Lehigh Football Nation

"We knew it would be nice," Lehigh wrestling head coach Pat Santoro said. "But it was even better than we expected." Pat was talking about the reception his Lehigh wrestling squad experienced at Allentown's PPL Center this weekend, when a sellout crowd over nearly 10,000 people came to watch No. 1 Penn State grapple with No. 5 Lehigh in a collegiate wrestling event. It was, by all accounts, something special to behold.  "I thought it was really cool and an exciting place to wrestle," said Penn State wrestler Nick Nevills . "These fans were really into it, a rowdy bunch. It's a lot more fun as an athlete to wrestle in an environment like this. I'd say it was one of the most exciting times I have had in my career." The sense of spectacle at the PPL center, though, puts a spotlight on what more can be done at Lehigh itself to make their athletic contests into spectacles.  It requires money to be spent and energy to be expend...

It's that time of the week where I share with you your weekly Lehigh fan viewing guide for Week 11 of the college football season. But for Lehigh fans, though, with the kickoff of the winter sports season, there's a lot more than just that. Tonight, men's hoops kicks off vs. Minnesota in an attempt to ruin Richard Pitino 's head coaching debut; women's hoops kicks off vs. Niagara, with Matt Markus on the call;  for LehighSports.com; and after Holy Cross is wrestling's first meet of the year vs. Bucknell. To take any of it in here are the links: Friday, 7:00 PM WBB: Lehigh at Niagara: Audio at WLVR.org Video via Niagara/Sidearm Sports Live Stats Friday: 8:00 PM MBB: Lehigh at Minnesota: Audio at ESPN Lehigh Valley Video via ESPN3 Live Stats Saturday, 12:30 PM, Football: Holy Cross at Lehigh: Audio at LehighSports.Com Video via Patriot League Network Live Stats Saturday, 5:00 PM, Wrestling: Bucknell vs. Lehigh: Audio at ESPN Lehigh Vall...

(Photo Credit: NY Times/Emily Dunker/The Minnesota Daily) I am not usually one to rake the NCAA over the coals. As the cops of collegiate athletics, I understand their job is hard, and too many athletic departments are trying to break the rules.  Even if some rules are strange or restrictive, at their heart they are there for good reasons. But they've been slow to adapt in some ways to an ever changing digital world (as Lehigh football fans undoubtedly are well aware). And yesterday, an enforcement case came to light that just begs for commentary. It's the case of Minnesota wrestler Joel Bauman , who was yanked from competing for the Gopher wrestling team for violating an NCAA bylaw.  His crime?  Recording a song and charging 99 cents for it on iTunes.

Lehigh's wrestling and men's basketball teams have one mission this weekend: to travel to the cow pastures in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania and silence Sojka. And no, I don't mean the Polish jazz musician, either. Bucknell's Sojka Pavillion will be hosting two huge events this weekend that are of interest to Lehigh fans: the 107th EIWA Wrestling Championships (which will determine the Lehigh wrestlers that will go on and compete in the NCAA Championships in Philadelphia, PA), and Lehigh's win-or-go-home game against the Bucknell Bison in the semifinals of the men's Patriot League basketball tournament. It's going to be a "deluxe" weekend out in the cow pastures they call Lewisburg, PA for Lehigh fans.  Their goal will be to allow the locals to hear the mooing in the pastures - and keep Sojka's home fans in stunned silence for 72 hours. (more)

It's usually called "March madness", but for the Lehigh men's basketball team it might as well be called "February Madness". "The Rivalry" on the hardwood, of course, would be a big deal even if both teams were winless going into this so-called winter month, with Madness-like temperatures outside possibly reaching 70 degrees. But with Bucknell and American, in effect, locking up the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the Patriot League tournament in March, this weekend's game, televised nationally on CBS College Sports this Sunday at 2:00 PM Eastern, will have gigantic implications for the incredibly valuable No. 3 seed.  The winner will have the inside track at the No. 3 seed, a home game in the first round of the playoffs, and a fighting chance to play in the championship.  The loser could be the No. 5 seed or worse, playing on the road in the first round and facing a very, very uphill climb at a shot at the Patriot League championship. It's ...

