Lehigh University Athletics
Lehigh brings high aspirations into new season
10/17/2008 3:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball
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With all the hard work off the court complete, head coach Sue Troyan is excited about getting the chance to teach her players on the court.
“In these next two to three weeks the emphasis will be on the fundamentals and learning our offensive and defensive systems,” Troyan said. “We’ve established a real strong work ethic already. It was the best offseason ever in terms of our results in our workouts, and now it’s just about putting that work to use.”
After not practicing on the court for months, the Mountain Hawks had to shake off the cobwebs in the opening minutes of practice. But the adrenaline and excitement from starting the year carried the players through.
“It was definitely exciting,” senior co-captain Tricia Smith said. “I think everyone was a little bit nervous and it took us a little while to calm down at first.”
The Mountain Hawks will have high expectations on their shoulders this season, coming off a 18-13 season overall and a 9-5 record in the Patriot League. Both co-captains, Smith and Claire Sullivan return for their second years as the leaders of the squad, and five seniors and the entire starting five come back to this experienced team.
“With the group that we have, I don’t think we would be satisfied with anything less than a Patriot League championship,” Sullivan said. “We have all the pieces in place and we know we can win if we all work hard.”
In addition to the experienced cast, the Mountain Hawks bring in three talented freshman and will finally get to show off Courtney Molinaro, who transferred from
“The freshmen looked very good,” Smith said. “They worked really hard in the preseason and I think it shows. I think they’ll be ready to step in right away.”
After all the hard offseason work, Troyan said the most exciting part about starting practices is just being able to get on the court and allowing the athletes to play the game they love.
“This is just a fun time of year,” Troyan said.
The Mountain Hawks open up the season on November 14 at 7 p.m., when they host the Penn Quakers at Stabler Arena.
