UB's novice A boat attacked the waters with demon speed last Saturday as it finished in just under 20 minutes to zoom past the remaining nine boats with ease.
Clocking in at 19:58 at the first annual Syracuse Invitational gave the novice eight an impressive first place out of ten entries. The invite included five universities and was a late addition to the UB rowing team's schedule.
The three-mile race featured the fall season's usual head-to-head style competition. Rowing UB's winning boat were senior Amy Eggleston, Amanda Garbacz, Amanda MacKeigan, Miranda Robinson, Laura Sexton, Laura Sherman, Morgan Witte, Adriane Wotawa-Bergen and Bridget Yannes.
The other finishers included Syracuse in second place at 20:10, and Cornell's two boats at third and fourth at 21:20 and 22:14, respectively. UB's B boat finished in fifth place, with a time of 22:18, while the Bulls' C boat finished in eighth at 22:22.
"Syracuse University and Cornell were shocked by our freshmen," said head coach Rudy Wieler. "They're well established Division-I programs, so for our freshmen to go out and not only win, but win convincingly, was a nice statement for our program. The freshmen were able to dominate those crews."
UB's varsity four teams also competed in a three-mile head-to-head race. Although the rowers weren't swift enough to reach the finish line before the Orange, the fours' B boat paddled fast enough to earn third place out of 11 boats, with a time of 22:05. Syracuse's two boats finished first and second, respectively, with times of 21:31 and 21:33.
The B boat was led by coxswain Sheralyn Briggs and was manned by Corinne Blum, Melina DiCosimo and junior Natalie Pugliese.
UB's two other entries received fifth and eighth place.
Although the varsity fours' competition wasn't as successful as the freshmen's performance, Wieler was by no means disappointed.
"The results of our freshmen were exemplary, but I don't think we have weak points with our varsity," Wieler said. "We've just had a lot of bad injuries so we're just looking forward to the squad getting better for the spring season."
Wieler said he is proud of the varsity fours' success, and is pleased with the way the fall season ended.
The Syracuse Invitational was a good addition to the team's many successes of the season. In the season's first competition, the team produced its best record yet, with its novice eight earning first place out of six teams while the lightweight four placed first of nine teams and the varsity eight placed first and second of seven teams.
At the Head of Charles Competition, the team's youth eight placed an impressive seventh out of 57 teams.
The Head of the Fish tournament continued the trend as the UB's novice eight reeled in another catch, placing second, sixth, and thirteenth out of 38 teams. Every other UB squad finished in the top four of the competition.
Wieler said the team's impressive season is due to year-round training. Adding that the Bulls have the utmost dedication and diligence to the program and work hard to reach their goals.
"We've had some really good results and I think that's what keeps them going, to see that we're getting better all the time," Wieler said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
