Thursday, April 22
Gladstone, N.J.
Lehigh University
vs
Lafayette
Lehigh Athletics Weekend Preview
4/22/2021 1:35:00 PM | Baseball, Athletics, Men's Golf, Men's Lacrosse, Men's Swimming and Diving, Men's Tennis, Men's Track and Field, Softball, Women's Golf, Women's Swimming and Diving, Women's Tennis, Women's Track and Field
BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Lehigh hosts Patriot League Championships in men's tennis and women's golf; the swimming and diving and women's tennis teams visit Lafayette plus track and field hosts the John and Carol Covert Classic and three teams host Bucknell on Saturday. Catch up on all the latest happenings in this week's Lehigh Athletics Weekend Preview.
As announced March 5, The Lehigh University COVID-19 Response Team approved a request from the Athletics Department to permit a limited number (2) of Lehigh team guests (submitted in advance) to attend our outdoor home sports events, and enter the permanent seating area of our venues, which is well-defined by fencing and gates at some venues and that will be defined and secured at other venues. The two guests will be expected to adhere to all University and Athletics Department health and safety protocols (PDF) throughout their visit to our Goodman Campus. Visiting team guests are not permitted inside our venues at this time unless directly communicated to the visiting team for a specific event.
Baseball
Coming off an electric doubleheader sweep of Army West Point on the road, Lehigh enters the upcoming slate of Patriot League contests currently in first place in the league. The Mountain Hawks own the best record in the league at 11-6 and are also 8-1 on the road in those contests. Lehigh fell to La Salle on Wednesday afternoon in non-league action, 18-6 in seven innings. Junior Casey Rother has been on a tear as of late, notching three hits with three RBIs against the Explorers and upping his reached base streak to 21 straight games. Rother leads the Patriot League and his teammates with a batting average of .358, adding a slugging percentage of .558 and an OBP of .460. Senior Eric Cichocki is not that far behind Rother on the stat sheet this season, slashing .350/.455/.355 with 36 hits, 26 runs scored and eight stolen bases. Bucknell is coming off a successful series against Navy over the weekend, taking two of three from the Midshipmen. The Bison (8-16, 8-12 PL) are currently in last place, 4.5 games behind Lehigh. Senior Caleb Broughton was named Player of the Week for his seven hits at the plate. Chris DiFiore is 3-2 with a 2.16 ERA over 33.1 innings. The Mountain Hawks have won four of six contests against Bucknell so far this season.
Saturday: Live Stats
Sunday: Live Stats
Men's Golf
Fresh off a victory at Lafayette's ABARTA Collegiate Invitational earlier this week, Lehigh has two more dates on the golf course this weekend in its final tune ups for next week's Patriot League Championship at Navy. On Thursday, Lehigh and Lafayette will play their annual Presidents' Cup match play event at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, N.J. The Mountain Hawks will be looking to reclaim the cup after losing it in October 2019 and will be looking to even the match play series at 5-5 with a victory. On Saturday, Lehigh heads to Bucknell for a tri-match with the Bison and Colgate.
Women's Golf
Lehigh is set to host the 2021 Patriot League Championship on the Grace Course at Saucon Valley Country Club. The Mountain Hawks last competed April 5-6, winning both ends of a home-and-home dual series with La Salle. Freshman Sophie Holland occupies the No. 1 spot in Lehigh's lineup, while senior Angela Ding looks to earn the second All-Patriot League honor of her career. Four of Lehigh's five entrants will be competing in their first Patriot League Championship. The Mountain Hawks won the inaugural women's team title in 2013. Boston University won the 2019 team championship. The championship will feature 36 holes on Saturday and 18 holes on Sunday with tee times beginning at 8:30 a.m. both days.
Live Scoring
Spectator Policy: For the health and safety of coaches, student-athletes and the Saucon Valley Country Club community, no spectators are permitted at Saucon Valley Country Club. Please be advised that any visitors who attempt to attend the Patriot League Women's Golf Championship will be asked to leave Saucon Valley Country Club.
