Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 - (Page 15)

swimming SWIMMER FINDS BETTER BALANCE Toward the end of her freshman year at Penn State, Melanie Rolish ’08, a seasoned swimmer, knew better than anyone that it was time to change lanes. At Penn State, a big-time program in a big-time conference (the Big Ten), Rolish felt that she was being asked to sacriﬁce some of the most valued aspects of college life—schoolwork, friends, and staying healthy—to be in the pool. Rolish ﬁnally came to the realization that the sacriﬁce was too great and decided to transfer. “I decided toward the end of my freshman year that Penn State was not the best fit in terms of the dynamics between athletics and academics,” Rolish says. “I wanted a better balance between the two where academics took priority over any athletic commitment.” Rolish, an economics major in the business school, found that “better balance” at Lehigh, where she discovered that managing her studying time, athletic victories, and the occasional social event was much more feasible than before. Needless to say, Lehigh’s swimming coach, Rob Herb, was thrilled with Rolish’s decision to depart After transferring to Lehigh, Rolish dove into the school’s academic and from PSU’s nationally ranked team athletic opportunities. to pursue life as a Mountain Hawk, holder in the 100- and 200-yard backstroke, a decision Rolish based primarily on Lehigh’s was on the team and because Rolish’s younger elite academic curriculum. sister, Allison, entered Lehigh in 2006 as a ﬁrst“Her decision to come to Lehigh from Penn year student and is now a sophomore freestyle State was all about school,” Herb says. “Mel knew that the team could offer her what she specialist on the swim team. needed to be successful, but without our busiDespite the familiar faces when she arrived ness school it may have been somewhere else.” on South Mountain from Mount Nittany, RolShe immediately felt at home, in part beish endured an adjustment period in coming cause Cherry Hill (N.J.) West High School from Penn State, where a whopping 40,000 stuteammate Julie Mitchell, the Lehigh record dents attend and where entry-level classes can be more populated than some of the South Jersey towns near her native Cherry Hill. The contrast with Lehigh’s charming Asa Packer CAPTAIN MARVEL campus, which has only about one-tenth as many undergrads as Penn State, was striking. Lehigh softball coach Fran Troyan doesn’t hand out the uniAs she suspected when she made the form No.1 to just anyone. switch, the academics have been more rigor“It takes a real special person to wear No.1,” says ous at Lehigh. “Athletes at Lehigh don’t receive Troyan. “It’s a conﬁdent number, an ‘I-know-I’m-good’ type special treatment,” Rolish says. “Lehigh gives of number.” much more independence and forces studentWhen Kate Marvel, an all-state centerfielder from Red athletes to be on a much more equal ﬁeld with Bank (N.J.) Catholic High School who hit an eye-popping .631 as a high school senior, chose Lehigh over Big East schools nonathletes.” Villanova and DePaul four years ago, Troyan knew that he had landed a No.1–worthy player. To make the juggling act work, she has been “I normally get either number 1 or 2, because those are generally the smallest uniforms,” forced to think outside the box—which has Marvel says, who is just over 5 feet. meant countless early mornings and late nights Though small in stature, Marvel has blossomed into a big-time star. In 2007, Marvel, a threein the pool for Rolish, in order to log the approtime ﬁrst-team All-Patriot League selection, was the league’s Player of the Year after she was priate swimming mileage each week without ﬁrst among Patriot League players in hitting (.415), runs scored (37), and triples (8) and tied compromising her studies. for the league lead with 61 base hits. That approach has worked as Rolish has A team captain, Marvel isn’t a rah-rah type of leader. Instead, she leads with her deeds. made quite a splash at Lehigh. At the 2007 Pa“Kate works hard everywhere from the classroom to the weight room,” says Troyan, who triot League championships, Rolish landed a points out that Marvel’s in-the-gap power that helped her lead the nation in triples last seasecond- and third-place ﬁnish in the 200-yard son is a testament to her work ethic in the weight room. Marvel hopes that her punch-thebreaststroke (2:18.79) and the 100-yard breaststroke (1:04.33), respectively. These clock ethos will pervade what is a younger than usual Lehigh team in 2008. times were not only Lehigh school records, but “Kate’s combination of bat speed and power is what sets her apart,” Troyan says. “Kate both met the USA Swimming national qualiis one of the best players, if not the best, that I’ve ever coached.”—Bill Doherty fying times.—Alexandra Valasek winter 2008 15

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008

Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008 Contents From the President's Desk Mailbox On Campus Research Arts & Culture Sports Ugly is in the Eye of the Beholder Fitch's Law of Motion A Blessing to the Community The Amidonian Acclamation China Trip Bridges Cultures, Generations From the Publisher's Desk Alumni News The Last Word

Alumni Bulletin - Winter 2008

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