Lehigh teams thrive on their home turf

There’s no place like home, especially for Lehigh’s student-athletes. 

From the football field, to the tennis court, to the wrestling mat, athletes often feel most comfortable when they have fans cheering them on at Lehigh. 

Graduate quarterback Dante Perri, has played in numerous home and away games during his five years at Lehigh, experiencing both competitive atmospheres. 

Perri said it’s important to have cheers and encouragement from Lehigh fans, rather than rivals causing added pressure. 

He said regardless of who attends the home games — students, alumni, faculty or family members — there’s a sense of encouragement from the stands.

“It’s great to be home and in front of people who are rooting for you,” Perri said. 

He said his team has faced many challenges at away games, primarily trying to shut negative voices out of their heads. 

Perri said at away games, fans create distractions. 

He said this messes with players’ focus and attention and negatively impacts their performance.

“It’s a little bit of a hostile environment,” Perri said. “You’re getting people trying to throw you off your game when they are sitting behind your bench.”

Allyce Gaborik, a senior on the women’s tennis team said another disadvantage of playing away from home is the travel because it makes the team unsure of how much time they have to prepare before competing..

“We might have a shorter warm-up if we’re away because we don’t get to control how much time we have,” Gaborik said. “At home, we will know how long we have to warm up before matches, so we will have a better warm-up.”

Beckett Wenger, a junior midfielder, forward and captain of the men’s soccer team has spent hours on buses traveling to away games with his teammates.

“If we need to travel more than three hours, we leave the day (before the game),” Wenger said. “The next day we wake up, do a morning activation and then prepare the entire day.”

He said traveling and being on a bus makes it harder for the team to prepare for a game.

Wenger said there are also disadvantages for away games in  close proximity to Lehigh’s campus. 

He said players have to wake up early, and they often lose valuable hours of sleep. 

Wenger said this affects their ability to be rested for the competition.

Gaborik said it’s advantageous to play at home because players tend to get extra hours of sleep. 

Gaborik said she experiences a sense of community while playing at the Ulrich Varsity Tennis Courts, Lehigh’s home court. 

“You are playing for more than just yourself,” Gaborik said. “You are playing for your school and the other teammates on your team.” 

Gaborik said the cheering and support coming from people other than her teammates makes each player inspired to compete better and win.