As cool fall breezes descend upon Buffalo, so does the fresh start of a new women's crew season for the Bulls.
UB finished off this past spring with a respectful fifth place team finish at the Metro Cup in Worcester, MA. After losing only five seniors to graduation, head coach Rudy Wieler is excited about the upcoming season.
"More kids rowed for club teams this summer and almost 40 of 60 kids are returning," Wieler said. "Our young and upcoming program should be competitive with a lot of young kids hopefully gaining valuable experience."
The off-season brought a few vital changes for the Bulls, including the addition of two new assistant coaches to the staff: former men's rowing coach Aina Williams from Willamette University in Salem, Ore., and Elizabeth Ostermeier, who came to UB via Augusta, Ga., where she had been training to make the United States National Sculling Team.
Another addition to the Bulls' program this year is the newly instated lightweight division for rowers who weigh less than 135 pounds.
"I think that the addition of the lightweight program will help us a lot," said Wieler.
Crew is a yearlong sport that contains two separate seasons - one during the fall semester and one during the spring semester. Fall races are called headraces, which are three miles or five kilometers long.
Head style racing is a test of endurance. By starting teams in a staggered fashion, the fastest crew of rowers will always stand out, in comparison to the spring season, where everyone starts at the same time, and sprints through a shorter course that spans only two miles.
Though the races in the spring are shorter, they are no less competitive. The head-to-head racing style induces what looks like a fierce competition up close, but when you watch from the sidelines the boats tend to flow down the river with relative ease, until the distance is covered.
"It's kind of like comparing cross country in the fall to track in the winter," Wieler said.
The varsity eight squad is quite experienced this year with five seniors returning: Deanna Knighton, Tara Celestini, Kali Spoto, Kasey Hansen, and Michelle Schwach. Two sophomores, Corrine Blum and Sandra Kisil, and junior Natalie Pugliese round out the rest of varsity eight with newcomer coxswain Sheralyn Briggs making the calls on the water.
Rowers Kat Vossler, Kristen Bender, Joanne Olsen, Stephanie Spinella, Katherine Laub, Rachel Albert, Marissa Ammondola, and coxswaine Kaitlin Logue make up the club team's eight-rower boat.
As for the lightweight division, the lightweight eight lineup for this weekend is composed of rowers Katie Barnum, Karen Corey, Jessica Barrell, Mary Szvoren, Caitlin Hambridge, Jen Victor, Ginelle Michael, and coxswain Kaitlin Buchheit.
The lightweight four will include coxswain Abby Potts, and rowers Barnum, Corey, Barrell, and Michael.
Coach Wieler's expectations for the team are high and he feels good about UB's chances of conducting a successful and productive season.
"We're optimistic, I think our team will be very competitive this year," Wieler said.
The season kicks off this Saturday with the first regatta, at the Head of the Ohio in Pittsburgh, Pa.
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
