Friday, November 21
Bronx, N.Y.
4:00:00 PM
Lehigh University
vs
Lafayette
Swimming and Diving Teams Prepare to Take on Lafayette at Lehman College
11/20/2014 1:34:00 PM | Men's Swimming and Diving, Women's Swimming and Diving
Watch live on PLN | The Rivalry: Lehigh vs. Lafayette
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BETHLEHEM, Pa. - On the eve of the 150th meeting of college football's most-played rivalry, the Lehigh swimming and diving team will participate in Rivalry 150 weekend festivities as the Mountain Hawks will battle Lafayette in the annual swim meet, which this year will take place at Lehman College in the Bronx, N.Y., just a few miles from Yankee Stadium.
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Every year, the Lehigh-Lafayette swim meet occurs on the Friday evening before the big game and this year's meet is one to be especially excited about, with the swimming programs meeting in the Bronx just like the football teams will the following day.
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"The idea of holding this meet at Lehman College was to jazz up the rivalry and to really get our athletes excited about the competition," said Lehigh head coach Rob Herb. "We're very happy that this meet is heightened and that hopefully our performances will be too. This should be one of the fastest dual meets we have all year.
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"Our team really wanted to be a part of the Rivalry 150 football weekend," Herb continued. "We want to win our 'big game' and we want the football team to win theirs. The connection with the 150th game is something that is very special for our athletes."
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With alumni from both schools descending upon Lehman's APEX Aquatics Center a capacity crowd is expected for Friday's meet, which begins at 4 p.m. For alumni and fans that cannot make it to the Bronx, Lehigh will be streaming Friday's meet live on the Patriot League Network. Olympic gold medalist and now television commentator Rowdy Gaines will join former Lehigh swim coach Chris Marshall '88 to call the action on the PLN.
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With the season a little less than halfway over, the Lehigh men are 2-3 with league wins over Holy Cross and Colgate, while the women are 3-2 overall with a league win over Holy Cross.
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"We are extremely excited to swim at this venue for our meet," sophomore Kaitlyn Ruffing said. "With the meet being in New York, it really brings the rivalry to a whole new level of competition. We are all ready to swim fast."
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Ruffing has led the way for Lehigh's women early in the season. She has already captured two Patriot League Female Swimmer of the Week awards for her prowess in the sprint freestyle events. Versatile junior Courtney Patterson will also be counted upon in the butterfly, IM and distance freestyle events. Friday's meet will also provide an opportunity for seniors Alissa Leung, Madeleine Smith, Mary Caitlin Samuels and Kimberly Weyand.
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"There are individuals on Lafayette that are strong," Herb said about the women's matchup. "I think that our sprinters are stronger, however some of the breast stroke events should be very close. But overall, our goal is to show the league how fast we are on the women's side."
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On the men's side Lehigh will look to sophomores Jacob Moyar, Jamal Willis and Justin White to lead the way. Moyar can contribute in a variety of events, while Willis and White will lead Lehigh's sprinters. Nine Lehigh men will be competing in their final rivalry meet, including diver Dan Bateman and swimmers Danny Bennett, Sean Brant, Chris Campbell, Owen Dunbar, Jake Greene, Tim Parsons, Eric Sherwood and Michael Wheaton.
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"The men's competition is probably going to be the closer of the two," said Herb. "Lafayette has some of the strongest breaststrokers in the league and it could be difficult to match up some of our medley relays with theirs, so we'll need to play a little more strategy there. Our sprint and distance swimming is much stronger than theirs, although it just depends on how things fall."
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After splitting their first two meets in New England, the Lehigh men lost two in a row before claiming a bounce-back victory against Colgate on November 1. The women lost their first meet at Boston University as well, but then rattled off three victories before falling to Colgate by only 12 points.
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Lafayette's men enter Friday's rivalry meet at 1-5 while the women are 0-6. The Leopards have competed in two quad-meets, with both teams going 0-3 against Drexel, Loyola and Seton Hall. Last time out Lafayette swam against Patriot League rivals American, Bucknell and Navy with the Lafayette men picking up their lone win of the season against the Eagles.
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The Mountain Hawks will be looking to continue their recent streak of success against Lafayette. Lehigh has swept Lafayette in each of the six seasons, including a dominant sweep last season at Jacobs Pool, where Lehigh's men won 196-92 for their 23rd straight win over the Leopards and the women made it six straight with a 177-111 triumph. One school record and eight Jacobs Pool marks were set by the Mountain Hawks last year.
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 "We want to beat Lafayette," Ruffing said. "Team spirit and talent will be carrying us through the events and then hopefully to a victory that we won't forget."
Â
Friday's meet begins at 4 p.m. from the APEX Aquatic Center on the campus of Lehman College in the Bronx, N.Y. The free streaming video coverage on the Patriot League Network will begin at approximately 3:50 p.m.
