CHERRY HILL, N.J.- The Jacksonville Dolphins wrapped up day one at the NCAA Championships on Friday afternoon.
 
Clear skies and a slight headwind created a near perfect atmosphere for race day. The First Varsity Eight started the championships off in Heat Three alongside schools from Stanford, California, Brown, Ohio State and Gonzaga. The Dolphins were in lane six and put out a time of 7:24.581 to put them in sixth on day one. JU's results today see them in the semi-final against Northeastern, Rutgers, Ohio State and George Washington. The semi-final is tabbed for an 8:24 AM start.
 
The Dolphins Second Varsity Eight started an hour later in the 2v8 third heat in a similar lane in lane six. JU was tasked to race against boats from Texas, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Syracuse and George Washington. Jacksonville's 2v8 finished with a 7:31.150 time and finished in sixth as well in their time trial. JU's 2V did edge out Navy, who was in heat four, by 15 seconds. The results from today have the Dolphins 2V in a semi-final against USC, Syracuse, Rutgers and Gonzaga at 9:12 tomorrow morning.
 
JU's Varsity Four rounded out the morning of racing for the Dolphins, again in lane six, and in the fourth heat against boats from Stanford, Princeton, Ohio State, Syracuse and Northeastern. The Dolphins finished in sixth place with an 8:24.090 time, less than four seconds behind Northeastern in fifth place. Despite placing sixth in their respected heat, the Dolphins were faster than George Washington, who were in heat three, by 10 seconds and were within just one second of Gonzaga, who was in heat two. The Dolphins V4 will race again tomorrow against Indiana, Syracuse, Pennsylvania and Navy. The semi-final is slated for 9:48 AM.

"The NCAA Championship is the pinnacle of rowing in the US and I could not be more proud of our team," said head coach Mike Lane. "Today we learned some things, that hopefully we can improve on and build momentum as we race for Sunday's finals. I look forward to making history and ruining someone's day!"
 
All three boats hit the water again tomorrow for their respected semi-final, with the finals to wrap up the 2023 season coming on Sunday.

Click here for the full results and schedule.