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Novice Eight Crew

PHILADELPHIA, PA - The University at Buffalo's novice eight crew won the Sara Vaughan Trophy of the 2005 Dad Vail Regatta on Saturday to cap off competition on the Schuykill River in Philadelphia, concluding the season for the Bulls.

The novice eight team didn't lose a race in winning the school's first championship at the Dad Vails, one of the most prestigious rowing events in the country, since rowing was elevated to varsity status in 1997. After winning their heat on Friday, UB took the semifinal heat in 7:45.96 on Saturday morning to move into the finals. In the championship final, the Bulls coasted to the victory in 7:42.26, 12 seconds ahead of the second, third and fourth place teams, which finished within eight-hundredths of each other. Long Beach State was second in 7:54.32, Connecticut was third in 7:54.33 and Saint Joseph's was fourth in 7:54.41. Bucknell, who UB's novices defeated in head-to-head competition earlier this season was fifth with Michigan State sixth.

"To win the freshman eight in this regatta is an extremely significant step forward for the UB rowing program," said head coach Rudy Wieler. For the spring campaign UB's novice team finished behind only Clemson and Dartmouth in early season outings and two teams, George Washington and Princeton, in the Knecht Cup. The novice eight crew was unbeaten since the Knecht Cup races on April 17, winning a dual-race with Eastern Michigan and its heat at the rain-shortened Metro Cup. "This is bigger than the Metro Championships which we would have won last week. Our freshman eight had a pretty darn good season." said Wieler.

Margaret Devendorf

The novice entry for the Bulls 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).

Devin Broadwell

UB's second varsity eight fell in its chase to capture the Coleman D. Boylan Trophy. The Bulls finished fifth in the six-team championship race in 7:43.38. Purdue captured the title in 7:29.28 with Connecticut second in 7:30.48. 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).

Michelle Schwach

The UB varsity eight squad were unable to advance past its semifinal race on Saturday. The Bulls finished fifth in their six-team heat in 7:46.39 as only the top two teams, Connecticut (7:31.94) and Eastern Michigan (7:36.40) would earn passage into the finals. 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).

With the nine members from the novice boat and Byrnes and Broadwell in the second varsity shell, the Bulls had 11 freshmen reach the finals of the Dad Vail. Assistant coach Andrew Wieler, who oversees the novice training, was instrumental throughout the season in putting the first-year crews through their paces.