WOMEN'S ROWING

Roster  |  Coaches  |  Schedule / Results  |  News

PHILADELPHIA, PA ­ The University at Buffalo women's rowing teams opened the highly-competitive Dad Vail Regatta with some strong performances on Friday advancing one boat straight into the finals and two others into semifinal races.

Crystal Byrnes

UB's second varsity eight earned a trip to Saturday's finals with its second-place finish in its heat. The Bulls finished in 7:49.66, less than eight seconds behind first-place Connecticut. UB's time was identical to the time posted by Eastern Michigan in winning its heat. With 16 total entries in three heats, the top two finishers in each heat automatically move into the championship finals. The UB entry included coxswain Caitlin Logue (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy), stroke seat Emilee Norris (Cheektowaga, NY/Cheektowaga), seventh seat Crystal Byrnes (Ballston Spa, NY/Saratoga Springs), sixth seat Kat Vossler (Jamestown, NY/Falconer), fifth seat Alexis Grates (Fredonia, NY/Fredonia), fourth seat Joanne Olsen (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna), third seat Devin Broadwell (Canandaigua, NY/Marcus Whitman), second seat Bonnie McVicker (Syracuse, NY/C.W. Baker) and bow seat Jessica Barrell (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy). The championship race for the Coleman D. Boylan Trophy is slated for 2:30 pm on Saturday.

Jill Harclerode

The UB novice eight team won their heat in relative ease. UB took the six-team opening heat in 7:36.19 with Bucknell second in 7:47.28 and Tulsa third in 7:55.12. The top three finishers in each heat advance to the semifinal races. UB's time was the fastest recorded in the six heats which consists of 36 schools. The UB entry included coxswain Margaret Devendorf (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), stroke seat Maggie Fairgrieve (Fort Erie, Ontario/Lake Shore Catholic), seventh seat Paige Baritot (Orchard Park, NY/Buffalo Seminary), sixth seat Mia Pavletic (Grand Rapids, MI/Forest Hills Central), fifth seat Nicole Cyr (Groton, NY/Dryden), fourth seat Jill Harclerode (Portland, OR/Westview), third seat Jackie Stone (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham), second seat Jessica Hughes (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) and bow seat Darcie Bryant (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker). The semifinals are Saturday morning with the final race for the Sara Vaughan Trophy scheduled for 1:45 pm.

Kali Spoto

The UB varsity eight squad finished second in its opening heat and were forced into the repechage races in order to reach the finals. UB, seeded third overall among the 33 entries finished behind 10th-seeded Villanova by just 4.5 seconds. UB completed the 2,000-meter course in 6:52.50 while the Wildcats finished in 6:48.03. In the repechage, UB again placed second in its heat, this time behind Saint Joseph's by an even closer margin, 2.6 seconds. UB finished in 7:20.04 to the seventh-seeded Hawks' 7:17.42. The UB entry consisted of coxswain Sher Briggs (St. Catharines, Ontario/West Park SS), stroke seat Tara Celestini (St. Catharines, Ontario/Sir Winston Churchill), seventh seat Chandra Hazey (Riverview, MI/Riverview), sixth seat Kasey Hansen (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima), fifth seat Natalie Pugliese (Niagara Falls, Ontario/St. Paul's), fourth seat Deanna Knighton (Angola, NY/Lake Shore), third seat Michelle Schwach (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy), second seat Kali Spoto (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Sutherland) and bow seat Corrine Blum (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Sutherland). UB is among 18 teams that will race in Saturday morning's three semifinal races. The top two finishers from each race move into the finals for the Evelyn Bergman Trophy.

Abbie Potts

In the lightweight four races, UB finished third in its heat in 8:22.33 behind Carnegie Mellon (8:10.02) and Georgia Tech (8:17.23). The top two finishers in each heat advanced into the finals leaving the Bulls behind, although UB's time was faster than the second-place finishers in the other heats, Pittsburgh (8:22.99) and Jacksonville (8:23.83). Making up the UB shell were coxswain Abbie Potts (Hamburg, NY/Hamburg), stroke seat Katie Barnum (Clifton Park, NY/Shenendehowa), third seat Karen Corey (Kingston, NY/Kingston), second seat Caitlin Hambridge (Amherst, NY/Holy Angels Academy) and bow seat Beth Gaworecki (Baldwinsville, NY/C.W. Baker).