OAK RIDGE, Tenn. – Jacksonville University's women's rowing program wrapped its first day of racing at the SIRA Championships with two of its boat advancing to Sunday's "A" finals. Tomorrow's racing begins at 8 a.m. with JU's varsity eight taking on Wichita State, Kansas State, Purdue, Dayton and Oklahoma City.

The University of Cincinnati claimed the top time in the varsity four preliminary race but the Dolphins weren't too far behind for second. JU's crew posted a time of 8:28.2 while Florida State (8:33.62), Miami (8:48.27) and Davidson (9:33.14) rounded out the field.

In the evening semifinal, the crew finished third and will advance to Sunday's petite final. With a time of 8:01.11, the Fins finished nearly five seconds after the second-place Purdue who posted a time of 7:56.49 and 29 seconds after William & Mary, the event winner with a time of 7:32.83.

Varsity Four
Coxswain – Monica Hakun; 4 – Jodi Coia; 3 – Alex Pulliam; 2 – April Beck; 1 – Sydney Warpness

Defeating all other crews with a time of 7:11:25, Jacksonville's varsity eight crew advanced to the evening's semis where it again bested the competition for second place. The crew trailed three seconds behind Purdue to close out its day as the Boilermakers claimed the semifinal heat in 6:42.08 while JU recorded a time of 6:45.26 and Oklahoma City 6:48.59.

Varsity Eight
Coxswain – Lauren Whetzel; 8 - Veronika Stasaityte; 7 - Stacey Price; 6 - Julianna Welch; 5 - Jessica Mathews, 4 - Kelly Cleveland; 3 - Bridget Keough; 2 - Victoria Hernandez; 1 -Victoria Tkacz

Jacksonville's 2V had just one race Saturday and closed out the Dolphins' effort with another top-three finish. Its time of 7:06.10 was second to Kansas State who set the mark to beat at 6:48.00. The Dolphin crew will compete in Sunday's "A" finals at 9:17 a.m.

Second Varsity Eight
Coxswain – Claire McLenna; 8 – Danielle Keeler; 7 – Stefanie Keeler; 6 – Micaela Hill; 5 – Ashley Hirt; 4 – Jennifer Pavlik; 3 – Joan Spinelli; 2 – Tori West; 1 – Rylie Ayles

Live results for both Saturday and Sunday's events are available on HereNow.com and tomorrow's finals will again be live streamed on YouTube.