Seniors reflect on careers in advance of championship races this weekend

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - With the Lehigh women's rowing team set to compete in the Patriot League Championship on Friday and the men to row in the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta, Lehighsports.com caught up with seniors Madeleine Wescott and Zachary Maguire, who reflected on their careers.

Madeleine Wescott - Jenkintown, Pa. - Mount Saint Joseph Academy - IDEAS (Integrated Degree in Engineering, Arts and Sciences)
What's your favorite Lehigh Rowing memory up until this point?
MW: It's hard to pick just one favorite Lehigh Rowing memory. Beating Holy Cross both last year and this year have definitely been two high points where I knew all our hard work paid off. Walking through UNC Chapel Hill at Dad Vails was also another awesome race. Another favorite memory is the women's team annual brunch, a tradition started by my freshman year coach, Jackie Ogden.

How would you like to be remembered? What legacy would you like to leave at Lehigh?
MW: Honestly, I'll probably be most remembered for being a mom. As the sole senior woman and second oldest of eight kids, I feel like I end up being a mom way too often for the women's team. I hope I'm remembered for caring so much that it was probably unhealthy. I hope I'm remembered for my competitive spirit and willingness to make sacrifices to make this team as successful as I could. I think the legacy I'd like to leave is that Lehigh Rowing is now a team people are proud and excited to represent. The group we have now is really special. I am confident in this team's ability to make even bigger pushes in speed and rank in the next few years.

Describe the relationship with your fellow senior.
MW: That's a funny question. Zach and I are the only seniors and have been since junior year. This has definitely made us really close. I can honestly say I couldn't have made it through Lehigh Rowing without Zach. Sophomore year, when I was a captain and the lows got really low, Zach kept things positive. Every day last year, Zach would start practice by asking everyone, "what day is it?" and people would say whatever day it was, but then Zach would say "NOPE, IT'S A GREAT DAY TO BE ALIVE." It was the dumbest thing, but he was so ridiculous that it lifted the team's spirit when we were in such a low place. As co-captains, we work well together. In a lot of ways, we are opposites; I'm more serious and Zach keeps it light.

What are some of the thoughts going through your mind as you're nearing the end of your collegiate career?
MW: Going into the end of my collegiate career, I've been very nostalgic. Rowing has easily become a huge part of my life since I started freshman year of high school. I worry that I'm going to have a huge void to fill now that I'm not training year round for Patriots. I will miss it. I think I'm going to miss feeling needed the most. Every time I'm in the boat, I feel this deep feeling that I'm a part of something bigger. I'm no longer just one person living my individual life, but I am a part of a crew, and everything outside rowing seems that much more important. For the past four years, my sleeping, eating, academics, the best way to fill my free time, has been dictated by rowing and how I can get into the top boat. Everything had purpose because I wanted to be the best I could be. Going into the end of my college career, I'm nervous for the void left by rowing, but I'm much more excited for my next adventure to fill this void.

What will you miss most about Lehigh and Lehigh Rowing?
MW: This might sound crazy, but I'm going to miss going to class the most when I leave Lehigh. I love learning and I've had some of the most amazing professors here at Lehigh. Shout out to Wes Heiss, Prof. Snyder, Bill Best and Frank Pazzaglia to name a few. I've been really privileged through sacrifices from my parents and the generosity of strangers to have the most amazing high school and college education.

In regards to Lehigh Rowing, I will miss my teammates the most. These are the strongest women I know. Nothing bonds people like countless hours of monotonous pain and there is no group of women that I would rather spend more than three hours per day with. I am going to miss my girls so much.

What would you say to a Lehigh student interested in Lehigh Rowing who may be interested in joining the team?
MW: To perspective rowers looking at Lehigh, I would say that if you want to work hard and be a part of a team where every person matter, this is the place for you. Because we are small team, you aren't just a number. I'd also say we are a tight-knit group that spends probably too much time together.

What are your postgraduate plans?
MW: My postgraduate plans are to travel Europe for a month with two of my best friends from Lehigh. I then start in the fall with IBM in Philadelphia doing consulting. I would love to coach rowing for my high school program, or volunteer with rowing somehow. I also want to run a marathon.

Zachary Maguire - Colts Neck, N.J. - Christian Brothers Academy - Finance
What's your favorite Lehigh Rowing memory up until this point?
ZM: I am going to go with two memories, one athletic and one highlighting the team aspect of the sport. The best memory I have in a boat was actually from my freshman year at the Murphy Cup. We had an awesome Freshmen Eight with some really quick guys on the erg and some great personalities, so we were moving fast and having a great time doing so. The Murphy Cup was the first time we were seeing some perennial Dad Vail powerhouses in Virginia and Michigan, in the season, so we didn't know what to expect or how we would measure up. After being fueled with a race-plan of just going as hard as we could right off the line and trying to hold it for as long as we could, we came off the line faster than we had at any other point in the season and jumped ahead of Michigan and Virginia. To this day, I can remember peaking over at their boat behind us and just feeling so in control of the race, knowing that whatever they did, they weren't getting past us. We wound up getting second in that race, but it was the first time Lehigh had beaten Michigan and Virginia in that category.

