South Mountaineer Volume 32, Issue 29

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Volume 32, Number 29
June 6,1990
Bethlehem, Pa.
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From the Director s desk
Fall
iSoccer
► Field Hockey
► Football
►Volleyball
►Tennis
►Cross Country
Winter
Basketball
Wrestling
Swimming
Indoor Track
Spring
• Baseball
• Softball
• Golf
•Lacrosse
• Tennis
• Track
My first year in the Director's chair has been one of enlightenment,
enthusiasm, sobering realization, but most of all encouragement. I
believe I understand our challenges better and though the tasks ahead of
us are not going to involve simple solutions, I believe they are achievable.
Our vision for an athletics program that is successful in our educational
obligations and opportunities is a realistic vision. But the process for
getting there will indeed require an integrated and cooperative effort by
people who truly believe in the value of an appropriately dirested athletics
program.
The 89-90 year marked some outstanding achievements by our
athletics programs and by our student-athletes. First year coaches in seven
of our 22 sports won 62 percent of their contests. While we earned three
conference championships, (Women's Tennis, Men's Basketball [regular
season], and Golf), a national wrestling individual championship (Matt
Ruppel), a coach of the year award (Dave Duke in Men's Basketball), a
player of the year award (Sherie Androlewicz in Women's Basketball), I
am most proud of the exceptional scholarship and leadership recognition
earned by Lahigh student-athletes. Three of our students earned conference scholar-athlete of the year honors (Jennifer Jacobson in Tennis, Scott
Ferguson in Golf, and Rob Varano in Football [Patriot League]), and
seven Lehigh student athletes received the ECAC Merit Medal for
Scholarship and Leadership, (Ayres Boswell [X-C/Track], Paul Van
Wagenen [X-C/Track], David Norwood [Baseball], Jennifer Jacobson
[Tennis], Matt Ruppel [Wrestling], Paula Gross [Tennis], and John
Epperly [Wrestling]). Rob Varano was named to the Academic All-
America team in Football, Kyle Boschen (Soccer) won the University's
Bosey Reiter Cup for all-around leadership and scholarly attainment, and
six student-athletes were named finalists for prestigious undergraduate
merit awards presented by the alumni association during reunion. We've
got great young men and women here at Lehigh and this year provided
outstanding evidence of that fortune.
Next year our challenges become greater but also more exciting. Our
search for a Patriot League Championship broadens to 21 of 22 sports.
To our long time East Coast Conference rivals Bucknell and Lafayette
we'll add the competitive programs at Colgate, Holy Cross, Fordham,
Army and in the 91-92 year, Navy. This league is now and will continue
to become one of the finest collections of properly focused institutions
(and athletics programs) in the country. We are proud to be a part of the
Patriot League and look forward to many years of successful competition.
It won't come easy and it will demand a level of resourcefulness that
we have yet to reach. To begin to address those challenges we have
realigned a good bit of our staff and we have internally reallocated most
of our university-provided departmental resources. We have also asked
our alumni and friends, most especially our former varsity athletes, for
their help to make up the projected difference to our resource needs.
I believe the foundation we have laid is a solid one upon which we
can build a strong and stable program. And, I am most encouraged by the
initial response of our alumni, friends, and even parents to our call for a
partnership to continue our progress. That progress, our athletic growth,
will not so much be growth up as it will be growth out. Our achievements
will be less singular (though not less substantial) than comprehensive.
We expect student-athlete achievement we experienced this year to be our
model for the years to come (and I thank those seniors who established
that model for their special role in our effort). We'll all share in the
satisfaction that will come from it-staff, faculty, alumni, friends, parents,
and most of all student athletes-and I think we'll all enjoy it too.
Bring on the Patriot League and bring back our athletic alumni! "90-
91" is going to be a fun ride that you won't want to miss!
Utt. JSttMitir