WOMEN'S ROWING

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Michelle Schwach

BOSTON, MA – World Series play for the first time since 1986 was not the only major event going on in Boston over the weekend. The 40th Annual Head of the Charles Regatta, one of the most prestigious rowing events in the country also concluded on Sunday with the University at Buffalo crew squad scoring its best-ever finish in the Collegiate 8 race.

UB finished fourth overall among 50 entries in the Collegiate 8 race featuring some of the top women's teams in the country. The Bulls completed the course in a total adjusted time of 13:17.745, just two seconds behind third-place West Virginia (13:15.854) and three seconds ahead of fifth-place San Diego State (13:20.170). A squad from the Minerva Rowing Club, the Dutch collegiate champions, won the race in 12:50.999 with Louisville finishing second in 12:57.577. The UB entry consisted of stroke seat Sandra Kisil (Hamilton, Ontario/Westdale SS), seventh seat Kali Spoto (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Sutherland), sixth seat Corrine Blum (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Sutherland), fifth seat Kasey Hansen (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima), fourth seat Michelle Schwach (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy), third seat Deanna Knighton (Angola, NY/Lake Shore), second seat Tara Celestini (St. Catharines, Ontario/Sir Winston Churchill) and bow seat Natalie Pugliese (Niagara Falls, Ontario/St. Paul's) with coxswain Sher Briggs (St. Catharines, Ontario/West Park).

The fourth-place finish by the Bulls represented the team's best effort at the regatta and the first time a UB crew has earned a medal at the Head of the Charles. In 2002, the Bulls finished fifth in the Collegiate 8 race while last season UB placed sixth.

The Bulls also fielded a squad in the Youth 8 competition which included 52 entries. UB finished 15th overall in an adjusted time of 13:56.920, but seventh among college squads with Virginia (fourth), Brown (fifth), Radcliffe (sixth), Duke (seventh), Yale (ninth) and Boston University (11th) posting better times than the Bulls. A squad from Community Racing Inc. - Youth Program, Boston high school squad, won the race in 13:07.580. UB's entry included stroke seat Crystal Byrnes (Ballston Spa, NY/Saratoga Springs), seventh seat Darcie Bryant (Syracuse, NY/C.W. Baker), sixth seat Nicole Cyr (Groton, NY/Dryden), fifth seat Mia Pavletic (Grand Rapids, MI/Forest Hills Central), fourth seat Jackie Stone (Syracuse, NY/Nottingham), third seat Maggie Fairgrieve (Fort Erie, Ontario/Lake Shore Catholic), second seat Jessica Hughes (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool), bow seat Beth Gaworecki (Syracuse, NY/C.W. Baker) and coxswain Margaret Devendorf (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool).