South Mountaineer Volume 34, Issue 24

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Volume 34, Number 24
April 7, 1992
Bethlehem, Pa.
LEHIGHLIGHTS
GRAPPLERS   GARNER   GREAT
GPA'S — The Lehigh wrestling team
accumulated a 2.98 overall grade point
average, led by sixteen members with 3.0
or above averages.
among    varsity
squads competing
under the Lehigh
LI nivcrs.it y
Athletic
Department in the
fall   semesicr  of
1991.    The    31
grapplers on  the
rosier rang up a
combined   92.52
Silimperi: scores
major decision on
Dean's List
grade points for an average of 2.9845
during the fall semester beginning August
27. 1992 and ending December 19. 1991.
Leading the contigent was sophomore
190-pounder Anthony Silimperi. who
garnered a 3.94 mark, followed by freshman
Glen Ryen (3.93) and senior Solomon
Fleckman (3.85).
ALUMNI RUN PLANNED — Alamo
Rent a Car will sponsor the fourth annual
Alamo Alumni Run Series in New York
City May 2. The aim of the run is to bring
together groups of college alumni from,
around the country to compete in five-
mile road races on behalf of their alma
maters. The unique format o\' the event
allows individual entrants in various
categories to compete for prizes, and each
racer automatically becomes a team
member for his or her college. Similar
events are scheduled for Boston September
19 aiufSan Francisco October 4. Alamo
Rent A Car encourages all alumni to
come out and "give il the old college try."
as the school with the most entrants receives
a $1500 donation from Alamo and
individual category winners receive free
use of an Alamo rental car. Seven Lehigh
alums ran in last year's New York race.
For further information, contact the Alamo
Rent a Car Public Relations department.
INSIDE the Mountaineer
Back from the brink   2
Women shatter 3 records .... 2
Leigh-Manuel persevered .... 3
'Pards no match for Lehigh.. 3
Tennis moves to 8-2  3
Softball sweeps Fordham .... 3
SCORING PUNCH
A look at the top scorers in Patriot League
men's lacrosse as of March 29:
Player
School
Points
Pat Gilligan
LEHIGH
20
Steve Heller
Army
16
Jeff Jenkins
LEHIGH
14
Phil Mandry
Army
11
Derek Laub
Colgate 11
source: the Patriot League ■
Lehigh overwhelms Lafayette, 11-6
The men's lacrosse team beat
Lafayette and the men's tennis team
downed Fordham to highlight a busy
weekend for Lehigh athletics.
Senior Trip Foster scored three goals
and added an assist to lead Lehigh to an
11-6 win over Lafayette in Easton.
Freshman goalie Dave Siegelaub stoppped
24 Leopard shots to help Lehigh improve
to 3-4 on the season.
The men's tennis team beat host
Fordham Saturday 8-1 to up its record to
7-2 before falling to Army Sunday.
Saturday, the Engineer softball team
swept visiting Fordham 7-0 and 18-5 to
up its record to 8-8 and equal its regular
season victory total of 1991 already.
The Lehigh women's track team
set one relay and two individual school
records Saturday at the Columbia
Invitational in New York City.
For additional game highlights and
team-by-team notes, please see Pages
2-3.
MAKING THEIR GOALS MEAN EVEN MORE
Lehigh women's lacrosse coach Jackie Keeley presents a check to Mary Ann Guro, President of
the Board for the 'Turning Point' Shelter for women and children prior to last Sunday's game
against Penn State. Lehigh raised $1,264 participating in the "Score One for the Homeless"
program by raising pledges for each goal scored during the 1991 season.      -Photo by brian ricker
■ ^i^eT^.^^:;
Lehigh men's lacrosse building from the ground up
Promotion gives McCloskey opportunity to focus on lacrosse program
By STEVEN J. MEST
South Mountaineer Editor
With a newly appointed full-time
head coach and a myriad of improvements
over the past half-dozen years, the Lehigh
men's lacrosse program appears poised
to make a move toward becoming a topflight Division I program.
Not that the Engineers already aren't
top-flight, but any team would welcome
another push in the building process.
Lehigh Director of Athletics Joe Sterrett
gave that when he allowed John
McCloskey — who previously included
head men's soccer coach on his list of
responsibilities — the sole job of men's
lacrosse coach. It was a move made with
every intention of strengthening both the
lacrosse and soccer programs, thereby
providing participating student-athletes
with an even better quality experience.
Coupled with McCloskey's
promotion are improved financial aid
packages geared toward attracting special-
interest students such as athletes, a new
equipment and uniform system installed
by equipment manager Jim Knight and
the use of Murray Goodman stadium as a
permanent home.
"All the factors are in place — now
we just have to see whether we can get it
to the next level," said McCloskey. who
is in his eighth season as head lacrosse
coach. "I want
to win now and
I want to win
next year, but
maybe we're a
couple years
away, so I have
to be patient
and I have to
try and instill
in our players
a sense that
we're going to
give it our all,
but let's allow
them to have
some time to
develop.
That's a fine
b a l a n c i n g
act."
With assistant
Seniors like Pat Gilligan have helped younger players progress during
the period of change in the Lehigh lacrosse program. -Photo by joe ryan
Dean Koski taking over the soccer reigns,
McCloskey is now free to supervise the running
of lacrosse year-round. He can devote his fall
and winter to recruiting and holding practices
and scrimmages.
"Next year should be a good measuring
stick for where we can go." McCloskey said.
"I'll concentrate on strictly lacrosse recruiting.
It'll be the first realistic shot at building a
Division I lacrosse program."
In the meantime, the Engineers continue
to persevere, maintaining a high level of play
even in the face of obstacles they have faced
already this season such as the loss of goalie
Peter Nyland.
"We've had some real good results. Our
seniors have done great job of keeping the
morale of the younger players up," McCloskey
said of his 2-4 team. "I can't speak highly
enough of the people we've had come through
the program."
"We're certainly deeper than we were
three years ago," said senior captain Geoff Hebert,
Lehigh's second-leading scorer last year who
transferred to Lehigh after a year at New
Hampshire. "When I came we didn't even have
three mid(fielder)s."
The Patriot League, featuring one of the
top teams in the nation in I4th-ranked Army,
provides Lehigh a strong schedule and a challenge.
"The Patriot League is one team head and
shoulders above the rest and a good grouping of
teams competitive with each other," McCloskey
said. "We would like to be at the top of that
group.
"My goal, though," said McCloskey, "would
be to get us somewhere near 15 (in the country)
in the next four years. That's really the only way
that I can approach it."