Men's Lacrosse
Off to its best start in program history at 8-0, the No. 6 Lehigh men's lacrosse team wraps up its home regular season schedule on Saturday when the Mountain Hawks host Pennsylvania rival Bucknell at 12 p.m. on ESPN+. Lehigh is coming off a pair of victories over Lafayette last weekend (the first time Lehigh and Lafayette have played twice in the same season since 1941). The Mountain Hawks won in Easton Friday (18-11) and Bethlehem Sunday (14-11). Lehigh has won 12 straight games dating back to last season, the longest active streak in the nation (Maryland has won 11 in a row). The biggest story of last weekend was junior Mike Sisselberger, who won 43-of-51 faceoffs over the two games with 40 groundballs. He set the Patriot League groundball record on Friday (19) then broke it again on Sunday (21), as he earned Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Week and was named to the USILA National Team of the Week. Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese also won his 115th and 116th career games to become the program's all-time winningest coach. In the process, the Mountain Hawks clinched the No. 1 overall seed and will host the Patriot League Tournament (semifinals and championship game) on May 7 and 9. Saturday will be a rematch with Bucknell after the Mountain Hawks picked up an 18-6 win in Lewisburg on Sunday, Mar. 14. Lehigh jumped out to a 12-2 lead and wouldn't look back. The Bison enter the weekend 2-5 on the season, 1-4 in league play with wins over Cleveland State and Lafayette.
Watch Live | Live Stats
Softball
The Mountain Hawks will battle Bucknell this weekend in a key four-game home-and-home series. Lehigh (7-13, 5-7 PL) will host the Bison Saturday beginning at noon and then will travel to Lewisburg on Sunday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. Saturday's doubleheader will be streamed on ESPN+. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 3-1 series loss at Colgate last weekend and are looking to strengthen their case for a Patriot League Tournament berth. Junior Carley Barjaktarovich is hitting a blistering .493 through 20 games and leads the Patriot League in batting average, hits, runs and stolen bases. Junior Jaelynn Chesson has been the league's top run producer with 31 RBIs to go along with eight doubles, four home runs and a .383 average. Bucknell is 10-9 overall and 7-5 in the league. The Bison were swept at home by Boston University last weekend with all four games decided by one run. Nicole Rivait and Taylor Wolfgang pace the Bucknell offense while a trio of pitchers have thrown more than 30 innings. In 2019, Bucknell swept a three game series at Leadership Park before Lehigh beat the Bison twice in the Patriot League Tournament.
Saturday: Watch | Live Stats
Sunday: Live Stats
Swimming and Diving
After the cancellation of the Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championships, the Lehigh men's and women's swimming and diving teams will compete in the Lehigh-Lafayette Patriot League Challenge meet in Easton on Saturday and Sunday in a two-day event. Action both days will start at 10:30 a.m. Saturday's events will include diving, 400 medley relay, 1000 free, 200 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly and 50 free. Sunday's events will start with the completion of the diving, the 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 100 fly, 100 IM and conclude with the 400 free relay.
Men's Tennis
The Lehigh men's tennis team will begin its march to championship gold on Friday with the beginning of the 2021 Patriot League Tennis Championships. The Mountain Hawks, the No. 3 seed, will face the Boston University Terriers at 3 p.m. Friday outside on the Ulrich Courts. Lehigh has won three of the last four meetings with Boston, earning a 4-2 win over the Terriers in its last meeting in 2019. Boston did defeat Lehigh in the quarterfinals during the 2018 season. The Mountain Hawks are led by the strong duo of Zack Elliott and Harry Wang, as both men have compiled a 4-2 mark in singles play and a 4-2 record as the top pair in doubles. Jacob Edelchik and Jordan Paul also have four wins in singles play, while Matt Kleiman has a 5-1 record. The Mountain Hawks will face the winner of the Army West Point-Loyola on Saturday if they get past the Terriers on Friday. Semifinal matches will be held at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, with the championship scheduled for Sunday at noon.
