DES MOINES, Iowa – Drake Rowing hit the waters to start its fall season on Saturday at the Head of the Des Moines event and displayed some success with the team earning a decent amount of hardware.
 
The Bulldogs ended up sweeping the podium in both varsity races with outstanding performances by Madeline Wenger, Alyssa McCreary, and Hannah Okel going 1-2-3 in the first flight. Wenger finished on top with a time of 8:46.3 while McCreary and Okel had times of 8:57.5 and 9:31.3, respectively.
 
In the second flight of varsity races, Wenger was first again with a time of 9:09.7 and McCreary was second at 9:23.3. Liliana Magnuson was third on the podium this go around with her time of 9:40.5.
 
Drake's novice eight was just five seconds from medaling in an event with mixed boats, meanwhile, with a time of 9:31.4.
 
Head coach Dawson Shyne-Appignani was pleased with the teams efforts in his first event leading the program.
 
"Today was all about handling our business in our first trips down the course as a varsity and novice team alike," Shyne-Appignani said. "Not having a single competitor pass us over the entire race day while beating every collegiate crew on the water was the result we trained for all September. We will be back to training this week as we head to the Head of the Mississippi to face stiff competition in Minneapolis, but the bar only goes up from here for these women. Looking forward to seeing their next step forward as we continue to gain experience and build confidence racing."
 
Drake's next event will be the Head of the Mississippi from Minneapolis, Minnesota, next Saturday, Oct. 3.