Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh preps for Tennessee; two named All-Region
5/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Rowing, Women's Rowing
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh will close out its 2009 season this weekend as the men’s varsity 8 crew heads to Oak Ridge, Tennessee to compete at the ACRA (American Collegiate Rowing Association) National Championship. The Mountain Hawks will take ten athletes to the Volunteer State, including senior Joe Loguidice and junior Eric Harper who were recently named to the 2009 ACRA Mid-Atlantic All-Regional Team. This marks the second consecutive year Lehigh has placed at least one student-athlete on the All-Region team after Phil Bresnahan ’08 was honored in 2008.
“I’d like to congratulate Joe and Eric on their selection to the All-Region team,” Jason Moorehead, Lehigh’s head men’s coach commented. “Their dedication and commitment throughout the season was tremendous and it’s great to see them rewarded for all of their hard work.”
Joining Loguidice and Harper in Tennessee will be seniors Cameron Copeland, Mike Kelly, Phil Snyder and Dan Rogers, junior coxswain Jack Muskett, sophomores Matt Wahler and Andrew Woodward and freshman Bryce Hurst.
Lehigh was last in action at the 2009 Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia where the men’s varsity 8 advanced to the petite final. The Mountain Hawks earned an impressive ninth place finish out of 31 entries during their first race with a time of 4:06.93 as they defeated crews from Colgate, Delaware, Temple, Drexel, Saint Joseph’s, Florida, Minnesota, Lafayette, Alabama and Maryland among others.
Lehigh then defeated crews from Colgate, Drexel and Marietta in the semifinal race as the Brown and White finished in 5:48.149. Lehigh closed out action on the Schuylkill River with a time of 6:32.324 in the Petite Final versus a field that included Jacksonville, Bucknell, Florida Tech and Colgate.
“This will be a very strong field of competitors that we see this weekend in Tennessee,” Lehigh Director of Rowing Liz Meltzer said. “It’s the best of the best club rowing programs and I know these young men are looking forward to racing against the top club crews in the country.” She added, “For our seniors, this is the last time they will put on the Brown and White and so I know they want to go out with a strong performance in their final races.”
Last season, Snyder, Rogers, Loguidice, Harper and Muskett competed at the IRA Regatta in New Jersey where they entered a varsity four boat. The Mountain Hawks more than held their own versus some of the top crews across the nation as they competed in the Petite Final and placed fourth.
Lehigh opened action in New Jersey as the 24th seed, but quickly showed it belonged with the big boys as the Brown and White placed tenth in the time trial with a time of 5:48.3. That put the Mountain Hawks into the second of four seeded semifinals where they crossed in a time of 6:43.313 and moved onto the Petite Final. Lehigh went onto defeat Yale and Wisconsin in that Petite Final and missed out on a top-three finish by only three seconds.
This is the first year Lehigh will compete at the ACRA Regatta due to a rule change that prohibits club teams from competing at the IRA Regatta. Lehigh will open competition at the 2009 ACRA Championship in Tennessee on Saturday, May 23. Action concludes on Sunday, the 24th.
