PHILADELPHIA, PA - The La Salle men's and women's crews hit the Schuykill River to take part in the Dad Vail Regatta, one of the most prestigious rowing events in the country. On the first day of competition, a pair of Explorer boats advanced. The men's varsity heavyweight eight won its repechage heat to advance to tomorrow's semifinals, while the women's junior varsity heavyweight eight finished third in its opening round heat to advance to Saturday's semifinals. 

The La Salle men's varsity eight placed first in its repechage, crossing the finish line with a time of 6:08.17. he women's junior varsity eight took third in their heat at 7:25.16, behind first-place finisher Purdue (7:11.75).

Earlier in the day, both the men's and women's varsity heavyweight eight boats moved on to the repechages, and both the women's varsity heavyweight four and the mens frosh/novice four finished fourth in their respective opening round events.

The men's varsity eight placed third in its opening round heat, just shy of the automatic qualifier to the semifinals reserved for the top two boats of each heat. The Explorers finished at 6:23.02, behind first-place finisher Jacksonville (6:09.15).

The women's varsity eight took fifth in its opening round heat, rowing to a 7:17.16 finish. UMass Amherst took first in the heat (6:56.78).

The women's heavyweight four finished fourth at 8:21.29; Sonoma took first at 7:52.15. The La Salle frosh/novice four finished fourth at 7:55.45, behind first-place finisher Tampa (7:19.89). Both La Salle boats from these events will not advance.

La Salle will compete in the following races on the second day of action (times are approximate):

Women's Junior Varsity Heavyweight Eight Semifinal - 8:59 a.m.
(If the Explorers place first or second in the semifinal, they will move on to the final at 2:17 p.m.)
Men's Varsity Heavyweight Eight Semifinal - 11:19 a.m.
(If the Explorers place first or second in the semifinal, they will move on to the final at 4:40 p.m.)

Results can be viewed at dadvail.org. For a full schedule of race events, click the heat sheets link above.