schools to place multiple student-athletes on the 11-member team. Paulson was again named Academic All-League in 2015 while Natalie Bates received the honor in 2016, Elise Fredericks in 2017 and Fredericks and Sarah Boyer in 2018. Jules Malachin received Lehigh Athletics’ Mary O’Hurley Leadership Award in 2018, presented to the department’s top graduating female leader.
In Conley’s first year, the Mountain Hawks won the Neuweiler Plate, capturing first place in five separate races, in an impressive all-around performance. Conley has led Lehigh to a River Cup victory over archrival Lafayette in each of his first four seasons as well.
In four years at Dartmouth, Conley assisted varsity crews at the Ivy League Championships and the Eastern Sprints Championships. In three of his four seasons, Conley’s first freshmen eights reached the grand finals at the Eastern Sprints.
While assisting at Dartmouth, Conley also served as head coach for the competitive women’s rowing program at the Upper Valley Rowing Club in New Hampshire. His crews posted four top-ten finishes at the prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta.
Prior to his stint at Dartmouth, Conley, a Philadelphia area native, served as the head rowing coach for the men’s and women’s programs at Lower Merion High School. In just three years Conley turned a program that lost every race to one that medaled in major championships including gold and bronze medals at the 2006 Scholastic National Championships.
Conley also enjoyed an impressive competitive career on the water. After a standout career at Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School, Conley attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a four-year oarsman including three years on the first varsity eight. Conley served as team captain as a senior and was named the Quakers’ Most Valuable Oarsman.
On the club circuit, Conley rowed for four years in the Penn Athletic Club elite program, where he won ten medals in the U.S. Rowing National Championships including a pair of Gold medals.
Conley earned his bachelor’s degree in American history from Penn in 2002.
