SARASOTA, Fla. – The 11th-ranked University of Pennsylvania women's rowing team has completed racing at the Big Ten Invitational. The two-day event took place at Nathan Benderson Park.
 
In Friday's morning session, Penn raced with No. 3 Washington, No. 21 Indiana, Clemson, Notre Dame and Iowa. The Quakers were second to dominant Huskies crews in the 2V8, V4A and V4B races and placed third behind UW and the Hoosiers (by 2.6 seconds) in the 1V8. Washington won all four races, the closest margin coming in the 1V8 where Indiana was second by a little less than seven seconds.
 
In the Friday afternoon session, Penn raced with No. 6 Tennessee, No. 9 Rutgers, No. 12 Michigan and SMU. The Vols won by open water in three of the four races—Rutgers taking first place in the 2V4—with rankings holding in the Varsity Eights race.
 
On Saturday, Penn raced with No. 3 Washington, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 7 Brown, No. 12 Michigan, and No. 14 Ohio State. Both Eights races were well contested, especially the 2V8 which saw all six boats connected until the final 500.
 
B1G Invitational Results (HereNow.com) | Penn Boatings (PDF)
 
"We came to Sarasota to race the Big 10 Invitational with multiple objectives," said Penn's head coach, Bill Manning. "We wanted top-level competition, exceptionally competitive fun racing, learning opportunities, and development through our races. Finally, we wanted to bolster our position for NCAA selection. 
 
"The trip fulfilled all of our expectations but not all of our ambitions," he continued. "We enjoyed tight racing with some of the best teams in the country. We experimented with lineups and found more speed. We enjoyed competitive success racing Big Ten and ACC teams. We even closed the margin on the only two teams that had beaten us previously. All of that said, even with our improvement we still have work to do to better compete with the very fastest teams from across the country. We're pleased that we outperformed so many teams, but we remain focused on improving relative to those few who placed ahead of us."
 
VARSITY EIGHTS
Session 1 (Friday AM)
Penn jumped out to an early lead, but first Washington and then Indiana overtook them by the 500m mark. The Huskies established an open-water lead by the third 500, and while the Quakers never lost the Hoosiers they ultimately could not make up what was about an eight-seat deficit by the race's midpoint.
  Washington 6:17.285
  Indiana 6:24.039
  Penn 6:26.681
  Clemson 6:30.661
  Notre Dame 6:38.054
  Iowa 6:39.401
Session 2 (Friday PM)
UT and Penn got out quickly and were 1-2 at the 500m mark. Rutgers caught the Quakers in the second 500 while Tennessee established open water on the field. The Scarlet Knights, Red and Blue, and Wolverines were connected almost the entirety of the rest of the race, Rutgers finally getting open water on the others in the final 250
  Tennessee 6:15.157
  Rutgers 6:20.219
  Penn 6:26.077
  Michigan 6:28.525
  SMU 6:42.062
Session 3 (Saturday AM)
The Vols were up about half a boat on Washington after 500, Huskies made a move in the second 500 but ultimately UT was able to keep them at bay in getting the win. The other four boats stayed connected the entire race, with Brown ultimately nipping Michigan for third.
  Tennessee
  Washington 6:22.568
  Brown 6:29.397
  Michigan 6:30.702
  Penn 6:32.431
  Ohio State 6:36.266

SECOND VARSITY EIGHTS
Session 1 (Friday AM)
The Quakers used a fast start and led at the 500, but the Huskies made their move in the second 500 and cruised to an eight-second win. Penn finished more than five seconds ahead of third-place Indiana.
  Washington 6:26.329
  Penn 6:34.454
  Indiana 6:39.968
  Clemson 6:40.724
  Notre Dame 6:50.965
  Iowa 6:56.826
Session 2 (Friday PM)
The Vols and Wolverines were in front after 500, with Penn slightly ahead of Rutgers for third. While UT got an open water lead by the race's midpoint, the Scarlet Knights passed Penn into third then overtook Michigan in the third 500. The Quakers used a great sprint down the stretch but it wasn't quite enough to catch U-M, which bettered the Red and Blue by a half-second.
  Tennessee 6:28.438
  Rutgers 6:34.090
  Michigan 6:37.737
  Penn 6:38.246
  SMU 6:51.546
Session 3 (Saturday AM)
Solid race here, as all six boats were connected until the final 500. Ultimately Washington established a lead in the second 500 and never gave it up, downing second-place Brown by less than three seconds.
  Washington 6:29.918
  Brown 6:32.588
  Tennessee 6:35.678
  Michigan 6:41.008
  Penn 6:46.082
  Ohio State

VARSITY FOURS
Session 1 (Friday AM)
Washington dominated from start to finish, getting an open-water lead by the 500m mark and dominating from there. Penn, Indiana and Clemson battled all the way for second, the Quakers getting in a nose out in the third 500 and keeping that lead to the finish line.
  Washington 7:13.243
  Penn 7:23.261
  Indiana 7:25.535
  Clemson 7:26.433
  Notre Dame 7:40.150
  Iowa 7:55.690
Session 2 (Friday PM)
UT got an early lead and held it throughout. Rutgers and Michigan went up on the Quakers in the second 500 and had open water on them by the third 500 although Penn made up some of the deficit on the Scarlet Knights in the final 500. In the race for third, Michigan pulled away down the stretch to down Rutgers, while in the race for fourth Penn nipped SMU by a little less than a second.
  Tennessee 7:16.604
  Michigan 7:20.179
  Rutgers 7:23.381
  Penn 7:27.498
  SMU 7:28.139
Session 3 (Saturday AM)
The Huskies got out early and never really looked back. Brown moved into second place in the second 500 and held that spot.
  Washington 7:08.844
  Brown 7:14.801
  Tennessee 7:19.924
  Michigan 7:25.756
  Ohio State 7:29.696
  Penn 7:36.689

SECOND VARSITY FOURS
Session 1 (Friday AM)
Washington and Clemson were ahead of Penn at the 500m mark, but the Quakers moved through the Tigers in the second 500 and held the advantage the rest of the way.
  Washington 7:22.945
  Penn 7:32.200
  Clemson 7:34.852
  Indiana 7:39.386
  Notre Dame 7:54.443
  Iowa 8:06.192
Session 2 (Friday PM)
The Scarlet Knights, Volunteers and Wolverines jumped out quickly, and Rutgers and Tennessee eventually pulled away from the field. Penn caught Michigan midway through the race and rowed through the Wolverines the rest of the way, ultimately gaining third by a little more than a boat length.
  Rutgers 7:13.385
  Tennessee 7:18.471
  Penn 7:29.537
  Michigan 7:32.969
  SMU 7:59.210
Session 3 (Saturday AM)
The Huskies came up with the victory, defeating Michigan by a little more than four seconds. There was a photo finish for third, Tennessee catching Brown and nipping Bruno by less than three-tenths of a second. Penn was almost four seconds ahead of Ohio State for fifth.
  Washington 7:19.652
  Michigan 7:23.995
  Tennessee 7:26.790
  Brown 7:27.065
  Penn 7:35.144
  Ohio State 7:38.893

Up Next
The 11th-ranked Quakers will have a few boats row at the Kelly Cup next weekend on the Schuylkill River, and then they will make the short trip North to race head-to-head with fourth-ranked Princeton on Saturday, May 3 on Lake Carnegie.
 
For the latest on Penn women's rowing, follow @PennWomensRowing on Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.