My favorite memory in regards to the team would have to be spring break my junior year, the team took a training trip to Lake Nockamixon. We were living in cabins with 7-8 people and it was just great team bonding. We got a lot of good rowing in and were able to take boats out on our own living right by the lake, but we were able to live in close quarters with the team for the week and we just had too much fun. To this day, we talk about things that happened on that trip and inside jokes we have that help to make the hard times of rowing that much more enjoyable.

How would you like to be remembered? What legacy would you like to leave at Lehigh?
ZM: This is actually something I have thought about frequently this year, I want to be remembered as someone who never gave up on this team and was a driving force behind redefining what it means to be a Lehigh Rower. During my time on the team, I saw the team shrink to nine men on the roster. It would have been easy to see the team as a lost cause and walk away, but a few of us saw this as an opportunity to rebuild the team with the idea of getting to a championship culture in the future. With the help of Coach Conley, Coach Moorehead, Coach Dennington and the addition of Coach Urbanik this year, we were able to completely redefine the team culture. The last two years, we have seen some incredible results showing we are on the right path and the team is only getting stronger. What I want most from this team is success in the future, so I can look back and know that I had a part in getting to that result. Finally, I want to be remembered as a mentor for the younger guys on the team. When I came to terms with the fact that I would not be on the team for a Dad Vails Championship, I realized the best thing I could do was to empower the younger guys to keep the culture moving forward. I began taking freshmen under my wings, teaching them what it means to be a leader on the team and instilling the culture and ethic this team taught me over the last four years. With less than a week left, I am really excited about the hands the team will be in over the next few years and going forward from there.

Describe the relationship with your fellow seniors.
ZM: This year, being co-captains has offered some challenges, but overall, it has been an awesome experience. Early in our careers, the men's and women's teams were very separate, but it has been really cool working together to make the team '#oneteam'. Since we have been together, it's been really nice to have another informed opinion to bounce ideas off of and occasionally someone to vent to. We have been a large part of each other's support system through these last few years and it's been a lot of fun.

What are some of the thoughts going through your mind as you're nearing the end of your collegiate career?
ZM: It really hadn't hit me until recently that I was nearing the end of my eight-year rowing career. It began after our last 2k erg piece last month. My whole career, there was a mental aspect of 2ks that would cause anxiety for me for days, but after I finished my last one, I realized that I would never go through that kind of anxiety again. It had been such a big part of my rowing career and something I would dread, but now that it's over, I feel like I'm going to miss feeling like that. In the beginning of the year, I heard a quote from Julie Ammary along the lines of "It is a privilege to be in discomfort." It's hard to wrap my head around having very few chances left to break out of that comfort zone for my crew.

What will you miss most about Lehigh and Lehigh Rowing?
ZM: I'm going to miss the team the most. Just the camaraderie of the team, the joking around with each other, the casual hang-outs when you see them around campus and the ability to have a group of guys to throw down with at practice. The team is the thing I have valued most in my time here and definitely what I will miss the most.

What would you say to a Lehigh student interested in Lehigh Rowing who may be interested in joining the team?
ZM: I would tell them this team is going places. A couple of years ago, I would have just tried to get anyone I could to join the team; we needed numbers and we needed guys who could pull hard. Today, I would tell people that if they want to join the team, they need to give it everything they have and then find that next gear; pulling hard is the minimum. We have a team of people who are doing everything in their power to get to a championship, so people joining in the future need to be on board with that. I would also tell them that rowing at Lehigh is something they will have for the rest of their lives. They will learn so many things, like the value of hard work and dedication, the discipline needed in life and they will form relationships that will make their time at Lehigh so special.

What are your postgraduate plans?
ZM: Next year, I will be returning to Lehigh in the fall semester to finish my degree, but after that I am planning on moving on to law school with the intention of studying either Corporate or Real Estate Law. But while I'm here, I am also planning on staying involved with the team, whether that's coaching or just being a mentor around campus.

Upcoming Event: Women's Rowing at Lake Wheeler Invite on April 24, 2026

Upcoming Event: Women's Rowing at Colgate on May 2, 2026

Upcoming Event: Women's Rowing versus Patriot League Championships on May 15, 2026

Completed Event: Women's Rowing at Knecht Cup on April 11, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Rowing at Drexel and George Washington on April 4, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Rowing versus Mountain Hawk Invite on March 28, 2026 ,

Completed Event: Women's Rowing versus Class Day Regatta on November 1, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Women's Rowing at Head of the Schuylkill on October 25, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Women's Rowing at Head of the Charles on October 18, 2025 ,

Completed Event: Women's Rowing at Head of the Housatonic on October 11, 2025 ,

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Seniors reflect on careers in advance of championship races this weekend

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