WORCESTER, Mass. – The University of Pennsylvania men’s lightweight Varsity 8 posted its best finish at the EARC Sprints since 1992 on Sunday, taking third place on Lake Quinsigamond.

Following a third-place finish in its morning heat, the Quakers -- who entered the day seeded fifth -- came back in the afternoon and clocked 5:43.064 in the grand final. That was behind only champion Cornell (5:40.808), which won for the third time in four years, and second-place Harvard (5:41.656). The Red and Blue finished ahead of fourth-place Columbia, fifth-place Princeton, and sixth-place Yale. In addition to being the Varsity 8’s best finish at Sprints since a second-place finish in 1992, the last time before that Penn took third or better in this race was 1980 (third).

The Second Varsity 8 was unable to make it to the grand final and so could not hold its No. 6 seed. Instead, the Quakers won the petite final to take seventh place overall, clocking 5:58.146 in the race to defeat Dartmouth, Georgetown and MIT.

The Third Varsity 8 was seeded seventh, but finished ninth on the day after a third-place finish in the petite final. The Quakers clocked 6:25.530 in the afternoon race. The Fourth Varsity 8 took seventh place in its afternoon final.

Penn will now prepare to row at the IRA National Championships Regatta, which will take place June 1-4 in Sacramento, Calif.