Lehigh University Athletics
Men's and women's hoops hit court for first time
10/13/2006 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
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On the women’s side, head coach Sue Troyan notes how her team is ready to move on from its 10-18 overall finish and sixth place 5-9 Patriot League finish.
“The team seems to be excited and nervous about the return, but they are ready to get the season started,” said head coach Sue Troyan. “Last season left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths, so the returners are ready not to allow that to happen again. The freshmen seem to have high expectations of themselves and the team. All four of them come from highly successful programs and have been used to winning.”
Lehigh’s roster will include ten returning letterwinners with the only non-returning letterwinner being Jenny Callan who graduated. With a solid group of veterans and newcomers, the Mountain Hawks have already set a tough competitive atmosphere.
“Going into the fall workouts, the upperclassmen really set a strong tone in the work ethic of the team,” said Troyan. “We have made strides in our weight room workouts and with our conditioning. The environment in our all of our preseason workouts—weight training, conditioning and pick-up—has been extremely competitive and we only expect to see that same type of environment throughout the season.”
Senior co-captain Sara Ellis adds, “Everything is very positive. The coaching staff has been there on the court, which has been encouraging and uplifting. After all of our work in the summer and having to wake up at 6:00 am for workouts, it will be exciting to see where all of our work ends up.”
After two weeks of practice, Lehigh will be able to gauge their capability with the first of two scrimmages on October 29 when it takes on
“It will be a good indicator to tell where we are before the start of our games,” said Troyan. “We will be able to assess where we are and how far people are along. This just readies the kids and lets them know that the start of the season is just around the corner and brings into focus on how we’re doing.”
The Mountain Hawks will start their season with 14 tough out-of-league games as a means of preparation for what is expected to be tough Patriot League competition.
“For us, pre-conference games are geared around challenging ourselves, which is why we are scheduling
On the men’s side, head coach Billy Taylor returns nine letterwinners and three starters from a team that won 19 games a season ago, including a school record 11 league contests. “I’m very excited to start the season,”
Lehigh must act quickly, with only two weeks before its first scrimmage. “We must be focused from the start with only a short amount of time before our first game-action,” said
Sophomore center John Gourlay offers his thoughts on opening the season. “I'm really excited about starting practice and finally getting in the gym and working together as a team.” He continues, “The first few weeks we just need to gel as a team and get a feel for each other. I am really excited about the upcoming season and all of the great players we have on this team. I think we have the chance to make a lot of noise this year.”
Senior captain Jose Olivero will lead the way for the Mountain Hawks this season. Olivero, a 2006 First Team All-Patriot League selection, is the top returning scorer in the entire Patriot League, after averaging over 17 points per game as a junior. The Virginia native has scored over 1,200 points in his first three seasons and will receive help from classmates Kyle Neptune, Jason Mgebroff and Adam Hyncik, as well as junior Bryan White and a host of others. As a team last season, the Mountain Hawks once again ranked within the top-25 nationally in defensive stats, holding teams to 38.5 percent shooting (sixth nationally) and 60.3 points per game (25th in America).
Both teams will open the season on the road the second weekend in November. The men’s team gets the season started in
The Mountain Hawks will also open their home season later in that week. The women will take on Penn on Thursday, November 16 with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 pm at Stabler Arena. The men open their home season a day later against Cornell at 7:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased by calling 610-7LU-GAME, by visiting the Lehigh Athletics Ticket Office located in Grace Hall or at anytime by logging onto lehighsports.com.
