WEST WINDSOR, N.J. – The University of Pennsylvania men's heavyweight crew finished ninth overall to cap racing at the IRA National Championships on Sunday at Mercer Lake.
 
Final Results (RegattaTiming.com) | Penn Boatings (PDF)
 
Penn bettered its seeds in both the Second Varsity and Third Varsity Eights on Sunday, the tenth-seeded 2V8 finishing a narrow third in its Petite final to place ninth overall and the 13th-seeded 3V8 taking 12th. The seventh-seeded Varsity Eight completed the day by nipping Northeastern at the finish line to take second in its Petite Final and finish eighth overall.
 
As a team, Penn accumulated 188 points which was good for ninth place ahead of BU (tenth with 183) and Northeastern (11th with 174). Washington takes home the Ten Eyck Trophy for team points with 288, ahead of Princeton (266) and Cal (260).
 
Varsity Eights
Brown's Eastern Sprints champion and second-seeded boat was a surprise entrant in this Petite Final; what was not a surprise was the Bears winning the race. The Quakers and Northeastern 1V8 boats have engaged in some great racing the last few weeks and Sunday was no different, Penn beating the Huskies by three-tenths of a second as the boats were essentially level at every 500 marker.
  #2 Brown 5:32.694
  #7 Penn 5:35.417
  #10 Northeastern 5:35.721
  #11 BU 5:38.117
  #9 Dartmouth 5:39.237
  #13 Stanford 5:44.434
 
Second Varsity Eights
Syracuse led the race from start to finish, but the race for second was certainly intense. BU held that spot through the race's midpoint, but Yale and Penn overtook the Terriers in the third 500 and battled all the way down the course with the Bulldogs ultimately besting the Quakers by six-tenths of a second.
  #6 Syracuse 5:42.332
  #7 Yale 5:44.356
  #10 Penn 5:44.996
  #11 BU 5:45.706
  #12 Cornell 5:51.692
  #8 Northeastern 5:55.222
 
Third Varsity Eights
Penn had already beaten its seed by virtue of its racing on Friday, and the Quakers gave Cornell and Northeastern fits in the race for tenth place on Sunday. Ultimately the Big Red gained the spot with the Huskies 11th and Penn 12th, the three boats separated by almost exactly two seconds.
  #5 Yale 5:47.439
  #9 Syracuse 5:48.442
  #8 BU 5:53.992
  #11 Cornell 5:56.939
  #10 Northeastern 5:57.592
  #13 Penn 5:58.992