Winter, spring athletes set goals for upcoming seasons

With the fall season coming to an end, winter sports underway and spring schedules announced, Lehigh athletes are preparing for their upcoming winter and spring games with anticipation.

Women’s basketball freshman guard Clair Steele said she is excited to start her Lehigh career on the court. Steele said the team’s main focus is consistency, including staying strong for the entire game.

“I’m really looking forward to growing as a team and as a player,” Steele said. “It’s my first year so there are some things to get used to, but the team is really close this year and I think we can do awesome things.”

Steele said she tries not to set goals concerning scoring, but rather, goals focused on technique.

“I just have little goals, like getting quicker on defense,” Steele said. “Playing against college girls has been so different because they’re so much quicker. But for me, I just want to make a positive impact on the team and be the player that my teammates want to play with.”

Sam Wurth, a sophomore pitcher on the baseball team, said home games are important to boost confidence.  Last season, Wurth said the first half of the season was rough, but the team was able to turn its season around.

“Winning at home is definitely something that we’re trying to improve upon, especially because our home field is so important to us,” Wurth said. “We have one of the best environments in the Patriot League.”

Wurth has already circled the date on his calendar for the team’s match-up against Navy.

“Our best pitcher versus their best pitcher is usually a great battle every year,” Wurth said. “It’s a big energy game, really good offense, really good pitching and really good defense. Those games go by so fast and you don’t even realize you’re playing because it’s just so hyped.”

Junior pole vaulter Caity Reverand said that the women’s track and field team is really excited about its strong freshman class that will help the team as a whole during both the indoor and outdoor seasons. She said the team has high hopes for its upcoming seasons.

“We just started our indoor season, which will definitely prepare us for the spring,” Reverend said. “Some people believe that the women’s team can win indoor Patriots.”

Wurth believes teams must earn the support of fans before expecting large home crowds.

“Having a crowd come to our games is earned,” Wurth said. “As soon as we start winning more we’ll get more of a turnout. We have a very dedicated parent section that comes out to every single game so they all have their own parent tailgates and it’s really fun to be able to count on them. We’re really grateful that our teammates’ parents are able to come out and support us at almost every single game.”