Lehigh University Athletics
Onto the Grand Final; LU to row for championship
5/23/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Rowing, Women's Rowing
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OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Lehigh’s men’s varsity 8 crew will compete for a National Championship on Sunday after the Mountain Hawks earned a spot in the Grand Final with a pair of second place finishes on Saturday at the 2009 ACRA National Championship. The Mountain Hawks defeated four crews in both of their races, and improved their time by five seconds in the semifinal. The crew consists of seniors Cameron Copeland, Mike Kelly, Joe Loguidice and Phil Snyder, juniors Jack Muskett and Eric Harper, sophomores Matt Wahler and Andrew Woodward and freshman Bryce Hurst.
“It’s very exciting for these young men to see all of their hard work pay off with a performance like this one today,” Lehigh head coach Liz Meltzer said afterwards. “We need them to continue to push it tomorrow and give a great effort in the Grand Final. It’s an honor for them to be competing against the top club crews in the country and we’re all looking forward to see what they can do on Sunday.”
In Lehigh’s opening race, the Mountain Hawks crossed in a time of 6:08.20 which placed them in second place ahead of crews from Rochester, Notre Dame, Emory and Minnesota. In the semifinal, the Brown and White again placed second, this time in 6:03.3 to place in front of Rochester, Bucknell, Colorado and Ohio State and earn a spot in Sunday’s Grand Final.
The Mountain Hawks will race against Purdue, Grand Valley State, Michigan, UC Davis and Rochester in Sunday’s Grand Final with the winner claiming the 2009 ACRA National Championship. The race is scheduled for 1:00.