Women's Tennis
The Lehigh women's tennis team (4-3, 3-2) will compete In its final regular season match of the season on Saturday with a 4 p.m. showdown in Easton against the Leopards of Lafayette. The Mountain Hawks come into Saturday looking to snap a two-match skid after back-to-back losses to Navy and Army. The Brown and White have won the last 16 meetings between the two schools. Freshman Rachel Buchinsky paces the Mountain Hawks with a perfect 6-0 record in singles. Junmoke James and Anshika Singh both have a 3-3 record, while Paula Gonzalez and Ella Imhof are both 2-4 in singles. The top pair of Leighanna Moskos and Gonzalez are 4-3 in doubles. After this weekend's match against Lafayette, Lehigh will travel down to Annapolis, Md. for the 2021 Patriot League Championships, next weekend.
Track and Field
Fresh off of winning 25 total events and having 18 student-athletes set new PRs at the Lafayette Tri Meet last weekend, the Lehigh track and field teams will return home on Saturday as they host the annual John and Carol Covert Classic at the Goodman Track and Field Complex. The Mountain Hawks will welcome in Binghamton, Bucknell, Lafayette, Loyola, Monmouth and Muhlenberg. The field events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and the track events are scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. This will be the final weekend of competition before next weekend's Patriot League Championships. Notable performances last weekend included Amondo Lemmon winning the 200m and 400m with times of 22.68 and 50.39. Ian Scott also added two wins in the high jump (1.90m) and the long jump (6.53m). Senior leader Brittany Curtin won the hammer with a score of 53.83m, while also winning the discus at 42.05. The senior bumped herself into fourth on the PL list, while also being currently third in the discus. In the 400mH, Kaja Skerlj won with a time of 1:03.92. Skerlj was also a member of the winning 4x400m relay team (4:04.99). Freshman Conor Reilly secured another win on the pole vault. The freshman bested his opponents by clearing 4.63m. Lastly, first-year distance runner Christina Yakaboski earned her first-career win in the 1500m at 4:47.29.
As announced March 5, The Lehigh University COVID-19 Response Team approved a request from the Athletics Department to permit a limited number (2) of Lehigh team guests (submitted in advance) to attend our outdoor home sports events, and enter the permanent seating area of our venues, which is well-defined by fencing and gates at some venues and that will be defined and secured at other venues. The two guests will be expected to adhere to all University and Athletics Department health and safety protocols (PDF) throughout their visit to our Goodman Campus. Visiting team guests are not permitted inside our venues at this time unless directly communicated to the visiting team for a specific event.
Baseball
Coming off an electric doubleheader sweep of Army West Point on the road, Lehigh enters the upcoming slate of Patriot League contests currently in first place in the league. The Mountain Hawks own the best record in the league at 11-6 and are also 8-1 on the road in those contests. Lehigh fell to La Salle on Wednesday afternoon in non-league action, 18-6 in seven innings. Junior Casey Rother has been on a tear as of late, notching three hits with three RBIs against the Explorers and upping his reached base streak to 21 straight games. Rother leads the Patriot League and his teammates with a batting average of .358, adding a slugging percentage of .558 and an OBP of .460. Senior Eric Cichocki is not that far behind Rother on the stat sheet this season, slashing .350/.455/.355 with 36 hits, 26 runs scored and eight stolen bases. Bucknell is coming off a successful series against Navy over the weekend, taking two of three from the Midshipmen. The Bison (8-16, 8-12 PL) are currently in last place, 4.5 games behind Lehigh. Senior Caleb Broughton was named Player of the Week for his seven hits at the plate. Chris DiFiore is 3-2 with a 2.16 ERA over 33.1 innings. The Mountain Hawks have won four of six contests against Bucknell so far this season.
Saturday: Live Stats
Sunday: Live Stats
Men's Golf
Fresh off a victory at Lafayette's ABARTA Collegiate Invitational earlier this week, Lehigh has two more dates on the golf course this weekend in its final tune ups for next week's Patriot League Championship at Navy. On Thursday, Lehigh and Lafayette will play their annual Presidents' Cup match play event at Hamilton Farm Golf Club in Gladstone, N.J. The Mountain Hawks will be looking to reclaim the cup after losing it in October 2019 and will be looking to even the match play series at 5-5 with a victory. On Saturday, Lehigh heads to Bucknell for a tri-match with the Bison and Colgate.