In a twist to the famous proverb "revenge is a dish best served cold," an icy, cold, possibly snowy weekend looks poised to have Lehigh's winter sports teams offer sweet revenge against American, the school that has bedeviled the Mountain Hawks and is rapidly becoming a winter sports rival. Before I get to the men's and women's basketball teams, however - who got the better of Lehigh the first Patriot League weekend of the year - it's worth noting that American has something else, too: a squad that head coach Mark Cody took from being on the brink of collapse into one that has produced an NCAA champion ( Josh Glenn , in 2007) and has become a Top 25 powerhouse in EIWA as well.  The Eagle wrestling program sits at No. 18, while Lehigh sits at No. 11. That means the path of all three Winter Sports titles this weekend goes through American. And, by definition, through the small, friendly, raucous confines of tiny Grace Hall at 1PM on Sunday. (more)

So you're sitting there reveling in the fact that Lehigh wrestling just knocked off the No. 1 program in the country last night .  You see that Lehigh women's basketball got back on it's winning ways this Wednesday with a dominant win over Colgate , while Lehigh's men's team slipped to 1-3 in the Patriot League with their big slip at Colgate . It's a big weekend in the Lehigh Valley, with both hoops squads facing off against "that school in Easton".  It's always a big deal to beat the Leopards in all sports, and a sweep this weekend would be particularly gratifying - especially on the men's side. In a weekend filled with "Rivalry"-themed exploits, though, there's another national showcase for Lehigh Athletics that should not be on the TV - or DVR.  It's the East-West Shrine Game in Orlando, Florida, and - for Lehigh fans - OL Will Rackley will be the focal point of the NFL Network broadcast at 4:00 PM. (more)

I found myself saying after this weekend focusing on one positive thing that happened for my teams this weekend: "Well, at least it wasn't Lafayette that performed the double-sweep on Lehigh this weekend." Lehigh's basketball sweep against American was only part of the story, however. In a Wild Card weekend where my defending Super Bowl champion Saints had their hearts broken by a head coach ( Pete Carroll ) that did his best John Calipari impersonation to flee USC in a swirl of NCAA sactions, and ultimately won the game after " off the field thug " RB Marshawn Lynch on Saturday, and a Sunday when QB Michael Vick underthrew a TD pass to secure an excruciating 21-16 defeat at the hands of the Packers, the theme of the weekend would unquestionably be one of collapsing leads and repeated shots to the stomach. (more)

Being a rabid Lehigh sports fan during the holidays can be challenging, especially if you want to have any semblance of a normal home life. With time off my day job to celebrate Christmas - and dealing with the inevitable down-time that is necessary after a grueling four months of football coverage - covering all the goings-on foe Lehigh's winter sports, the final awards for Lehigh's football team and commentary on the wider football world is surprisingly tough, sometimes, to cover. (Add to that the the success this year of the NFL's Eagles and Saints, the Red Sox getting John Lackey and probably losing Jason Bay, and there's more opinions I have than time to post.) Add to that the fact that it's a different world from last with Facebook and Twitter entering the mainstream and the increasing expectation that they are a robust, often-updated tools for fans to use. For the football fan, tomorrow will probably provide a Lehigh mention on ESPN during their broadcast of...

Senior LB Matt Cohen can now add something else to his trophy case: all-American . Cohen becomes Lehigh’s first First-Team All-America since 2004 when DL Tom Alfsen and TE Adam Bergen garnered the accolade from various outlets. Cohen, who is a three time All-Patriot League selection, is just the 14th player in Patriot League football history to be named to the Walter Camp All-America Team, which is voted upon by the head coaches and sports information directors of the FCS schools. Cohen was one of three linebackers from around the nation named to the Walter Camp All-America Team, joining J.C. Sherritt of Eastern Washington and Brandin Jordan of Southern Illinois. A native of Allentown, Cohen led the Patriot League in sacks (9.0) and tackles-for-loss (13.5) marking the second consecutive season he has accomplished that feat. A business supply major, Cohen was the first Mountain Hawk to win a major award from the Patriot League since PK Jason Leo in 2006 and the first Lehigh playe...

