Completing her coaching staff for the upcoming 2021-22 season, head coach Sue Troyan announced two new additions to the Lehigh women’s basketball program.
Former forward and Lehigh Valley native Meagan Eripret ’19 has been hired as the Mountain Hawks’ Director of Basketball Operations and Zach Lawless comes on as the program’s Video Coordinator.
Eripret and Lawless join a staff consisting of Troyan, Addie Micir, Glenn Rigney and Bernadette Devaney.
Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English from Lehigh in 2019 and earning a master’s degree in Elementary Education from Lehigh in 2020, Eripret returns to the program she’s grown up in as the new Director of Basketball Operations. She comes back to Bethlehem following a year in Tarbes, France where she played professionally for Basket Club Lourdais while simultaneously being a part of the faculty at Institution Jeanne D’Arc, aiding in a variety of ways including teaching English.
“I’m very excited to be back with my Lehigh women’s basketball family,” Eripret said. “I’ve been a part of the program as a fan, a recruit, a player and an alum, so I can’t wait to take on yet another a new role.
“My fifth-year season was cut short due to COVID and I had to watch last year’s championship run through a screen, so I’m pumped to be able to be present as we go for the repeat. Lehigh is a place that has always felt like home to me and I’m so grateful that Coach Troyan has given me another opportunity to be a part of this incredible program.”
Eripret finished her five-year career with the Mountain Hawks in 2020 after playing in 87 contests with 133 career points and 136 rebounds over four seasons. She played a career-high 27 games in her final season, averaging 6.3 minutes per contest.
“We are thrilled that Meagan will be joining our coaching staff this year as our DOBO,” said Troyan. “Meagan possesses a great understanding and passion for Lehigh, our program and the student-athlete experience. This coupled with her career aspirations as an educator, make her a great fit and addition to our staff and department.”
For the first time ever, the program has hired a Video Coordinator as Zach Lawless brings his expertise to Troyan’s program for the upcoming season.
Lawless, a Bethlehem native, comes to Lehigh from Boston College, where he served as the Assistant Video Coordinator for the women’s basketball program, also serving as the team’s manager since 2018.
“We’re excited for Zach’s willingness and ambition to serve in this volunteer role on our staff,” Troyan said. “Zach brings some unique experiences to our program with his work in the video area at Boston College. We feel like he will be an important addition to our staff as it relates to player development through the use of video analysis.”
As the Mountain Hawks’ video coordinator, Lawless will handle the filming of practices and games, scouting video for other teams, making individual tapes for the athletes to use for game preparation and aid in social media photo and video production.
“I am incredibly excited to join Coach Troyan and her wonderful staff,” said Lawless. “It’s an honor to join such a prestigious program in my hometown of Bethlehem and I can’t wait to get to work with such a talented group.”
Lehigh is a familiar place to Lawless, as he was an Athletic Department Intern under Dean of Athletics Joe Sterrett in the summer of 2019. In addition to his role with the women’s basketball program, he will also serve as the Graduate Assistant with the Lehigh women’s golf program.
