Seven outta eight ain't bad; Lehigh dominates Leopards

Judging by Lehigh’s recent success against rival Lafayette, the Mountain Hawks may soon wish they were able to take on the Leopards more often. Since Thursday, the two schools have met a total of eight times in five sports, with Lehigh capturing seven of the eight meetings.

The string of success began Thursday, as the women’s tennis team blanked Lafayette by a perfect 7-0 score at the Lewis Tennis Center. Lehigh won on the afternoon despite only having the services of senior co-captain Rachel Samson for doubles. Samson, who was ill, sat out the singles part of the match. But it was no matter, as Lehigh won for the fourth straight year over their rivals from Easton.

The rivalry continued on Saturday, moving over to Easton and the outdoor track at Lafayette’s Fisher Field. The Lehigh men’s track team topped the Leopards by a score of 105-98, though the women came up just short in a 109.5-93.5 defeat. With the victory, the Lehigh men have now defeated their archrival Leopards two years in a row and four out of the last five meetings.

While the men’s track team was taking care of business on Saturday, the Lehigh softball squad was dominating as well in nearby Forks Township. Lehigh captured both games of Saturday’s doubleheader by scores of 8-0, 8-0.

Lehigh rapped out twenty hits on the afternoon, and got tremendous pitching performances from Emily Ling and Heather Hamasaki on the way to the decisive wins. Ling pitched her fourth two-hit shutout in the last two weeks, striking out nine hitters as she improved to 9-2 on the year.

In the second game, Heather Hamasaki pitched a no-hitter, the third Lehigh pitcher to do so this season, striking out an incredible 14 of the 18 batters she faced in six innings of work to earn her fifth win of the season against five losses.

Also on Saturday, the women's crew team retained the River Cup, as it defeated the archrival Leopards on the Lehigh River. The women’s first varsity four began the day with a hint of things to come, making a powerful, unified commitment at the infamous Mountain Hawk Twenty move with 1000m left in the race, the Lehigh’s first varsity women’s four left Lafayette eating their wake.

In the varsity women’s eight race, the Mountain Hawks started their walk at the 1000m mark and found that spark to break Lafayette in the second half of the race. Winning by several boat lengths of open water, the women enjoyed their first win of the season.

The softball squad continued its dominance over Lafayette with another twinbill sweep on Sunday afternoon. Lehigh won the opener 4-2 and the nightcap by a familiar 8-0 tally. With the four victories, the Mountain Hawks softball team has now won an astounding 19 games in a row over the Leopards dating back to the 1999 season.

The success of the past weekend should come as no surprise, however, as Lehigh has won the overall series between Lehigh and Lafayette in each of the last 14 years. The Mountain Hawks now lead the 2003-04 series by a healthy count of 16 victories to 9.

The two schools will next renew acquaintances on April 20 when the men’s golf teams take part in the Lehigh Valley Collegiate Invite. The event, hosted by Lehigh, will take place at Saucon Valley Country Club. That same day, the men’s tennis teams will meet at 3:00 in Easton.

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Seven outta eight ain't bad; Lehigh dominates Leopards

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