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UB Rowing Equipped For Another Stellar Season

Rudy Wieler

“We are certainly very pleased with the number of athletes that have come out for rowing this year,” head coach Rudy Wieler said. “There have been a fair number of recruits and walk-ons that have come on, and this has given us a total of 69 student-athletes to fill various-sized boats. That’s almost 20 more than we have ever had on a regular basis in the fall. It’s very encouraging.”

With such great numbers comes great freedom, as the Bulls are now able to build a more viable squad, which could equate into strong finishes on the water. After six weeks of grueling training, the 2006-07 rowing team welcomes the competition that lingers on the horizon. Here is a rundown of all three Bulls squads.

Andrew Wieler

Freshmen

The freshman (or novice) boats found great success last spring with only one eight-member boat and one four-member boat competing in action. The 14-athlete roster produced three first-place victories, with the Novice Eight boat taking top honors at the Head of the Ohio and the Syracuse Invitational and the Novice Four boat crossing first in a field of 22 at the Head of the Fish. Freshman coach Andrew Wieler, who coached Buffalo’s Westside U-23 club boat to a second-place finish at the Canadian Henley over the summer, is anxious about duplicating last fall’s results with a slightly larger squad.

“With our roster, the ability to put two eight boats on the water gives us a lot of alternatives with who should be in our first boat and who should be in our second boat. We have a lot of very talented recruits coming in (11) and we’ve picked up some really good walk-ons. The program is advancing very well.”

Elizabeth Ostermeier

Lightweights

Lightweight coach Elizabeth Ostermeier is also benefiting from the growth in roster size, as her boats have also gained the talent and strength to put out top-notch boats.

“The lightweights have also grown in size, and it has given me depth. The depth should help to increase the top end and make both boats faster. For the first time in a while, we have people who are coming in with experience as lightweights, so that should help the program tremendously.”

The lightweights competed strong in the final two races of the spring season, finishing in the middle of the pack at the Metro Championships (3rd of 6) and the Dad Vail Regatta (6th of 12) and gaining the experience needed to compete at a higher level in the fall. The lightweights have added two experienced coxswains and have nearly doubled in size to help the cause. In perhaps the most successful squads in UB rowing history, the varsity eight and second varsity eight groups were top-caliber in its efforts to capture meet victories last season. The varsity eight came out at the starting gun on a ferocious tear, claiming first at the Head of the Ohio with a time of 15:12.3. Later in the spring, the boat would cross the finish line first at the Harvey Cup for the first time in the cup’s history. The team would finish 73-8 on the year. The second varsity squad took gold at the Knecht Cup and Dad Vail Regatta, two of the most prestigious rowing events in the country. On the season, the Second Varsity Eight boat claimed an overall record of 50-8.

Varsity

The varsity squad is equipped with four varsity coxswains and 19 total rowers, which will give them the opportunity to run up to three competitive boats. Junior coxswain and team captain Sher Briggs (St. Catharines, Ontario/West Park SS) bases the newfound flexibility solely on team’s effort in the preseason months.

“It’s been beneficial to juggle our squad around in order to properly prepare to row at our top potential. The opportunity to run three competitive boats is possible due to the hard work the team puts in every day in practice. We are excited for the experience to compete against some of the nation’s best in the fall season.”

Said head coach Rudy Wieler about the fall season, “it’s going to be a hectic next five weeks. We have divided our training program in that process, with five weeks of training, one week to prepare, and five weeks of competitive racing. We would like to come out of that race experience with some pretty good results, then we move forward.”

The team faces stiff competition immediately at the Head of the Ohio in Pittsburgh, PA on October 7, where UB found great success a year ago. The Bulls will send their freshman and lightweight boats to the annual meet, while the varsity squads will race the following day at the Head of the Genesee in Rochester, NY, formerly called the Stonehurst Regatta.

The Freshman squad will have the chance to row for the first time in familiar waters, as it takes on the field at the Head of the Niagara on October 15. The meet is being held at the Westside Boat Club in Buffalo. The Head of the Charles, one of the nation’s top fall races, presents an opportunity for the Bulls to compete against a strong field and come away with favorable results.

“We finished 36th in the Head of the Charles last year, and our hope, certainly, is to move up into the mid or even low 20’s,” Wieler said. “If everything goes well, it may happen.” The Head of the Fish concludes competition for the month of October, only to resume on Nov. 4 in the Syracuse Invitational.

The upcoming fall season will look to provide competitive results for the UB coaching staff, who will prepare the team for a push for NCAA accolades. “As the other coaches have eluded to, we have depth” Wieler said. “We think that we have more talent and strength in the top end, and I think that makes all of us really excited.”