DES MOINES – With one regatta over, the ISU Crew Club hopes to find further success this season.

This past Saturday, rowers from around the country converged on Prospect Park in Des Moines to race in the Head of Des Moines Regatta.

With some new faces mixed in with the eight veteran members, the club will participate in three more regattas this year.

“I think we’ll do better now that we know the conditions, the current and the distance,” said Clifford Rudzki, senior in chemical engineering. “It’s pretty exciting. It’s going to give us a lot of motivation for the rest of the season.”

The staggered-start course began near the Des Moines Botanical Center on the Des Moines River and ended 5,000 meters upstream at Prospect Park. Throughout the day, rowers battled increasing current and headwind, with gusts up to 30 mph.

Iowa State participated in five events, grabbing two first-place finishes and a third, a second and a seventh respectively.

Not including the coxswain, a teammate placed in the boat to keep the rowers in time, Iowa State raced in four four-rower events and one single-rower event.

During the races, the team reiterated coach Ryan Rooney’s mantra and didn’t leave anything on the water, said Matthew Haberman, sophomore in pre-business.

The women’s open recreational single was dominated by veteran rower and crew club president Jessica Lambert, senior in mathematics. During her race, she finished ahead of her competition by six minutes and cheered on her opponents as they finished.

Lambert also participated in Iowa State’s last race of the day, the women’s varsity. This 11-boat race featured boats from Nebraska, Wheaton, Drake, Minnesota and St. Cloud State, with Iowa State finishing seventh.

“I’ve experienced how much heart these guys have,” Lambert said. “This whole team is wonderful.”

The first race of the day was the two-men and two-women mixed-novice division. The ISU boat finished first, beating Nebraska by 1 minute, 22 seconds.

This fall, the five-year-old team needed to do some rebuilding. The veteran members and coaches recruited 28 new students.

“We’re a really young team,” Rooney said. “It was a great learning opportunity for the new people.”

Iowa State will travel to the University of Iowa this October for the Head of Iowa Regatta.

The club practices daily on Big Creek Lake, approximately 28 miles southwest of Ames, which doesn’t have an open 5,000 meters. The club is currently raising money to build a boathouse on the Des Moines River near Prospect Park.