IOWA CITY, Iowa — The Bulldogs continued their fall season at the Iowa Chase on Saturday, Nov. 1, racing in four events against the University of Iowa on the Iowa River. Despite competing against a larger Big Ten opponent, Drake showed steady improvement and competitive spirit across all boats.
"It turned out to be just a dual race with Iowa and us," head coach Charlie DiSilvestro said. "They're a big team and a Big Ten program, but we were actually hanging with them. Even though we know they weren't racing their top boats, their lower boats are still extremely fast. I'm really proud of how our team stood up and performed."
DiSilvestro emphasized that Saturday's focus was on execution and progress after several weeks of practice since the Head of the Mississippi.
"The main thing we wanted to see today was how we've improved in practice and whether we could execute that on race day," DiSilvestro said. "All of our boats did that. We're really pleased with how they rowed, and we're excited to finish our last week of training before racing Creighton next week. We're young, but we're growing stronger together."
The Bulldogs competed in both varsity and novice events, gaining valuable experience against a tough field.
Meet Results
Women's Novice Collegiate/Open 4+
Drake (Izzy Silva, Hannah Okel, Natalie Hix, Elizabeth Romero, Brielle Condon) — 3rd place, 16:46.5
Women's Collegiate/Open 8+
Drake (Katherine Hanses, Skyler Duke, Madeline Wenger, Maeve Glennon, Camille Cole, Savanna Busch, Lucy Grizzle, Hailey Castelar, Adisyn Finnin) — 3rd place, 13:04.8
Women's Novice Collegiate/Open 8+
Drake (Izzy Silva, Hannah Okel, Natalie Hix, Mary Gano, Alex Graf, Autumn Cross, Natalie Kelley, Lilly Vogts, Lauren Hafemeyer) — 3rd place, 14:51.0
Women's Collegiate/Open 4+
Drake (Katherine Hanses, Skyler Duke, Camille Cole, Hailey Castelar, Lucy Grizzle) — 3rd place, 13:53.4
Drake's effort against Iowa marks another encouraging step forward in the fall season. With continued growth and teamwork, the Bulldogs are building momentum heading into their final race of the semester against Creighton next weekend.
