The UB women's rowing team followed its impressive showing at the Head of Ohio tournament last week with an equally respectable outing at the 17th annual Stonehurst Capital Invitational Regatta in Rochester on Sunday. The regatta spans the Genesee River in Rochester and is co-hosted by the University of Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology.
The invitational featured many top college programs nationwide and three teams from Canada, but the UB rowers held their own among an elite collegiate crew competition.
"I thought we raced very well," said head coach Rudy Wieler. "The competition was very good. Harvard and Syracuse were in the NCAA championship last year."
The Bulls rowed with two squads in the Varsity Open Eight event. The Varsity Open Eight "A" squad finished in eighth and the Varsity Open Eight "B" squad finished just behind them in ninth. A strong Western Ontario squad won the Open Eight division.
The Bulls Varsity Open Four squad rowed to a tenth-place finish. In the Open Four Division, Brock University took the title just ahead of Western Ontario.
The Bulls' fine performance is even more notable considering a bulk of their roster consists of freshmen and sophomores. The young UB rowers took a lot away from rowing with top schools.
"Our freshmen and sophomores now understand what it takes to compete with the best," Wieler said. "This was an excellent experience for us to see the top teams in the U.S. and Canada. The nice thing about the fall is you get to race the club crews and the Canadian teams."
The future looks bright for this young Bulls' squad and Sunday may be just a taste of what is on the way.
"We have some racers here," Wieler said. "We had a good recruiting class. We're recruiting athletes with good racing experience. We're not just banking on walk-ons."
The athleticism of this team showed in last weekend's performance. The youth on the team blended well with the veterans, which resulted in a competitive outing. The team proved themselves by accomplishing one feat none of the other top collegiate programs participating in this event did.
"We've got a pretty young team," Wieler said. "But we were the only school to place two squads in the top ten."
The aura of this young team resonates throughout Wieler's staff and he feels potential for this squad is extremely high.
"I'm looking forward to some exciting races," Wieler said. "It's a tribute to the coaching staff and the hard work."
The next event for crew is at the Head of the Charles in Boston. The 41st annual race will be held on Oct. 23. The Head of the Charles is an all-day event, with about 7,000 athletes competing in 24 different events over the course of two days.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