There's so much going NCAA championship action on right now that it's almost impossible to cover it all right now. But sure as heck I'm going to try. The NCAA Championships in St. Louis, MO started this morning , with the seven Mountain Hawk qualifiers all wrestling in the first session of competition. And already it's looking very, very promising for Lehigh as unseeded junior 141 lb Seth Ciasulli had a surprise fall against No. 11-seeded Cody Cleveland out of UT-Chattanooga in the morning session and then disposed of Anthony D'Alie out of Eastern Michigan. Junior 184 lb David Craig , seeded No. 8, also took care of business against Virginia's Rocco Caponi. No. 12 seeded senior 149 lb Trevor Chinn advanced after a forfeit by Virginia Tech's Peter Yates, while three qualifiers will try to earn all-American status through the losers' bracket: sophomore 174 lb Alex Caruso, junior 133 lb Matt Fisk , and junior 165 lb Matt Galante . Freshman heavyweight...

It sure didn't look like this was going to be how the Patriot League women's basketball championship would end up going into the tournament. Not so much No. 1-seeded Lehigh's presence in the tournament - but that the opponent is the No. 7 seed Lehigh fans love to hate. My family and I were there yesterday, watching Lehigh overcome a slow start and a three point deficit at halftime to finally overwhelm the Army Lady Knights 61-42 . Facing off against an Army team that beat the Lady Hawks 54-52 at Christl Arena and who gave them a run for their money in a 66-58 game on Valentine's day in Stabler , I was worried about this game from the outset. But the ladies responded with an extraordinary second half where Lehigh shot 57.7% from the field and turned the screws defensively, only allowing 18 points in the second half. The unquestioned hero was senior G Tricia Smith , who came very close to a double-double with 12 points and 9 rebounds. When freshman C Alexa Williams ...

Of all the ation this weekend, it was the match that didn't make ESPNU - the Lehigh grapplers' final home wrestling dual before the EIWA championships in two weeks - that was the story of thw weekend. The Mountain Hawk wrestlers ended their historic dual season in style with a 24-12 win , giving them a perfect dual record against EIWA foes and also set a school record for dual wrestling wins in a season (23). Tied going into the final three matches, it was junior 184 lb David Craig , freshman 197 lb Joe Kennedy and freshman heavyweight Zach Rey who swept the last three bouts to secure the historic win at home. Probably the best match of the afternoon came with senior 149 ln Trevor Chinn, wrestling for the last time in Leeman-Turner arena: Once again the Lehigh fans were on their feet after No. 15 Trevor Chinn earned a tight 3-1 victory over No. 11 Cesar Grajales at 149. Each wrestler earned an escape to start the second and third periods, and with less than one minute remain...

Most of the weekend action will be taking place a day later than usual, but the women's basketball, men's basketball, and wrestling teams all need big wins - and two of them against "that school in Easton", no less. - to go to the Patriot League (or EIWA) tournaments in shape for a shot at the NCAAs. The women's team - who enjoyed their first 20 win season in 19 years with a 71-42 domination of Colgate on Wednesday - look to extend their Patriot League lead Saturday over American (who lost 60-58 in overtime to Army on Wednesday ) at 1:00 p.m. at Kirby Field House where they take on the 8-18 Leopards. While it's tempting to look at the statistics and project an easy Lehigh victory - with the game notes helpfully pointing out that Lafayette's loss to Lehigh triggered a 7 game losing streak for them, and a "tale of the tape" pointing the advantage to Lehigh on *every single statistic* - whenever Lehigh and Lafayette meet in "The Rivalry...

The big news for Lehigh Athletics this weekend was two big home wins for the wrestlers and women's basketball teams - and a tough, shorthanded effort at West Point by the men's basketball team that fell just short. The wrestlers made short work of two EIWA foes on Saturday : winning seven of ten matches against Army (27-12) before drilling Franklin & Marshall (29-18) to cruise to a perfect 8-0 against EIWA foes and an amazing 22-1 overall dual record. Only one dual remains before the EIWA championships and NCAA nationals in March. I mentioned in my preview that Lehigh would need big performances at 133 (with No. 15-ranked Matt Fisk ) and at 165 (with No. 14-ranked Mike Galante ) in order to beat Army, and they delivered with Fisk's pin of Michael McCarthy and Galante's major decision over Mike Gorman for bonus points. Not to be lost, though, in the weekend's bouts were two wins by freshman 157 lb Sean Bilodeau (one for bouns points against Army) and sophomore...

