Bergen, Alfsen earn post-season honors

Senior tight end Adam Bergen is snaring post-season honors the way he caught footballs for the Mountain Hawks.
Since Lehigh’s season ended, Bergen has been named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division I-AA Coaches’ All-America Team, the Associated Press Division I-AA All-America first team, and The Sports Network I-AA All-America first team.
Meanwhile, senior defensive end Tom Alfsen was named to the second team Associated Press defensive unit and The Sports Network’s third team defensive unit. Alfsen also was recognized by the Walter Camp Football Foundation as an All-American defensive lineman.
Bergen led the Mountain Hawks and was fourth in the Patriot League with 54 catches for 634 yards and eight touchdown receptions. Bergen’s 54 receptions on the season were more than twice as many as the next two Lehigh receivers combined. The 6-5, 260-pounder also led all I-AA tight ends in both receptions and receiving yards.
The AFCA award is voted on by a committee of coaches who are members of the organization. “Being named to [the AFCA team] is an extremely prestigious honor, because it is voted on by coaches who see the games each week,” Bergen said. “The coaches have really good judgment as far as who is deserving of the recognition, and for me to be among that group is quite an honor.”
Bergen, who earned first team recognition from TSN for the second straight season, is the second player at Lehigh in the past 10 years to be named to the TSN first team, joining Abdul Byron, who was selected in 2001.
Bergen ends his Lehigh career with 149 catches for 1,736 yards and 17 touchdown catches. He will compete in the annual East-West Shrine Game in San Francisco on Jan. 15.
Alfsen returned from injury as a junior to put together quite a stellar senior campaign in 2004. He led the team in tackles for a loss (11) and sacks (10), while ranking second on the squad in total tackles (59). His 10 sacks ranked fourth in the Patriot League.
Lehigh captured a share of its league-best seventh Patriot League title with a 9-3 mark in 2004. The Mountain Hawks have the highest winning percentage of any team in Division I-AA (83.33 percent) over the past seven seasons.