CAMDEN, N.J. – The Big Red heavyweight rowing team had an amazing day on the Cooper River, with all four of its boats advancing into the Grand Finals, to be held tomorrow, Saturday, June 5, at the 108th edition of the annual IRA Regatta in Camden, N.J. This is the first time since 1981 that the Big Red has advanced the Varsity-8, Second Varsity-8 and Freshman-8 into the Grand Finals of the IRA Regatta.

The Varsity-8 will make its first appearance in the Grand Finals since placing sixth during the 2003 season. The Big Red earned the spot after a thrilling semifinal race in which the top-three boats all finished within .6 seconds of each other. Harvard won the semifinal with Brown edging out the Big Red for second.

The Open-4+ won its semifinal in a time of 6:23.369, beating the field by more than four seconds, while the First Freshmen-8 and Second Varsity-8 each placed third in their respective semifinals to advance to the Grand Finals.

Racing will begin tomorrow with the Open-4+ starting at 9:12 a.m., followed by the First Freshmen-8 going at 10:15 a.m., and the Second Varsity-8 hitting the water at 10:45 a.m. The Varsity-8 race will be the last of the day and is scheduled to begin at 12:15 p.m.

For complete results and upcoming race schedules, visit: secure.powerhousetiming.com/powerhouse/webpages/raceResults.jsp

For full coverage of the IRAs, visit: http://www.row2k.com/ira/