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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – The biggest day of the year for Lehigh women’s rowing team is Friday, as the Mountain Hawks head to Cherry Hill, New Jersey for the Patriot League Championships on the Cooper River. Heats begin at 8 am with the Varsity Four, with the Petite Finals beginning at 12:30 pm and Grand Finals starting at 1:15 pm
Over the past several years, Lehigh has been raising the bar at the championships. Most recently, last season, the Mountain Hawks picked up their highest-ever finish in the Varsity Four (fourth). The previous championships (2019), all Lehigh boats made their grand finals for the first time in program history. The year before that (2018) featured the Mountain Hawks’ first two medals at Patriots in program history (with both the Varsity Four and Second Varsity Eight placing third).
We caught up with head coach Brian Conley and senior Tori Dorn ahead of the @PatriotLeague Championships on Friday!#GoLehigh pic.twitter.com/Nze6OgVDpf
— Lehigh Rowing (@LehighRowing) May 12, 2022 This year’s team has been as determined as ever to put out its best performance on Friday.
“We’ve really developed over the course of the entire year,” said Lehigh head coach Brian Conley. “We’ve been known to do that over the years – getting faster and faster. I think we are currently at our best for the year. Especially after coming off Bucknell, all three boats really showed their best speed at that point. I think the last two weeks, we’ve found some more speed, so I’m excited to see them race.”
Last time out, all three Mountain Hawk boats were neck-and-neck at Bucknell in races decided by just a few seconds. Like all of Lehigh’s boats, the Varsity Eight – which won Patriot League Boat of the Week in late April – is rowing its best. The crew is looking to do something no Lehigh Varsity Eight has done before.
“Their whole goal all year long has been to medal at Patriots, if not win it,” said Conley. “And they’ve put in the work to do that. This is probably the fastest Varsity Eight we’ve ever had. Definitely in terms of erg scores, this is by far the fastest Varsity Eight we’ve ever had. If they put together their best race, anything can happen. I’m really excited to see the seniors have a great final hurrah on the Cooper River this weekend.”
Meanwhile, the Second Varsity Eight is also coming into its own.
“The 2V has struggled a little bit all year in terms of finding consistency, and their power and their rhythm, but the last couple weeks, they’ve really started to find that consistency,” said Conley. “Now it’s just a matter of putting it together on race day. It’s a pretty young boat, so not surprised by the inconsistency throughout the year, but they’ve developed and found more speed at this point in the year.”
There’s a lot of reason for excitement with the Varsity Four as well, and the way they’ve approached this season and progressed.
“The four is always the wild card at the championship and they’ve embraced the idea that they’re just going to come out and take the bull by the horns,” said Conley. “They’re always smiling at practice and because they’ve had a great attitude, they’re going a lot faster than I think a lot of people expected. They’re going to surprise some crews on Friday.”
More than skills developed and results seen this spring, there’s reason for optimism about the collective group for another reason.
“The tangible piece is the work they’ve put in,” said Conley. The Varsity Eight is the fastest group we’ve ever had, and then the intangibles are having good relationships off the water and being willing to work together.”
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