Lehigh men's swimming and diving season outlook
10/12/2010 9:55:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving
The Lehigh men's swimming and diving enters the 2010-11 season on the heels of one of its strongest seasons in recent history. The Mountain Hawks went 9-1 in dual meets and set three school records at the Patriot League Championships, posting their sixth top-four finish in six years under head coach Rob Herb. The Mountain Hawks lost some key contributors to graduation, but return a number of determined, talented swimmers that should not be overlooked.
“This season will be a little more challenging than last year,” said Herb. “We're a little smaller in numbers and lost some great seniors, but this is a team of racers and competitors. They will never go down without a fight."
Leading the way for the Mountain Hawks will be the returning All-League duo of sophomores Tyler Lareau and Frank Cuzzola. Lareau posted the top individual finish for Lehigh at the Patriot League championships, taking second in the 100-yard backstroke with a school-record time of 50.06 seconds. He should continue to be a leader for the Mountain Hawks in the backstroke events. Cuzzola also earned All-League laurels and will lead Lehigh in the sprints. He was Lehigh's top scorer at last year's championships with 35 points, highlighted by fifth place finishes in the 100 and 200-yard freestyle events. Both sophomores were members of Lehigh's 800 free relay team that broke a 19-year old school record.The Mountain Hawks enter the season with four seniors on the roster. Matt Alford will be looked to score points in the 200 free and in distance events, Andrew DiPietro will provide depth in the sprints, and Billy Dunne will team with Lareau to give Lehigh two solid backstrokers. Jon Gorka rounds out the senior class for the Brown and White.
The junior class will be led by butterfly specialist Angelo DiGiacinto and Chris Toth, who will be a key point scorer in the distance events. Also joining the mix for Lehigh is junior Kevin Shoemaker, a fly and IM specialist and former state champion for Saucon Valley high school, who transferred to Lehigh from Marist.
Lehigh's sophomore class made solid contributions as freshmen. In addition to Lareau and Cuzzola, the Mountain Hawks return five other swimmers, including Alex Aboud who set a school record in the 400 IM at the Patriot League Championships.
Herb as also brought in five talented freshmen, who join Shoemaker to give the Mountain Hawks six talented newcomers for the men's program. The class of 2014 includes sprinters Chris Hoke and Matt Chrzanowski, breaststrokers James Heintzelman and Connor Cackovic and butterfly/IM swimmer John Keough.
“Our freshmen guys are talented and they will be competitive,” Herb contends. “We're also adding transfer Kevin Shoemaker to the mix. This group is capable of winning a lot of races for us.”
On the diving boards, the Mountain Hawks welcome a new coach in Stephen Ferreira. He will work with the three returning Lehigh men in juniors Ryan Helfrich and Connor Styles and sophomore Mike Harshman, who should continue to improve with another year of experience.
The Mountain Hawks schedule will be challenging, with just two home meets, and tough road tests at Rider, Lafayette, Marist, Bucknell and Penn State among others, but Herb insists that his team will surprise some this season.
“Do not look past us,” he says. “Because if you do, we will run you over.”
Lehigh will open its season this weekend with a two-day trek through New England. The Mountain Hawks will face Big East member Providence Friday night in Rhode Island, before tangling with Patriot League foe Holy Cross on Saturday. Lehigh will open its home schedule on October 23 when it hosts West Chester at Jacobs Pool.
Volleyball vs. American
Saturday, October 04
Field Hockey vs. Boston U.
Saturday, October 04
Lehigh Sports Central: Men's Cross Country
Wednesday, October 01
Field Hockey vs. LIU
Sunday, September 28
