Iowa rowing is sending 40-plus of its newest members into uncharted waters on Saturday.

By James Geerdes
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Saturday marks rowing’s first event of the season, but it means something more to its new athletes.

Forty-plus athletes will dip their oars into the waters competitively for the first time of their career at the Des Moines Regatta this weekend. Rowing is a sport that utilizes “talent transfer athletes.” This concept capitalizes on people who were talented in one or more sports and are willing to switch their crafts and take on rowing.

Chloe Creekmur graduated from Ankeny High in Iowa last spring with a loaded sports résumé. She played volleyball, soccer, track, and softball, and this year, she took her talent to Iowa for the sport of rowing.

“I’ve always been a part of a team, and I wanted to stay on a team,” Creekmur said. “It’s really fun for me because I’ve never done anything like it.”

The rivers are uncharted territory for the majority of rowers as they enter college. Katie Righ, a freshman from Cedar Falls, stumbled upon the sport while trying a winter rowing clinic at Iowa.

“I don’t have any previous experience,” Righ said. “I came to a winter camp last year just to see what it was about, and the coaches came up to me and said, ‘Hey you want to keep doing this?’ and I said, ‘Sure.’ That’s how I ended up where I am today.”

Head coach Andrew Carter looks at the new rowers with excitement.

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“You never know what you’re going to get. It’s like Forrest Gump; it’s a box of chocolates,” he said. “I think they have been progressing at a really good rate, and it’s an opportunity for them to test what they’ve been up to. I’m hoping that if nothing else, they come away with the rowing hook sunk that much deeper.”

Not all of Carter’s rowers excelled solely in high-school athletics. Hunter Koenigsfeld ran track and cross-country for Iowa last year, but because of an injury, she switched her path to rowing.

“I got injured, but I still felt like I could do something,” Koenigsfeld said. “I looked around and saw rowing, and I talked to [Carter], and soon enough I joined.”

As Saturday’s event nears, players’ and coaches’ anticipation for their first contest grows.

“Everyone is pretty excited,” assistant coach Megan Fitzpatrick said. “They’re going to put on a Hawkeye jersey for the first time, and there’s nothing like that feeling.”

Fitzpatrick has been working closely with the new rowers, introducing them to the sport. The they have been practicing for their first event for the last six weeks.

 The new athletes start ergometers to develop the technique and form needed to succeed in the sport and do not actually get into the river for some time.

“Rowing for the first time is super weird,” Righ said. “When you finally get into the boat, there are so many new factors. The boat’s moving. You’re moving. It’s disorientating but fun.”

All of these new factors lead up to Saturday’s race, and the rowers are eager to get into the water.

“I’m really excited,” Creekmur said. “I don’t even know what to expect, but I think it’ll be great. We will all be so pumped on adrenaline that we won’t really know what happens, but I think we’re ready for it.”