Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh dives into 2009-10 season this weekend
10/14/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For the second straight year the Lehigh swimming and diving teams will open their season in New England as the Mountain Hawks will dive into the 2009-10 campaign with meets Saturday afternoon at Patriot League rival Holy Cross and Saturday night against Providence. Last year, Lehigh swept through its two opening meets on the way to a record-setting season where 13 new school marks were established. The Mountain Hawks have been hard at work in preseason training for the last month and following one of the fastest Brown and White meets in program history, Lehigh is excited to open things up this weekend.
The Lehigh women have high hopes as they embark on the new season. The Mountain Hawks bounced back from a winless 2008 dual season to post a 6-5 dual meet record last season before placing sixth at the Patriot League Championships. Armed with one of his deepest and most talented squads, from top to bottom, head coach Rob Herb believes this group is ready to make the leap and contend for a spot among the league’s top teams.
“Our women’s team is one that should be better than the team’s we’ve had in past years,” explains Herb, who begins his sixth season. “Our girls have made great strides, but the challenging thing is that a lot in the league have as well. We’re not going to worry about beating one individual or one particular team, but we feel we can be competitive within the league.”
Leading the way for the Mountain Hawks is a senior class that will provide plenty of scoring, and leadership to the underclassmen. Herb has singled out Allison Rolish, Laura Eull, Julie Sicherman and diver Erin Tormey as Mountain Hawks who are on board with the program’s plan and who will pass their knowledge and experience onto the younger swimmers.
“We have a great group of leaders who are on board with the coaching staff in terms of what we want this program to accomplish,” says Herb. “They know what needs to be done and are ready to lead our group of women swimmers and divers towards that goal.”
Eull served as a team captain last season and will lead the team in backstroke events, with assistance from sophomore Alena Pollitt, who was Lehigh’s top finisher at the league championships. Rolish has been one of the Mountain Hawks’ top distance swimmers over the last three years. Sicherman, like Eull served as captain last year and should lead the Brown and White in the butterfly events with assistance from senior Claire Winiarski and sophomore Alyssa Siano.
One of the most improved areas for the Mountain Hawks has been in the sprint freestyle events. Junior Allison Montanye is the most experienced member of the group while sophomore Paola Simon looks to build on a strong freshman campaign. In addition, Herb has recruited arguably his strongest class of freshmen in his tenure, with Katie Brinkhoff and Katie Haycraft both possessing the speed to make immediate contributions in the sprint events.
The Mountain Hawks also have a strong all-around performer in sophomore Priscilla Barletta, who scored in the 200 fly and the 200 back at the Patriot League Championships, while also swimming on a pair of school record-setting relay teams. Barletta also set a new school mark in the 200 yard freestyle with her lead off leg of the 800 free relay at the championships.
Lehigh also returns a pair of experienced juniors in freestylers Kristen Keenan and Lauren Kindrick. Keenan specializes in the 100 and 200 free, while Kindrick has teamed with Rolish to give Lehigh a formidable 1-2 punch in the distance events. Kindrick will be looking to regain the form that saw her earn All-League honors as a freshman.
In the breaststroke events, Lehigh must replace All-League performer and school record holder Melanie Rolish, but the Mountain Hawks do have depth in seniors Liz Murray and Stephanie Naylor, while freshmen Danielle Caruso and Emily DiDonato come in highly regarded.
One of the most impressive qualities about the 2009-10 Mountain Hawks is its depth. Lehigh has strong competitors not only in every event, but in every class, as members of all four classes will be relied upon for significant contributions.
“Our seniors really have a great presence in this program,” Herb concludes. “The juniors, sophomores and freshmen really complete the puzzle nicely. Everyone’s in this together and we believe through hard work and a team effort we can experience success.”
The Lehigh men enjoyed another strong season in 2008-09. The Mountain Hawks capped off a 6-5 dual season by setting seven new school records at the Patriot League Championships on the way a fourth place finish. Herb has high expectations for his talented and experienced squad, but knows that Lehigh’s success in 2009-10 depends upon the emergence of standout performers.
“We have a solid program with our men,” says Herb. “We’re covered in a lot of different areas with our depth, but we have no super standouts. Since we have no superstars, there will be no relaxing for this team. We will see who steps out into the spotlight.”
The Mountain Hawks will have to replace Dan Johnson, who dominated the sprint freestyle events in his four years at Lehigh. Johnson won the Patriot League Championship in the 200 yard freestyle in 2008 and was a three-time All-Patriot League selection. He owns school records in all three sprint-freestyle events.
Herb has a number of options to try and replace Johnson’s productivity, including seniors Ryan Guttormsen, Ben Dearden and Jon Westfield and freshman Frank Cuzzola. Guttormsen has been Lehigh’s No. 2 behind Johnson for the last few years and will now have an opportunity to lead in the pool, while Dearden, who had a strong junior season swimming butterfly, will now make the transition to freestyle.
In the distance events, Lehigh will turn to sophomore Chris Toth and junior Matt Alford. Toth enjoyed an impressive freshman season where he placed in the top-16 in three individual events at the Patriot League Championships, highlighted by a fifth place finish in the 1650 free.
Senior Kevin McGrath returns to lead the way in the breaststroke and individual medley events. McGrath earned All-League honors as a junior and set school records in the 200 breast and 400 IM. A trio of freshmen: Alex Aboud, Andrew Kim and Tyler Lareau should contribute in the breaststroke and all-around events.
In the butterfly events, the Mountain Hawks will rely on sophomore Angelo DiGiacinto, who made waves with a fourth place finish and school record in the 100 fly at the Patriot League Championships. Freshmen Kyle Jennings and Jeff Capobianco will provide support as well.
Lehigh boasts a pair of experienced veterans in the backstroke events, led by junior Billy Dunne, who placed eighth and ninth at the league championships, and senior Mike Harm, who placed eleventh in the 200 at last year’s championships.
“Overall we have a lot of guys who are capable of doing some amazing things,” Herb contends. “The question is can they go that little extra? A lot of our success this season will depend on how badly this group wants to be good and get better.”
The Lehigh diving team is looking for continued improvement in the 2009-10 season. Last year Erin Tormey emerged as a leader on the board for the Mountain Hawks while several freshmen male divers gained valuable experience. Now a senior, Tormey will be counted upon to lead a Mountain Hawk squad that features four underclassmen as the Lehigh divers will strive for more consistency this season.
“The biggest thing we’re looking for from this group is more consistency,” explains Lehigh head coach Rob Herb. “Erin Tormey has been a great leader for the program, and she spent the summer working on new dives. Our men have been training hard all summer. We’re really looking to push the talent we have and develop some new talent as well.”
As Lehigh’s lone female diver the last two seasons, Tormey finished in the top eight in both the one and three meter boards at last year’s Patriot League Championships. She will be joined on the women’s side by freshman Melissa Suggs from New York.
On the men’s side, the Mountain Hawks return a pair of sophomores in Ryan Helfrich and Connor Styles. Both divers competed at the league championships, with Helfrich placing ninth in the three meter and 13th in the one meter. Freshman Mike Harshman also joins the fold to provide depth for diving coach Seth Darley, who begins his second season.
The 2009-10 season begins Saturday when Lehigh visits Holy Cross at 2 p.m. Later that day, the Mountain Hawks travel to Providence for a 7 p.m. meet.
Lehigh Swimming and Diving Season Preview
