The Bulldogs rowing squad completed a perfect day at the Shelton Invitational in Shelton, Conn., on Saturday.

Drake won all four races they participated in, capturing both qualifying heats in the Varsity four and Varsity eight races, before earning the victory in the final races for each category.

“The team rowed very well today against great competition,” said head coach Charlie DiSilvestro in a Drake athletics press release. “We knew the conference schools were getting better, and as we head to the automatic qualifying next season, each showed faster times.”

The Bulldogs’ competition featured Sacred Heart, Fairfield, Iona, Canisius, Army and Skidmore.

Racing in the Varsity eight race were Susan Goulette, Kat Moore, Maggie Benhart, Madi Perington, Brittney Smith, Jessica Nightser, Emily Householter, Sarah Travis and Jacque Nowers (coxswain).

The Varsity four race featured Goulette, Moore, Benhart, Perington and Nowers (coxswain).

“All the teams today, including Army and Skidmore (neither are MAAC schools), were strong today, and our team met the challenge, especially with borrowed boats and all the travel we did,” DiSilvestro said. “They showed great mental toughness in all four races today, and we are excited to add Marist tomorrow (Sunday), who is always the No. 1 seed at conference, to see how we stack up against them.”

Marist competed in the final Varsity eight race on Sunday, wrapping up the two-day invitational. The results from that race will appear in the next issue of The Times-Delphic.