WOMEN'S ROWING

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Rudy Wieler

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - Against some of the strongest competition they had faced all fall, including a trio of NCAA National Championship squads, two of which competed in the finals, the University at Buffalo's crew teams raced to some of its best times of the year at the Rivanna Romp in Charlottesville, VA.

The women's competition included squads from Ohio State and host Virginia, both of whom finished in the top six at last season's NCAA Championships as well as Tennessee, another NCAA participant. Duke and Cincinnati, a squad, like the Bulls, relatively new to varsity competition, completed the field.

To save on travel costs, the Bulls did not take their racing shells with them to Charlottesville but through the graciousness of Virginia coach Kevin Sauer and his staff, the Bulls were able to borrow an eight-person and three four-person boats from the Cavaliers. UB supplied the oars.

"They gave us competitive equipment for the race, allowing the coach to tweak and adjust the equipment for our athletes," said Bulls head coach Rudy Wieler.

With the borrowed shells, the Bulls put together some impressive times against a tough field. In the varsity eight race, UB placed eighth among 17 entries, finishing ahead of all three Cincinnati entries as well as many of the other schools' B and C entries. The Bulls finished the course in 13:54.6 while Ohio State's top entry won in 13:07.6. UB's shell consisted of coxswain Dawn Kavanaugh (Grand Island, NY/Nardin Academy), stroke seat Tara Celestini (St. Catharines, Ontario/Sir Winston Churchill), seventh seat Mary Conniff (Camden, NY/Camden), sixth seat Deanna Knighton (Angola, NY/Lake Shore), fifth seat Kasey Hansen (Honeoye Falls, NY/Honeoye Falls-Lima), fourth seat Andrea Lysiuk (St. Catharines, Ontario/Holy Cross), third seat Kali Spoto (Pittsford, NY/Pittsford-Sutherland), second seat Jessica Ecke (Ridge, NY/Longwood) and bow seat Natalie Pugliese (Niagara Falls, Ontario/St. Paul's).

In the varsity four race, the Bulls' top entry consisting of coxswain Kaitlin Buchheit (Amherst, NY/Amherst), Hansen in the stroke seat, Knighton in the third seat, Lysiuk in the second seat and Spoto in the bow seat, registered a seventh-place finish among the 19 crews in 15:39.2. The B entry of coxswain Katie Johnson (Kenmore, NY/Holy Angels) with Celestini in the stroke seat, Conniff in the third seat, Kat Vossler (Jamestown, NY/Falconer) in the second seat and Karen Corey (Kingston, NY/Kingston) in the bow seat was eighth in 15:45.6. The C squad with Kavanaugh at coxswain, Pugliese at stroke, Ecke in the third seat, Michelle Schwach (Buffalo, NY/Nardin Academy) in the second seat and Sara Sheffer (Ft. Edward, NY/Colonie) in the bow seat, took 13^th in 16:14.3. Virginia won the race in 14:56.3, 12 seconds ahead of second-place Tennessee.

With the conclusion of the fall season, Wieler is confident that the weekend was of good use to the Bulls. "Our teams were extremely competitive and the middle of the pack performance in our last regatta of the season augers well for the spring," said Wieler.