RALEIGH, N.C. – The University of Pennsylvania women's rowing team had a strong first day at the Lake Wheeler Invitational. The two-day event is being co-hosted by Duke and the University of North Carolina and will conclude tomorrow morning beginning at 7:30 a.m. (Please note this is an update from the original schedule, which had Saturday's races starting at 9 a.m. Full Saturday schedule is below.)
 
Overall, Penn won eight races on Friday and went a perfect 6-for-6 in the NCAA boats as the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight and Varsity Four all won both of their races on the day.
 
In the team standings, Penn rolled up 31 points in both of Friday's sessions to give them 62 for the day. That has the Quakers behind Duke (66) and Syracuse (63) but well ahead of fourth-place Iowa (39).
 
Session 3 (Saturday) | Watch on ESPN+ ($) | Live Results (RegattaTiming.com) | Penn Boatings (PDF)
  7:46 a.m. – 1V8 vs. #9 Syracuse, #14 Duke, BU, Kansas, Louisville
  8:11 a.m. – 2V8 vs. BU, Duke, Kansas, Louisville, Syracuse
  8:35 a.m. – V4A vs. BU, Duke, Kansas, Louisville, Syracuse
  8:59 a.m. – V4B and V4C vs. Duke, Kansas, Syracuse
  9:23 a.m. – 3V8 vs. Duke, Kansas, Louisville, Syracuse
 
Varsity Eight
Penn's eighth-ranked boat faced just one ranked boat all day and the results were predictable. The Quakers dominated both of their races, winning by more than eight seconds in the morning and by nearly 12 seconds in the afternoon. In the morning race, Penn clocked 6:16.853 which was well ahead of Iowa's 19th-ranked boat (6:25.083). Miami was a little less than three seconds behind the Hawkeyes, in 6:32.157, followed by Navy, UCF and Kansas.
 
In the afternoon, Penn clocked 6:43.958 and had little trouble as Alabama was a distant second in 6:55.522. The race was really for second, as Clemson (6:56.130) and Tennessee (6:58.120) were right there with the Crimson Tide, while Louisville and BC rounded out the field.
 
Second Varsity Eight
Penn won both of its races on Friday, the first by more than eight seconds and the second by nearly 10 seconds. In the morning race, the Quakers clocked 6:25.000 which was well ahead of second-place Iowa (6:33.470). Miami was third in 6:36.440 which was ahead of UCF, Navy and Kansas.
 
In the afternoon, Penn clocked 6:47.610. That was nearly 10 seconds ahead of second-place Tennessee (6:57.188), which in turn was more than nine seconds ahead of third-place Clemson (7:06.536). Louisville, BC and Alabama rounded out the race.
 
Varsity Four
Penn was pushed in both of its races on Friday. In the morning race, the Quakers were able to defeat Iowa by a little more than two seconds, the Red and Blue timed in 7:13.261 and the Hawkeyes in 7:15.487. Both were well ahead of UCF, which clocked 7:25.495 and nipped Miami for third place. Only four seconds separated third from sixth, Kansas and Navy also being the mix.
 
In the afternoon, Penn clocked 7:44.020 and was able to hold off Alabama (7:49.012) by nearly five seconds. Tennessee (7:51.740) was nearly three seconds behind the Tide followed by Clemson, BC and Louisville.
 
Second Varsity Four
This boat also won twice on Friday, both races coming right down to the wire. In the morning race, the Quakers clocked 7:25.683 which was a little less than three seconds faster than Iowa (7;28.479). UCF was third in 7:35.407, a little more than a second ahead of Navy, while Kansas and Miami completed the field.
 
In the afternoon, Penn's 7:45.404 was a little less than four seconds faster than Alabama (7:49.138) which was itself about four seconds faster than Tennessee (7:53.586). BC, Clemson and Syracuse all failed to best the eight-minute mark.
 
Third Varsity Eight
Penn took third in both of its races on Friday. In the first race, Iowa was first across the line in 6:55.285, a little more than two seconds ahead of Navy (6:57.415). Penn was third in 7:01.607 which was nearly five seconds better than fourth-place Kansas (7:06.301). UCF and Miami were also in the race.
 
Alabama took the afternoon race, clocking 7:14.025 to nip Tennessee (7:17.329) by a little more than three seconds. Penn was third in 7:25.843, well ahead of Clemson (7:32.603) and Louisville (7:49.015).
 
Third Varsity Four
This boat is competing in the 2V4 field this weekend. In the morning race, Penn was fourth but beat the only 3V4 in the field, Syracuse. Penn's 3V4 was clocked in 7:35.416 while the Orange's was timed in 7:59.172. Syracuse's 2V4 won the race, with Tennessee's 2V4 in second and Oklahoma's 2V4 in third.
 
The Quakers were fourth in their afternoon race, clocking 8:07.884 and finishing behind the 2V4 boats from Syracuse, Iowa and Washington State but ahead of the 2V4 boats from Kansas and UNC.