The University of Pennsylvania men’s heavyweight crew won the Fourth Varsity Eight and Fifth Varsity Eight races against Harvard and Navy on April 25, according to a university announcement. The competition took place Saturday morning on the Schuylkill River.
The results are significant for Penn as they mark victories in two events, while Harvard retained the Adams Cup by winning the top three varsity eight races. The Crimson boats entered the day ranked at or near the top nationally.
Penn’s head coach, Al Monte, said, “Today was a positive step forward for our program. I was really impressed with the resiliency in our lower boats and gutsy racing across the entire squad. I’m excited to see us continuing to make progress in the lead up to Sprints.”
In detailed results provided by row2k.com, Harvard’s fourth-ranked boat defeated Penn’s eighth-ranked boat by three seconds in the Varsity Eight race. In Second Varsity Eight competition, Harvard finished nearly ten seconds ahead of Penn. The Third Varsity Eight saw another win for top-ranked Harvard over sixth-ranked Penn by three seconds.
Penn opened with a win in Fourth Varsity Eight, finishing two seconds ahead of Harvard and well ahead of Navy. The Quakers also closed out with a five-second victory over Harvard in Fifth Varsity Eight.
Looking ahead, Penn will compete next Saturday in Ithaca against Cornell for both the Madeira Cup and Wray Trophy, along with additional races versus Holy Cross.
