Whatever it Takes to Win

By: Justin Lafleur, Lehigh Sports Communications

The sport of rowing requires every athlete to work in unison. To work together effectively, there needs to be trust between all rowers.

Trust isn't given. It's earned.

As the work ethic in the Lehigh rowing program has increased, so has the trust among teammates and so has the success.

Willing to do whatever it takes to win, senior Jenny DiPietro is helping lead the charge.

"I really like how with rowing, there can't be one star player who outshines everyone else," she said. "One person can slow everything down, so you really have to trust all your teammates that they're going to be fully committed every moment of every race."

This year, DiPietro is seeing full commitment.

"This has been the first year that I've been able to fully trust every single person on my team and know that each one is following team policies and putting in their all every day," she said. "Having that all-encompassing trust in every single person has really motivated me, knowing I can give my all and knowing that everyone around me is doing the same."

In DiPietro's career, the Mountain Hawks have made impressive strides and she has been in the middle of almost every big moment. Jenny was part of the crew that won the program's first-ever Patriot League Boat of the Week award last year, was part of the Varsity Eight that made grand finals in back-to-back years for the first time in school history, and was part of the crew that beat Holy Cross for the first time in a decade.

That's just the beginning.
25453

DiPietro isn't surprised she is in this situation. Her father rowed in high school and college, which helped plant the seed.

"For a long period of time, I knew I was going to row," she said.

DiPietro's father also originally introduced her to Lehigh University.

"My dad does business up at Lehigh, had me come with him one day and we went on a tour," she said. "I ended up talking to Coach Conley. He had come to a couple visits at my high school and seemed interested in me, so I pursued Lehigh and ended up really liking it on my official visit. The team really brought me in and made me feel welcome."

DiPietro wasn't only welcomed from the get-go, but she was also tasked as a change maker.

"My freshman year, the team went through a huge culture shock and Coach Conley basically told my class that we were the start of the change for the team," said DiPietro. "I initially knew that it wasn't going to be easy, but I knew everyone was committed to making that change and getting faster as a team."

"As freshmen, Jenny's class was very outwardly talking about just wanting to win," said Lehigh head coach Brian Conley. "Jenny was setting new personal bests each time she pulled an erg test. It wasn't until the team started to hold each other truly accountable that the culture really changed significantly. That was her sophomore year."

Since that point, DiPietro's class has continued to push the bar higher and higher. Last year (DiPietro's junior season), her Varsity Eight made its second straight grand final at the Patriot League Championship while the Varsity Four and Second Varsity Eight each earned a bronze medal – the program's first-ever medals at Patriots.

The success certainly didn't happen overnight. Between trust, leadership, commitment and many other intangibles, Lehigh rowing's foundation was built first. Without the foundation, it's hard to create sustainable success.

"Each year, leadership within the program seems to starts at a younger age," said DiPietro. "My freshman year, I was trying to get used to things and the seniors and juniors were more in the spotlight in terms of leadership. But my second year, I saw more sophomores and juniors taking on leadership roles, just getting the freshmen to understand our team culture and getting everyone to commit to our team values."

Speaking of underclass leadership, DiPietro was nominated as a (potential) captain as both a sophomore and junior, then was named captain as a senior. Even the consideration of being a captain before her senior year shows the impact she made on those around her.

"It took me a little while to realize that people were looking to me as a leader," said DiPietro. "Once I got to junior year, I really started taking on a more serious leadership role."

"Jenny's leadership style has changed a lot over the years," said Conley. "Her first couple years were very much all about leading by example. You rarely heard Jenny speak up in team meetings, in the boats or at the end of practice. Now, Jenny leads by example, but has also developed her vocal leadership as well. She is the first to listen, but also quick to talk after a practice race about what we did right and what we need to improve."

One of DiPietro's best traits is giving 110 percent at all times, which naturally garners trust from her teammates.

If everyone gives their all, there won't be regrets. It's something Lehigh has continually done better every year, and looks to continue doing this weekend at the 2019 Patriot League Championship.

"At the end of a race, you can feel how the rest of the boat feels the piece went," said DiPietro. "It's unspoken, but you can definitely feel it. Obviously, if we come up short, it's disappointing, but it's something we can accept if we gave it our all. This year, we've been able to consistently show our speed, see where we end up then use that as motivation to build from heading into the next week of practice."

Friday is the culmination of the current season and for Jenny, her career. Over her collegiate career, things have come a long way both individually and for the team.

"My freshman year, the Varsity Eight made it to petite finals at Patriots and our goal was to win that," said DiPietro. "I don't even consider petite finals an option for any of our boats now. Each boat's goal is to medal this year, which is a goal the team didn't even consider to be attainable my freshman year. Each boat has the potential to medal this year and being able to say that shows how much the program has progressed. We're finally seeing our hard work pay off and getting closer to winning a Patriot League Championship.
25442

"Five or ten years down the road, I think we'll have won a Patriot League Championship," she continued. "I want to be part of the team that laid the groundwork for them. I have enjoyed being part of a team that accomplished a ton of firsts for the program. I cannot wait to see these women get faster and start beating teams that ruled us out in the past."

What's in DiPietro's past is a successful four years at Lehigh academically, athletically, socially and all aspects of life.

"Being a Lehigh student-athlete has taught me how to manage everything I have going on and manage it well," said DiPietro, a Marketing major. "It's easy to just get things done, but it's different when I complete everything on my list to the best of my ability. This concept is something I can apply in school, work and athletics."

Racing to the best of their ability is the Mountain Hawks' goal on Friday. Focus in on each other and not anyone else. If each boat does that, "their best" may just be good enough to walk away with multiple medals.

"When you're in grand finals at Patriots and you're six boats across, it's really easy to think about the other boats," said DiPietro. "You could get really frantic and try to make your boat faster, but then you're moving by yourself and slowing your boat down. If each boat really focuses on staying within ourselves, I believe we'll see the results we want."

No matter Friday's results, DiPietro's legacy has already been set.

"You could say Jenny's legacy would be that she was sitting in stroke seat of all these boats that had historical moments – from guaranteeing an entry to Head of the Charles sophomore year, back-to-back years of the V8 making grand finals at Patriots, or beating Bucknell at Patriots (2017) and in a scrimmage (2018)," said Conley.

"However, what I think Jenny's real legacy will be is the way she taught rowers to become racers," Conley continued. "When she would be placed in someone's boat, the level of confidence would go up and performance increased. Anyone can be a rower, but racers are the ones that raise everyone's games around them.

"You always had no doubt when someone said "GO" that Jenny was willing to do anything in that moment to win."

Better Me Better We

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

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

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

Lehigh University Athletics

Related News

Players Mentioned

Jenny DiPietro

Related Videos