Women's Golf
Lehigh is set to host the 2021 Patriot League Championship on the Grace Course at Saucon Valley Country Club. The Mountain Hawks last competed April 5-6, winning both ends of a home-and-home dual series with La Salle. Freshman Sophie Holland occupies the No. 1 spot in Lehigh's lineup, while senior Angela Ding looks to earn the second All-Patriot League honor of her career. Four of Lehigh's five entrants will be competing in their first Patriot League Championship. The Mountain Hawks won the inaugural women's team title in 2013. Boston University won the 2019 team championship. The championship will feature 36 holes on Saturday and 18 holes on Sunday with tee times beginning at 8:30 a.m. both days.
Live Scoring
Spectator Policy: For the health and safety of coaches, student-athletes and the Saucon Valley Country Club community, no spectators are permitted at Saucon Valley Country Club. Please be advised that any visitors who attempt to attend the Patriot League Women's Golf Championship will be asked to leave Saucon Valley Country Club.
Men's Lacrosse
Off to its best start in program history at 8-0, the No. 6 Lehigh men's lacrosse team wraps up its home regular season schedule on Saturday when the Mountain Hawks host Pennsylvania rival Bucknell at 12 p.m. on ESPN+. Lehigh is coming off a pair of victories over Lafayette last weekend (the first time Lehigh and Lafayette have played twice in the same season since 1941). The Mountain Hawks won in Easton Friday (18-11) and Bethlehem Sunday (14-11). Lehigh has won 12 straight games dating back to last season, the longest active streak in the nation (Maryland has won 11 in a row). The biggest story of last weekend was junior Mike Sisselberger, who won 43-of-51 faceoffs over the two games with 40 groundballs. He set the Patriot League groundball record on Friday (19) then broke it again on Sunday (21), as he earned Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Week and was named to the USILA National Team of the Week. Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese also won his 115th and 116th career games to become the program's all-time winningest coach. In the process, the Mountain Hawks clinched the No. 1 overall seed and will host the Patriot League Tournament (semifinals and championship game) on May 7 and 9. Saturday will be a rematch with Bucknell after the Mountain Hawks picked up an 18-6 win in Lewisburg on Sunday, Mar. 14. Lehigh jumped out to a 12-2 lead and wouldn't look back. The Bison enter the weekend 2-5 on the season, 1-4 in league play with wins over Cleveland State and Lafayette.
Watch Live | Live Stats
Softball
The Mountain Hawks will battle Bucknell this weekend in a key four-game home-and-home series. Lehigh (7-13, 5-7 PL) will host the Bison Saturday beginning at noon and then will travel to Lewisburg on Sunday for a 1 p.m. doubleheader. Saturday's doubleheader will be streamed on ESPN+. The Mountain Hawks are coming off a 3-1 series loss at Colgate last weekend and are looking to strengthen their case for a Patriot League Tournament berth. Junior Carley Barjaktarovich is hitting a blistering .493 through 20 games and leads the Patriot League in batting average, hits, runs and stolen bases. Junior Jaelynn Chesson has been the league's top run producer with 31 RBIs to go along with eight doubles, four home runs and a .383 average. Bucknell is 10-9 overall and 7-5 in the league. The Bison were swept at home by Boston University last weekend with all four games decided by one run. Nicole Rivait and Taylor Wolfgang pace the Bucknell offense while a trio of pitchers have thrown more than 30 innings. In 2019, Bucknell swept a three game series at Leadership Park before Lehigh beat the Bison twice in the Patriot League Tournament.
