South Mountaineer Volume 31, Issue 19

              Volume 31, Number 19
March 1,1989
Bethlehem, Pa.
Towson Tigers
pounce on LU
After an 81-69 loss to Towson, the
men's basketball team has a big
job ahead as it prepares for the
ECC Tournament this weekend.
By Adam Fenton
South Mountaineer
Playtime is over for the Lehigh basketball
team and it's time for them to throw out the
records and get down to business. With the East
Coast Conference Tournament approaching this
weekend, the defending champs have their work
cut out for them.
With an 81 -69 loss to Towson State last
Saturday, the Engineers finished seventh in the
conference giving them the chance to play the
second-seeded Tigers again in the first round of
the tournament (March 4-7 at Towson St.).
The Engineers are 2-1 against Towson in
tournament play, including last year's 84-78
victory in the finals, but both squads are completely different this time around.
Lehigh is young and lacking in depth due to
five season-ending injuries. At times, first year
head coach Dave Duke has had four freshmen in
the lineup at once.
Junior point guard Scott Layer's tournament
experience will be relied upon heavily to lead the
team. He is the only returning starter. Layer
scored 50 points in the last four games, including
9-19 from three point range.
"I just want to be a leader out there and let my
play do the talking for me," he said.
See ECC page 4
Photography by Joe Ryan
Dozie Mbonu is head and shoulders over a
Hostra defender as he shoots for two.
Winning exit
Grapplers 33-14 over F&M
By Megan Culhane
South Mountaineer Editor
By all accounts Lehigh's 33-14 slaughtering of
EIWA foe Franklin & Marshall was the best way to
head out of its dual meet season. And at 4-12, what
a tumultuous season it was.
"All year long we lose to all the biggest schools
in the country, with scholarships and we got
reporters all over coach (Tom) Hutchinson after
those matches, nailing him with a thousand questions," Solomon Fleckman questioned. "We just
kicked the crap out of F & M and nobody shows up
to ask him anything. I thought it was great that we
won."
On paper, this year's slate was the worst dual
meet season in Lehigh history, sinking past last
year's 5-11 record, but along the bumpy road it was
evident that there was something about this particular team that wouldn't let it quit.
The tables were turned in this dual, however.
For the first time in a long time, it was the visitor
who couldn't field an entire lineup as Franklin &
Marshall forfeited both its 118 and heavyweight
bouts. Key matches at 126, 142 and 190 wrapped up
the tidy win for the Engineers.
John Epperly's pin at 126 launched the score to
12-0 before F & M's Jim Duque decisioned Nate
Kerstetter, 9-4 at 134. Joe Herrmann then majored
Mick Gross, 19-4 and Fleckman and Ruppel
followed with wins of 8-2 and a technical fall in
(25-8 in 6:59) respectively.
At 177, in his first varsity match, Chris Knapp
stepped in for Lehigh to fill a season-long deficit
since Derek Brophy's absence. Although the junior
See GRAPPLERS page 3
SPORTS INSIDE
Revenge is sought by Lady
Cagers who will play Lafayette on
Thursday in the first round of the
ECC Tournament see page 3
Sports roundup: highlighting the
achievements of swimmers and
track stars see page 3
The tentative lineups for the 85th
EIWA Tournament are revealed
see page 4
A look at the competition
The 85th EIWA tournament
By Megan Culhane
South Mountaineer Editor
This year, the homestretch to the winners
circle of the 85th EIWA tournament is filled
with hurdles. In the ranks there is a national
champion in ESUs Jack Cuvo (118), a
nationally ranked team in Syracuse, who is
19th according to Amateur Wrestling News,
and plenty of national talent. As was the case
last year, when Lehigh ran away with the
championship title, a dual meet record is no
indication of what a team is capable of come
tournament time.
There is no easy way to capsulize the
talent that will be in Stabler Center on March
3-4, but the following is a summary of what the
league has to offer.
ARMY - Gone are EIWA heavyweight
champ Dave Bottcher and third place finisher
Ed Hartford (126) for the Cadets, but runnerup
Paul Kuznik (126) and John Rippley (third at
158) both return. Kuznik returned to the
Cadet's lineup for the first time at the Wilkes
dual meet (Feb. 15) after battling with an early
season neck injury; his record stands at 1 -2-1.
Rippley had won 18 straight bouts in
mid January to carry a 30-3 record with him.
See TOURNAMENT page 2