Saturday, April 6
Quakertown, Pa.
Lehigh University
vs
Loyola, Fairfield and Iona
Photo by: Clark Boinis
Lehigh Shows Strong Performances In Season Opener
4/6/2024 9:03:00 PM | Men's Rowing, Women's Rowing
QUAKERTOWN, Pa. – The spring season began for both Lehigh women's and men's rowing, as the Mountain Hawks hosted Loyola (Md.), Fairfield and Iona at nearby Lake Nockamixon. Despite some unfortunate conditions, Lehigh won six of ten races it competed in between both teams.
"Very challenging conditions, but I thought we did an excellent job on retaining focus on a day when the weather stood to be a major distraction," said head coach Peter Costas. "Middle 1000 meters was a battle, and we did a great job hanging in there and responding with toughness."
The women competed in seven different races, finishing in first place in six of them. The Mountain Hawks first faced off against Fairfield and Iona in two eight-person boat races and one four-person boat race. The women's first varsity boat bested second-place Fairfield by only 2.4 seconds while the second varsity boat finished 2.8 seconds ahead of the Stags' second boat. However, Fairfield came away with the win in the varsity four, finishing 19 seconds ahead of second-place Lehigh.
"Despite difficult conditions and unexpected delays, the team raced hard and applied what we have been practicing," said senior Emma Litchfield. "It was really exciting to see our hard work paying off, and I can't wait to see how much farther we can push ourselves with the rest of this season."
Lehigh then faced off against Loyola in four races; two eight-person boats and two four-person boats. The Mountain Hawks comfortably won each race, finishing at least 12.5 seconds in each contest.
"Going into the race, I was super excited to start my first competitive season with the team," said first-year Meghan Hastings. "Through difficult conditions, our boat continued to battle each stroke and set a competitive tone to begin the season. I can't wait to see where the season takes us."
The men's team competed in three races, those being a first varsity race between each school, a second varsity race against Fairfield and Loyola as well as a varsity four race with all schools involved. Lehigh finished a mere 1.5 seconds behind first-place Loyola in the first varsity race while the Mountain Hawks finished in third in the second varsity race. The men also finished in third place in the varsity four race.
"No matter the ultimate outcome of a hard fought race, there are always moments to reflect on and learn from," said sophomore Patrick Flynn. "As a team we are going to continue to build momentum and find speed as we move through the spring."
"Our crew reacted well to the choppy conditions and we were able to find good strokes throughout the piece and respond well to the other crews," said first-year Drew Hetzer. "Today's tough conditions will only improve us for the remainder of the season and I'm extremely exited to see what we can do as a team in the upcoming races."
The women's and men's teams will both be back in action next weekend at the Knecht Cup in Cherry Hill, N.J. Races will take place on both Saturday, April 13 and Sunday, April 14.
"I think we are on a great developmental track," said Costas. "I'm excited to see this young team continue to gel and find confidence in their response to challenges like today."
Like Lehigh Rowing on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
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Results
Â
Women's 1v8+Â
Lehigh 8:08.7
Fairfield: 8:11.1
Iona 8:54.1
Â
Women's 2v8+
Lehigh 8:18.3
Fairfield 8:21.1
Â
Women's V4
Fairfield 9:08.2
Lehigh 9:27.2
Iona 9:53.6
Â
Men's 1v8
Loyola 6:35.9
Lehigh 6:37.4
Iona 6:45.6
Fairfield 6:47.8
Â
Men's 2v8
Fairfield 6:57.4
Loyola 7:01.6
Lehigh 7:12.8
Â
Men's V4
Iona 7:44.8
Fairfield 8:02.3
Lehigh 8:10.5
Loyola 8:47.9
Â
Women's 1v8
Lehigh 8:04.7
Loyola 8:31.5
Women's 2v8
Lehigh 8:16.3
Loyola 8:52.1
Â
Women's V4
Lehigh 9:35.6
Loyola 10:01.2
Â
Women's 2v4*
Lehigh 5:08.6
Loyola 5:21.1
*Race restarted to realign just above the 1000m
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"Very challenging conditions, but I thought we did an excellent job on retaining focus on a day when the weather stood to be a major distraction," said head coach Peter Costas. "Middle 1000 meters was a battle, and we did a great job hanging in there and responding with toughness."
The women competed in seven different races, finishing in first place in six of them. The Mountain Hawks first faced off against Fairfield and Iona in two eight-person boat races and one four-person boat race. The women's first varsity boat bested second-place Fairfield by only 2.4 seconds while the second varsity boat finished 2.8 seconds ahead of the Stags' second boat. However, Fairfield came away with the win in the varsity four, finishing 19 seconds ahead of second-place Lehigh.
"Despite difficult conditions and unexpected delays, the team raced hard and applied what we have been practicing," said senior Emma Litchfield. "It was really exciting to see our hard work paying off, and I can't wait to see how much farther we can push ourselves with the rest of this season."
Lehigh then faced off against Loyola in four races; two eight-person boats and two four-person boats. The Mountain Hawks comfortably won each race, finishing at least 12.5 seconds in each contest.
"Going into the race, I was super excited to start my first competitive season with the team," said first-year Meghan Hastings. "Through difficult conditions, our boat continued to battle each stroke and set a competitive tone to begin the season. I can't wait to see where the season takes us."
The men's team competed in three races, those being a first varsity race between each school, a second varsity race against Fairfield and Loyola as well as a varsity four race with all schools involved. Lehigh finished a mere 1.5 seconds behind first-place Loyola in the first varsity race while the Mountain Hawks finished in third in the second varsity race. The men also finished in third place in the varsity four race.
"No matter the ultimate outcome of a hard fought race, there are always moments to reflect on and learn from," said sophomore Patrick Flynn. "As a team we are going to continue to build momentum and find speed as we move through the spring."
"Our crew reacted well to the choppy conditions and we were able to find good strokes throughout the piece and respond well to the other crews," said first-year Drew Hetzer. "Today's tough conditions will only improve us for the remainder of the season and I'm extremely exited to see what we can do as a team in the upcoming races."
The women's and men's teams will both be back in action next weekend at the Knecht Cup in Cherry Hill, N.J. Races will take place on both Saturday, April 13 and Sunday, April 14.
"I think we are on a great developmental track," said Costas. "I'm excited to see this young team continue to gel and find confidence in their response to challenges like today."
Like Lehigh Rowing on Facebook, follow on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram for continued updates on the Mountain Hawks.
Â
Results
Â
Women's 1v8+Â
Lehigh 8:08.7
Fairfield: 8:11.1
Iona 8:54.1
Â
Women's 2v8+
Lehigh 8:18.3
Fairfield 8:21.1
Â
Women's V4
Fairfield 9:08.2
Lehigh 9:27.2
Iona 9:53.6
Â
Men's 1v8
Loyola 6:35.9
Lehigh 6:37.4
Iona 6:45.6
Fairfield 6:47.8
Â
Men's 2v8
Fairfield 6:57.4
Loyola 7:01.6
Lehigh 7:12.8
Â
Men's V4
Iona 7:44.8
Fairfield 8:02.3
Lehigh 8:10.5
Loyola 8:47.9
Â
Women's 1v8
Lehigh 8:04.7
Loyola 8:31.5
Women's 2v8
Lehigh 8:16.3
Loyola 8:52.1
Â
Women's V4
Lehigh 9:35.6
Loyola 10:01.2
Â
Women's 2v4*
Lehigh 5:08.6
Loyola 5:21.1
*Race restarted to realign just above the 1000m
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
/ Men's Rowing
/ Women's Rowing
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