WOMEN'S ROWING

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - The University at Buffalo's crew squads took the waters for the final time this season at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia. UB entered three teams in the weekend competitions that served as the Eastern Rowing Championships with squads from all over the country participating. The Bulls' novice eight squad was the best of the three entries, reaching the finals of its class and finishing fifth overall.

UB's novice eight boat consisting of coxswain Randi Prusak (Attica, NY/Attica), stroke seat Lavoya Reddish (Queens, NY/Hillcrest), seventh seat Kasey Hansen (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima), sixth seat Deanna Knighton (Angola, NY/Lake Shore), fifth seat Michelle Schwach (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy), fourth seat Amy Aldridge (Penfield, NY/Penfield), third seat Melissa Ward (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), second seat Jessica Roman (Spencer, NY/Spencer-Van Etten) and bow seat Sara Sullivan (West Seneca, NY/West Seneca East) won its opening heat on Friday in 7:24.2 with Army (7:26.1) and Kansas (7:33.5) also moving to the semifinal round from the heat. Of the 36 boats entered at the start of the competition, only three were faster in their heats (Purdue, 7:19.4, Coast Guard, 7:11.7 and Ohio 7:23.7).

On Saturday, the squad advanced to the finals with a second place in its heat finishing the course in 6:49.2. Purdue finished ahead of the Bulls in 6:47.8. In the championship race for the Sara Vaughan Trophy, the squad finished fifth in 7:15.0. Purdue captured the title in 7:01.2 with St. Joseph's (7:08.0), Central Florida (7:10.8) and Boston College (7:11.8) also finishing ahead of UB. Delaware (7:20.3) crossed the line in sixth place.

The Bulls' varsity eight of coxswain Katie Johnson (Buffalo, NY/Holy Angels), stroke seat Kali Spoto (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Sutherland), seventh seat Victoria Kolomiets (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland), sixth seat Tracy Clarke (Mt. Sinai, NY/Rockford (MI)), fifth seat Tara Celestini (St. Catharines, Ontario/Sir Winston Churchill), fourth seat Mary Conniff (Camden, NY/Camden), third seat Sara Sheffer (Ft. Edward, NY/Colonie), second seat Sarah Vieira (Pompton Lakes, NJ/DePaul Diocesan) and bow seat Melissa Warhol (Orchard Park, NY/Nardin Academy), finished second in the opening heat in 6:45.0 with Massachusetts (6:38.4) taking first. Of 45 squads entered in the opening round, only three were faster in the heats, UMass, Lehigh (6:41.9), Army (6:40.4). In each heat, the first place team automatically moved to the semifinals with the last place team eliminated and the remaining finishers moving to the repechage.

The Bulls moved into the semifinals with their win in the repechage heat in 7:35.3, nearly ten seconds ahead of second place Western Ontario (7:44.9). However, the squad was eliminated in the semifinal round as they placed fifth of six boats in the heat in 6:43.8. Lehigh, one of only three teams faster than the Bulls in the opening heat, took the semifinal race in 6:33.4.

UB's varsity four of coxswain Tina LaFountain (Scotia, NY/Burnt Hills), stroke seat Courtney Kane (Latham, NY/Shaker), third seat Margaret Siller (Buffalo, NY/Hutch-Tech), second seat Karey Smollar (Guilderland, NY/Guilderland) and bow seat Jessica Barrell (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy) did not move past the first round as they finished third of five squads in their heat, completing the distance in 7:47.3. Only two squads would move to the next round from each heat as Pittsburgh (7:41.1) and Duquesne (7:41.3) advanced with only two-tenths of a second separating the two boats . There were 50 teams entered in the competition with UB's entry placing 21st overall.