Saturday, May 4
Schuylkill River; Philadelphia, Pa.
TBA
Lehigh University
at
Temple, Delaware and Rutgers
Photo by: Dave Kynor
Lehigh returns to action this weekend for final tune-ups before championship races
5/3/2019 2:45:00 PM | Men's Rowing, Women's Rowing
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The Lehigh women's and men's rowing teams will return to action this weekend when the women race against Delaware on Lake Nockamixon in Quakertown, Pa. while the men compete against Temple, Delaware and Rutgers on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia. For both, it will be their final races before the prestigious Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia next weekend, and for the women, the Patriot League Championship the following weekend.
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"Temple and Delaware are always contenders at the Dad Vail Regatta so it will be great to see them just before heading into the championships," said Lehigh head coach Brian Conley. "For the women, it will be a good final race before final preparations for Patriots two weeks away. It is our last opportunity to really see if there are any more adjustments we need to make with lineups, boats, rigging or anything."
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Most recently, the women competed at the Cherry Hill Invitational while the men took part in the Kerr Cup. Leading the way for the men was the Second Varsity Four, which captured gold in the grand finals.
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Since that point, the Mountain Hawks used last weekend with no racing to their advantage; they don't want to leave any stones unturned in the buildup to its biggest races of the year in May.
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"We tested one final time for the year [over the two weeks with no regatta]," said Conley. "This gave others an opportunity to see if they should have a shot at a boat, and a number of people stepped up in that moment. The past two weeks have seen lineups shift around quite a bit from top to bottom. We also finally came to the decision to have the men race at Dad Vails in three events (V8+, V4+ & JV4+). This will allow the top boat to race at the peak of our sport and the other boats to race against top competition with a sense of development for the program as a whole moving forward."
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Speaking of moving forward, the Mountain Hawks see this coming weekend as one final barometer.
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"For the men, our goal is to see if we have narrowed the gap between us and Temple from earlier in the season," said Conley. "We haven't really raced them head-to-head like this outside of a regatta, so it will really tell us what speed we have. For the women, the goal is to get ahead and stay ahead. Keep things as simple as we can and the motions in the boat as simple as possible, too. We are in a heavy fatigue time of year so if we can execute well, it will really help our confidence going into Patriots."
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Lehigh rowing undoubtedly has high expectations for its championship races. Success at Dad Vails and Patriots come from a year-long of building.
Â
Where do the Mountain Hawks currently stand?
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"The men are in a very similar spot as they were last year," said Conley. "The eight has been doing really well in practice and making adjustments too, as we made a few switches in the boat, which can go great or poorly and we'll find out if what we see in practice is what will happen on race day.Â
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"The women are still a little bit out from their championships, so have some finishing touches to work on with their individual boats. We need to get and stay healthy through finals, which we'll have to manage longer this year than we ever have before (due to the Patriot League Championship coming a week later than the past). I am excited about racing our championships after exams, but it brings another level of awareness with where each student-athlete is mentally and physically so we can be ready."
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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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"Temple and Delaware are always contenders at the Dad Vail Regatta so it will be great to see them just before heading into the championships," said Lehigh head coach Brian Conley. "For the women, it will be a good final race before final preparations for Patriots two weeks away. It is our last opportunity to really see if there are any more adjustments we need to make with lineups, boats, rigging or anything."
Â
Most recently, the women competed at the Cherry Hill Invitational while the men took part in the Kerr Cup. Leading the way for the men was the Second Varsity Four, which captured gold in the grand finals.
Â
Since that point, the Mountain Hawks used last weekend with no racing to their advantage; they don't want to leave any stones unturned in the buildup to its biggest races of the year in May.
Â
"We tested one final time for the year [over the two weeks with no regatta]," said Conley. "This gave others an opportunity to see if they should have a shot at a boat, and a number of people stepped up in that moment. The past two weeks have seen lineups shift around quite a bit from top to bottom. We also finally came to the decision to have the men race at Dad Vails in three events (V8+, V4+ & JV4+). This will allow the top boat to race at the peak of our sport and the other boats to race against top competition with a sense of development for the program as a whole moving forward."
Â
Speaking of moving forward, the Mountain Hawks see this coming weekend as one final barometer.
Â
"For the men, our goal is to see if we have narrowed the gap between us and Temple from earlier in the season," said Conley. "We haven't really raced them head-to-head like this outside of a regatta, so it will really tell us what speed we have. For the women, the goal is to get ahead and stay ahead. Keep things as simple as we can and the motions in the boat as simple as possible, too. We are in a heavy fatigue time of year so if we can execute well, it will really help our confidence going into Patriots."
Â
Lehigh rowing undoubtedly has high expectations for its championship races. Success at Dad Vails and Patriots come from a year-long of building.
Â
Where do the Mountain Hawks currently stand?
Â
"The men are in a very similar spot as they were last year," said Conley. "The eight has been doing really well in practice and making adjustments too, as we made a few switches in the boat, which can go great or poorly and we'll find out if what we see in practice is what will happen on race day.Â
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"The women are still a little bit out from their championships, so have some finishing touches to work on with their individual boats. We need to get and stay healthy through finals, which we'll have to manage longer this year than we ever have before (due to the Patriot League Championship coming a week later than the past). I am excited about racing our championships after exams, but it brings another level of awareness with where each student-athlete is mentally and physically so we can be ready."
Â
Like Lehigh Rowing on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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