Saturday: Watch | Live Stats
Sunday: Live Stats
Swimming and Diving
After the cancellation of the Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championships, the Lehigh men's and women's swimming and diving teams will compete in the Lehigh-Lafayette Patriot League Challenge meet in Easton on Saturday and Sunday in a two-day event. Action both days will start at 10:30 a.m. Saturday's events will include diving, 400 medley relay, 1000 free, 200 free, 100 back, 100 breast, 200 fly and 50 free. Sunday's events will start with the completion of the diving, the 100 free, 200 back, 200 breast, 500 free, 100 fly, 100 IM and conclude with the 400 free relay.
Men's Tennis
The Lehigh men's tennis team will begin its march to championship gold on Friday with the beginning of the 2021 Patriot League Tennis Championships. The Mountain Hawks, the No. 3 seed, will face the Boston University Terriers at 3 p.m. Friday outside on the Ulrich Courts. Lehigh has won three of the last four meetings with Boston, earning a 4-2 win over the Terriers in its last meeting in 2019. Boston did defeat Lehigh in the quarterfinals during the 2018 season. The Mountain Hawks are led by the strong duo of Zack Elliott and Harry Wang, as both men have compiled a 4-2 mark in singles play and a 4-2 record as the top pair in doubles. Jacob Edelchik and Jordan Paul also have four wins in singles play, while Matt Kleiman has a 5-1 record. The Mountain Hawks will face the winner of the Army West Point-Loyola on Saturday if they get past the Terriers on Friday. Semifinal matches will be held at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, with the championship scheduled for Sunday at noon.
Women's Tennis
The Lehigh women's tennis team (4-3, 3-2) will compete In its final regular season match of the season on Saturday with a 4 p.m. showdown in Easton against the Leopards of Lafayette. The Mountain Hawks come into Saturday looking to snap a two-match skid after back-to-back losses to Navy and Army. The Brown and White have won the last 16 meetings between the two schools. Freshman Rachel Buchinsky paces the Mountain Hawks with a perfect 6-0 record in singles. Junmoke James and Anshika Singh both have a 3-3 record, while Paula Gonzalez and Ella Imhof are both 2-4 in singles. The top pair of Leighanna Moskos and Gonzalez are 4-3 in doubles. After this weekend's match against Lafayette, Lehigh will travel down to Annapolis, Md. for the 2021 Patriot League Championships, next weekend.
Track and Field
Fresh off of winning 25 total events and having 18 student-athletes set new PRs at the Lafayette Tri Meet last weekend, the Lehigh track and field teams will return home on Saturday as they host the annual John and Carol Covert Classic at the Goodman Track and Field Complex. The Mountain Hawks will welcome in Binghamton, Bucknell, Lafayette, Loyola, Monmouth and Muhlenberg. The field events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. and the track events are scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. This will be the final weekend of competition before next weekend's Patriot League Championships. Notable performances last weekend included Amondo Lemmon winning the 200m and 400m with times of 22.68 and 50.39. Ian Scott also added two wins in the high jump (1.90m) and the long jump (6.53m). Senior leader Brittany Curtin won the hammer with a score of 53.83m, while also winning the discus at 42.05. The senior bumped herself into fourth on the PL list, while also being currently third in the discus. In the 400mH, Kaja Skerlj won with a time of 1:03.92. Skerlj was also a member of the winning 4x400m relay team (4:04.99). Freshman Conor Reilly secured another win on the pole vault. The freshman bested his opponents by clearing 4.63m. Lastly, first-year distance runner Christina Yakaboski earned her first-career win in the 1500m at 4:47.29.
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Softball
/ Women's Tennis
OF
/ Softball
OF
/ Baseball
Throws
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Women's Golf
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Golf
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Sprints
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Women's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Jumps
/ Men's Track and Field
1B/RHP
/ Baseball
Jumps
/ Men's Track and Field
/ Women's Tennis
FO/M
/ Men's Lacrosse
Hurdles/Sprints
/ Women's Track and Field
/ Men's Tennis
Distance
/ Women's Track and FieldUndergraduate Commencement
Sunday, May 18
Graduate Commencement & Doctoral Hooding
Saturday, May 17
Commencement - Undergraduate Degrees
Sunday, May 19
Commencement - Graduate Degrees
Saturday, May 18
