With an alumni turnout that included first-ever head coach Wendy Black, the rowing team fought through cold weather and rain to impress against Mid-American Conference foe Eastern Michigan on Saturday.
Buffalo won all five races on the day, including the Harvey Cup in the Varsity Eight race. The win marked the Bulls' fifth-straight Harvey Cup victory, which is named for Nan Harvey, a former Buffalo administrator who passed away from cancer in September 2003.
The Varsity Eight boat of coxswain Britt Marshall, Katie Garofalo, Cathleen Streicher, Tara Rudkoski, Sasha Bailey, Francisca Nwoke, Alana Sharpe, Brittany Ronald, and Sam Masucci finished with a time of 7:40.1, 19 seconds ahead of the Eagles' boat.
However, the day started with a large victory by the Novice Eight. The boat of Kara Buchheit, Melissa James, Kylie Lewis, Lauren Benz, Deborah Garth, Bethany Cross, Samantha Barrett, Elizabeth Murphy, and Katelynn Hentz finished with a time of 8:16.39, defeating Eastern Michigan by over a minute.
The Bulls used two boats in the Varsity Four race, each finishing in front of Eastern Michigan. The "A" boat consisted of Mollie Reister, Megan Bayley, Sarah Gallagher, Sydney Gilchrist and Rachel Cuthbert and finished with a time of 8:37.34.
The time was good enough to beat the "B" boat (8:54.44) by about 17 seconds and the Eagles (9:38.54) by over a minute.
The Bulls were also victorious in the Second Varsity Eight with a time of 7:54.56, while the Eagles finished at 8:32.74. In the Novice Four, Buffalo won by a slimmer margin, 9:26 to 9:39.
"All the kids did a really good job today," said head coach Rudy Wieler. "I watched all the races and the most important thing was that they had fun. We have a great relationship with Eastern Michigan, and we won with a sense of dignity today."
A total of 42 alumni showed up for the day of races as two new boats were unveiled. Buffalo named the boats after the first two head coaches in their history, Black and Meg Barnes. The tradition in rowing is to name boats after people who are important to the team.
The lightweights were in Boston as they raced against MIT and Simmons College. The Bulls finished third with a time of 7:19.28, while MIT posted a winning time of 7:05.56.
Buffalo looks to carry the momentum from the Harvey Cup into its next race at the Colonial Athletic Association Championships on Sunday in Sandy Run Park, Va.
"The girls are very excited for the championships," Wieler said. "We came in second-place last year, but the favorite is defending champion Northeastern. They have a strong Varsity Eight."
The races will be going on all day, as the Varsity Eight, the Second Varsity Eight, and the Varsity Four all compete.
E-mail: sports@ubspectrum.com
