Penn’s women’s boats were big performers on Day 1 of the NCAA rowing championships

The first day of the NCAA rowing championships along the Cooper River on Friday was a success for three Quakers boats that will head into semifinal races on Saturday.

One highlight was Penn’s No. 4-seeded women’s varsity eight, which won its heat in 6 minutes, 48.454 seconds. The win secured a spot in Saturday’s semifinal, scheduled to begin at 8:36 a.m.

In what seemed like it could be a close race against Yale in the first 500 meters, the Quakers proved why they were seeded highest in the heat, winning by nearly five seconds over the Bulldogs. Other big performers included top seeds Princeton and Texas, both of which will meet the Quakers in Saturday’s semifinal.

Syracuse, Cal, and SMU will round out the varsity eight semifinal.

Not to be outdone, Penn’s second women’s varsity eight boat also advanced to the semifinal with a second-place time of 6:44.428 in its heat, trailing the Longhorns by just four seconds. Texas managed to break away in the second 500 meters of the 2,000-meter course. The Longhorns finished in 6:40.964.

The second varsity eight semifinal is scheduled an hour after the first and will consist of the Quakers, Michigan, Stanford, Cal, Ohio State, and top-seeded Yale.

Penn’s 15th-seeded varsity four team finished fourth in 7:45.575. Yale and Washington dominated the heat, with nearly 15 seconds separating the top two teams from the other three boats. Yale finished in 7:23.491. The Quakers will compete in the consolation semifinal Saturday morning.

In addition to Penn, the varsity four C/D semifinal finds Jacksonville, Indiana, Syracuse, and Navy looking to move on. It is scheduled to begin at 9:48 a.m., with championship races in all three main events scheduled to take place on Sunday.