PHILADELPHIA – The University of Pennsylvania women's rowing team is right back into racing action this weekend, competing at the Rocky Top Invite. The two-day event will run Friday and Saturday on Melton Hill Lake in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
 
This weekend's event will give the 14th-ranked Quakers a good sense of where they stand nationally. Of the eight other teams in the field, five others join Penn in the CRCA national poll this week: host Tennessee is fifth, Duke is 15th, Alabama—headed by former longtime Penn assistant coach Kumari Lewis—is 17th, USC is 24th, and UCLA is 25th. The other teams in the field are Clemson, Iowa and Minnesota.
 
"We entered last weekend 16th in the NCAA poll, but after our competitive racing at the Doc Hosea Regatta we're now ranked 14th in the country," noted Penn's head coach, Bill Manning. "The Rocky Top Invite provides us with another excellent, challenging competition and a chance to move further up in the national poll.
 
"Rocky Top's format of heats, semifinals and finals gives us the opportunity to work on different elements of the race and improve race to race," he continued. "The team is eagerly anticipating close, side-by-side competition. We're all especially excited to race against former Penn coach Kumari Lewis' Alabama squad; she has done an amazing job elevating them in her first year and we know they will be a terrific test for us and others."
 
Rocky Top Invite Schedule | Live Results (HereNow.com)
Friday Heats
  3:40 p.m. – Second Varsity 4+ vs. Iowa, Duke, UCLA
  4 p.m. – Varsity 4+ vs. UCLA, Duke, Clemson
  4:20 p.m. – Second Varsity 8+ vs. UCLA, Duke Clemson
  4:40 p.m. – Varsity 8+ vs. UCLA, Duke, Clemson
Saturday Semifinals
  Varsity 8+ - 8:00/8:08 a.m.
  Second Varsity 8+ - 8:16/8:24 a.m.
  Varsity 4+ - 8:32/8:40 a.m.
  Second Varsity 4+ - 8:48/8:56 a.m.
Saturday Finals
  Second Varsity 4+ - Petite 12:26 p.m.; Grand 12:34 p.m.
  Varsity 4+ - Petite 12:42 p.m.; Grand 12:50 p.m.
  Second Varsity 8+ - Petite 12:58 p.m.; Grand 1:06 p.m.
  Varsity 8+ - Petite 1:14 p.m.; Grand 1:22 p.m.
 
For the latest on Penn women's rowing, follow @PennWomensRowing on Instagram and on the web at PennAthletics.com.