PHILADELPHIA - The University of Pennsylvania heavyweight rowing team has one final tune-up before the EARC Sprints which will take place Sunday, May 17 in Worcester, Mass. That comes this weekend, as the Quakers sandwich races against Oregon State and Holy Cross around the Madeira and Wray Cup races vs. Cornell. All of this weekend's racing will take place on the Big Red's home course at Cayuga Lake in Ithaca, N.Y.

Penn and Holy Cross will race each other on Friday afternoon. On Saturday morning, the Quakers and Big Red will race across four boats, with the Madeira Cup (1V8 winner) and Wray Cup (total points) up for grabs. Later that same day, Penn will race against Oregon State.

Penn leads the overall Madeira Cup series, with 38 wins in this race to Cornell's 29, and has swept the Madeira Cup and Wray Trophy each of the last two years. That said, the Big Red have dominated this rivalry for much of the 21st century; the Quakers' back-to-back sweeps the last two years mark the first time that has happened since 1998 and 1999.

In the latest IRCA/IRA rankings, released on Wednesday, the boats for this weekend's racing were ranked respectively…
  1V8: Penn 8th, Cornell 13th, Holy Cross 21st, Oregon State 25th
  2V8: Penn 8th, Cornell 12th, Holy Cross 19th, Oregon State 24th
  3V8: Penn 5th, Cornell 13th, Holy Cross 19th, Oregon State 23rd

Madeira Cup Schedule | Penn Boatings (PDF)
Friday, May 1 – Holy Cross
  2:40 p.m. – 4V8
  3 p.m. – 3V8
  3:10 p.m. – 2V8
  3:30 p.m. – 1V8
  3:50 p.m. – 5V4 vs. Cornell
Saturday, May 2 – Cornell (Wray Trophy)
  8:40 a.m. – 5V8 vs. MIT
  8:50 a.m. – 4V8
  9:10 a.m. – 3V8
  9:30 a.m. – 2V8
  9:50 a.m. – 1V8 (Madeira Cup)
Saturday, May 2 – Oregon State
  11 a.m. – 3V8/4V8
  11:30 a.m. – 2V8
  11:50 a.m. – 1V8

Madeira Cup History
The Madeira Cup was placed into competition in 1956 by Crawford Madeira, a patron of Penn rowing. It is awarded to the winner of the Varsity Eights heavyweight race between Penn and Cornell.
 
Wray Trophy History
The James Wray Memorial Trophy was donated in 1955 by the members of the 1930 Cornell IRA Varsity 8+ champions. The Wray Cup is presented for overall team points across the Varsity Eight, Second Varsity Eight, and Third Varsity Eight races.

For the latest on Penn men's heavyweight rowing, follow @PennHwtRowing on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram, and on the web at PennAthletics.com.