The rowing team topped five crews to win the 2010 Colonial Athletic Association Championships on Sunday in Sandy Run, Va. Buffalo competed along with Northeastern, Drexel, George Mason, Delaware and Old Dominion in three events on the Occoquan Reservoir in pursuit of the CAA crown.
The Bulls cruised to conference championships in the Varsity Four and Second Varsity Eight races. With 33 total team points, the Bulls finished one point ahead of defending champion Northeastern.
Led by junior coxswain Mollie Riester, the Varsity Four boat maneuvered to a first-place finish in a time of 7:30.3. Accompanied by junior Megan Bayley, sophomore Rachel Cuthbert and freshmen Sydney Gilchrist and Sarah Gallagher, the crew finished six seconds ahead of Delaware while Northeastern crossed the finish line in third.
Sophomore coxswain Kate Evely helped the Second Varsity Eight earn its first victory with a time of 6:43.2. The boat of juniors Lindsay DiCosimo and Ashley Hanhurst, sophomore Alexandra Condon, Dakota Smith and Jacklyn Postulka, as well as freshmen Rosa Kemp, Shannon David and Danielle Carlino earned Buffalo 12 points as Northeastern tallied 10 points in a second-place finish.
Defending champion Northeastern trailed Buffalo going into the Varsity Eight race, 18-14. Buffalo's Varsity Eight boat recorded a second-place finish for the second consecutive season while Northeastern finished first. The Bulls gained 15 points for second place, which allowed them to edge out the Huskies, 33-32.
"From the first day, I told our kids that this would be the biggest race of the season and you have to believe that you can win it," said head coach Rudy Wieler in a press release. "Our kids bought into that philosophy and they worked so hard for this race. I couldn't be any prouder as a coach than I am today of this team."
Wieler also received the CAA Coach of the Year award, while four rowers earned spots on the All-Conference Team. Seniors Kate Garofalo, Tara Rudkoski and Cathleen Streicher, as well as sophomore Brit Ronald, took the honor, along with three athletes from Northeastern, two from Drexel and George Mason and one from both Delaware and Old Dominion.
The team competes again on Saturday in Hanover, N.H., against Darmouth, Cornell and Columbia.
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Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
