Lehigh University Athletics
Saturday, October 12
Schuylkill River; Philadelphia, Pa.
TBA
Lehigh University
at
Navy Day
Mountain Hawks set to open fall campaign at Navy Day Saturday
10/11/2019 10:03:00 AM | Men's Rowing, Women's Rowing
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Already hard at work for several weeks this fall, the Lehigh rowing team is set to open its fall schedule on Saturday when it takes part in the Navy Day Regatta on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. The Mountain Hawks look to continue building on the past few seasons, which have seen plenty of growth. Saturday's regatta will feature a time trial format.
"The fall is very different than what the spring presents," said Lehigh head coach Brian Conley. "In the spring, we're side-by-side. In the fall, we're sent off one at a time. You're racing against the clock. You don't know where you're going to end up finishing until you're done the race. It's really important for us to be on our game, stay in our boat, race the best race we possibly can and see where the results fall."
The time trial format fits into the Mountain Hawks' mindset during the fall, being extremely focused on themselves – learning, growing and setting a foundation for the spring championship season.
Because of hard work from past and present student-athletes and coaches, the program is in a stronger position today than it was during previous fall seasons.
"The mindset is in a great spot, which has allowed us to do a lot more work on the water and has been helping us get faster and faster," said Conley. "We've done a lot of work in small boats this year compared to last, which should help on the technical side, but it's also been a great opportunity to try and get extra meters, which leads to being faster in the spring."
Every fall, one challenge is acclimating a large group of freshmen, including some walk-ons who may have never rowed before. So far, the Mountain Hawks' chemistry is strong.
"We've kept the freshmen all together this year in hopes they bond as a class," said Conley. "It keeps the retention up pretty high, but it's also had some other positive effects where the upperclassmen and recruited student-athletes have been able to really help the walk-ons learn the rowing stroke a lot quicker this year. They've come along tremendously and we're excited to have them go out and race this weekend."
Last season, the women's squad saw all three of its boats (Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four) finish top five for the first time since the Patriot League expanded to nine teams in 2013-14. Highlighting the men's side was the Junior Varsity Four, which captured silver at the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta.
"Every year, the athletes are getting hungrier and hungrier," said Conley. "It's great to see and it's really driven by the athletes. All I have to do is guide them, which is exactly what you want out of a team. They're driving the whole program and trying to win a Patriot League Championship and Dad Vail Championship."
The 2019-20 Mountain Hawks begin their championship quest on Saturday.
"The first race is always interesting," said Conley. "The freshmen are getting their wheels underneath them in terms of college racing and it's different than high school for the recruits. They'll be going through the race course twice, which will be a good experience. For the upperclassmen, it's all about setting ourselves up for the spring and seeing what speed Navy and Georgetown have. They'll both be there (at Navy Day), along with a bunch of other really top-level teams."
Like Lehigh Rowing on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
"The fall is very different than what the spring presents," said Lehigh head coach Brian Conley. "In the spring, we're side-by-side. In the fall, we're sent off one at a time. You're racing against the clock. You don't know where you're going to end up finishing until you're done the race. It's really important for us to be on our game, stay in our boat, race the best race we possibly can and see where the results fall."
The time trial format fits into the Mountain Hawks' mindset during the fall, being extremely focused on themselves – learning, growing and setting a foundation for the spring championship season.
Because of hard work from past and present student-athletes and coaches, the program is in a stronger position today than it was during previous fall seasons.
"The mindset is in a great spot, which has allowed us to do a lot more work on the water and has been helping us get faster and faster," said Conley. "We've done a lot of work in small boats this year compared to last, which should help on the technical side, but it's also been a great opportunity to try and get extra meters, which leads to being faster in the spring."
Every fall, one challenge is acclimating a large group of freshmen, including some walk-ons who may have never rowed before. So far, the Mountain Hawks' chemistry is strong.
"We've kept the freshmen all together this year in hopes they bond as a class," said Conley. "It keeps the retention up pretty high, but it's also had some other positive effects where the upperclassmen and recruited student-athletes have been able to really help the walk-ons learn the rowing stroke a lot quicker this year. They've come along tremendously and we're excited to have them go out and race this weekend."
Last season, the women's squad saw all three of its boats (Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four) finish top five for the first time since the Patriot League expanded to nine teams in 2013-14. Highlighting the men's side was the Junior Varsity Four, which captured silver at the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta.
"Every year, the athletes are getting hungrier and hungrier," said Conley. "It's great to see and it's really driven by the athletes. All I have to do is guide them, which is exactly what you want out of a team. They're driving the whole program and trying to win a Patriot League Championship and Dad Vail Championship."
The 2019-20 Mountain Hawks begin their championship quest on Saturday.
"The first race is always interesting," said Conley. "The freshmen are getting their wheels underneath them in terms of college racing and it's different than high school for the recruits. They'll be going through the race course twice, which will be a good experience. For the upperclassmen, it's all about setting ourselves up for the spring and seeing what speed Navy and Georgetown have. They'll both be there (at Navy Day), along with a bunch of other really top-level teams."
Like Lehigh Rowing on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Part two of our conversation with Coach Conley, previewing Navy Day! pic.twitter.com/IfjGBmLYnN
— Lehigh Rowing (@LehighRowing) October 10, 2019
We caught up with James Altmann about the fall so far and Navy Day on Saturday! pic.twitter.com/VwGxhHRs0P
— Lehigh Rowing (@LehighRowing) October 10, 2019
We also chatted with Susan Westman before practice yesterday to see how the women's crew is doing! pic.twitter.com/kFmq5l1XRX
— Lehigh Rowing (@LehighRowing) October 10, 2019
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
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