Bulls are Overall Point Champions of the Dad Vail Regatta

Buffalo earns school’s first ever Jack & Nancy Seitz Trophy

Dad Vail Regatta Team Champions

PHILADELPHIA, PA – The University at Buffalo women’s rowing team won the overall point championship of the Dad Vail Regatta - North America’s largest collegiate rowing regatta - over the weekend. The Bulls earned the prestigious Jack & Nancy Seitz Trophy by placing four boats in the finals, more than any other school at the event, and posted some top results at one of the most competitive regattas in the country.

“We became a team today,” head coach Rudy Wieler said. “Up until this year, we had good individual results, but this year we succeeded as a team. Warde Manuel is asking for championships and we delivered.”

The Bulls earned the overall points championship with 21 total points. Purdue finished second with 18 points and Grand Valley was third with 16.

Recent winners of the Seitz Trophy include Ohio State, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Purdue.

The Varsity Eight boat which consisted of Sher Briggs (St. Catherines, Ontario, West Park), Tara Rudkoski (Merrick, NY/Calhoun), Bridget Yannes (Edgewater Park, NJ/Holy Cross), Alana Sharpe (St. Catherines, Ontario/Governor Simcoe), Brittany Aiello (Lancaster, NY/Clarence), Melina DiCosimo (Niagara Falls, Ontario/St. Paul), Cathleen Streicher (West Seneca, NY/Sacred Heart Academy), Lauren Sexton (Niagara Falls, Ontario/St. Paul) and Kelsey Tretter (Rochester, NY/Brighton) finished in fourth place in the grand final after winning their semifinal race over San Diego. In the finals, the Bulls finished at 6:42.13, which was six second more than Purdue and they were also just behind Sacramento and UC-Davis.

In the women’s Novice Four, which consisted of Nicole Habermehl (Cheektowaga, NY/Cleveland Hill), Patricia Arcuri (Niagara Falls, Ontario/St. Paul), Megan Bayley (St. Catherines, Ontario/Governor Simcoe), Shenita McLean (Buffalo, NY/Leonardo DaVinci) and Ewelina Kotowska (East Meadow, NY/East Meadow) the Bulls finished in third place at 7:31.66, which was behind Duquesne and Tulsa.

UB’s JV Heavyweight Eight boat also finished in third place in their grand final as the boat of Margaret Devendorf (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), Morgan Witte (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker), Jessica Hughes (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), Lindsay DiCosimo (Niagara Falls, Ontario/St. Paul), Francisca Nwoke (Rosedale, NY/Hillcrest), Sasha Bailey (Orchard Park, NY/Orchard Park), Ashley Hanhurst (Highland, NY/Highland), Maggie Fairgrieve (Fort Erie, Ontario/Lake Shore Catholic) and Samantha Masucci (Liverpool, NY Liverpool) finished at 6:42.93, which was two seconds behind UMass and six seconds behind Purdue.

UB’s Lightweight Eight boat finished in fourth place in their grand final at 7:04.57, which was behind Ohio State, Virginia Tech and South Florida. Also competing at the regatta was the Heavyweight Four boat, which made it to the semifinals of their respective race.

The Dad Vail Regatta wraps up another successful season for the UB rowing team.

Varsity Eight
Semifinals:
1. Buffalo - 6:17.56
2. San Diego - 6:20.05
3. Saint Marys - 6:27.02

Finals:
1. UC-Davis - 6:34.01
2. Sacramento - 6:35.76
3. Purdue - 6:36.89
4. Buffalo - 6:42.12

JV Heavyweight Eight
Semifinals:
1. Buffalo - 6:29.03
2. St. Joseph's - 6:34.41
3. San Diego - 6:39.75

Finals:
1. Purdue - 6:36.29
2. UMass - 6:40.48
3. Buffalo - 6:42.69

Novice Four
Semifinals:
1. Buffalo - 7:22.48
2. Emory - 7:22.54
3. Pittsburgh - 7:29.48

Finals: 1. Tulsa - 7:19.59
2. Duquesne - 7:26.65
3. Buffalo - 7:31.76

Lightweight Eight
Semifinals:
1. Central Florida - 6:32.87
2. Buffalo - 6:49.29
3. Duquesne - 6:52.71

Finals:
1. Central Florida - 6:45.10
2. Virginia Tech - 6:56.66
3. Ohio State - 7:01.07
4. Buffalo - 7:04.57

Heavyweight Four
Semifinals:
1. Jacksonville - 7:02.68
2. Long Beach - 7:07.46
3. Penn State - 7:16.25
6. Buffalo - 7:26.13

05/11/2008