WOMEN'S ROWING

Roster  |  Coaches  |  Schedule / Results  |  News

PITTSBURGH, PA ­ The University at Buffalo opened the 2003-04 crew season with three novice victories as well as three other top-five finishes to propel the Bulls at the Head of the Ohio Regatta in Pittsburgh. The races were held along a 2.5 mile course on the Allegheny River through downtown, starting at the wooded banks at Washington's Landing and finishing directly under the Fort Duquesne Bridge between PNC Park and Heinz Field.

Jessica Ecke

UB picked up victories in the lightweight four, quad four and youth four races. The lightweight four team of Kaitlin Buchheit (Amherst, NY/Amherst) at coxswain, and rowers Jessica Ecke (Ridge, NY/Longwood), Karen Corey (Kingston, NY/Kingston), Kassia Threlkeld (Clifton Park, NY) and Kati Barnum (Clifton Park, NY) placed first in a field of 12 entrants with a time of 16:35 for the course, a full 30 seconds ahead of the second-place crew from Carnegie Mellon. Buffalo's Holy Angels Academy squad finished 10th in the race.

The Bulls also won the quad four race over three other opponents in 16:44. Rowers included Kristen Bender (Hamburg, NY/Frontier), Georgia Maloney (Cortland, NY/Homer Central), Michelle Heller (Fresh Meadows, NY/Benjamin Cardozo) and Joanne Olsen (Niskayuna, NY/Niskayuna). Robert Morris was second in the race in 16:55, followed by entries from the Steel City Rowing Club and Duquesne University. No coxswain is used in this race.

UB's youth four entry, consisting of novice competitors, won its race in 17:31 beating out 21 other squads and winning by 22 seconds over the second-place Steel City entry. The team consisted of coxswain Abbie Potts (Hamburg, NY) and rowers Corrine Blum (Pittsford, NY), Crysten Rushmore (Syracuse, NY), Kaitlin Hambridge (Amherst, NY) and Kelly Botsoglou (Lancaster, NY/Nardin Academy).

The UB entries in the club races posted fourth-place finishes among the 29 crews in both of their races. The club four team of coxswain Dawn Kavanaugh (Grand Island, NY/Nardin Academy) and rowers Chandra Hazey (Riverview, MI/Riverview), Ecke, Natalie Pugliese (Niagara Falls, Ontario/St. Paul's), Kat Vossler (Jamestown, NY/Falconer) and finished in 17:23. The club eight squad finished in 15:29, just 14 seconds out of second-place behind squads from Marietta College (15:15) and the Capital Rowing Club (15:22). The team consisted of coxswain Caitlin Logue (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy) and rowers Hazey, Vossler, Pugliese, Michelle Schwach (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy), Margaret Siller (Buffalo, NY/Hutch-Tech), Jessica Barrell (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy), Emilee Norris (Cheektowaga, NY/Cheektowaga) and Stephanie Spinella (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool). Michigan State cruised to the first-place finishes in both races, taking the club four event in 16:38 and the club eight race in 14:55.

The varsity eight team finished in the middle of the pack, taking fifth place among 10 entries in 16:12, which included a 30-second penalty. The entry was coxswained by Katie Johnson (Kenmore, NY/Holy Angels) and included rowers Kasey Hansen (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima), Tara Celestini (St. Catharines, Ontario/Sir Winston Churchill), Mary Conniff (Camden, NY/Camden), Deanna Knighton (Angola, NY/Lake Shore), Schwach, Kali Spoto (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Sutherland), Andrea Lysiuk (St. Catharines, Ontario) and Sara Sheffer (Ft. Edward, NY/Colonie). Michigan State won the race in 14:41

UB's youth eight team finished sixth among 29 entrants in a 15:58 clocking. Jessica Buchheit (Amherst, NY/Amherst) served as coxswain for the squad. Rowers included Blum, Rushmore, Lysiuk, Katie Noviello (Saratoga Springs, NY), Elizabeth McMahon (West Seneca, NY/Nardin Academy), Threlkeld, Hambridge and Botsoglou. A squad from the St. Catharines Rowing Club won the race in 14:45. The only collegiate team to finish ahead of the Bulls in the race was Duquesne in fifth place in 15:43.

The teams will split up for two separate events this weekend. Novice racers will compete at Buffalo's Head of the Niagara meet, hosted by the West Side Rowing Club on Saturday, October 11, starting at 11 am. The varsity teams will travel to Rochester the following day for the annual Stonehurst Regatta along the Genesee River starting at 9:30 am.