Womens swim and dive seeks 15th straight victory over Lafayette

The Lehigh women’s swim and dive team will take on Lafayette College for their 15th annual rivalry meet on Nov. 22. 

The Mountain Hawks are set to face off at 6 p.m. at Lafayette’s Allan P. Kirby Sports Center in Easton, PA for the meet. 

The swim and dive rivalry officially started 14 years ago on Nov. 19, 2010 in Lehigh’s Jacobs Pool. 

Since then, the Mountain Hawks have proven their dominance with 14 straight wins. Lehigh seeks to continue their streak and claim their 15th consecutive win over Lafayette this year.

The women’s team holds an overall winning record of 4-2 for the 2024 season and is tied 1-1 in their conference. They’ve shown winning results in both away and neutral meets but was defeated by Seton Hall University at home. 

Lafayette’s current season record is 0-2. 

Monica Wintermute, a senior captain for the Mountain Hawks, said her role revolves around community. 

As a leader, Wintermute said her goal is to make a lasting impact on the team through her relationships with others. In the upcoming rivalry meet, she said she hopes to encourage her fellow teammates, especially the first-years.  

This season, the Mountain Hawks took on six first-years, which is more than what’s typical.. 

“I love the team,” first-year swimmer Claire Moschella said. “Everyone’s super encouraging, and it’s exciting to be around them and compete alongside them”. 

Moschella said her goals for the rest of the season are to swim well at the Patriot League tournament and have fun. 

Moschella competes in the 100M butterfly, 200M butterfly, medley relay and the 4x100M freestyle relay, andsaid the support from alumni has been uplifting this season. 

Moschella said the swim and dive alumni have been an active network for the team in preparing for the meet. 

“We get emails from alumni that are super encouraging and talk about their experiences in the team and what the rivalry meant to them,” Moschella said. “It’s been really cool to see.”

Whether home or away, she said alumni have been known to pack the steps of the pool deck with signs, cowbells and cheering voices. Some even bring brooms to wave in the air when Lehigh “sweeps” an event. 

In addition to annual alumni attendance, the team has created annual traditions.Junior Anushree Ghate said one tradition, referred to as “Secret Psycher,” involves the team secretly picking each other’s names out of a hat and gifting their teammates little gifts throughout the week.

Ghate said the purpose of this tradition is to encourage each other to swim well and build excitement for competition. She also said she believes the positive energy generated by the team is something that sets them apart from other teams, such as Lafayette.

“Energy is contagious, and this meet every year always has the best energy,” Wintermute said.