THIS WEEKEND
The
Drake rowing team will travel to the Head of the Mississippi Regatta in
Minneapolis, Minn. this Sunday, Oct. 7. The Bulldogs last participated in the
Head of the Mississippi during the 1993 fall season. Drake will have boats in
the novice eight+, collegiate four+, novice four+ and the collegiate eight+
races Sunday.
REWIND
The Bulldogs competed in five races at the annual Head of
the Des Moines Regatta last Saturday. The team raced many of the newcomers on
this year's roster and it gave most the chance to compete in their first rowing
competition. Drake swept the collegiate doubles race and won the club novice
fours race.
NEARLY 50-50
The
Bulldogs have 16 returners from last season's championship team and 17 newcomers
join them this fall (junior Mallory Bonstrom (Eau Claire, Wis.) is studying abroad this semester). The roster
is comprised of 17 freshmen, seven sophomores, five juniors and four seniors.
HISTORIC ACCOMPLISHMENTS
The
2012 spring season was the most successful in the Drake Rowing program's
history. The Bulldogs won the Metro
Atlantic Athletic Conference championship which was the first league title in school
history. In addition, the Bulldogs' team of Jacque Nowers (Ames, Iowa) (coxswain), Kat Moore, Susan Goullette,
Sarah Travis and Maggie Benhart (St.
Charles, Ill.) captured the women's varsity heavyweight four division at the
prestigious Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia for the first gold medal ever won
there by a Drake team.
EXTRA INCENTIVE
The
NCAA announced bracket expansion for women's rowing effective for the 2013 national
championship. The expansion will give the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
winner an automatic bid to the national championship. The Drake rowing team is
an auxiliary member of the MAAC. The MAAC Championship will be held Saturday,
April 27 in Princeton, N.J. and the NCAA Championships will be held May 31-June
2 in Lake Lanier, Georgia.
ONE YEAR AGO
The
Bulldogs won both women's eight races, including the open eight, amidst a
record field of entrants on the Mississippi River at the Quad Cities Classic.
FAST FORWARD
After
Sunday, Drake will have a couple of weeks before its next regatta. The team
will travel ninety miles east to the Head of the Iowa Regatta on Sunday, Oct.
28. The annual event is hosted by the University of Iowa rowing team.
CAPTAINS
A pair
of seniors, Andrea Piekarczyk
(Downers Grove, Ill.) and Kristina Vann
(Batavia, Ill.), are the designated captains this year for the Bulldogs.
HEAD COACH
Charlie DiSilvestro is in his 20th
season at the helm of the Drake rowing program. DiSilvestro was named the head
coach in July of 1993 and oversaw the transition of rowing from a Drake club
sport to a Division I varsity sport.
DiSilvestro
was named the 2012 MAAC Coach of the Year prior to the MAAC Championships on
April 27, 2012. Drake captured the MAAC championship the next day, its first
conference championship in school history. DiSilvestro helped lead Jacque
Nowers, Kat Moore, Susan Goullette, Sarah Travis and Maggie Benhart to the
women's varsity heavyweight four championship at the prestigious Dad Vail
Regatta. Their gold medal at the Dad Vail was also a first for the program.
In May
of 2011, DiSilvestro was named Collegiate Coach of the Year by the Dad Vail
Regatta in Philadelphia, Pa. The award is presented annually to a
collegiate rowing coach that has had outstanding success and has also
contributed to the regatta.
