PHILADELPHIA, Pa,. -- The Fairfield University rowing teams completed their first day of competition at the Dad Vail Regatta in Philadelphia on Friday afternoon. The men's 4x, the women's varsity 4, and the men's varsity 8 advanced to row on Saturday with their performances today.

The women's varsity 4, comprised by Kelsey Carthew, Maggie O'Donnell, Eileen Keenan, Allison Sloan, and coxswain Katie Clark, started its day by placing 11th in a field of 28 by completing the course in 7:42.63. Boston won the event with its time of 7:14.69, followed by Lafayette (7:22.80) and Grand Valley (7:28.08). The Stags advanced to the semifinals and secured third place in the six-boat race, finishing the run in 8:34.96. Lafayette (8:13.35) and Temple (8:16.95) secured the top two spots in the race. With their performance, the crew will compete in the Final 2 on Saturday morning.

The men's 4x also moved into Saturday's competition based upon its first-place finish in its heat, registering a winning time of 7:32.58 and edging out Ohio State (7:47.07) and Georgia (7:53.72). The crew will compete in its final on Saturday afternoon, competing against Washington College, Ohio State, Mercyhurst, and Iona. The Stags were represented by Joe Trapp, Michael Bottega, John Fee, and Jake Godwin.

The men's varsity 8 secured 26th in its opening race on Friday, posting a time of 6:19.56. The top three finishers included Delaware (5:44.56), Saint Joseph's (5:46.21), and Drexel (5:48.15). With its finish, the Stags advanced to Final 5 and will go up against Case Western, Villanova, and Vassar. Fairfield's entry consisted of Lars Erickson, Charlie Riordan, Mike Clarkson, Barak Davidi, Matt Sutter, Mike Pagliaro, Seamus O'Brien, John Imor, and coxswain Alyssa McNally.

The men's JV 8 also saw action on Friday, completing the course in 6:34.60 which placed the crew 19th in the race. Drexel won the event with a time of 5:5584 followed by Saint Joseph's (5:57.29) and MIT (6:00.83). Fairfield's entry included Matt Daza, Brendan Smith, Sean Crosby, Charles Cooper, August Feliciano, Tom Cole, Drew Thompson, Liam Creegan, and coxswain Matt Marshall.