For the Lehigh wrestling team, momentum is something everyone knew about with five straight dual wins and a 20-1 overall record. But after last weekend's double hoops defeat to American last weekend, few dared to hope that both the men's and women's basketball teams would be riding a one-game winning streak going into the weekend. The Lady Hawks, after their 66-48 win over Navy on Wednesday , sport a 7-2 record at sit tied with American at 7-2 atop the Patriot League standings. Leading only by 3 at the break, Lehigh's depth proved to be too much as the Lady Hawks surged to a 30-15 run the rest of the way to put away Navy. Senior G Claire Sullivan contributed 8 assists, while the bench also contributed 12 of Lehigh's 39 rebounds on the game. Junior G Alex Ross (13 points, 4 rebounds) and sophomore G Erica Prosser (15 points, 4 rebounds, 3 steals) had their typical great games as well. (Prosser (pictured) was just featured in a nice article in the Pittsburgh P...

Give the Mountain Hawk basketball team some credit: undermanned in Stabler Arena against the defending Patriot League champions, they had a chance to come away with the biggest victory of the season. But the 13-9 men's hoopsters (Real Time RPI: 225) ultimately couldn't overcome a dismal 18.8% shooting percentage from 3-point range and fell 66-58 to first-placed 15-7 American (Real Time RPI: 85). An early season full of possibilities may be rapidly becoming one of "wait 'til next year". Junior F Zahir Carrington , with 20 points and 11 boards, is clearly one of the premier players in the Patriot League with performances like these. Sophomore G Rob Keefer also stepped up with 12 points, while junior G Marquis Hall added three steals and four assists - but it was defense (allowing 44.2% shooting for American for the game) and rebounding (losing the battle of the boards 36-30) which did in Lehigh on Saturday. And the road gets no easier with a trip to Annapolis ...

Normally I'd do a much more thorough job of this, but considering I've been busy with football recruiting news all week (and not to mention the day job), I'm only going to do a quick preview of this weekend's action - though it's going to be quite a weekend. Start tonight at Turner Arena at Grace Hall, where 19-1 Lehigh will take on Bucknell in a key EIWA battle . While Lehigh is 5-0 lifetime against Bucknell in duals, that hardly means the Mountain Hawks should rest easy: with two nationally-ranked wrestlers, this won't be a cakewalk. Two bouts stand out: No. 15-ranked junior 149 lb Matt Fisk takes on No. 20 ranked David Marble, and No. 12-ranked junior 165 lb Mike Galante takes on No. 14 Andy Rendos, while junior 184 lb David Craig attempts to add to his No. 9 overall ranking by knocking out unranked David Thompson. Next up, the 17-5 Lady Hawks (Real Time RPI: 91) will be competing at American at 4:00 p.m. in what could be their toughest test of the yea...

I'm trying to remember the last time that Lehigh won five different sporting events on the same weekend. I can't think of any time it's ever happened... and if it has, it's doubtful if it involved not one, but two sweeps of "that school in Easton". I'm also trying to remember the last time the Lehigh men's and women's basketball teams all competed in front of crowds more than 1,000 strong. With 1,748 packing into Stabler to see the Lady Hawks, over 3,000 in Easton to see the Lehigh men beat "that school in Easton", and an average of over 1,700 fans in Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall for three wrestling duals on campus - that's got to be some sort of record. Start with the wrestling trifecta this weekend - and while it's not totally unexpected that the Lehigh grapplers beat Drexel , Harvard and Brown on Friday and Saturday, the way they did it - with only six defeats in twenty-seven matches - has to leave smiles with Lehigh wr...

Hard to believe, but the last time Lehigh wrestled at home, the Mountain Hawks were 4-0 with folks intrigued with the potential of this team - but nothing more. Granted, there were indicators that something special was brewing, with an upset win against No. 9 ranked Michigan - but few thought that the Mountain Hawks would be comming back to Leeman-Turner Arena at Grace Hall with a 15-1 record and a No. 8 national ranking. Lehigh will make up for the layoff with three duals this weekend , starting with the one on Friday versus Drexel at 7:00 p.m., and back-to-back duals against Harvard and Brown at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. on Satruday. Lehigh will be favored in all three duals, and has some pretty impressive win percentages against these three schools: try 40-5 combined. (Lehigh is even a perfect 14-0 versus Drexel.) The biggest test will certainly be for freshman 197 lb wrestler Joe Kennedy , who will be lining up against one nationally-ranked wrestler (Drexel's Jon Oplinger) a...