Saturday, October 28
Lake Nockamixon; Quakertown, Pa.
TBA
Lehigh University
vs
Class Day/Head of the Halloween
Mountain Hawks excited for Class Day this Saturday
10/27/2017 11:05:00 AM | Men's Rowing, Women's Rowing
BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The Lehigh rowing team is set to wrap up the fall season this Saturday when it hosts Class Day as part of Head of the Halloween on Lake Nockamixon in Quakertown. Racing is set to begin at 9:30 a.m. The Mountain Hawks are picking crews themselves, boats that will consist of both women's and men's rowers from their respective classes.
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Class captains are selecting their own lineups. Class captains were selected based on erg score within the class. This year's class captains are senior Kyle Schipper, junior Liz Gagliardi, sophomore, James Altmann and freshmen Hannah Davis. Sean McLeod is the captain for the sophomore "B" boat while Maxine Manville is the captain for the freshmen "B" boat. All captains will train their own crews and provide everything the boat needs to be successful. Saturday is Lehigh rowing's second-ever Class Day, something they hope and expect to remain an annual tradition.
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"This intrasquad race definitely reinforces the idea that we need to stay competitive, even when there are just Lehigh boats on the water," said Gagliardi. "We get to take ownership of our team by taking on some responsibilities that are usually up to the coaches, and it makes us more aware of all the small preparations leading up to race day that we can easily ignore."
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Thrusting the student-athletes into unique situations they're not used to should pay dividends in the long run.
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"This is the first leadership role I've had on the team, and I've realized what I value in my teammates as a leader," said Davis. "We have a really large, fast freshman class which made it difficult to choose our lineup for the race, but it also means that we have two fast Freshmen Eights racing this Saturday."
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Most recently, three Lehigh boats competed at Head of the Charles last weekend, highlighted by the Men's Collegiate Fours finishing in ninth place overall. The last time the full Mountain Hawks' team was in action was two weekend ago at Navy Day.
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Saturday is Lehigh's last opportunity to race during this fall season, so the team wants to create positive momentum heading into winter training.
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"Ending on a strong note will be really important for team morale and to fuel our training, so we can continue to build on what we've done this fall as we prepare for our championship season in the spring," said Gagliardi.
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"Being the last time we will be on the water until the spring season, we need to make sure we attack so we have the memory of what racing other teams is like once we go indoors," said Altmann. "The winter season is a lot more individual season than fall or spring, so having this memory of a good race will help us keep pushing through the long solo workouts."
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Saturday isn't your typical regatta, but if anything, even more is on the line than a typical race… bragging rights.
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"You usually race and then never see the other teams until the next race," said Altmann. "However, here, here the winning class will be able to brag all winter about how they are the best."
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"The rivalry with other classes this week has been fun, with a lot of friendly smack talk being thrown around," said Davis. "The freshmen are ready to race to win, but we are also putting a lot of time and effort into the costume contest (which is also on Saturday)."
"The rivalry with other classes is a lot of fun," said Schipper. "It gives us opportunities to compete with everyone on the team, instead of just with the people of our own gender. It also lets us really see who is willing to put in the effort needed to win, and who will just resign themselves and give up hope of winning simply because they don't think their class is all that fast. I want our team to win very badly, especially since our boat won last year, meaning that we should definitely be able to do it again."
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Like Lehigh Rowing on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Class captains are selecting their own lineups. Class captains were selected based on erg score within the class. This year's class captains are senior Kyle Schipper, junior Liz Gagliardi, sophomore, James Altmann and freshmen Hannah Davis. Sean McLeod is the captain for the sophomore "B" boat while Maxine Manville is the captain for the freshmen "B" boat. All captains will train their own crews and provide everything the boat needs to be successful. Saturday is Lehigh rowing's second-ever Class Day, something they hope and expect to remain an annual tradition.
Â
"This intrasquad race definitely reinforces the idea that we need to stay competitive, even when there are just Lehigh boats on the water," said Gagliardi. "We get to take ownership of our team by taking on some responsibilities that are usually up to the coaches, and it makes us more aware of all the small preparations leading up to race day that we can easily ignore."
Â
Thrusting the student-athletes into unique situations they're not used to should pay dividends in the long run.
Â
"This is the first leadership role I've had on the team, and I've realized what I value in my teammates as a leader," said Davis. "We have a really large, fast freshman class which made it difficult to choose our lineup for the race, but it also means that we have two fast Freshmen Eights racing this Saturday."
Â
Most recently, three Lehigh boats competed at Head of the Charles last weekend, highlighted by the Men's Collegiate Fours finishing in ninth place overall. The last time the full Mountain Hawks' team was in action was two weekend ago at Navy Day.
Â
Saturday is Lehigh's last opportunity to race during this fall season, so the team wants to create positive momentum heading into winter training.
Â
"Ending on a strong note will be really important for team morale and to fuel our training, so we can continue to build on what we've done this fall as we prepare for our championship season in the spring," said Gagliardi.
Â
"Being the last time we will be on the water until the spring season, we need to make sure we attack so we have the memory of what racing other teams is like once we go indoors," said Altmann. "The winter season is a lot more individual season than fall or spring, so having this memory of a good race will help us keep pushing through the long solo workouts."
Â
Saturday isn't your typical regatta, but if anything, even more is on the line than a typical race… bragging rights.
Â
"You usually race and then never see the other teams until the next race," said Altmann. "However, here, here the winning class will be able to brag all winter about how they are the best."
Â
"The rivalry with other classes this week has been fun, with a lot of friendly smack talk being thrown around," said Davis. "The freshmen are ready to race to win, but we are also putting a lot of time and effort into the costume contest (which is also on Saturday)."
"The rivalry with other classes is a lot of fun," said Schipper. "It gives us opportunities to compete with everyone on the team, instead of just with the people of our own gender. It also lets us really see who is willing to put in the effort needed to win, and who will just resign themselves and give up hope of winning simply because they don't think their class is all that fast. I want our team to win very badly, especially since our boat won last year, meaning that we should definitely be able to do it again."
Â
Like Lehigh Rowing on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Men's Rowing
/ Men's Rowing
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