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Story with contributions from Tom Farrell '15
Â
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - On the eve of the 150th meeting of college football's most-played rivalry, the Lehigh swimming and diving team will participate in Rivalry 150 weekend festivities as the Mountain Hawks will battle Lafayette in the annual swim meet, which this year will take place at Lehman College in the Bronx, N.Y., just a few miles from Yankee Stadium.
Â
Every year, the Lehigh-Lafayette swim meet occurs on the Friday evening before the big game and this year's meet is one to be especially excited about, with the swimming programs meeting in the Bronx just like the football teams will the following day.
Â
"The idea of holding this meet at Lehman College was to jazz up the rivalry and to really get our athletes excited about the competition," said Lehigh head coach Rob Herb. "We're very happy that this meet is heightened and that hopefully our performances will be too. This should be one of the fastest dual meets we have all year.
Â
"Our team really wanted to be a part of the Rivalry 150 football weekend," Herb continued. "We want to win our 'big game' and we want the football team to win theirs. The connection with the 150th game is something that is very special for our athletes."
Â
With alumni from both schools descending upon Lehman's APEX Aquatics Center a capacity crowd is expected for Friday's meet, which begins at 4 p.m. For alumni and fans that cannot make it to the Bronx, Lehigh will be streaming Friday's meet live on the Patriot League Network. Olympic gold medalist and now television commentator Rowdy Gaines will join former Lehigh swim coach Chris Marshall '88 to call the action on the PLN.
Â
With the season a little less than halfway over, the Lehigh men are 2-3 with league wins over Holy Cross and Colgate, while the women are 3-2 overall with a league win over Holy Cross.
Â
"We are extremely excited to swim at this venue for our meet," sophomore Kaitlyn Ruffing said. "With the meet being in New York, it really brings the rivalry to a whole new level of competition. We are all ready to swim fast."
Â
Ruffing has led the way for Lehigh's women early in the season. She has already captured two Patriot League Female Swimmer of the Week awards for her prowess in the sprint freestyle events. Versatile junior Courtney Patterson will also be counted upon in the butterfly, IM and distance freestyle events. Friday's meet will also provide an opportunity for seniors Alissa Leung, Madeleine Smith, Mary Caitlin Samuels and Kimberly Weyand.
Â
"There are individuals on Lafayette that are strong," Herb said about the women's matchup. "I think that our sprinters are stronger, however some of the breast stroke events should be very close. But overall, our goal is to show the league how fast we are on the women's side."
Â
On the men's side Lehigh will look to sophomores Jacob Moyar, Jamal Willis and Justin White to lead the way. Moyar can contribute in a variety of events, while Willis and White will lead Lehigh's sprinters. Nine Lehigh men will be competing in their final rivalry meet, including diver Dan Bateman and swimmers Danny Bennett, Sean Brant, Chris Campbell, Owen Dunbar, Jake Greene, Tim Parsons, Eric Sherwood and Michael Wheaton.
Â
"The men's competition is probably going to be the closer of the two," said Herb. "Lafayette has some of the strongest breaststrokers in the league and it could be difficult to match up some of our medley relays with theirs, so we'll need to play a little more strategy there. Our sprint and distance swimming is much stronger than theirs, although it just depends on how things fall."
Â
After splitting their first two meets in New England, the Lehigh men lost two in a row before claiming a bounce-back victory against Colgate on November 1. The women lost their first meet at Boston University as well, but then rattled off three victories before falling to Colgate by only 12 points.
Â
Lafayette's men enter Friday's rivalry meet at 1-5 while the women are 0-6. The Leopards have competed in two quad-meets, with both teams going 0-3 against Drexel, Loyola and Seton Hall. Last time out Lafayette swam against Patriot League rivals American, Bucknell and Navy with the Lafayette men picking up their lone win of the season against the Eagles.
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The Mountain Hawks will be looking to continue their recent streak of success against Lafayette. Lehigh has swept Lafayette in each of the six seasons, including a dominant sweep last season at Jacobs Pool, where Lehigh's men won 196-92 for their 23rd straight win over the Leopards and the women made it six straight with a 177-111 triumph. One school record and eight Jacobs Pool marks were set by the Mountain Hawks last year.
Â
 "We want to beat Lafayette," Ruffing said. "Team spirit and talent will be carrying us through the events and then hopefully to a victory that we won't forget."
Â
Friday's meet begins at 4 p.m. from the APEX Aquatic Center on the campus of Lehman College in the Bronx, N.Y. The free streaming video coverage on the Patriot League Network will begin at approximately 3:50 p.m.
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Story with contributions from Tom Farrell '15
Players Mentioned
Dive
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Distance
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Back
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Fly
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Distance
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Back
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free/Fly/IM
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Distance Free
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Fly
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Free
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
Breast/IM
/ Women's Swimming and Diving
IM
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Free
/ Men's Swimming and Diving
Free
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