Lehigh Rowing wins River Cup over Lafayette

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh rowing team won all but two races to dominate Lafayette and capture the River Cup on Saturday. Both Varsity Eight crews won to keep the men's, women's and overall River Cups in Bethlehem for at least another year. The day also marked a celebration of the program's 25th anniversary season as several alums returned for the racing, and dinner at night.

"I think we did a great job today of establishing we're a strong team and still getting faster," said Lehigh head coach Brian Conley. "We won the majority of the races and retained both trophies which is always exciting. It keeps the precedent - from the link to the alumni to us now - to make sure the trophies stay here for a long period of time."

The Men's Varsity Eight got the day started by beating Lafayette by more than 14 seconds. The Women's Varsity Eight kept it going by coming in first, 1.6 seconds ahead of the Leopards. All six men's crews won their races while nine of 11 Lehigh crews won overall.

With the race comes a lot of excitement. The natural excitement, coupled with the 25th anniversary celebration, created an electric atmosphere on the Lehigh River.

"We had way more people than we've ever had before," said Conley. "Having that excitement and energy coming off the sidelines as the crews are coming into the last 500 meters is awesome. We usually don't feel that until we get to the big championship races, so to be able to do that on our home course is awesome."

The team and alums gathered for dinner at night to celebrate 25 years. Below is a complete video with thoughts from former rowers on 25 years and what Lehigh rowing has meant to them.

"It's a huge milestone," said Conley. "Twenty five years for any organization is a huge step and an important time period for them to say they've come into their own. That's what we're doing. To be a part of that is amazing. Lehigh has been a home for me and to be able to celebrate 25 years with the team and with the alums is something I'm proud of."

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Complete Results

Men's Racing

Varsity 8+

Lehigh: 5:43.77

Lafayette: 5:57.95

Cox - Emily Hrichak

8 - Stan Yanitskiy

7 - Alex Zook

6- Alex Smith

5 - Stephen Cartwright

4- Chris Daniels

3 - Nick Walchonski