PENNSAUKEN, N.J. – The University of Pennsylvania women’s rowing team opened the spring portion of the racing season on Saturday at the Big Ivy Dustup.
The Varsity Eight had a strong day on the Cooper River, the Quakers going unbeaten across two races and posting the best time among all the boats in the second session. The Second Varsity Eight also clocked the fastest time among all boats in the afternoon session, while the Varsity Four won its afternoon heat and the Third Varsity Eight was 4-0 on the day with a pair of wins.
Varsity Eight
Eighth-ranked Penn won its first heat on Saturday morning, a four-boat race, clocking 6:40.6 across the Cooper’s 2,000-meter course and defeating No. 12 Syracuse which was second in 6:42.0. No. 13 Indiana was third, in 7:01.7 while No. 19 Harvard was fourth in 7:07.4.
In the second set of heats, Penn rowed the fastest time of the session (6:54.3) in beating Rutgers (6:58.5) and Harvard (7:21.2). The second-best heat came from No. 5 Yale (6:57.2) while Syracuse (6:57.7) had the third-best time.
Second Varsity Eight
Penn was second in its four-boat heat to start the day. The Quakers clocked 7:01.6 and finished a little more than four seconds behind race winner Syracuse (6:57.3). Harvard was third in 7:03.5 while Indiana was fourth in 7:08.3.
Much like the 1V8, the 2V8 posted the best time among the 2V8 boats in the second session, the Quakers’ 7:06.8 beating Rutgers (7:10.9) and Harvard (7:21.2). The second-best time in the session was Syracuse (7:07.5), followed by Ohio State (7:11.0) and Yale (7:16.4).
Varsity Four
Penn was fourth in its first heat, clocking 7:51.6 to get nipped by Harvard (7:51.1) for third. Syracuse won in 7:47.3, with Indiana finishing just a second ahead of Harvard in 7:50.1.
Penn won its heat in the second session, clocking 8:00.0 exactly to defeat Harvard (8:04.0) and Rutgers (8:11.3).
Second Varsity Four
Penn was third in 8:17.4, ahead of Indiana which was a distant fourth in 8:47.8. Harvard was the race champion in 8:02.5 while Syracuse was second in 8:06.3.
Penn had another third-place finish in the second session, clocking 8:29.5 and finishing behind Rutgers (8:11.0) and Harvard (8:15.7).
Third Varsity Eight
Penn won this three-boat race in 7:04.8 by the slimmest of margins, less than a second ahead of Syracuse (7:05.4). Harvard was a distant third, in 7:25.6.
Penn’s second heat was another win, the Quakers clocking 7:37.0 to beat Harvard (7:41.4) and Rutgers (7:48.2).
Third Varsity Four
Penn clocked 8:43.2 and finished behind Ohio State (8:05.3) and Rutgers (8:05.8).
