???It has become tradition for the rowing team to leave Indiana with a little bit of hardware. Not even an unexpected illness that affected numerous members of the team could prevent the Bulls from a successful performance in the "Hoosier State" on Saturday.
???For the fourth straight season, the Bulls captured the Harvey Cup in Bloomington, Ind. on Saturday.
???Buffalo put up an impressive afternoon in three races against Eastern Michigan and Indiana. In its most admirable effort of the season, Buffalo overcame early adversity to finish either first or second in all three races.
???Early Saturday morning, key members of the Varsity Eight boat were struck with an illness that forced them out of competition. With their backs against the wall, Buffalo head coach Rudy Wieler shuffled the roster to get his team in the water. By combining members of the Second Varsity Eight boat with the first squad, the Bulls came together to place second in the Varsity Eight race.
???"We practiced the night before and everyone was fine. In the morning, we found out that six of our rowers were sick, so we had a decision to make," Wieler said. "We basically took what we thought was a pretty good fit."
???Buffalo's Varsity Eight Boat finished the race at a time of 7:11.0, just five seconds behind host Indiana and 15 seconds ahead of Eastern Michigan. Led by junior coxswain Britt Marshall, the boat consisted of senior rowers Lauren Sexton, Melina DiCosimo, Bridgett Yannes, Ashley Hanhurst, and Morgan Witte, sophomore rowers Lindsay DiCosimo, Amanda Garbacz and freshman rower Brittany Ronald.
???Buffalo led for much of the first 1,000 meters of the race behind the leadership of Marshall. The seniors' experience was a key factor to the Bulls' success.
???"[The First Varsity Eight boat] performed pretty well despite the situation they were in," Wieler said. "That's the way it is sometimes, though. The record is the record, regardless of if people were sick or not."
???The Bulls continued to dominate the waters in the Varsity Four race. Claiming both first and second place, Buffalo's teams finished more than 20 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Indiana. The First Varsity Four squad finished first with a time of 8:07.2, while the Second Varsity team clocked in second at 8:12.8. Buffalo's winning Varsity Four boat was comprised of freshman coxswain Kate Evely, junior rower Mary Karl, sophmore rowers Patricia Arcuri, Megan Bayley and freshman rower Jacklyn Postulka.
???In one of the more exciting races of the day, Buffalo's Novice Eight boat placed second ahead of Eastern Michigan and Indiana's second boat. The Bulls led for the first 1,500 meters of the race but struggled to hang onto the lead as Indiana's first team pulled ahead in the last 500 meters.
???The Bulls will be back in the water two weeks from now for the Knecht Cup in Camden, N.J.
???"We're excited. We weren't able to perform to our capabilities in Indiana," Wieler said. "The Knecht Cup has a lot of good teams, so we should be able to compare ourselves to the best."
Additional reporting by Managing Editor David Sanchirico
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
