WORCESTER, Mass. – The University of Pennsylvania men's lightweight crew completed action at EARC Sprints, which took place Sunday on Lake Quinsigamond. The Quakers rowed four Eights and a Four at the championship event.

The Varsity 8 and Third Varsity 8 both beat their seeds on Sunday, advancing to the Grand Finals after being seeded seventh. The 1V8 finished in third, matching last year's finish which was the program's best since going second in 1992. The 3V8, meanwhile, finished fourth overall.

Sunday's results mark the first back-to-back years of medal-worthy performances for the 1V8 since 1976-77.

Varsity 8
Penn took third in an incredibly tight heat, which allowed the Quakers to advance to the afternoon's Grand Final. The Quakers were clocked in 5:47.478 over Quinsigamond's 2,000-meter course, behind Princeton (5:46.019) and Navy (5:47.246) but just ahead of Yale (5:48.207) to earn its Final berth. In the afternoon, Penn clocked 6:13.414 which was good for third behind just top-ranked Columbia (6:08.060) and Princeton (6:11.414). Harvard was fourth, Navy was fifth, and Cornell was sixth.

Second Varsity 8
Penn was fourth in its morning heat in 6:04.063, which placed the Quakers in the Petite Final in the afternoon. Princeton won the heat, with Yale second and Navy third less than two seconds ahead of Penn. The Quakers then won the Petite Final to finish seventh overall, clocking 6:10.885 which was exactly seven seconds ahead of Dartmouth. Georgetown and MIT also competed in the Petite Final.

Third Varsity 8
Penn won its morning heat in 6:03.717, just ahead of second-place Cornell (6:04.049) and Columbia (6:05.685). In the afternoon's Grand Final, the Quakers were fourth as they clocked 6:05.669 which was behind champion Princeton (5:59.618), second-place Navy (6:02.031) and third-place Harvard (6:02.178). Columbia was fourth, while Cornell was fifth.

Fourth Varsity 8
This division had a final only, with Penn taking sixth out of seven boats in the 2,000-meter race. The Quakers were timed in 6:18.416. Princeton was the champion, in 6:05.535, while Navy was second, Yale was third and Harvard was fourth.

Fifth Varsity 4
This division had a final only and included four heavyweight boats in addition to the Penn and Yale lightweights. The Quakers were fifth out of six boats overall in 7:21.464, behind Yale's lightweights who were fourth (7:13.694). Northeastern's heavies won the event, ahead of BU and Syracuse, while the Holy Cross heavies were sixth.

Penn will now prepare for the IRA Regatta, which takes place June 1-3 on Mercer Lake in nearby West Windsor, N.J.

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