WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The University of Pennsylvania men's heavyweight crew will have at least its top two crews in the mix for top-12 finishes after Friday's racing at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championship. The first day of racing concluded early due to inclement weather on Mercer Lake, so the Quakers' Third Varsity Eight and Varsity Four will sort out their placements Saturday morning.
 
Of note, the Varsity Eight will finish above its pre-race seed after advancing to the A/B semis on Saturday, guaranteeing the 13th-seeded Quakers a top-12 finish. The Second Varsity Eight also can beat its 11 seed as it heads into A/B semis on Saturday.
 
Varsity Eights
Penn is guaranteed to finish above its 13 seed after two great races on Friday.
 
In the morning heat, Penn served notice with a solid third in its six-boat race. Fourth-seeded Washington was the race winner in 5:37.436, quickly establishing open water on the rest of the field, while fifth-seeded Syracuse (5:40.980) had open water on the Quakers by the 1,000-meter mark. However, Penn (5:47.846) had open water early over 12th-seeded Georgetown (5:53.588) as well as Colgate (5:56.098) and Oregon State (6:00.746) in gaining third place easily.
 
In the afternoon repechage, with only the top boat advancing to Saturday's A/B semis, Penn led wire-to-wire against its Boathouse Row colleagues from Drexel, gradually pulling away from the 16th-ranked Dragons throughout the 2,000 meters and eventually winning by almost exactly three seconds, the Quakers clocking 6:02.716 to Drexel's 6:05.718. No. 19 La Salle was third in the rep, at 6:12.150, with No. 23 Santa Clara fourth in 6:23.282
 
Second Varsity Eights
No. 11 Penn held its seed in the six-boat morning heat, staying within fourth-seeded Princeton's boat through about 1,250 meters before falling off and settling for third place in 5:58.692. Fifth-seeded Brown was the race winner in 5:45.800, followed by the Tigers in 5:50.676 and the Quakers. No. 13 Stanford (6:03.628), No. 21 UCSD (6:04.650) and No. 20 Georgetown (6:17.850) rounded out the field.
 
Penn wasted no time establishing itself in a three-boat afternoon rep with Philly rivals Drexel and La Salle, blowing out to an open-water lead before the 500-meter mark and cruising from there. The Quakers clocked 6:08.618 in the rep to advance to the A/B semis, with the 17th-ranked Dragons second in 6:17.572 and the 19th-ranked Explorers third in 6:21.514.
 
Third Varsity Eights
In the morning heat, No. 10 Penn clocked 5:58.458 and had open water on No. 9 BU (6:03.936) by the finish line. The Quakers hung with fourth-seeded Brown for about 1,500 meters before letting Bruno pull away, Brown clocking 5:51.950 which was a little more than two seconds behind third-seeded Cal (5:49.404). No. 16 Oregon State (6:11.612) and No. 15 Drexel (6:25.874) rounded out the field.
 
The afternoon repechage was postponed due to inclement weather, and Penn will move right into A/B semifinals on Saturday morning with a guarantee of a top-12 finish.
 
Varsity Fours
Penn had the 20th-fastest time in the morning time trials, clocking 6:34.307, and so the Quakers will row in the Fourth Final on Saturday after the afternoon semis were postponed due to inclement weather. The best this boat can finish is 19th overall.
 
IRA Nationals Saturday Schedule | Watch on YouTube.com | Live Results | Penn Boatings (PDF)
7:54 a.m. - Varsity Eights (1V8) semifinal
  (lanes 2-7) #8 Dartmouth | #10 Northeastern | #1 Cal | #4 Washington | #6 Harvard | #13 Penn
8:10 a.m. - Second Varsity Eights (2V8) semifinal
  (lanes 2-7) #9 Cornell | #7 Yale | #1 Cal | #5 Brown | #6 Syracuse | #11 Penn
8:26 a.m. - Third Varsity Eights (3V8) semifinal
  (lanes 2-7) #10 Penn | #5 Dartmouth | #6 Harvard | #4 Brown | #8 Syracuse | #13 Northeastern
10:18 a.m. - Varsity Fours (V4A) 4th final
  (lanes 2-7) Marist | Fairfield | San Diego | Penn | Cornell | Stanford