WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – Both of the University of Pennsylvania lightweight crew's Varsity Eight boats qualified for their respective Grand Finals on Sunday in the opening day of the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) National Championships Friday on Mercer Lake. In addition, the Varsity Fours will race in the A Final on Saturday after winning its semifinal Friday afternoon.
 
First Varsity Eight
Penn will compete in Sunday's grand final after dominating its heat and timing in at 5:37.126 to take first place over Princeton (5:40.026), Navy (5:42.173), and Yale (5:53.363). In the first heat, Harvard (5:42.228) beat out Dartmouth (5:46.912), Cornell (5:49.962), and MIT (5:50.782). The Quakers finished more than five seconds faster than the top-seeded Crimson and so they'll have the best lane assignment in Sunday's Grand Final.
 
Second Varsity Eight
It was a tough go for the top-ranked Quakers in a battle for lane assignments in Sunday's final. In a seven-boat race that kicked off the Championships, Penn finished nearly 10 seconds off the lead with a time of 6:02.877 and took seventh behind Harvard (5:53.277), Princeton (5:55.510), Navy (5:55.533), Cornell (5:58.350), Yale (6:01.820), and Dartmouth (6:01.820).
 
Varsity Fours
In Friday morning's time trial, Penn had the third-fastest time among 11 boats at 6:14.017, more than four seconds slower than Georgetown (6:09.225) and just behind Harvard (6:13.930). The Quakers advanced to Saturday's Grand Final after winning their semifinal race Friday afternoon with a time of 6:32.039, beating out the Crimson (6:34.569) by more than two seconds as well as Princeton (6:35.316), MIT (6:36.816), and Marietta (6:55.256). 

IRA Nationals Schedule | Watch on Overnght.com | Live Results | Penn Boatings (PDF)
Saturday
  11:40 a.m. – Varsity Fours in Grand Final
   (lanes 1-6) Princeton | Georgetown | Penn | Columbia | Harvard | Cornell
Sunday
  9:50 a.m. – Second Varsity Eights in Grand Final
    (lanes 1-7) Yale | Navy | Harvard | Princeton | Cornell | Dartmouth | Penn
  10:40 a.m. – Varsity Eights in Grand Final
    (lanes 1-6) Navy | Dartmouth | Penn | Harvard | Princeton | Cornell